The YGRV

What is the YGRV? The "Youth Group Revised Version." Heretical? Not at all.

The youth were studying Romans 2:17-29, which was is written to Jews who treat the externals of their religion as if they were sufficient for true faith. Paul soundly criticizes an "externals only" attitude. But how they studied it is actually a great technique to understand Scripture for anyone at any age.

The youth broke off into two teams and rewrote this passage to an audience of modern-day teenage Christians. It was a difficult exercise, but the results were excellent. Both teams clearly understood the passage because they so clearly reiterated the main ideas in modern language and circumstances. (You might even ask one of them about what they wrote.)

Here's the best part - I didn't have to teach a thing! They taught the passage to themselves. That's exactly what we want to create in all believers - the ability to study and understand Scripture on your own. Without it being an exercise "to learn how to study Scripture on your own," that's exactly what they did.

The lesson for us: One way to understand a passage is to try to rewrite it with modern trappings and language, without losing the meaning. If you can do with some level of accuracy, then you're obviously understanding the passage.

Thank You, FFN

For well over a year, we have had "Family Fellowship Night" on Wednesday nights, with a shared meal and then activities for every age group. We've added to our fellowship and gotten to know each other well. Plus, we've had some excellent food provided by Wolfpack Catering (thanks, Bob and Cheryl!).

We believe, though, that Family Fellowship Night (FFN) has run its course. Bob and Cheryl are off on their adventure to start a signature barbecue restaurant downtown ("Smokin' Lobos"). Plus, not all of the goals we set out for FFN were realized. Many were, but not all. The after-dinner program is just too late for young families, and young families were exactly who we were trying to serve better.

So, we are going to retire FFN. August 20th will be our last evening for the FFN format. Starting on the 27th, we will have a new schedule. The youth Bible study will continue to meet from 7pm-8:30pm. The elementary program will be suspended, until we can find a better time for it. The adult program is going to return back into homes. Home groups will be reformulating, so if you're interested in a home group, please contact an Elder or me.

The home groups have provided a level of friendship and intimacy in Christ that just isn't possible in a wide-open sanctuary or classroom, so we're excited to see group get back into people's homes. The home groups will be free to study whatever topic they choose, including the option of helping one another apply the sermon into our daily lives.

As the groups get defined, we'll be sure to keep you informed. In the meantime, please thank Bob and Cheryl for the fantastic meals we've had. I know I'm going to be one of their regular customers!

More Great Online Resources

In the past, I've told you about some great online resources for studying the Bible and theology. For example, The NET Bible (http://bible.org) is one of my favorite sites (see also http://net.bible.org). On this site, you can study various translations, get help with the original languages, sign up for self-paced lessons in theology, and read blogs by excellent theologians. This site is primarily related to the NET translation, but it also shows parallel translations. It is an excellent site for word studies and original language parsing. But there are a few more that I've been using that you might be interested in.

(Click on any of the images to see more detail.)


Crosswalk has a fairly good set of Bible Study Tools (http://beta.biblestudytools.com). There are many translations, original language helps, commentaries, Bible dictionaries, lexicons, devotionals, Bible-in-a-year reading plan, and so on. It's similar to net.bible.org in many ways, but you can choose which translation is your primary.

However, it doesn't have the theology program that the NET site does. One of best features of Crosswalk's site is that it allows you to highlight text and save personal notes for individual verses. The support for original languages is not bad, but for some reason, they are not offered in the parallel translations view.


Another similar site is the eBible (http://ebible.com). It is not as feature-rich as the other two sites, but I like the fact that the footnotes and cross-references are visible as "flyovers" - just put the mouse cursor over the footnote marker, and the footnote pops right up in a little, non-instrusive box. Most of the other sites require you to click on the footnote, and you are navigated away from the verse you were reading. This site also has a helpful tool for memorizing Scripture.


Biola University has a well-respected site called the Unbound Bible (http://unbound.biola.edu). It has a powerful search engine and a fantastic selection of translations in many languages. A minor downside of this site is that it is not quite as user-friendly and attractive as the others.


Study Light (http://studylight.org) also does multiple translations and original language helps. The user interface is a bit constricted, but they have a unique offering of articles and other resources. They also offer more commentaries than most others, and they are easily accessible.


The Bible Gateway (http://biblegateway.com) offers plenty of punch, too, which a good selection of translations in many languages. The interface is simple, clean, and attractive, and it offers a nice set of tools and helps.


