11 replies to this topic

[hendo1986]

Edited...It would appear 'The Gospel Project' is taught from  the reformed perspective upon further study, however it seems to merley hint at it,most likely to make it marketable to a larger audience,so in amendment to my origional post,are there any courses similar to TGP that emphaticaly teach from the reformed perspective?
Tony.

Edited by hendo1986, 14 July 2012 - 02:58 PM.

[PShawTx]

Any courses like TGP that are not being taught from any piticular perspective. letting God guide it with the Holy Spirit.

Those are the ones that would be the best to take.

[jonathon]

Are there any courses similar to TGP that emphaticaly teach from the reformed perspective?

Why not use Calvin's writings as your course outline for studying the Bible?

jonathon

[hendo1986]

I think i might J...ive found a nice study guide series for the institutes and ive managed to get a hold if the library of christian classics edtwo volume edition institutes(the Battles/McNeil edition which is so much better than the bevridge edition)Are there any stdy guides for the rest of calvins works you would recommend..better still in module format?
Just splashed iut on Bavinck's four volume 'Reformed Dogmatics' set which will keep me busy for sure...but i just liked the firmat of the gospel project and the fact the sylabus is arranged for you means all you have to do is pick it up and read.The questions they intetsperse throughout it for personal reflection are also very handy, helping you think about what your reading and adding a practical theology element to the study.
Tony.

[jonathon]

Are there any study guides for the rest of calvins works you would recommend..better still in module format?

His Commentary and Institutes are available in e-Sword format.

If I was going to be teaching a class, I'd download PDFs of those two works from archive.org and/or Google Books, and do a line by line comparison of the content, to ensure that the e-Sword resources are complete, and contain no omissions, alterations, or additions. Then use the e-Sword resources as the official class text.

all you have to do is pick it up and read.

For various reasons, I've come to loathe using prepackaged material for teaching/instructional/preaching purposes. They are useful when one does not have an instructor, and one wishes to delve more deeply into something, from a specific point of reference.

The questions they intersperse throughout it for personal reflection are also very handy

Not having seen that specific course, I don't know what those questions are. Howver, something akin to the following should cover most potential questions. (FWIW, this is from Using e-Sword as a Spiritual Journal: Version 3.0.)

Information about Today

Liturgical Day: ____________
Day of Week: ____________
Time of Day: ____________
Date: ____________
Place: _____________
Who else was present: _____________

Today's Devotions

Devotional Passage read: _____________

Notes about the passage:

Today's Psalm

What Psalm was read today: _____________

Who is this Psalm addressed to?

What are the blessings of this Psalm?

What are the conditions for receiving those blessings?

What are the promises of this Psalm?

What are the commands of this Psalm?

How is Christ reflected in this Psalm?

What is the essence of this Psalm?

What does this Psalm say about being a happy person?

What does this Psalm say about being a blessed person?

What is the central thought of this Psalm?

What is the wisdom within this Psalm?

What are the negatives to consider?

What are the positives to be commended?

What are the principles within this Psalm?

What other passages reflect the essence of this Psalm?

Notes about today's Psalm

Today's Prayers

Answered Prayers: _____________

Prayers of Adoration: _____________

Prayers of Confession: _____________

Prayers of Thanksgiving: _____________

Prayers of Supplication: _____________

Notes about prayers:

Today's Bible Reading

Bible Reading: _____________

What Is the Context of the Passage?

What is the immediate context of this passage?

What is the context of the passage that precedes this passage?

What is the context of the passage that follows this passage?

What is the remote context of this passage?

What is the main theme of the chapter that this passage is from?

What is the main theme of the book that this passage is from?

What do the other books of the Bible say about the theme of this passage?

What is the outline of this book?

Whet is the outline of this chapter?

What is the outline of this passage?

What other passages parallel this passage?

What is the Background of this passage?

What are the internal sources of this passage?

What do the other books say about this passage?

How has the meaning of this passage changed, since you previously read it?

What are the external sources of this passage?

What do the various commentaries say about this passage?

What do the words mean, in their original language?

Understand the words of this passage

What is the literary style of this passage?

What is the predominant literary style of this chapter?

What is the predominant literary style of this book?

In what manner is this an apocalyptic passage?

In what manner is this a discourse?

In what manner is this passage parabolic literature?

In what manner is this passage poetry?

In what manner is this passage a prose narrative?

What is the context of this passage?

Does the same word used in this passage mean the same thing?

Study specific words in the passage.

Get all of the meanings of the word.

Look at the root of the word..

Look at other words with the same root.

Look at other words with the same gematria value.

Look at the words are used in other passages.

What figures of speech are used?

Was this passage written in the same language as the rest of the book?

