The Caffeinated Christian

In my previous post I mentioned that there are three types of tools I use regularly that help us study the Bible faithfully.  They are:  1)  Resources to help us investigate Bible backgrounds 2)  Resources to help us investigate Biblical languages 3)  Resources that help pull all we would investigate together. In this post I will share about resources that help us investigate Biblical languages. The Bible was translated into English.  The Bible was not written in English.   The failure to realize the implications of the previous two statements has not only been the source of one of the modern church’s most ridiculous squabbles but it has also been the wellspring of poor preaching and teaching over the years.  The original languages of the Bible are Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic; not Shakespearean English.  So when we study the Bible we are not trying to get back to the meaning of the words in the KJV, we are trying to bring out the meaning of the words that appeared in the Greek

To make a long story short yesterday I passed a joke to my wife via twitter/facebook that read as follows: @ShannonBranam did not mean to cancel the revival @LibertyBCDalton Sept. 30 - Oct. 3, she meant to instead cancel my hair color appointment. The end result is that now people think I color my hair.  As hilarious as that is, I don’t.  At the same time I do have some confessions about my hair that I think are important for people to know.  Confession is cleansing.  It opens the soul.  Confession also helps others come out of the closet.  So here is my hair confession, perhaps countless others will join me. In the 9th grade I had a mullet ( see it here ).  I wanted it to look like Andre Agassi of the ’80’s.  Instead it turned out to be a greasy mullet.  1987 was a bad hair year for me but a great hair year for Andre. For a lot of years I had a bro-crush.  Not necessarily on a bro, but on a bro’s hair.  I crushed on Brad Pitt’s hair from A River Runs Through It . 

Christ for our Kids from Brian Branam on Vimeo .

Husbands as Head of the Home from Brian Branam on Vimeo .

Here is the video I shared Sunday night.

From Nehemiah 1: Too often "revival" is a planned event, a mere "flash in the pan" with no long term consequence.  Nehemiah's return to God, his revival, was foundational not merely a flashpoint.  His return to God began the process of rebuilding a nation.  How do we experience revival that is more foundational than flashpoint?  For revival to have a long-term impact on a people and a community we must understand the nature of returning. Returning begins with confession out of brokenness. Returning is based in Scripture. Returning is born out of constant prayer. Returning brings us back from the extremes. Returning is a beginning, not an end in itself.

In the past several posts on teaching and Bible study I have argued for an approach that seeks to understand the meaning of the Bible in its original context.  This keeps us from pressing on the Scripture a meaning that is skewed by our own experience and cultural reference points.  Instead, by seeking to know what the intent of the author to his original audience, we actually uncover a more powerful meaning that brings out the eternal relevance of Scripture to our current context.   This all sounds great, but how does the reader make it happen?  The key is tools .  We employ great Bible study tools that will help us get a better understanding of Scripture in context.  I would call your attention to three that I use regularly.  1)  Resources to help us investigate Bible backgrounds 2)  Resources to help us investigate Biblical languages 3)  Resources that help pull all we would investigate together: Resources that help us investigate Bible backgrounds. Many would refer to

A Word to the Wives from Brian Branam on Vimeo .

According to Ephesians 6:1-4 the Christ centered model for the relationship between parents and their children emphasizes: Parents are given authority over their children. Parents are to exercise benevolent discipline toward their children. Parents are to raise their children to know the Lord. Children are to see their parents as a gift from God. Children who receive godly instruction will reap the fruits of their obedience well into their adult lives.