theWord getting started

Here's a video to help everyone get theWord installed and set up.

On-line study resources

Here are links to the on-line resources I've found most helpful in my Bible study:

• The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE). However, use the search box with caution; for example, a search for joy there doesn't provide a link to the ISBE's article on joy. Instead, click on the first letter of the term, then scroll down to the word you want. While there are also Bible dictionaries, I use this instead.
• The Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge (TSK) provides cross-references for every verse of the Bible. For each verse, there are often cross-reference for different words or phrases in the verse. The words and phrases are keyed to the King James version, so you may need to refer to that translation at times. There are several ways to access the TSK:
• Go to a verse in on Biblehub (for example, type Phil. 4:4 in the search box). The cross references will be the second entry in the right column (see the red box in the image below).

• Click on the cross-references icon (see the red box in the image below); here's an example for Phil. 4:4.

• Nave's topical Bible is a bit more helpful than just searching for a word: it categorizes all occurrences of that word. However, finding it on Biblehub doesn't always work; there's a more usable form at BibleStudyTools. Here's the entry on joy.
• A good commentary is helpful. When reading the Bible on Biblehub, click on "Comment" to see the commentary for that verse. Here's commentaries on Phil. 4:4.
• A gospel harmony shows parallel passages in the gospels.
• A good set of maps helps bring context to a passage. Here's a map of Phlippi.
• A timeline also helps bring context. Paul was in Philippi around 49 AD, then wrote to the church there in 62 AD. For old testament times during the kingdom of Israel, a graphical timeline is often more helpful. Here's one I found on Google.
• Original language tools:
• A Greek and Hebrew dictionary helps define works in their original language. For example, the Greek words agalliasis [20] and chara [5479] are translated as joy. In Hebrew, chedvha [2304], [2305], and simchah [8507] are translated as joy.
• Strong's concordance numbers every word in the King James Version, then defines the underlying Greek or Hebrew word. The numbers above are Strong's numbers.
• An interlinear Bible shows the original language, along with language tools. It's my favorite Biblehub feature. Click on "Interlinear" while reading the Bible to see it. Here's Phil. 4.
• A parallel Bible helps look at nuances in translation by placing multiple translations side by side. Here's an example for Phil. 4. Click on the parallel icon to see it (see the image below).

Study example: Children's church lesson

I used theWord in preparing a lesson for Children's church. For me, the process was:

1. Pray, talk with my wife, and think about a lesson that would work for a wide range of ages (from K-7th grade!). I picked cooking tortillas as a physical example of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
2. Read the relevant passage. I already knew the main story was in Ex 12.
3. Read about the Passover in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE). I later realized that the Biblehub page also contains several other articles on the Passover.
4. I thought about discussing yeast, since its lack is very important for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Yeast isn't listed, but I realize the KJV word used is leaven. I read through that article. A number of cross-references there (Exodus 12:15, 19; Exodus 13:7 Leviticus 2:11 Deuteronomy 16:4 Matthew 13:33; Matthew 16:6-12 Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1; Luke 13:21) provided some helpful background reading.
5. I decided to instead emphasize the connection between Israel's command to be ready to leave at any time and Jesus' command to be ready for his return. I Googled for "parable of the ten virgins" as one of the passages I knew on the subject and found it in Matt 25.
6. Focusing on the last verse, Matt 25:13, the enhanced Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge provided me with a number of helpful cross-references. 
7. Reading through those helped me refine the list of verses I wanted to use. The final result of my study is below. Here's a link to in the theWord format; here are installation instructions.
8. I copied and pasted this to Word, changed all the colors to black and white, printed, then sliced the paper up to hand out verses and recipes to the kids.

Tortillas, 1/4 recipe: (makes about 8-10 tortillas)

1 cup flour

1/4 cup + 1/2 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp oil

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Ex 12:11-12  11 “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed,1  wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the LORD’s Passover. 12 On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD!

Optional: Ex 12:14-16  14 “This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. This is a law for all time. 15 For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel. 16 On the first day of the festival and again on the seventh day, all the people must observe an official day for holy assembly. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food. 

