help me teach the bible

In this episode of Candid Conversations, Jonathan welcomes author and teacher Nancy Guthrie who highlights the advantages of examining the Scriptures through the lens of holistic Biblical theology. By shifting our focus from ourselves to God when studying the Bible, we can experience the text in a more profound and accurate way.

Nancy draws from her personal experiences, including her work in publishing and the tragic loss of two children, to illustrate how God intensified her love for His Word.

As an esteemed author, host of the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast at the Gospel Coalition, and a Bible teacher at her local church in Nashville, Nancy frequently leads her popular Biblical Theology Workshop for Women at national and international conferences. She and her husband also established Respite Retreats, which offer support to grieving couples.

In this powerful episode, we delve into the multifaceted aspects of God's character and His unwavering love for us to gain a deeper understanding of His Word. Let us be inspired to move beyond seeking how the Word of God applies only to us and instead discover who God truly is and what we can learn about His attributes and essence.

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When I began recording interviews for Help Me Teach the Bible in the fall of 2014, I didn’t have a grand plan. At that point I wouldn't have said that I had the goal of recording an episode on every book of the Bible because that would have seemed like an overwhelming task and too much of a commitment. But I just kept doing interviews, and people kept finding the podcast and listening. I kept being stretched and informed and inspired by getting to have these conversations with a lot of people I admired who have helped me in my own teaching. And I have loved it.

The podcast now has an episode or two on every book of the Bible as well as over 60 topical episodes on various aspects of getting better at teaching the Bible. For this final* episode I asked my husband to turn the tables and interview me about the podcast itself, and I asked listeners to send in questions they wanted me to answer. We talked about how the idea for the podcast came about, why and how I interviewed the people I did, how my own teaching ministry has developed, and what some of my favorite conversations have been.

We will continue to re-release old episodes every couple of weeks. Because most podcast apps only offer a limited number of past episodes, we’ll start again from the beginning, posting the earliest episodes from the podcast, which means that the next episode will be an interview with John Piper on teaching the book of Philippians.

Listeners who want to communicate with me about the podcast can send me a message using the contact page at nancyguthrie.com. Thank you for listening. I hope it has been a help and blessing to you.

* I reserve the right to record a new episode here and there going forward when I’m with someone brilliant and I just have to talk to about something that would help Help Me Teach the Bible listeners.

Hosea is a book that tells a heart-breaking story—for some a perplexing story—about a prophet told to marry a prostitute. It’s a book that is filled with cycle after cycle of promises of judgment. But, according to David Murray, professor of Old Testament and practical theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Hosea is a book that gives teachers the opportunity to present people with vivid pictures of God as a faithful husband intent on loving his unfaithful wife, a parent whose heart is twisted up inside him over the impact of his child’s sin, and so much more. In context of all of God’s uncomfortable promises to judge his people in heart-breaking ways, Murray points out God’s repeated promises throughout the book to live, to save, to redeem, and to restore his people to himself after they’ve wandered away from him. 

Mentioned in this episode

• Preparing a sermon using The Compelling Communicator (video demonstration)
• Murray’s Top Online Articles on Christ in the Old Testament
• 30 “I Wills” from Hosea
• Jesus on Every Page by David Murray
• Exploring the Bible Together: A 52-Week Family Worship Plan by David Murray (releases May, 2020)
• Meeting with Jesus: A Daily Bible Reading Plan for Kids by David Murray (releases March, 2020)
• The Word of the Lord video session on Hosea by Nancy Guthrie