Also worth noting is the website offered by the publishers of the ESV translation (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv). They have a few devotions, an easy-to-use search engine, a daily reading plan, and some footnotes. This is a good site if the ESV is your translation of choice, but the ESV is also available on some of these other websites with all the tools (such as eBible, Bible Gateway, Study Light

Almost all of the sites offer a similar library of dictionaries and maps, although each site has something unique in its library. Many offer audio versions of the passage you're reading - just click and you hear the passage read. The major difference will be a matter of taste - try them all and see which you like best. Some sites do not offer key translations, such as the NASB, the NET, and the ESV. If you want to do any study related to the original languages, some of these sites offer something, but few offer something excellent.


There is, however, one notable exception. It is very good for Greek (no Hebrew), but it doesn't offer all of the other bells and whistles. And I love the name - The Resurgence Greek Project (http://www.zhubert.com). It does parallel translations and has excellent flyover analysis of Greek words, including parsing the grammar. This is a Bible nerd's haven! There are some Hebrew sites, but they still have a lot to be desired on presentation.


One more fun site - it's not for Bibles, but for background and general Bible study, called the OpenBible.info (http://openbible.info). It has a great set of maps and photos (using Google Earth!) - you can find exactly what you want very easily. You can download Google Earth kmz files and have on your desktop all the identifiable biblical sites - this is very, very cool! It has a topical Bible "mashup" - a strong search engine on words and topics, a very cool Bible book browser, and some interesting tools that make visual images based on words of the Bible. This site uses the ESV exclusively.

If you have another website you like to use for Bible study and theology, I want to know. I'm always looking for a site that offers something new and unique!

Also note that there are several very good programs that you install on your computer (Libronix, e-Sword, WordSearch, and so on). They cost money, but the features can't be beat and the available selection of books far exceed the free online tools.

How to Mark Up Your Study Bible

In a recent sermon, I briefly mentioned the concept of marking up your study Bible as one way to be more diligent as a student of God's Word. Making marks and notations in your Bible can help you to understand the text you're presently studying, and can also help you months and years later to remember things God has taught you. But, I didn't really have any time to give advice on how you might go about this.

First, consider having just one Bible dedicated for this purpose. Rather than mark up one book in one Bible, and another book in another Bible, scattering your notes across several Bibles, designate one to be your study Bible. I would recommend a more literal translation for this purpose, such as the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), or the New King James Version (NKJV). Although other translations such as the New International Version (NIV) can be used, I find the more literal translations better for notetaking. The New English Translation (NET) can be good for notetaking if you get the version that has all the translators' notes included. Whichever Bible you choose, select one with wide margins and that includes lots of cross references. (I also like to have Bibles that I never write in, so that nothing I wrote distracts me from reading what God wrote.)

My method is not the only method or even the best method. I describe it only as an example of ways you can mark up your Bibles. When I'm studying a passage, I use the following markings:

• Underline commands (imperatives) - these are things I should be doing
• Underline with upward "spikes" at each end to designate the main topic - draws the eye quickly to what the passage is about
  
• Circle repeated words and repeated ideas - if they are repeated, they are usually important (sometimes, I'll draw lines to connect circles to show what things connect together)
  
• Checkmark next to promises made and promises fulfilled - to see God's intents and His faithfulness
• Exclamation point next to verses that describe God's character - points out how God is described in a given passage, which is often key to understanding the passage
  
• Highlight verses I want to memorize - helps key phrases stand out (longer passages can be outlined with a highlighter rather than highlighting every line)
  
• Highlight cross references that are particularly important - helps me to know later which of the cross references are more pertinent than others
  
• Write in the margins key ideas, revelations, questions, and explanation - quick notes to help interact with the text (for example, if the author makes three points, then I will write "1" next to the first, "2" next to the second, and so on to help me see how the three points fit together)
  

There are many, many methods that you can find in Bible studies, web sites, and Christian books. The main thing is to find (or develop) a method that works for you - not too complicated, not too encrypted, and not too "busy" that it would interfere with the goal of understanding God's Word.

A couple of words of caution - don't get carried away! If you mark up too much, you end up obscuring God's Word, not making it stand out. Every verse is worth highlighting, but if we highlight every verse, then we've accomplished nothing. Also, be careful with what you write in the margins. A particular thought may seem groundbreaking when you have it, but years later, it may seem very unimportant. Use some discretion, and try to keep your margin comments to the timeless truths or clear explanations - things that are not likely to lose their import as you mature in your understanding. Finally, never let the markings take the place of reading God's Word - you may be tempted to just read the circled works and highlights the next time you read a passage. Resist that temptation - always read God's Word, and then let the notes help you process what God has to say.

Marking up a Bible is great for coming back later and quickly seeing the main points and ideas of a passage. But I also find that the process of marking a Bible itself helps me to understand God's Word. When I'm circling repeated words or enumerating the three commands of a passage, I'm forcing myself to understand the structure and main ideas of the passage. Just by marking up the Bible, I'm interacting with God's Word.