Bible Study
Noah's ark and the flood: what Genesis 6-9 actually says
Two of every animal, forty days of rain, a rainbow at the end. Two of those three are only part of what Genesis says. Here is the story as the chapters tell it.
Ruth Callaway ·
Topic
Bible Study
Guides to reading and understanding the Bible: where to start, reading plans, the context of each book and how to memorize verses.
Bible Study
Infant baptism or believer's baptism: what each tradition argues
The same passages, read two ways. Here is the case each side makes from Scripture, what the household baptisms in Acts are doing in the argument, and what happens when a family moves between the two.
Ruth Callaway ·
Bible Study
Angels in the Bible: the names that appear and the ones that do not
Only two angels are named in the sixty-six-book Bible, and a third in the deuterocanonical books. The nine choirs, the guardian angel and most of the famous names come from elsewhere. Here is the line between them.
Ruth Callaway ·
Bible Study
How to tell the Easter story to kids without scaring them
Easter runs through a crucifixion, and there is no way to tell the whole story without it. What to say at each age, what is fair to leave out, and where the text ends.
Ruth Callaway ·
Bible Study
David and Goliath: the story, the text and the other Goliath
1 Samuel 17 tells it in detail: the challenge, the armor David refused, the five stones and the sling. There is also a second passage that credits the kill to someone else.
Ruth Callaway ·
Bible Study
How to study the Bible on your own: a seven-step method
A repeatable method for studying a passage without a teacher: choose the unit, read it whole, observe before interpreting, ask the context questions, cross-check, compare translations, write one sentence.
Ruth Callaway ·
Bible Study
Who can take communion? Open and closed communion explained
Some churches invite everyone, some invite the baptized, some invite only their own members. Here is what each tradition practises, what to do if you are unsure, and how to decline without awkwardness.
Ruth Callaway ·
Bible Study
Bible verses for kids to memorize, grouped by age
Eighteen genuinely short verses, grouped into ages 3 to 5, 6 to 8 and 9 to 12, each with the literal text and one sentence of explanation in a child's language.
Ruth Callaway ·
Bible Study
Daniel in the lions' den: the story and what Daniel 6 says
A trap built out of a law that cannot be repealed, an old official who keeps praying anyway, and a king who cannot save him. Daniel 6, read as the chapter is written.
Ruth Callaway ·
Bible Study
What does the Bible say about the end times and the rapture?
The word “rapture” is not in the Bible, and the pre-tribulation reading of 1 Thessalonians 4 is roughly two centuries old. Here are the passages, the four main Christian readings, and what the texts refuse to supply.
Ruth Callaway ·
Bible Study
How to run a small-group Bible study people come back to
Size, frequency, what to study first, the four-question structure that keeps a discussion moving, and what to do about the person who talks too much and the person who never does.
Ruth Callaway ·
Bible Study
Joseph in Egypt: the whole story, from the pit to power
Fourteen chapters of Genesis follow one man from a pit in Canaan to second in command in Egypt. Here is the full sequence, with the places in the text to check each turn.
Ruth Callaway ·