Global Harvest Mission in Guyana
Making Christians and Strengthening Churches in the Amerindian Culture
As a result to increased African slave trade, many Amerindian natives fled to the country's interior and established villages.
Today the Amerindian villages are most Roman Catholic and many have Anglican and Pentecostal denominations. The Lord's church has presence in some but not all.
The goal of Global Harvest Mission in Guyana is to establish faithful congregations in every village and to strengthen existing churches through campaign preaching and teaching as well as training in personal Bible study.
Tips for Bible Study
1. Environment
Time: It is important for Christians to set aside time each day for prayer (talking with God) and reading the Bible (letting God talk to us). We should select a time when we are fresh and relaxed, and preferably the same time each day so as to form a habit.
Location: We should pick a well-lit place where we can spread out and take care to prevent technology (text/email alerts) sound (TV/radio) and people distractions. We should have paper, pens, and highlighters at hand. If we use an electronic Bible, we should use the note-taking and Bible-marking features.'m a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me and you can start adding your own content and make changes to the font. Feel free to drag and drop me anywhere you like on your page. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.
2. Context
When was this text written? Is it part of the Old or New Testiment? Under which dispensation does it fall?
Who wrote it, who is speaking and who is being spoken to? This information gives insight into meaning.
In this example we see that it is a Revelation of Jesus, written by John to the seven churches of Asia.
Where was is written? Finding where a book was written and under what circumstances can help with interpretation.
Here, Hon is on the island of Patmos, suffering "tribulation" or difficulty (most believe imprisonment by the Roman government).
What is the purpose? It is important to look at a book's original purpose. What was the author communicating to the original readers?
Here, John writes to encourage Christians who are about to face severe persecution.
3. Interpretation
Let the text speak. We must never force the Bible to say what we want it to say. The Bible is our perfect guide (James 1:25), but only when we let the text guide us to its meaning rather than looking for verification of something we already believe.
Let Scripture Interpret Scripture. If we run across a difficult passage, we should look at other passages on the same topic. The Bible also often defines terms, For instance, Hebrews 11:1 defines truth. Remember that one New Testament scripture will never contradict another New Testament scripture, so use the Bible to help in interpretation.
4. Resources
Study Helps. Many Bibles come with cross-references, introductions, devotionals and other study helps. While theese are often good resources, it is important to remember that they are not part of Scripture, so they are subject to error and bias. Trust the text of the Bible and always weight carefully what men write (Acts 17:11).