Topic 1 of 33 - Your Place in the Learning Journey
Intro: For Whom These Guides Are Intended
Up front. I am not a scholar. I am a bi-vocational church pastor and have been that for nearly all of my adult life. For my academic and professional background see my bio. Suffice it to say that I entered ministry in 1981 and accepted my first position as a church pastor in early 1982. In the last 44 years I've preached hundreds of sermons, taught hundreds of Bible Study lessons, and have spent thousands of hours in the labor of personal study and preparation of sermons and Bible Study lessons. And I relish every moment!
But, having been a student of the scriptures for many years before entering the ministry followed by several decades of active pastoral ministry, I can personally testify of the difficulty in understanding the scriptures. Perhaps you can too. There are lots of reasons for this difficulty. Language, idioms, cultural norms, history, and geo-politics of the first century and earlier all and much more provide important contexts necessary for a fairer and fuller understanding of the scriptures. Most of these are not readily discernable from the black letter text of scripture alone. Furthermore, the development of the scriptures from inspiration, through oral tradition, through the myriad of writings (not all in agreement - e.g. textual variants), scribal editing, and church influence all have a bearing upon both the final product of the biblical text and the understanding the biblical text.
The purpose of these learning guides is to help unlock the amazing riches of the Biblical text for the non-academically trained church pastor, lay preacher, Sunday School teacher, Bible Study leader, church attendee, and anyone with limited knowledge and high interest in the most amazing texts every written. I hope these guides will be so engaging and brilliantly enliven your understanding of what I believe is by far the most amazing work of literary composition revelatory of the eternal God and the great hope of humanity! Let's get started!
Pastor James Palmer, III.
What You Will Find in Each Topic
| Element | What It Is | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | A plain-language overview of the topic in roughly 100 words | Gets you oriented before diving deeper |
| Visual | A table, diagram, or timeline that organizes the key information | Some things are easier to see than to read |
| Sub-topics | Six to seven focused pages that go deeper on one aspect of the topic | Lets you explore what interests you most without reading everything |
| Scholarly note | Where relevant, a note on what scholars debate or where traditions differ | Honest about the limits of certainty |
| Audio | A spoken summary of the topic introduction | For those who prefer listening to reading |
Explore these Subtopics
How to Use This Guide
A brief orientation to the 33 topics, how they are organized, and the best way to move through the material at your own pace.
Read more →Beginning Readers of the Bible
Practical guidance for new readers - where to start, what to expect, and how to avoid the most common traps that discourage first-time readers.
Read more →Which Bible Translation Should I Use?
There are dozens of English Bible translations, but three primary interpretation objectives. This guide explains the differences between formal equivalence, dynamic equivalence, and paraphrase translations and when each is useful.
Read more →A Note on Scholarship
What academic scholarship means, why it matters for Bible study, and how these guides handle the differences between what scholars know and what faith affirms.
Read more →Faith and Biblical Study
Some people rely only on an experiential faith. However, experience isn't always the best teacher. This is certainly true in matters of faith. The scriptures are the best teacher. Ground your faith in your biblical knowledge. This will please God and serve you and others well.
Read more →Recommended Resources
A list of commentaries, study Bibles, reference works, and online tools that I recommend for productive and rewarding study.
Read more →