Bible Study Lesson 5

We are learning how to use the Blue Letter Bible, an online, interactive, and very powerful study tool. If you are just joining us, place the link for the BLB in your favorites or on your desktop. You do not need to download anything. And welcome to the study. You may want to subscribe to this blog in order to keep up with the lessons. You may do so by signing up with the Free Subscription on the right-hand side of this blog. However, all lessons will be archived under the category titled Bible Study Methods. You can go there at any time and get a lesson to review or to catch up.

I recently received the following note from the folks at the Blue Letter Bible:
Dale,
Thank you so much for this. Your blog is extremely helpful. It’s
encouraging to read a thorough and clear use of the BLB tools! So you
have encouraged us greatly. I really like your idea of parallel
viewing panes. Right now the only way to do that right now is to line
up BLB windows next to each other.

Your participation in this study is helping to encourage others as well as build yourself up in the faith.

In our last lesson we learned about using Strong’s numbers to aid in our study. Strong’s is the word used to reference the original comprehensive concordance to the Bible. If you are not familiar with the reference work, that is okay. Using it within the BLB will open a new world of study for you.

Bring up the homepage of the BLB, and in the search box enter Hebrews 11:6. For information on how to do this, go to Lesson 1.

Notice the blue buttons next to the verse on the left-hand side. Click the “C” button. A window opens that is labeled Lexicon/Concordance for Hebrews 11:6. Scroll down until you find the phrase “to please.” Next to that is the number G2100 in the column labeled Strong’s.

Click on the G2100. That brings up an entirely new window labeled Lexicon Results with a lot of information in it, and new roads to take in our exploration. For this lesson, we will look into Vine’s Expository Dictionary of NT Words.

Locate the blue bar labeled “Vines” and click on “View Entry.” That opens a new window containing the basic information from Vine’s work.

Then, underneath the first simple entry is the phrase in brackets [View Entry in Its Context]. Click on that and you are brought to the full entry from Vine’s that contains all the various ways the words translated “please” are used.

Remember, we are looking into what the Bible says about pleasing God, because it is our desire to be found pleasing in His sight.

You should have your notebook out, because the amount of information now becomes much more than your mind can assimilate.

Notice that all Scripture references are “hot” so that you can click on any one of them and be taken to that verse. It would be better if that link opened in a new window, but it doesn’t. So, you will always have to use your back button at the top of your browser to return to where you were.

I’m going to leave you with this for now. Begin your own study of what it means to be found pleasing to the Lord. Search through the verses listed in the Vine’s window. Make notes as you go. Add what you learn to the comments section below, so that we may all benefit from what the Lord gives you (Matt. 4:4).

If you click on a verse, and then get sidetracked by the buttons on the side that you have already learned how to use, you should REJOICE! You will not come to the end of the study anytime soon if that happens to you.

As you explore the idea of what it means to please the Lord, you will discover many wonderful things from the Word. Be sure to take notes from your study. This is not only about how to use the BLB. It is also about trying to discover “what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10).

NOTE: As we progress, you may have a question about something that we have covered. Be sure to use the comments section for all comments and questions. Also, read the comments section, because someone may ask or say something that will benefit you as you go through this study. Thanks