Make observations about the action of the passage.

Who is being discussed

Who was present when this passage was written?

Who was around when the passage was written?

Who wrote the passage?

Who is involved in this passage

What is the passage about?

What else is the passage about?

When was the passage written?

What time of day does this passage describe?

What date does it describe?

What season does it describe?

How else does it describe when it occurred?

When do the events in the passage take place?

At what stage of life do the events in the passage take place?

What time, in physical terms, do the events take place?

Where do the events in the passage take place?

Where else do the events in the passage take place?

Where was the author, when the passage was written?

For what reason was this passage written?

How was this passage written?

Make observations about the thoughts of the passage.

What is the literary form of the passage?

In what manner is it a dialog?

In what manner is it a monologue?

In what manner is it prose?

In what manner is it poetry?

What are the words and phrases of this passage?

What are the connections between the words and phrases?

What are the key phrases of this passage?

What are the key words of this passage?

What are the recurring phrases of this passage?

What are the recurring words of this passage?

What are the unfamiliar words of this passage?

What are the expressions of this passage?

What the idiomatic expression?

What are the figures of speech?

What is the grammar of this passage?

What commands are in this passage?

What conjunctions are in this passage?

What gerunds are in this passage?

What Nouns are in this passage?

What pronouns are in this passage?

What questions are in this passage?

What verbs are in this passage?

What is the structure of the paragraphs?

How do the paragraphs related to others in this passage?

How do the paragraphs relate to others in the same chapter?

How do the paragraphs relate to others in the same book?

How do the paragraphs relate to others in the same testament?

What is the composition of this passage?

What cause and effect is related?

What comparisons are made?

What contrasts are made?

What digressions are made?

What progressions are made?

What questions and answers are made?

What repetitions are made?

What is the predominant literary style of the passage?

How are anagrams used in the passage?

What is the atmosphere of the passage?

What figures of speech are used within the passage?

What idiomatic expressions are used within the passage?

What illustrations are used?

What is the mood of the passage?

What is the mood of individual words?

What palindromes re used?

What puns are used?

What material is quoted?

What material is quoted elsewhere?

What is the tense of the passage?

What is the tense of the word?

Synopsis of the passage

What is the literal meaning of this passage?

What is the figurative meaning of this passage?

Whatis the relevancy of this passage?

What is the universal practice, of this passage?

What is the local practice, of this passage?

What principles are explicitly stated?

What principles are implicitly stated?

How do those principles apply to me?

How do I apply those principles in my life?

What other changes do I need to make to my life?

Have I maintained the changes I previously thought I had made?

Learning from this passage

What are your reflections about this passage?

What does this passage men to you?

How does this passage reflect an aspect of your life?

How does this passage reflect another aspect of your life?

What will you apply this passage to your life?

Making up more questions about this passage

Application: What is the personal application of this passage?

Cultural: Background Information.

Definitive: What does it mean?

Historical: Background information.

Implictional: Pertaining to things implied.

Information: Observe significant facts?

Interpretation: The meaning of the author.

Rational: Pertaining to reason.

Speculative: What else could be meant.

Structural: Pertaining to relationship

Theological: Pertaining to doctrine.

What is the personal challenge in the passage?

What is the relevancy of this passage?

What is the universal practice, within this passage?

What is the local practice, within this passage?

How do you change your life to accord with the principles of this passage?

Questions about the Passage. (1)

Who wrote the passage?

What was happening to the author, when he wrote it?

What was happening in his community, when he wrote it?

What was happening in Israel?

What was happening in the rest of the world?

Who was the passage written for?

Who else was the passage written for?

Describe the person the passage is addressed to?

Where was this passage written?

When was this passage written?

For what reason was this passage written?

How come this passage was written?

What problems does this passage describe?

What other issues does this passage describe?

What solutions does this passage provide?

What is the central meaning of this passage?

How has that central meaning changed over the course of time?

What else does this passage say?

What is the main theme of this passage

What is the key verse of this passage?

Questions about the Passage. (2)

What is the main theme of the passage?

Who are the people in this passage?

What does this passage say about God?

What is the main verse of this passage?

What are the promises of this passage?

What are the commands of this passage?

What errors does this passage discuss?

What is the example here?

What, in this passage, do I need to apply to my life, today?

Summarize this passage.

What is the key verse of this passage?

Questions about Hymns.

Who is the hymn written for?

What are the blessings of the hymn?

What re the conditions for receiving those blessings?

What promises are in the hymn?

What commands are in the hymn?

What reflects God in the hymn?

What is the essence of the hymn?

What is the central thought of the hymn?

What does this hymn teach?

What does this hymn say about being blessed?

