I'm new to the R&P forum, so I apologize if this has been addressed before but I wanted to ask for some advice.

I am looking for some guidance on some good bible study material. I am hoping to find something that may be organized by topic that references passages throughout the Bible on those topics. I recently attended the pine cove father daughter retreat and thought it was wonderful. The speaker would give a talk on "modesty" and throughout the talk reference verses.

That inspired me to try and find some material.

I'm specifically interested in continuing to grow as a spiritual leader within my family and hope to have regular talks within my family. I thought a themed approach with verses to support the theme would be good.

Thanks in advance for any advice

Not studies but a few of my favorite resources:

Biblos.com
Youversion bible app
New City Catechism (Great for reviewing the basics with kids)

I'm not aware of a volume that is organized by topic like that. How will these talks be structured? A daily 15 minute family Bible study after dinner? A weekly sit down one-on-one? How old are the children?

Check out New City Catechism and see if it has what you're looking for. The speaker from that specific conference uses it as his church. Also we probably met this past weekend. Hope you and your daughter had a great time!

http://newcitycatechism.com/

A Year with the Church Fathers: Meditations for Each Day of the Church Year https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009XCD3NW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_7cerEbNMD9W6C

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I am looking for some guidance on some good bible study material. I am hoping to find something that may be organized by topic that references passages throughout the Bible on those topics. I recently attended the pine cove father daughter retreat and thought it was wonderful. The speaker would give a talk on "modesty" and throughout the talk reference verses.

That inspired me to try and find some material.

I'm specifically interested in continuing to grow as a spiritual leader within my family and hope to have regular talks within my family. I thought a themed approach with verses to support the theme would be good.

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Two things:

1) This is good and I affirm you in your desire to seek Scripture for what life throws at you.

2) I think focusing on your own walk with God will get you where you want to go, and it will be very tough to do so without the personal component.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Martin, kids are 9 and 11. Luckily we aren't in a position of of any particular challenges outside the norm. So, at this point I was thinking regular sessions that can be concise and relevant to us all and supported by scripture. Of course, things will come up and that will require attending to. In the meantime I was thinking being more deliberate with incorporating prayer every evening at dinner . I was thinking I would lead prayer (at least for now) with an emphasis on a specific topic. Then during dinner be able to discuss and have scripture To support the topic. Hopefully we could all discuss how the topic is relevant to us each and challenges we face in regards to that topic in our daily lives. Hopefully be able to refer to specific scripture for advice and support.

Great idea. I think Spurgeon's Morning and Evening would be a good guide for something like that. It is a short daily read, usually 1-2 verse passage, but provides plenty of things for you to talk about. It's online in many places for free.

https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/morning-and-evening/

For some real life topics that you will appreciate, get the Chop Ingram App or go to his website and look at the different series he does/offers. You can listen and even down load the study notes. Then, if you like this, you can put Co are small group guides and materials for the family. Chip does some really good lessons and of course all are based in Scripture. Try one, I think you'll like it.

The Bible Project's YouTube Page
good 5-10 minute animated videos. They have one for every book of the bible, as well as other videos discussing themes found in the bible.
I enjoy using the book-specific videos as good summaries before or after reading.

After evening meal open the book and read a suitable length portion. Maybe take turns reading. Then answer three questions. What does that portion actually say? (Do a little sentence diagramming at least in your mind.) Then answer what did it mean to the original readers? (Have to id the author's intended audience.) Lastly answer what am I supposed to do about it?

You can do this. The Scriptures are written in an understandable teachable manner.

Man I don't agree. The Bible is really dang tough to read. We're separated by thousands of years of cultural references and language barriers. Half of the NT is reading other people's mail with only half of the conversation.

I'm not saying don't read it, I'm saying if you go into it saying ok I can just read this and figure it out you run the risk of either becoming frustrated or just making up your own interpretation.

I believe it you read it and are earnestly seeking God, and have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, you will have plenty of understanding.

1 Corinthians 2:12 NKJV
[12] Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

So, read the word of God, earnestly seeking Him and pray that he reveals the wisdom he has in store for you; and he will.

There may be stuff that seems obscure but Deut 6:7 was written when 20% of the text (round numbers) was Leviticus. I think it's best to deal with the text itself not with what some stranger thinks about it. The text in the context of what's going on in your specific life. The hard parts are the ones you mull over all day and all night. And consult some other resource as need be. But I wouldn't start there.

