KINGDOM LIFE - STUDY 1 & 2
Who are the blessed ones? Join us as we study Jesus's answer to that question and learn more about the character and conduct of those who belong to His Kingdom.
Who are the blessed ones? Join us as we study Jesus's answer to that question and learn more about the character and conduct of those who belong to His Kingdom.
Click the relevant button below to download for free any of the studies released in this 4-part study series. Please feel free to share these studies as well.
KINGDOM LIFE - STUDY 1
Who are the blessed ones? Join us as we study Jesus's answer to that question and learn more about the character and conduct of those who belong to His Kingdom.
Who are the blessed ones? Join us as we study Jesus's answer to that question and learn more about the character and conduct of those who belong to His Kingdom.
Click the button below to download for free study one in this 4-part study series. Please feel free to share these studies as well.
CONFIDENT24 - Event Report
Read a summary of our recent Confident24 event here.
On Wednesday 17th January, Bible Society NI and Precept Ireland hosted a special event at the T3 Conference Centre in Lisburn with one intention: to give Christians renewed confidence in God’s Word.
The evening was split into two sessions. During Session 1, Mark Wells (Community Partnership Manager at Bible Society NI) examined the reliability and authenticity of the Bible from an external perspective.
Mark highlighted the fact that the Bible we have today is a reliable copy of what was written originally. Mark discussed the lack of variation in manuscripts alongside the sheer number of manuscripts compared to other ancient texts. The session was full of interesting facts and attendees couldn’t help but feel in awe of how the Bible was crafted together.
“All Prophecies about Jesus: A big picture view of those promised in the Old & fulfilled in the New”
Taken from The Infographic Bible: Visualising the Drama of God’s Word (Zondervan, 2018)
Mark also took time to think about the complexity of the Bible, and how that should encourage our study of it, rather than cause us to discard it.
“Scripture is like a river . . . broad and deep, shallow enough here for the lamb to go wading, but deep enough there for the elephant to swim.”
After a short break where attendees were able to thumb through some of the books and resources that were on display, Dave Wilson (National Director at Precept Ireland) led the second session. As Mark had provided some reasons for why we should read the Bible, Dave then provided a method for how we can read it better.
Reading the Bible is a spiritual discipline that Christians readily admit they should do, but many struggle with how. Dave shared about the three ingredients of inductive Bible study: Observation, Interpretation, and Application. He then led the group through a study of 1 Thessalonians 1 using this method and very quickly the attendees were all discussing what they were learning from the passage and the clear applications that were coming from it.
Overall those who attended felt the two sessions were helpful and worthwhile, though both talks could have benefited from more time in discussion groups if time had permitted.
Thanks go to the House of Vic-Ryn for hosting the event at their T3 Conference Centre, and to Richard at The Book Well for providing some relevant books related to the topics.
For Further Reading & Study:
- “The Bible Course” – Bible Society
- “Why Trust the Bible” – Amy Orr-Ewing (opens link to The Book Well website)
- “Lord, Teach Me To Study the Bible in 28 Days” – Kay Arthur
JOY TO THE WORLD
ADVENT - a time to reflect upon and celebrate the wonder of Jesus, God the Son, born into the world to save us; but also, to look forward to His return when He shall judge the earth and bring to completion the salvation of those who are waiting for Him.
ADVENT - a time to reflect upon and celebrate the wonder of Jesus, God the Son, born into the world to save us; but also, to look forward to His return when He shall judge the earth and bring to completion the salvation of those who are waiting for Him.
In this study we look more closely at both advents of Jesus and how we are to respond and live in light of them.
To download the study for free to print at home, just click the button below. Please feel free to share this study as well.
Trip to Tralee
A trip to county Kerry had been planned since 2019, but due to circumstances and then the pandemic, the trip had not taken place. Finally, in November 2023 we had the opportunity to travel to Tralee to provide training for Tralee Baptist Church.
A trip to county Kerry had been planned since 2019, but due to circumstances and then the pandemic, the trip had not taken place. Finally, in November 2023 we had the opportunity to travel to Tralee to provide training for Tralee Baptist Church.
The pastor of the church is John Herrick, an American who has been ministering in Tralee for 35 years. John and his wife Amanda have been using Precept material for many years (Amanda first heard of Precept in 1998) and have alternated between 40 Minute studies and Precept Upon Precept workbooks. They have been active supporters of Precept Ireland, often attending online events. John and his wife Amanda announced that they were moving to begin work with another church in County Cork, and so a renewed effort was made to visit them in Tralee to bless them and the church.
On the morning of Friday 24th November, the staff team (Karen, Ben, Gavin, and Dave), left to make the journey down – a distance of nearly 300 miles from Belfast. We arrived at our accommodation in the evening, a B&B that was kindly gifted by two members of the church.
On the Saturday (10 AM - 2 PM) we ran three workshops at the Rose Hotel, Tralee:
Introduction to Inductive Bible Study
How to lead a 40-Minute Study
Introduction to Precept Upon Precept and In & Out studies
“Every Bible college, every seminary, ought to teach this kind of approach to Bible study because it’s really helped me in my understanding and ministry of the Scriptures.” - Pastor John Herrick, Tralee Baptist Church
We also brought a resource table which was well received and allowed attendees to see the various types of resources available.
After our workshop on Saturday afternoon, we went to John and Amanda’s home to hear of their experience of Tralee, learn more about local churches in the area, and hear about the future ministry they will be involved in.
On Saturday evening we went out for dinner and spent time with the church leadership (two elders, two deacons, and their wives). This was a good opportunity to chat and build a relationship with those who will be remaining at the church after the pastor leaves.
On Sunday, the team worshipped with the church and Dave had the opportunity to share about Precept and the work we are involved in. It was great to hear Pastor John preach on Jonah 4 and the clear demonstration of his own inductive study skills that he used to prepare for the sermon.
Our time in Tralee was a great encouragement to us as a ministry as we enjoyed fellowship and saw God at work in and through His people. Pray with us that in 2024 we will have many more opportunities to run events like this.
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