You’re Invited!
You’re invited to join me in a brand new online study of the book of Ezekiel. We’re not studying a book about Ezekiel… We’re studying the book of Ezekiel, itself!
Let me know if you’re interested (info@wordcenterministries.org) and I’ll send you an invite for Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM EST.
Hope to see you on my screen!
Sharon
Fix your eyes on the the words below and notice how slowly, but surely, they become clearer and clearer.
During this time of darkness, it is often difficult to see clearly. As the watchman is bound together with the morning when the light will obliterate the night, so too, in the midst of this world's darkness bind your mind's attention to the LORD and put your hope in His Word! Then walk accordingly…
REVELATION Read-Thru, an expository read-thru of the book of Revelation (a seemingly mysterious and most definitely marvelous book) is now online in its entirety! I take you through the book of Revelation verse-by-verse explaining each of its 62 scenes.
Many people think Revelation is all about the Rapture. Guess what? The Rapture is not even in Revelation; instead, Revelation is full of judgments. Disappointed? Don’t be. Today’s society and, shamefully, the church have become so tolerant of sin that people forget how much God hates it! His final and total wrath will be spent before He sends His Son to rule and reign over this world. His judgments are righteous and true, so if you are His, you can (and should) rejoice in His judgments!
The key word in Revelation is Jesus Christ. Revelation is Christ’s testimony of the things which are about to take place. Revelation 1:19 gives a divine outline of the entire book. First, John writes about the things he has seen (a vision of Jesus). Then, he writes about the things that are (seven churches which exist at that time), and finally, he writes about the things which will shortly take place (the events surrounding God’s final judgments on mankind.)
John wrote Revelation during a period of intense persecution. Can you imagine the excitement and wonder of those being persecuted for Christ’s Name sake when they read John’s letter and heard of the ultimate triumph of God? Persecution is still in the world, but much more is coming. Can you see the importance of knowing the book of Revelation today?
God promises a blessing for those who read, hear, and heed the words of this book. He gave us the book of Revelation so we would know the things which will take place in our not too distant future—no time like the present to find out!
Revelation—The Prayer; Revelation—The Introduction
Revelation 1:1-11 The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Revelation 1:12-20 The Vision of Jesus Christ;
Revelation 2:1-7 The Church in Ephesus
Revelation 2:8-11 The Church in Smyrna
Revelation 2:12-17 The Church in Pergamum
Revelation 2:18-29 The Church in Thyatira
Revelation 3:1-6 The Church in Sardis
Revelation 3:7-13 The Church in Philadelphia
Revelation 3:14-22 The Church in Laodicea
Revelation 4:1-11 The Throne Room Scene, Part 1
Revelation 5:1-14 The Throne Room Scene, Part 2
Revelation 6:1-2 The LAMB Breaks the First Seal
Revelation 6:3-4 The LAMB Breaks the Second Seal
Revelation 6:5-6 The LAMB Breaks the Third Seal
Revelation 6:7-8 The LAMB Breaks the Fourth Seal
Revelation 6:9-11 The LAMB Breaks the Fifth Seal
Revelation 6:12-17 The LAMB Breaks the Sixth Seal;
Revelation 7:1-8 The 144,000 Sealed
Revelation 7:9-17 The Great Multitude
Revelation 8:1-6 The LAMB Breaks the Seventh Seal
Revelation 8:7 The First Trumpet Judgment
Revelation 8:8-9 The Second Trumpet Judgment
Revelation 8:10-11 The Third Trumpet Judgment
Revelation 8:12 The Fourth Trumpet Judgment
Revelation 8:13 The Three Woes
Revelation 9:1-12 The Fifth Trumpet Judgment (1st Woe)
Revelation 9:13-21 The Sixth Trumpet Judgment (2nd Woe)
Revelation 10:1-11 The Little Book
Revelation 11:1-2 The Temple Measurements
Revelation 11:3-6 The Two Witnesses
Revelation 11:7-14 The Beast Kills the Witnesses
Revelation 11:15-19 The Seventh Trumpet Judgment (3rd Woe)
Revelation 12:1-6 The Woman and the Dragon
Revelation 12:7-12 The War in Heaven
Revelation 12:13-14 The Dragon Persecutes the Woman
Revelation 12:15-17 The Dragon Wars Against the Woman’s Seed
Revelation Recap (Chapters 1-12)
Revelation 13:1-6 The Earth Follows the Beast
Revelation 13:7-10 The Beast Wars with the Saints
Revelation 13:11-18 Another Beast
Revelation 14:1-5 The 144,000 in Heaven
Revelation 14:6-13 The Three Messages
Revelation 14:14-20 The Earth is Reaped
Revelation 15:1-4 The Song Before the Wrath is Finished
Revelation 15:5-8 The Sanctuary is Filled with Smoke
Revelation 16:1-7 The First Three Bowl Judgments
Revelation 16:8-11 The Fourth and Fifth Bowl Judgments
Revelation 16:12-16 The Sixth Bowl Judgment
Revelation 16:17-21 The Seventh Bowl Judgment
Revelation 17:1-18 Judgment of the Great Harlot
Revelation 18:1-24 Description of the Fall of Babylon
Revelation 19:1-5 Reaction to God’s Judgment on Babylon
Revelation 19:6-10 The Marriage of the LAMB
Revelation 19:11-16 The WORD of GOD Comes!
