Crazy month

October has been a crazy month! It's been several weeks since I've updated my blog so I'm going to do a big picture thing and then try to follow it up with several more entries over the next week or two.

• The big news is that we received a purchase agreement for the Albertson's at 1825 and Heatherwilde next to Pflugerville High School (where they film NBC TV's Friday Night Lights)!
• Weekend before last we laid hands on our worship pastor, David Reynolds, and his family as we are sending them to Bryan-College Station, TX to take over Calvary Chapel Aggieland.
• Tomorrow is 1st Wednesday - our monthly, interactive worship gatheing that includes Communion - and our theme is meditating on the Bible.
• This weekend we are asking everyone to bring their filled shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child as we will have the dedication services the following weekend.
• I'm speaking later this week at the Fusion conference in Houston.
  

How to study the Bible

Last night, at 1st Wednesday, we did a hands-on Bible study lab. The emphasis was on using tools to enhance your study. Here are highlights of the presentation along with additional suggestions.

PRAY - Ask God to give you insight and understanding as you study the Bible.

READ - Take a paragraph or, at most, a chapter and read it thoughtfully.

• I study and teach from the New King James Version but enjoy comparing the New Living Translation as well as The Message.
  

LOOK - Look for people, places, or things that you'd like to know more about and look them up in a Bible dictionary. Places can also be looked up in a Bible atlas.

• I've used The New Ungers Bible Dictionary or The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary.
• If you want more, upgrade to a Bible encylopedia. I've used The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia or The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Encyclopedia.
• For a Bible atlas, I've used The Macmillan Bible Atlas or The Zondervan NIV Atlas of the Bible.
  

NOTE - Note key words and phrases and look them in a lexicon.

• A great way to start is with The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible. It's actually a Bible with keywords underlined and followed by the Strong's number. In the back, you can use the number to access the lexical helps.
• What I use for the Old Testament is Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament.
• For the New Testament, I use The Complete Wordstudy Dictionary: New Testament.
  

EXPLORE - Explore a Bible commentary to get the take of a gifted Bible teacher.

• A great one-volume Bible commentary is Believer's Bible Commentary.
• If you want more, upgrade to a two-volume commentary. I recommend Bible Knowledge Commentary Old Testament and New Testament.

APPLY - Take time to prayerfully apply what you've learned to your life. Try this tool adapted by Rick Warren from the Life Application Bible and journal your thoughts.

1. People: Who are the people in this passage and how are they like us today?
2. Place: What is the setting and what are the similarities to our world?
3. Plot: What is happening? Is there any conflict or tension? How would I have acted in that situation?
4. Point: What was the intended message for the first people to hear this passage? What did God want them to learn or feel or do?
5. Principles: What are the timeless truths?
6. Present: How is this relevant in our world today?
7. Parallels: Where does this truth apply to my life? At home, at work, at school, in church, in the neighborhood?
8. Personal: What attitude, action, value, or belief needs to change in me?
9. Plan: What would be my first step of action?

Last night we didn't get to talk about Bible software and the Internet. I invented both! (Kidding. I only invented the Internet.) As far as software, I use QuickVerse. But I'm a book guy so I don't use it a lot. And now that there are so many Bible study tools on the Internet I find myself using the software less and less. In fact, many of the tools I mentioned above are either available on the Internet or something like very much like them is. Here are a few of my favorite Internet sites for Bible study.

• Bible.org
• Blue Letter Bible
• Crosswalk.com

You can also listen to hundreds of archived messages on our website from Genesis to Revelation. Or subscribe to our weekly podcast. Enjoy!