Ex 12:17-20  17 “Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation. 18 The bread you eat must be made without yeast from the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of that month. 19 During those seven days, there must be no trace of yeast in your homes. Anyone who eats anything made with yeast during this week will be cut off from the community of Israel. These regulations apply both to the foreigners living among you and to the native-born Israelites. 20 During those days you must not eat anything made with yeast. Wherever you live, eat only bread made without yeast.” 

Ac 1:9-11  9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” 

The wise and foolish virgins: Mat 25:13 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return. 

Optional: Jesus' return in Mat 24:37-44   37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. 

 40 “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. 

42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. 

Mark 13:34-37  34 “The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. 35 You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. 36 Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. 37 I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!” 

Youversion tips and tricks

Help

The Youversion Help Center is a good to place to go to answer questions!

Account

It's worth getting a YouVersion account. That allows access to offline bibles, reading plans, etc.

Offline

There are always times when you would like to read the Bible, but don't have a reliable data or WiFi connection. For me, this typically occurs at church! To remedy this:

1. Download an offline version based on Android or iOS instructions.
2. If you're in a location with a flaky connection, turn on airplane mode. Otherwise, your phone will try to use the data connection, waiting in vain for a response, even though you have an offline version available. With airplane mode on, the phone knows not to even request data, instead going straight to the offline version stored on your phone.

Reading plans

There are lots of reading plans. It's probably easier to browse through the plans on a tablet or laptop, but then do the reading on your device. I've enjoyed a chronological plan.

Verse picker

Most of the time, I want to move to a given book and chapter of the Bible, but I don't have a verse in mind. So, I turn the "Show verse picker" option off, which makes it just a bit faster to navigate. However, when listening to a sermon, I know the chapter and verse, so I turn the verse picker on. To switch this in Youversion:

1. Click on the menu icon.
2. Scroll down to the bottom and tap on settings.
3. Scroll down to the "Show Verse Picker" option and enable or disable it.

Introduction

How can we know God? How does God seek us?

1. Prayer - Mark 1:35; the Lord's prayer in Mat 6:9-13.
2. Bible study - Ps. 119:9.
3. Actions - Eph 2:10, John 17:4.
4. Fellowship - 1 John 1:7, Heb. 10:25, Rom 1:12.
5. Teaching (which includes evangelism) - 2Ti 4:2, 1Pe 3:15.
6. All of life! - 1Co 10:31.
7. Creation - Rom 1:20.
8. Conscience - Rom 2:15.
9. The Spirit - John 17:?

So, digital tools address only one way we have of deepening our relationship with the Lord. In focusing on these, don't believe that it's all about the tools. "Wow -- your camera takes great pictures!"

That being said, how have digital tools changed the way in which we relate to the Lord? Pros and cons?

Tools for study

For a group study, I'd like members to:

1. Have a collaborative environment, such as Google Docs or  OneDrive's Word Online (do these work on iOS?).
2. Provide automatic hyperlinks to Bible references (Gen 1:1), such as the service provided by Reftagger for most blogs. This should work on any device. PC programs, such as theWord and e-Sword, also do this nicely. 

Note that Blogger's default mobile template won't use Reftagger. To fix this, go to Template | Click the gear under Mobile, then select Custom for the "Choose mobile template" combo box. This approach is based on these instructions.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any way to combine these two. I've asked theWord forum members for their ideas.

I'd like members to have easy access to the Bible, along with commentaries, dictionaries, maps, etc.:

1. For basic Bible reading, the YouVersion app and their companion Bible.com web site provide a good interface. These work well on any device. The blue letter Bible app (iOS only) provides some good study tools.
2. On a larger screen, Bible Hub provides a nice set of tools. My favorite is their interlinear Bible, which is very nicely done.
3. I haven't looked in much detail, but these Bible maps seem comprehensive.

For more focused study, a PC is needed. The best program I'm aware of is theWord. The notes I've written as part of this study are available on-line. To use these within theWord:

1. Go to the main menu, then select File | Install modules...
2. In the resulting Install Modules dialog box that appears, select the "Download file from URL" button.
3. Paste in this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/q4dnzvwcs2u0h7r/Digital%20Bible%20study.gbk.twm?dl=0.
4. In the Book View of theWord, select the "DBS" (Digital Bible Study) tab to see the contents of this module.