Nowhere in the bible is the grace of understanding or infallibility in our understanding guaranteed to all believers individually. Consider St Philip and the eunuch - do you understand what you are reading? St Philip didn't say - just read it and pray, man.

The verse you quoted is a wonderful truth that St Paul communicates, but nowhere does it advocate for what you're saying. This is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Read it in context. That whole section (first couple of chapters) is talking about a schism in the church, not "God will give you understanding about the scriptures if you sit and read them by yourself."

What he's talking about there, incidentally, is not random spiritual wisdom, but a mystery - the mystery, the grace of God and the victory of the Cross.

Deuteronomy 6:7 is not talking about scripture in general, but the Law - the "testimonies and the statutes and the judgments."

I didn't recommend "some stranger" and I don't think that the scriptures are ours, individually. They belong to us, collectively.

Look I'm not saying you shouldn't read the scripture. Obviously you should - meditate on it, day and night. But the idea that everybody is equally suited to read, interpret, and understand scripture as an individual is not right. And the statement that the scriptures are understandable and teachable is, I think, demonstrably false. If that were the case, if it were this simple, we wouldn't have the huge variety in interpretations. The Revelation of John can be exhibit A. Super typical apocalyptic writing, common to the time using political, scriptural, cultural imagery... almost completely opaque to meaning to the modern reader.

To qualify. Some parts of scripture are much easier to understand than others. I think the Gospel of St Luke, the epistle to the Romans, etc are very straightforward. But others either challenge by style, challenge by density or obscurity of meaning or intent, challenge by cultural barriers, challenge by simple separation of time and norms. that's why most modern Christians people who read the bible are really only reading the NT, and generally only a portion of the NT.

Deut 6:7 when written was for the average fellow/gal. The Levites were (among other things) teachers. So there was certainly some need for further explanation. But the clear meaning of the text is that the average guy was to read it think about it and teach it to his kids more or less on his own but certainly not totally uninformed by what others were thinking about. Seems to me that for those purposes it must have been understandable at least to the degree contemplated by the command.

My real point is that the Scriptures are God's word for us. When we read them we are in contact with the 100,000 volt transmission line. When we read something by ___________ (insert name of favorite terrific godly teacher) we are in contact a 250 watt bulb.

The average person in the time of Moses was almost certainly illiterate. So, no, the average guy wasn't expected to read it. Or anything else.

They were supposed to meditate on the Law, and hear the Law taught at assemblies. These assemblies would certainly include not only reading but teaching. Consider Nehemiah 8. The people come together as an assembly to hear Ezra read the Law. He reads to all who could listen with understanding, and the people were attentive. Then the teachers explained the Law to the people while the people listened "translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading."

You're taking a modern understanding, built on some modern presuppositions, and pushing them backwards. Among them - that people were literate, that even if someone was literate the scriptures were widely available, and that each person was authorized / graced / blessed to interpret and teach the scriptures (even to themselves).

Which, incidentally, is why the Bible is so difficult to understand. It's very hard to shed this interpretive baggage.

Just curious - seeing as God did not write the Bible directly, or dictate, how is it different reading the words of, say, Baruch (who wrote the book of Jeremiah) or, I don't know, St Mark, who wrote the book of Mark, than anyone else? We do have direct access to God - or rather, He has direct access to us - but merely because this flow or conduit of grace is mediated by something doesn't diminish it. When prophets spoke with authority, that was as real as if a Christian speaks to you with authority - if it is done in the Spirit.

There's no guarantee that merely reading the scriptures gives a person access to anything. This much Christ Jesus makes abundantly clear when He berates, well, pretty much everyone - the scribes, the teachers, the priests, His own disciples - that they don't understand what they've read. He even says that He intentionally obscures His teachings, and references Isaiah 6. He specifically says people can hear the gospel and not understand it (Matthew 13:19). Reading the words from scripture is no guard against this, in and of itself. This isn't magic, it's not a magic book.

k2aggie07 said:

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Nowhere in the bible is the grace of understanding or infallibility in our understanding guaranteed to all believers individually. Consider St Philip and the eunuch - do you understand what you are reading? St Philip didn't say - just read it and pray, man.

The verse you quoted is a wonderful truth that St Paul communicates, but nowhere does it advocate for what you're saying. This is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Read it in context. That whole section (first couple of chapters) is talking about a schism in the church, not "God will give you understanding about the scriptures if you sit and read them by yourself."

What he's talking about there, incidentally, is not random spiritual wisdom, but a mystery - the mystery, the grace of God and the victory of the Cross.

