The Better Question Believers Should Ask about God’s Will
For the believer wanting to know God’s will for her life, the first question to pose is not “What should I do?” but “Who should I be?”
Articles by Jen Wilkin
58 results found
10 Things You Should Know about God’s Communicable Attributes
God's communicable attributes show us how to reflect God as Christ did.
7 Things to Avoid When Teaching Women’s Bible Study
When Bible study participants think critically about the Bible, it holds a leader accountable to avoid seven common teaching pitfalls.
How to Pray When You’re Struggling to Understand the Bible
Prayer is the means by which we implore the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our study time.
5 Questions about the Ten Commandments
We should love the law because we love Jesus, and because Jesus loved the law.
The Kind of Love That Marks a Christian
Why does the Great Commandment instruct us to love God first, others second? Because this is the order in which God himself loves.
9 Tips for Making the Most of Your Bible Study
As you read the Bible devotionally, seek to complement this with time in which you also build a basic knowledge of Scripture. Here are nine suggestions to help you make the most of that time.
The Problem with the Self-Help Movement
Sanctification demonstrates that right actions work their way out from the inside and not the other way around.
3 Tips for Starting a Bible Study
If you're hoping to start a Bible Study, always incorporate these three vital aspects: structure, accountability, and predictability.
Sanctification: An Often Painfully Slow Process
We have sin patterns that we battle for years, and we can have the sense that we're getting any better at this re-imaging thing.
Why You Should Make Time to Read the Bible . . . Even When You’re Busy
We make time for many things. But none is so important as the life-giving Word of God.
4 Reasons to Let Go and Trust God
We can trust God to manage the future without our help. It is none of our business.
How Studying the Bible Changed My Life (Women of the Word Episode 1)
Jen Wilkin discusses how believers can learn to study the Bible with both their hearts and their minds and ultimately love the God who it points to.
Why the 10 Commandments Are Still Relevant
The law in the New Testament is to show us that in the life of the believer, the law is in fact a means of grace because it shows us what pleases God.
When Studying the Bible, Don’t Follow Your Heart
We speak often in the church about how Christianity is a religion of the heart. It is right to speak of Christianity in this way, but not exclusively in this way.
How to Engage Emotionally with the Bible
Emotions are not a bad thing, but they must arise from accurate thoughts about the truths of Scripture.
10 Things You Should Know about God's Incommunicable Attributes
God's incommunicable attributes belong to him alone.
Woman: You Will Become What You Behold
If we spend our time gazing only on lesser things, we will become like them, measuring our years in terms of human glory.
The 10th Commandment: Don’t Even Think about It
If contentment has been a losing battle for you, if coveting comfort or cash or companions has been your common state, let the good news sink in: contentment is learned.
The Best Reason to Read the Bible
A lot of people think that the reason they are to study the Bible is so that they can know the Bible well. But when we study the Bible, we always should be coming to an increasing knowledge of God not just the Bible.
Do You Struggle to Discern God’s Will?
Thinking about the will of God is asking a secondary question when there’s a primary question that we need to ask first.
Let’s Talk about Our Bible Literacy Problem
When women grow increasingly lax in their pursuit of Bible literacy, everyone in their circle of influence is affected.
How Delight and Obedience Coexist
The law of God changes when we move from thinking about it in terms of our justification to our sanctification.
The practice of remembering the Sabbath requires Israel (and us) to remember what God has ordained for his children from the earliest moments of human existence: a pattern of work followed by rest.
I’ve Heard It Said That the Bible Is God’s Love Letter to Us
“The Bible is God’s love letter to us.” I can see where that’s coming from. It’s not a hundred percent wrong. It’s just that it’s probably not a big enough statement about what the Bible is.
What Freedom from Sin Looks Like in This Life
It’s natural to feel frustrated that you’re still staring down the same habits of sin in your life.
We Need Both Rules and Relationship with God
To obey the law is to look like Jesus Christ. While legalism builds self-righteousness, lawfulness builds righteousness.
Making the Most of Your Bible Study
The more we are tugged, the more we have to work to guard the time we give to personal study of our Bibles.
The 5th Commandment Is for Adults Too
The fifth commandment is found in the middle of a list of commands clearly addressed to adults, targeting issues that are, developmentally speaking, primarily the concerns of adulthood.
Video: Jen Wilkin on Staying Motivated in Bible Study
In this video, author and Bible study leader Jen Wilkin offers some advice for staying motivated in our reading of God's Word and explains the limitations of topical Bible studies.
