Until Full Light

Instruction, inspiration, and resources to help you understand and apply the Bible in your life.

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Download Chronological Bible reading plans

December 27, 2014 by untilfulllight

For 2016, these are the reading plans that I will follow for the lessons and commentary that I will share on this site. They arrange the Bible into the order the events happened. Though it can be a bit of a chore to jump around, especially when you get to the historical books and the prophets, psalms and other passages are mixed in, but the effort is worth it.

CLICK HERE to download a PDF of the Chronological Bible reading plan. This is useful if you want to print it off and put it into your Bible.

CLICK HERE to download a MS WORD document of the Chronological Bible reading plan. If you keep this on your computer you can click on the passage and it will take you to http://www.biblegateway.com, where you read the passage in a variety of translations, listen to it, or look up commentaries about the passage.

CLICK HERE if you want to be taken to the Chronological Plan for your phone.

PLEASE read these two books as you study your Bible, to correctly interpret what you read

February 20, 2014 by untilfulllight

There are few verses that apply more to the church today than Matt. 22:29 where Jesus said:

“You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.”

Jesus did not say, “You are in error because you couldn’t quote a proof text.” He said “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures,” with the implication being that they did not take the total, whole counsel of God into account in their confrontations with  Jesus. They could quote a passage or two out of context, but they didn’t know, or bother to take time to understand, ALL of God’s revealed revelation that they had up to that time.

In large measure, all of us are still worthy of that rebuke from our Lord. It is so easy to pull out a verse or two completely out of context, a verse that sounds nice, helpful, and not too demanding to support whatever we want it to say. But if we do that, our Lord’s rebuke stands and we are often in error.

How to avoid this error

The most obvious answer is of course to read the Bible, cover to cover, often, and in historical order–advice that every class I teach hears repeatedly from me. But even if we do that, we still have the challenge to read with understanding. Following are two essential books to help you do this. If you click on the image next to each description it will take you to amazon.com where you can immediately download or order them. Go without a few lattes or dinner or whatever you need to, but get these books.

Out of Context Book CoverOut of Context, How to Avoid Misinterpreting the Bible,  by Richard L. Schultz

I recently got this book and am amazed at how the author kindly but firmly and carefully explains interpretation errors that flood the church today. He has hundreds of carefully documented examples including why the Prayer of Jabez was so misinterpreted and dozens of other, but equally false, popular interpretations. In addition, he does not leave the reader with negative citations and examples of bad interpretation. His tone is kind and he does not accuse of people of willful misinterpretation. He includes practical advice and teaching on how to correctly interpret the Bible in ways that will help anyone from the casual reader to the teaching pastor.

How to Read the Bible for All Its WorthHow to read the Bible for all Its Worth, by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stewart

This classic focus on genre analysis  (e.g. on whether a book in the Bible is a history, letter, prophecy, etc.) and shows how important it is to understand the overall form of the book before we begin to understand the meaning and application of individual verses. For example, we should interpret a historical book very differently than we do one of Paul’s instructive letters to the church. We should interpret the books of the Law in the Old Testament very differently than we do books of poetry or proverbs. Prophetic writing has its own unique set of challenges. If we are confused about genre or have no understanding of it, we will most certainly misinterpret the material we are reading.

What is especially sad about misunderstanding the genre of a book and how to properly interpret it is that we can become disappointed with God. We may assume He is not true to His Word, when things don’t turn out like we assume He promised they would,  when the real problem is that we didn’t take time to properly understand what God said in his Word. We all know the frustration when we feel a spouse, child, or friend doesn’t really listen to us and only assumes they heard what we said. That situation may have serious consequences, but they pale in comparison to the misunderstanding that can take place in our lives if we don’t listen carefully to the Words of our Lord.

Why you might not want to read these books and why you should

You may have many excuses not to read these books:  the topic is too difficult to understand or only for theologians; you don’t have time; they really sound boring–lots more excuses come to mind. There may be some validity to all of them, but the books are written at a layperson’s level and we all find time to do what we want to do.

If you are a teacher in any setting (home, church, study) the books are even more essential. Consider:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Tim. 2:15

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 timothy 3:16-17

There is nothing more important we can do than to carefully read and understand the Words of our Lord. These books will help you do that.

Interpreting the Bible literally and the Mormon view of God

April 18, 2012 by untilfulllight

Why do the Mormons believe that God the Father has a physical body in contrast with the Biblical Christian view that God is Spirit? This and many more views about God that differ from are based on how each church interprets the Bible. The lesson notes that follow show the difference, plus give some extra teaching on how to interpret the Bible correctly.

Bible Literal Interpretation, full size slidesBible Literal Interpretation, 6 per page

Three ways to study the Bible

March 13, 2012 by untilfulllight

This video gives you an overview of three ways to study the Bible: devotionally, as an overview, and using commentaries for study. In addition to briefly discussing the value of each of these methods, the video introduces websites that will help you in each area. On our class YouTube channel (http://www.youtube/livelifebythebook) are additional videos that illustrate the use of the these websites.

Read your Bible for an overview of all

March 13, 2012 by untilfulllight

You don’t really understand any part of the Bible if you don’t know the content of the entire Bible. To make that content part of your life, you need a plan to read through the Bible consistently. This brief video shows you why it is so important and introduces a great online program that gives you a variety of ways to read through the Bible.

Overview of the Bible Plan Overview
It is absolutely essential for every Christian to read through the Bible every year. This site offers a number of plans and in either an online format or where you can print out a schedule and use that.

Read your Bible for study using commentaries

March 13, 2012 by untilfulllight

Bible Commentaries are great resources for you as you study your Bible, but they are NOT the Bible. They are a good way to check out the ideas of the great Christian minds that have come before us, but they are not infallible. This short video gives you some reasons to read them and introduces you to a website where it’s easy to skim and compare content as well as do an in-depth study.

An overview and tour of Classic Bible Commentaries site
When you aren’t sure what a passage of scripture is about, checking classic Bible commentaries can help. This site has some of the best and a very easy way to switch between them.

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From the path

"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." Prov.4:11

We won't see things clearly until we see our Lord, but on the path to that full light, we have the Bible as our light and guide. For much of my life I've tried to study, share, and teach the Bible. This blog pulls together many of those attempts, not as a final answer to any of the topics, but perhaps as a first gleam of dawn to help others on their journey.

Yvon Prehn

Bible Reading Chronological Plan

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