Revelation 19:17-21 The Supper of GOD
Revelation 20:1-3 Satan Bound for 1,000 Years
Revelation 20:4-6 The First Resurrection
Revelation 20:7-10 Satan is Released
Revelation 20:11-15 The Great White Throne Judgment
Revelation 21:1-8 GOD Dwells With HIS People
Revelation 21:9-27 New Jerusalem from the Outside
Revelation 22:1-5 New Jerusalem from the Inside
Revelation 22:6-21 Because HE is Coming Quickly...
In addition, over 6 hours of Expository Teaching Audios covering the entire book of Revelation are available.
PSALMS - Lyrics of Prophecy (New Look!)
I am really thrilled to be so far along with the “Lyrics of Prophecy" project. The idea of helping people study the Psalms inductively, which God has so zealously written for us, is super exciting! 60 psalms, or 40%, are already online and more are on their way!
Psalm 1, Psalm 2, Psalm 3, Psalm 4, Psalm 5, Psalm 6, Psalm 7, Psalm 8, Psalm 9, Psalm 10, Psalm 11, Psalm 12, Psalm 13, Psalm 14, Psalm 15, Psalm 16, Psalm 17, Psalm 18, Psalm 19, Psalm 20, Psalm 21, Psalm 22, Psalm 23, Psalm 24, Psalm 25, Psalm 26, Psalm 27, Psalm 28, Psalm 29, Psalm 30, Psalm 31, Psalm 32, Psalm 33, Psalm 34, Psalm 35, Psalm 36, Psalm 37, Psalm 38, Psalm 39, Psalm 40, Psalm 41, Psalm 42, Psalm 43, Psalm 44, Psalm 45, Psalm 46, Psalm 47, Psalm 48, Psalm 49, Psalm 50, Psalm 51, Psalm 52, Psalm 53, Psalm 54, Psalm 55, Psalm 56, Psalm 57, Psalm 58, Psalm 83, and Psalm 99.
Pay particular attention to the nations in the Psalm 83 study—you might just notice some of today’s "world players!"
Psalms is the 19th book of the Old Testament. It is the songbook of the Bible—a collection of prayers, supplications, praise, thanksgiving, prophecy, laments, meditations, and historical accounts. Common themes in the Psalms include the Messiah (especially the time of His return,) deliverance from adversaries, God’s vengeance on the unrighteous, Mount Zion or Jerusalem, repentance, and joy. David, along with several other authors wrote the Psalms over a period of perhaps 1,000 years. It appears that most of the Psalms were originally accompanied by instruments. Sadly, we no longer have the melodies or the arrangements of the Psalms—but gladly, and of utmost importance, we still have the very Word of God.
Jesus, in the gospel of Luke, states that Moses and all the prophets speak of Him; then He proceeds to show things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. He goes on to say that all things which are written about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled. (Luke 24:44) Jesus, as well as some of the New Testament authors, quote many of the Psalms.
HIStory - History is HIS Story!
HIStory: From Event To Event The Bible Is One Story, an Observation Bible Study Guide for the entire Bible is, without a doubt, the most important work we have ever done. History—past, present, and future—is HIS Story!
If you haven’t checked it out, you really should. HIStory is an observation of the whole Bible revealing that event after event the Bible is undeniably only One Story—The Story of HIS Glory and Your Need for HIS SEED!
HIStory is perfect for Bible study, Home school, Christian school, and Sunday school. It comes complete with lesson plans for 9 months (school year) or 11 weeks (quarter).
GOD is Zealous for HIS Glory! The Hebrew word for Glory is “kabowd” and refers to the substance of something, its weight, splendor or reputation. The Greek word for Glory is “doxa” which means to seem, to give a correct opinion of, or to show an accurate estimate of something. In other words God wants His creation to see Who He really is… and He expects His creation, especially mankind, to “give a correct estimate” of Who He really is!
The purpose of this blog is to proclaim the truth that Creation was created for God’s Glory. He created His Creation so His Glory would be seen… and nothing and no one can thwart His plan!