You Must Study the Bible with a Purpose
Every good endeavor should be done with purpose. Without a clear sense of purpose, our efforts to do a good thing well can flounder.
Generosity is the calling card of all who are recipients of the generous good news of salvation through Christ.
We Should Expect Frustration When Reading the Bible
If we give in to impatience with the learning process, we tend to react in one of two ways.
Why You Should Study God's Incommunicable Attributes
God’s incommunicable attributes are important for us to understand because they’re the ones that tell us how God is not like us.
Why Christ’s Relationship to the Law Matters
Christ fulfills the law by obeying it perfectly during his earthly ministry. This is an important detail that's sometimes left out of gospel presentations.
Busting the Myth of Human Omnipotence
God’s power is at work within us. It is at work helping us to overcome sin and to grasp the extent of his love for us.
How Culture Can Warp Our View of God's Love
Because of the way that our culture tends to think of love, being told God loves you can fail to land on us with the beauty and significance that it should.
Why Bible Study Should Always Lead to Worship
Anytime we spend time gazing at who God is as he’s described in the Scriptures, we cannot help but be drawn into worship.
The Danger of Wrongful Comparison
The knowledge of God and the knowledge of self always go hand in hand. There is no true knowledge of self apart from the knowledge of God.
Dangerous Bible Study and Puffy Christianity
If all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable, surely there is no such thing as “useless” Bible knowledge. So, why so many warnings that studying the Bible could actually be perilous to our spiritual health?
Don't Make This Mistake When Studying the Bible
Most of us haven’t spent much time devoting our attention to just things that are true about God.
But God’s plan to liberate his people exceeded anything they could have hoped for. He intended liberation from the tyranny of sin itself.
The Unexpected Outcome of Self-Sufficiency
Do you ascribe something to yourself that is only true about God?
Why Our Limits Are a Good Thing
Every boundary that he places in our lives—every limit that he gives us—is for our flourishing.
How to Study the Bible with Purpose
How can we begin to be more purposeful in the way we approach Bible study?
5 Ways to Make the Most of Your Bible Study
Here are five ways for women to make the most of the time they have to spend in the Word.
Jen Wilkin Answers Your Questions about Bible Study (Women of the Word Bonus Episode)
In this special bonus episode, Jen Wilkin answers the questions that listeners have sent in about studying the Bible.
Is There a Wrong Way to Study the Bible? (Women of the Word Episode 3)
Jen Wilkin describes the wrong ways we approach Bible study and what our failed attempts to engage with God's Word reveal about our own attitude toward Scripture.
Overcoming Common Barriers to Bible Study (Women of the Word Episode 2)
Jen Wilkin identifies a handful of perceived obstacles that prevent us from studying the Bible and how we can actually overcome those and take joy in reading and studying God's word.
It happens sooner or later in every relationship: someone will let you down.
5 Key Principles for Transformative Bible Study (Women of the Word Episode 4)
Jen Wilkin walks through principles for studying the Bible that are essential to remember in order to get the most out of your time in God's word.
10 Bible Study Tools Every Christian Needs (Women of the Word Episode 8)
Jen Wilkin walks through different tools that can be used in the Bible study process and offers wisdom to help know when and how to best use them.
Why I Wrote a Book about God's Incommunicable Attributes
Most of us have some familiarity with the attributes of God, but we probably haven't spent a lot of time contemplating those things.
Tips to Help Anyone Teach the Bible (Women of the Word Episode 9)
Jen walks through different contexts for teaching the Bible, offering tips and wisdom on how to teach well no matter who or where you are.
Interpretation: Understanding What Scripture Means (Women of the Word Episode 6)
Jen Wilkin talks through what the process of interpretation looks like and gives encouragement for when we find ourselves daunted by the task.
Comprehension: Understanding What Scripture Says (Women of the Word Episode 5)
Jen Wilkin discusses the first of three steps in the Bible study process—comprehension. She walks through how this underappreciated step is a key building block to studying the Bible well.
Why Bible Study Should Always Lead to Worship (Women of the Word Episode 10)
Jen Wilkin draws all of the ideas covered so far together to remind everyone what the true end of Bible study should be.
Application: Understanding How Scripture Changes Us (Women of the Word Episode 7)
Jen Wilkin walks through the final stage of the Bible study process: application. She discusses how to know when it is actually time to move into this stage and how to avoid common pitfalls.