Bible Study MagazineOur family has made several major transitions in the past few months—from our home in the Middle East to Europe briefly and then to the United States—while also considering new options abroad for the near future. There has been so much change that...
Shiloh, an ancient city in Samaria, was the major Israelite place of worship before the First Temple was built in Jerusalem. By Scott Stripling The ruins of ancient Shiloh, first identified by the American explorer Edward Robinson in 1838, lie 18...
From Timothy (2 Tim 1:5) to Augustine to John and Charles Wesley and many, many more, God has used mothers to bring people to faith—and to set them afire for the gospel. To that number, we’ll add Faithlife’s founder and CEO, Bob Pritchett...
By Robert Kinney Though often passed over as short and insignificant, Paul’s letter to Philemon might actually be the perfect message for a moment in history consumed with questions of identity and self-realization, social justice, the assertion of...
In this post, excerpted from the March/April 2017 edition of Bible Study Magazine, John D. Barry discusses the prologue to the passion of Jesus—his anguish in the garden—by considering what the Gospels collectively say about it. By doing so, he...
By Bronwyn Lea Russell Moore is a man with big credentials, big responsibility, and a surprisingly big laugh. As president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (the public engagement arm of the Southern Baptist Convention), Moore is...
The pool of Siloam at the end of Hezekiah’s tunnel on the southern slope of the City of David, Jerusalem By David B. Schreiner Israel is bursting with biblical archaeology excavation sites, and flocks of graduate students, professional...
By Todd R. Hains Things are not the way they’re supposed to be. We live in a world filled with suffering and injustice, where the wicked often prosper and the righteous often languish. Scripture assumes this basic truth. Yet it doesn’t provide a...
By Stephen Witmer I lay awake, staring into darkness, mentally replaying a conversation from earlier that day. My friend had misunderstood me and then condemned me for it. I felt deeply wronged. I also felt a toxic mixture of anger, self-pity, and...
Steve RungeOften when we’re studying (a book of) the Bible, we come to a place where the author digresses from the big idea to make a side comment. To understand the passage, we have to figure out how to distinguish the main point from the digressions. In some...
How does the story of the Bible shape our lives? That’s the topic of conversation on the Bible Study Magazine Podcast. In the first season, author and Bible Study Magazine writer—and now podcast host—Mark Ward explores why it’s important to really...
By David B. Schreiner A common word for “mountain” in the Greek New Testament is oros, and Matthew uses it more than any other book. Technically speaking, oros is an imprecise term that can refer to anything from a hill to tall mountain. Of the four...
By Craig S. Keener In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus summons us to stake our hearts on the reality of God. Both Matthew and Luke report much of this sermon, and James is among New Testament writers who echo it. In Matthew’s version, Jesus offers...
Rick BrannanHilary of Poitiers (around AD 315–367/8) became bishop of Poitiers, in western France, in AD 350. Soon after, he was drawn into disputes over Arianism, the heretical teaching that Jesus was created by God the Father. Hilary was condemned in 356 and...
By Neal A. Huddleston The literary genius of the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Bible—embodies the tangled strands of ancient history. The narrator weaves a vibrant tapestry beginning in Genesis with the journey of the first recorded human...
Chris looked around the room full of pastors, ministry directors, and administrators, offered thanks and a winsome smile, and began to speak. He wore a t-shirt that read: “Dis·a·bled /ˌdisˈāb(ə)ld/ adjective: equally human.” A second-year seminary...
Derek BrownGrowing up, I had limited experience interacting with people from other cultures. That all changed when I became a student at a university in Vancouver, B.C.—a city where fewer than half of the residents speak English as their first language...
“I was a musician before I was a theologian,” says N. T. Wright. “When I look at a piece of music, my mind is making connections between harmonic shifts. I’m seeing the patterns in song. When I’m reading passages, I’m asking, ‘How do the themes...
John D. BarryNutritionists everywhere tell us that a well-balanced diet fuels our bodies, yet many of us continue to ignore their advice. The same is true for our Bible study habits. We know that nourishment for our souls lies in the pages of the Bible, but we...
Mark WardMost of the skills involved in good Bible reading are things people do intuitively anyway. So why bother reading a Bible study magazine or purchasing Bible software—plus all the resources (commentaries, books, hermeneutics manuals) that make that...
Stop and be astonished, if you can, at a statement from Jesus in Mark 10 that certainly astonished his disciples: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mark 10:25). It’s...
The November/December issue of Bible Study Magazine features Nabeel Qureshi—bestselling author of Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. Qureshi was raised in a close-knit Pakistani-American family devoted to Islam—so when he became convinced of the truth of...
D. A. Carson is one of the most respected New Testament scholars in the world. But how does he study the Bible for his personal devotions? In this excerpt from Bible Study Magazine, Carson opens up on his prayer life, private study of...
Bible Study Magazine gives you the tools and insight you need to study the Bible and apply it in your life. No matter how you’re currently studying Scripture, BSM helps you get more out of your time in the Word. The September-October issue of Bible...
Naomi DevinyIn the new issue of Bible Study Magazine, we sat down with Mark Dever to learn how to put our churches on the road to spiritual health. But where to start? Read on to discover the first steps every church must take. You can read the whole interview...
Rebecca Van NoordFrom infographics to insights, Bible Study Magazine provides you with engaging, in-depth articles that help you dig deep into the biblical text. The September–October ’14 issue on Philippians is no exception. Derek R. Brown sheds light on the...
Ryan NelsonSpring is a great time to dig into Scripture—and Bible Study Magazine is here to help. Maybe you haven’t kept up with a New Year’s resolution to spend more time in the Word. Maybe you’ve been meaning to study more, but waiting for life to get...
David Davidson“You can never reach another physical location: to get there, you have to cross half the intervening distance; next, you have to cross half the distance that remains; next, half again—no matter how far you go, half the remaining distance remains.”...
The article—originally entitled A World without God (Bible Study Magazine, Nov–Dec 2011)— is written by Douglas Mangum. Douglas has an MA in Hebrew Bible from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a contributing editor at Logos. A world without...