Information without application misses out on transformation.
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Romans 8:29
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be confirmed to the image of His Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
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John Ortberg
“I have never met someone leading a spiritually transformed life who had not been deeply saturated in Scripture.”
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Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
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Fundamental Characteristics of the Bible
1. It is LIVING.
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David Paul Kirkpatrick
“It’s not so much that we read the Bible, but that the Bible reads us.”
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Fundamental Characteristics of the Bible
2. It is ACTIVE.
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Martin Luther
At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words…Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. There a totally other face of the entire Scripture showed itself to me.
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Fundamental Characteristics of the Bible
3. It is PIERCING.
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Hebrews 4:12
…sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow.
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Fundamental Characteristics of the Bible
4. It is DISCERNING.
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Hebrews 4:12
…discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
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The SWORD Method
1. Begin in prayer.
2. What do we learn about God/Jesus?
3. What do we learn about people?
4. Is there a sin to avoid?
5. Is there a promise to claim?
6. Is there an example to follow?
7. Is there a command to obey?
8. Respond with reflection and prayer.
