Theological vision for ministry

"A statement of how we intend to discharge Christian ministry and interact with our culture in biblical and theological faithfulness" from the Gospel Coalition. Asks five questions:

1. How should we respond to the cultural crisis of truth? (The epistemological issue)
2. How should we read the Bible? (The hermeneutical issue)
3. How should we relate to the culture around us? (The contextualization issue)
4. In what ways is the gospel unique?
5. What is gospel–centered ministry?

Ortlund on Bible-reading with perspective

Highlighting the difference between reading under law or in grace here.

Using the Torah in today's society

James K. Hoffmeier, professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern History and Archaeology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, asked by Justin Taylor about taking guidelines from the Torah and applying them to contemporary society and circumstances:

"Direct application of OT laws is not easy, nor even desirable in a secular society. Christians are not under the OT law as were members of the old covenant community, but as Paul reminds us regarding the events recorded in the OT: “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction” (1 Cor. 10:11). Minimally one can look for the theological or moral principles behind the laws, and then apply them through the lens of NT doctrine."

Certainty and openness

Mark Driscoll calls this "open-hand/closed-hand". Ray Ortlund comments really helpfully here, including this:

The Bible is our authority as we sort out what deserves certainty and what deserves openness. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 defines the gospel of Christ crucified for our sins, Christ buried and Christ risen again on the third day, according to the Scriptures, as "of first importance." Here is the center of our certainty.

From that "of first importance" theological address, we move out toward the whole range of theological and practical questions asking for our attention. The more clearly our logic connects with that center, the more certain and the less open we should be. The further our thinking extrapolates from that center, the less certain and the more open we should be.

When a question cannot be addressed by a clear appeal to the Bible, our conclusions should be all the more modest.

How to commit something to memory

Tips on memorising poetry which can be used for Scripture memorisation too. (John Piper exhorts on this here.)

"1. Read the poem to yourself.

2. Now read the first line of the poem out loud. Take your eyes from the page and immediately say the line again. Glance back to make sure you got it right. If you made a mistake, try again. Now do the same with the second line. Repeat the procedure for every line in the poem.

3. Go back to the beginning. This time, read the first two lines out loud, look away and repeat them aloud. Check. If you made a mistake, try again. Now move on to the next two lines, going through the whole poem two lines at a time.

4. Repeat the process three lines at a time, then four lines at a time, then five and then six. By the sixth pass, no matter how long the poem, you will have it memorised.

5. Recite the whole poem just before you go to bed at night.

6. Crucial: stop thinking about the poem. Your sleeping mind is very important for memory.

7. The next day, you should find (after a glance at the first line to bump-start your memory) that you can recite the whole poem."

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Alternative method, from Andrew Davis in An Approach to the Extended Memorization of Scripture.


1) Day one: Read Ephesians 1:1 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number.Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.

2) Day two: Yesterday’s verse first!! Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 1:1 ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Now, do your new verse. Read Ephesians 1:2 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.

3) Day three: Yesterday’s verse first!! Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 1:2 ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Again, you should look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Old verses next, altogether: Recite Ephesians 1:1-2 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers. Now, do your new verse. Read Ephesians 1:3 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.

4) Day four: Yesterday’s verse first!! Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 1:3 ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Again, you should look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Old verses next, altogether: Recite Ephesians 1:1-3 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers. Now, do your new verse. Read Ephesians 1:4 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.

This cycle would continue through the entire book. Obviously, the “old verses altogether” stage will soon swell to take the most time of all. That’s exactly the way it should be. The entire book of Ephesians can be read at a reasonable rate in less than fifteen minutes. Therefore, the “old verses altogether” stage of your review should not take longer than that on any given day. Do it with the Bible ready at hand, in case you draw a blank or get stuck . . . there’s no shame in looking, and it actually helps to nail down troublesome verses so they will never be trouble again.

Wayne Grudem's morning devotions

Wayne Grudem shares his morning routine of Bible study and prayer.

Reading the word

Spurgeon on reading the Bible but not merely reading it.

The Bible for the post-modern world

N.T. Wright paper.

How can the Bible be authorative?

N.T. Wright lecture on the Bible's authority.

Six study essentials

Driscoll recommends:

1. Have a good Bible.
2. Have some good Christian books.
3. Have some good (free) online study resources.
4. Have some good Bible software.
5. Have some good websites.
6. Have some good community.

Obedience to Scripture

Driscoll talks about not merely studying the Word but obeying it.

Driscoll on meditation

Article includes practical steps:

1. Pray for the Holy Spirit to teach you Scripture, convict you of sin, and give you a heart to lovingly obey Jesus.
2. Memorize a word, verse, phrase, chapter, or scene of Scripture that bites you.
3. Write it out in your own words, seeking to grasp the full meaning of what is said.
4. Ask yourself what is revealed about God.
5. Repent of any sin that the Holy Spirit convicts you of.
6. Pray for anyone or anything that the Holy Spirit brings to mind.
7. Determine what God would have you to do in obedience to His Word.