When exploring the website, don’t miss Settled Scroll, a collection of high resolution graphic designs featuring God’s Word. Settled Scroll Scripture Designs are free and downloadable for your personal use (not for profit) even though they are copyrighted. And yes, you may use them as gifts. I only ask that you do not alter them in any way and that you direct people back to WordCenterMinistries.org whenever and wherever you use them.
Spotlight for January is Jeremiah 15:16.
SPOTLIGHT for January: Resources Online
EZRA—The HISTORY, a WORD Center Ministries’ Observation Bible Study Guide is online and ready to go!
The historical book of Ezra begins where 2 Chronicles left off. God's people, the Southern Kingdom of Judah, had been exiled in Babylon for 70 years. It was now time to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple!
God had sent His people into captivity in Babylon because of their sin and He was now bringing them back—but they needed to be holy to Him. Zerubbabel led the first group of exiles back from Babylon to rebuild Temple. Ezra’s work in leading the second group back to Jerusalem, however, would be to rebuild the holiness of the people! There could be no worship without the temple—and just as certainly, there could be no worship without holy worshipers!
Be sure and check out 1 JOHN—The LETTER one of the Observation Bible Study Guides from WORD Center Ministries.
John, the author of the gospel of John, the book of Revelation, and the letters of 2 John and 3 John, also wrote 1 John. His letter was written so that true believers might know they have eternal life. The theme of the book of 1 John is not simply a discourse on the truth, but an exhortation to believe the truth and walk in it!
John clearly and firmly repudiates the lie that a believer does not need to look like His Father. Sons are supposed to look like their fathers because it brings glory to the father. In this day and age of independence and rebellion, the purpose of families is often forgotten. God established families in order to show us a picture of Who He is and what He expects from us. If we are saved, we are born of God; and if we are born of God, we are to resemble Him as closely as possible. This resemblance shows the world Who God really is and brings Him Glory!
The OSBG (Observation Bible Study Guide) for 2 JOHN—The LETTER is online and waiting to be studied!
John wrote this letter to those whom he loved very much for the sake of the truth. He exhorted them to continue to walk in God's commandments because spiritual deceivers were on the increase. He warned true believers to not even give a greeting to anyone who had gone outside the teaching of Christ… or they would become participants in their evil deeds!
This is pretty important stuff for the real church to know given the apostate position of the visible church at large today.
WORD Center Ministries’ Observation Bible Study Guide for 3 JOHN—The LETTER is online and ready for use!
John’s purpose in this letter was to encourage believers to become fellow workers for the truth by helping those who were teaching the truth. The book of 3 John deals with the exhortation to receive “truthers”—those who have a good testimony regarding the delivery of the truth.
Are the warnings and exhortations in John’s letters something we need to know today? Oh, yes! We may not have the exact same situation of itinerant preachers as in John’s day, but we certainly have a much greater quantity of preachers and teachers that want to reach us. Snail mail, e-mail, the internet, along with a much greater mobility in our world make us susceptible to a multitude of false workers.
How will we know the deceivers of 2 John from the truthers of 3 John? We need to know the Word of God. We need to study the Word of God book by book, over and over again, embracing the truth in it, responding rightly to the God Who wrote it and urging others to do the same.
Major Upcoming Resources!
SPIRITUALS—The GIFTS Speaking of Tongues… Can We Talk?
It’s that squally question of the ages, "Are Tongues for today?" Guess what? We found the equable conclusion! "Where at?", you ask. "What’s the answer???", you scream!!!
Hold on… Hold on... We got it straight from the One Who knows—GOD! We take all the doctrine the Bible has to hold on the subject of Spiritual Gifts and observe it inductively. I then take you verse by verse through each and every doctrinal segment the Bible has to offer on Spiritual Gifts. (We do not elevate events to the level of teaching or doctrine—instead, we thoroughly study the doctrinal teaching on the subject, leaving doctrine to explain the events in God's Word.)
The format is different than the Observation Bible Study Guides. (Not dropping the OBSG format, in fact, Lord willing, all 66 books of the Bible will be finished in a timely fashion. Just thought this subject and style were a perfect fit.) Observation questions concerning every single verse are answered directly from the Word of God. This book is a sit-down and enjoy-yourself-immensely afternoon read! You are going to want to read this book! It's making its way through the proofing, editing, and production processes right now.
Oh, and about that equable conclusion… it’s in The Book.
The entire book of Isaiah, all 66 chapters, verse by verse, will be available in an Observation Bible Study Guide soon. ISAIAH—The PROPHECY took over 8 years to write. There is nothing quite like it anywhere else that we know of. Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How questions for each and every verse in Isaiah. The Word speaks for Itself.