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I am fully aware of the context, but I also think many quotes of God's word has meaning even out of it original context. Jesus used this when in the desert being tempted as he said, "It is written...".

I would also offer Jesus' words one John 16. I fully believe that if the Holy Spirit swells in you, you can read the Bible and it's truths can/will be revealed to your if you're heart is right.m, for God reads the heart.

Certainly the scriptures are unique among literature dt 4:4-8 as a form of divine self revelation.

And in the main they are easily understandable.

if a Dad wants to train his kids in godliness, he's more than qualified and capable to open the book and read it to his kids and lead a brief discussion on what it says and means and how that can impact daily life.

there's plenty in there to keep the sharpest minds busy for a lifetime, but anyone who wants to can read and comprehend true truth.

I don't think Jesus was taking it out of context at all! All of those were commandments from the Law. He was saying - I can't do that because it would violate the Torah. That's completely contextual.

If you say - we can take the words out of context and find meaning - sure, there's a sense where that is true. But that's ripe for abuse, sort of what you did here when you took St Paul's very general statement about why we are able to understand and believe our faith to license for universal personal interpretation, or supporting that the scripture is easily understood by all. St Peter even writes that St Paul's writings are difficult to understand, and I'd hazard that most people think they're simple and accessible.

Every "you" in John 16 is plural. Which is kind of my point. The Scriptures and the faith are not individual exercises. At the same time, there is a balance between solitude and community. You can fall of the horse either way, and in this cultural milieu I think it's more urgent to guard from the hyper-individualistic / pietistic mindset that has taken over in America.

The irony here is that Deuteronomy 4 is a record of an oral instruction - and not only oral, but a teaching of the Law, not simply a reading - look at verse 1.

As divine self revelation, they are icons, images, of Christ. The true divine self revelation is not the written word but Christ Himself, who is the exact image of the Father.

I think this 'easily understandable' is whistling past the graveyard. They may be simple for you, but they certainly aren't for me.

I'm totally fine with fathers teaching their children how to live from the scriptures. But that's not to say that the scriptures are easy to understand. You benefit from likely a lifetime of instruction in them - you don't even realize that you're using a learned hermeneutic every time you open the book. A person coming to the bible for the first time without context would find it bewildering and incomprehensible.

Go grab some stuff about hacking people apart, dashing infants upon rocks, what to do when a woman has her period, how to cleanse a house from leprosy, or whatever, and explain how that relates to life and godliness. The truth is, it does - Christ says as much - but the individual tiles of the mosaic can be confusing. I think most who say "naw man this stuff all makes perfect sense to me" just haven't really thought about it. They're just used to the weirdness.

Thought experiment.

"the LORD is my shepherd"

What does that mean?

If you say "I don't know." you win.

When I say "what does that mean" I don't mean "What all does that mean" just something along the lines of "of the many things this may mean X Y and Z are true" .

I'm sorry, I very much don't understand your point.

that the average person can't read the Bible and understand correctly (even if not completely in spots) what it means well enough to communicate what he has correctly understood to those who are his responsibility to train in godliness.

Oh wait. i misunderstood. You really don't get it.

I'm not saying the average person is an imbecile incapable of making sense of basic sentences. At the same time, the scriptures are pretty clear that not everyone is a pastor or a teacher.

If you tell people - especially people new to the scriptures - that this is all super easy to understand, you run the risk of frustrating them. And, it is perfectly scriptural to seek help when reading the scriptures... as a first resort, not a last.

The truths that the scriptures point to - namely, Christ Jesus - need to be found in a full life practice of the faith. This means a balance of solitude and community action, corporate and individual prayer and worship, feasting and fasting, and being taught by others. As St Luke puts it in Acts, devote yourself to the teaching of the Apostles, the communion, the breaking of the bread, and to the prayers. This is the first summary we get of the Christian life. Not - solitary reading and self-help. You can't take it in vacuum. S'all I'm sayin.

I don't recall saying or insinuating the Holy Spirit Os a "License for universal personal interpretation" or that it is easily understood by all. I believe I simply said that through the Holy Spirit, God will reveal himself and his truths to one seeking God's in his word and with prayer. In Christ's The religious leaders and teacher were the ones on whom, if you lived then, you would rely for understanding I presume. So Nicodemus for example. However, Jesus found his understanding to be practically void of value. So, on whom would you rely today?
Yes the Holy Spirit brings understanding. Any understanding or revaluation for. God wIll obviously be consistent with all God's teachings and truths. And the Bible offers plenty of context for testing this. For example, if one were to say that God revealed you him/her that homosexuality was natural and acceptable to God, that would obviously not be an authentic revaluation from God's Holy Spirit.

