What is The Lion of God?
Have you ever gotten a Bible study and wondered why you paid to play 20 questions for every Scripture and only got a few paragraphs of study content? Or were disappointed to find it contained only a couple of verses followed by some general musings on life? Same.
I don’t know about you, but when I get a Bible study, I want to study Scripture. My goal is to write somewhere between a classroom approach, where you’re learning about things like how the historical context impacts the content, and a personal approach, where I try not to sound like an academic drone but like a real life human who knows you are a real life human too who has a lot of things going on.
God’s Fruitful People, the first study I have written here, is a deep-dive into, you guessed it, the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
The structure of the study involves an introduction to the fruit and a guided examination to start you thinking about how the fruit is reflected in your life, then a series of five investigations of the fruit across the Old and New Testament, before wrapping up with a reflective reading using a psalm. These sections (introduction and prayer, the five investigations, the final reflection) are delivered weekly so that you have time to think, read, and engage at your own pace.
How does The Lion of God approach the Bible?
If your church has a statement on their beliefs about the Bible, shouldn’t the person who is writing a Bible study?
I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. I believe that God spoke to His people in a particular time and place, and that, in His infinite wisdom, that same Word continues to speak to us today.
When reading the Bible I believe in the importance of understanding how genre works so that we are better able to receive the truth it offers. If we don’t understand how to read a genre, we are often left confused and dissatisfied — for instance, if you read a scientific journal the same way you would a science fiction novel, you’ll be left searching for a plot that fails to deliver; if you’re reading a poem the way you would a scientific journal, you’ll sneer at the incomprehensible and inaccurate comparisons.
I believe that when reading the Bible, it is important to know that I do not know everything. There is a reason we can spend a lifetime in these pages. If everything could be known beyond a shadow of a doubt the first time through, why would anyone ever bother to dedicate their life to its study? So when you are reading anything I write here about the Bible, please know that while I am good at speaking with confidence, I am hyper-aware of all of my ignorance, and my desire is to learn more and do better with what I learn every day.
Do I have to pay?
Currently The Lion of God is free to read.
If that changes in the future I will detail what content will remain free and what will be behind a subscription paywall. In the event that a subscription paywall is launched, you may request free access.
About Me
I have loved teaching the Bible since I was 12 years old. I tried writing a lesson plan for the first time at 14 and, admittedly, tried to do too much, and did not understand my audience (under 10) well enough to connect with them. I did eventually get better at teaching children…when I left the curriculum in the hands of others.
For my undergraduate degree I majored in English and History, and minored in Religion and Theater. You will see this combination of interests reflected in the way I approach studying the Bible, and, were you to ever sit in on one of my classes, my somewhat dramatic teaching style (Did I once have 30 college and adult-age students stand up to sing and do the motions to “Father Abraham”? Yes, yes I did).
I obtained a Master of Arts in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and one of the things I have missed most about my time in seminary is being surrounded by people who loved to talk about the Bible and theology and church history, often with interesting cross-application.
These days I work full-time for an academic publisher (yay, access to resources!) and part-time as an adjunct professor of Religion at a community college. When I’m not working or writing, I’m probably reading and thanking the Lord that having a dog means I do get regular fresh air (because my cat certainly doesn’t encourage it).