What does this hymn say about being happy?

Questions about the sayings.

What is presented as wisdom?

What is being condemned?

What is being praised?

What is viewed as positive?

What is viewed as negative?

What are the principles of the saying?

What other passages express the same sentiments?

What do you do, that the saying condemns?

What, in the saying, do you need to incorporate into your life?

Questions about the story.

What circumstances led to telling this story?

Summarizethis story.

What do parallel passages say about this story?

Does the narrator interpret the story?

Does anybody else interpret the story?

How do you understand the story?

What is the central truth of the story?

How do you apply this story to your life?

A Character in Today's Reading

Which character did you pick?

What did you pick him/her?

What other passages talk about this character?

Describe the childhood of this character.

Describe the life of this character.

Describe the parents of this character.

Describe the extended family of this character.

Describe the immediate family of this character.

What character traits do you see in this character?

In what ways are you like this character?

In what ways are you different from this character?

For what reason do you think that you are different from this character?

Describes how this character relates to God.

Describe how this character abandons God.

Describe how this character encounters God.

Who were the companions of this character?

How did they help him/her?

How did they hinder him/her?

How did this individual influence others?

How did others influence this individual?

What mistakes did this individual make?

How were the mistakes rectified?

How were the mistakes not corrected?

How did they acknowledge their sins?

How did they confess their sins?

How did this individual serve God?

How did this individual fail God?

How did this individual's children turn out?

How did this individual's grandchildren turn out?

Questions about the character. (2)

What does the passage tell us about the life of the character?

What does the passage tell us about what the character taught?

What are the essential details of the events of the character at this time?

Who are the friends of this character?

Who are the enemies of this character?

How did his friends oppose him?

How did his friends hinder him?

How did his friends help him?

How did his enemies aid him?

How did his enemies hinder him?

How did his enemies oppose him?

How did his enemies help him?

How did his enemies aid him?

Where else is this story about this character described?

What else does that passage say about this story?

What does it omit from this story?

How do those differences affect the significance of the character?

What does this character say about God?

How does this character express the nature of God?

How does this character express the attitude of God?

Whatprinciples does this character teach?

What, from the life of this character, can you apply to your life?

Still more questions about today's reading

Who wrote this passage?

What were the circumstances of the author when they wrote it?

Who was the passage written to?

Describe the recipients of this passage?

Where was this passage written?

When was this passage written?

What is the context of this passage?

For what reason was this passage written?

What problems does this passage address?

What solutions does this passage provide?

What was the central meaning of this passage when it was written?

What is the central meaning of this passage today?

What is the theme of this passage?

What is the key verse of this passage?

What are the commands of this passage?

What are the blessings of this passage?

What are the errors that I should avoid?

What is the example in this passage?

How do I apply this passage to my life?

What do you do, that this passage condemns?

What in this passage, do you need to incorporate into your life?

More notes about today's reading.

God Speaking

What is God's message to you, today?

What is God's promise to you, today?

What is God's command to you, today?

What is God's Principle for you, today?

How does God want you to apply this to your life, today?


To modify that for study from a Reformed Christian perspective, I'd have to go through Institutes again, and formulate questions specifically from the Reformed Christian POV. Something that might be useful for the next revision of Using e-Sword as a Spiritual Journal.)

jonathon

[hendo1986]

Wow thats exactly the kind of thing ive been needing.Thank you so much for rhis.
Tony

[hendo1986]

Jonothan I see this is taken from the series of pdf's you have written called 'e-sword a users guide' but i cant cant find the series to download on BS?Is there any way you could make these available?In particular Volume 3 which pertains to our above conversation.
Tony.

[hendo1986]

Also could you do me a favour...i have a fault with the keyboard on my computer at the momment, long story shirt I cant type or edit text atall(not even cut and paste as the delete button has stuck on so anything i try to edit in any way just deletes)So could you take the above study questions and make a topx of them spliting it up into the appropriate pages. I would very much appreciate if you could do that.
Tony.

[jonathon]

I see this is taken from the series of pdf's you have written called 'e-sword a users guide'

Using e-Sword as a Spiritual Journalis a compilation of e-Sword resources, RTF files, and notes on using those tools.

Volume 3 of An e-Sword User's Guide is similar, but excludes the resources, the RTF files, and the description on how to use those tools.

What I posted was an RTF file that is not described in An e-Sword User's Guide.

Is there any way you could make these available?I

I'm re-editing Using e-Sword as a Spiritual Journal. When I feel it is complete, and up-to-date, I will be re-releasing it.

jonathon

[hendo1986]

Any idea how long till it will be ready?Not meaning to rush you or that...but it looks like an amazing collection.
Tony.