Wearer of the Ring said:

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Certainly the scriptures are unique among literature dt 4:4-8 as a form of divine self revelation.

And in the main they are easily understandable.

if a Dad wants to train his kids in godliness, he's more than qualified and capable to open the book and read it to his kids and lead a brief discussion on what it says and means and how that can impact daily life.

there's plenty in there to keep the sharpest minds busy for a lifetime, but anyone who wants to can read and comprehend true truth.

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If this is true, why can I go on Amazon and find so many different books saying totally different things about the same written words? Why are those so many denominations with totally different theologies based upon their interpretation of the same written words?

Why are there a jillion books on Revelation? Why are there so many different interpretations of Creation? Of the flood?

Why are there Calvinists and Armenians? Same exact words with totally different interpretations. Why are there different interpretations of Hell? ECT, annihilationism, universal reconciliation, "separation from God", etc.

Why is the exact same word Sheol interpreted by the same translators half the time as "hell" and half the time as "the grave" in the OT King James version?

Why was the word "hell" invented by the King James translators? And why was Gehenna, a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem, translated into the invented word "hell"?

Why was "hell" not a concept of the Jews?

And it goes one and on. Every parable has been interpreted differently by very well meaning smart people guided by the Holy Spirit.

only a person with the gift of pastor teacher can understand the text? pretty sure you don't really mean that. that gift goes more to communicating what one has learned, right?

any way. the OP's point was what can help me teach my kids?

My answer was and is if you have enough skills in English to read and understand Texags then you you can get the job done with a copy of the Bible and a little time.

My only original comment was, the scriptures are difficult, and if you simply go into saying I can just read this and figure it out that you run some risks.

You argued by saying St Paul says we can all understand if we earnestly seek. So, then, its incumbent on how hard we try? You followed up by saying if our heart is right, He'll act. This is pietism - earnestness as the measurement as opposed to correct doctrine or understanding. There are real world risks with this approach, we can literally see what has happened over the past few centuries because of this.

It's strange because while Christ did say the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were hypocrites, He also said to carefully listen to them, and do as they say and not as they do - Matthew 23:3.

So I would rely on the Church, collectively - those who have undertaken to hold fast to what was taught, in the public teaching of the Church, whether in word or in person. I rely on the teaching of the Apostles, as the scriptures say.

The Holy Spirit brings understanding, yes - collectively, corporately, through the Church. Not through individual piety or earnestness.

you right. We silly!

Of course I mean that. Not everyone is capable or competent to expand on the scriptures. Not everyone is comfortable with that, certainly not by themselves.

If only some are teachers, that means others are learners. Nowhere does it say that everyone can learn by themselves but only some can teach. I mean, the OP is literally here asking for help and you're saying - dude, just go for it, because Jesus or something.

Your last sentence disagrees with your first, and is literally the opposite of St Paul's view. Not everyone is a teacher. And that's perfectly fine.

Just me and my bible is not a recipe for success.

Catag94 said:

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I don't recall saying or insinuating the Holy Spirit Os a "License for universal personal interpretation" or that it is easily understood by all. I believe I simply said that through the Holy Spirit, God will reveal himself and his truths to one seeking God's in his word and with prayer. In Christ's The religious leaders and teacher were the ones on whom, if you lived then, you would rely for understanding I presume. So Nicodemus for example. However, Jesus found his understanding to be practically void of value. So, on whom would you rely today?
Yes the Holy Spirit brings understanding. Any understanding or revaluation for. God wIll obviously be consistent with all God's teachings and truths. And the Bible offers plenty of context for testing this. For example, if one were to say that God revealed you him/her that homosexuality was natural and acceptable to God, that would obviously not be an authentic revaluation from God's Holy Spirit.

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You do know that many very well meaning people have interpreted Paul's word about homosexuality as being about sexual relations with temple boy prostitutes. In fact, the original Greek seems to support that.

Can anyone even define what an "idol" is? I mean in the OT idol was pretty clearly defined as a graven image. Nowadays you can go to a fundamentalist Reformed church and idols can be anything from money to a house to a hobby whatever.

Why do some believe in cessation of speaking in tongues, healing, etc. and others say it still happens.

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses read the blood verses in Acts as meaning transfusions while everyone else assumes dietary restrictions?

And do not even start on Revelation. Amillennisqlism? Premillennialism? Preterist?