Our mission is to obey the Word of God which is the Bible. To be a disciple of Christ, we are to follow Him. The Lord has just given the “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 5, which is how we should respond to the ten commandments if we want to live a praiseworthy life to God. Christ gives a picture of a person’s heart who is convicted of sin by encountering the ten commandments and is now asking for God’s help to change. In chapter 6, the Lord is showing us, now what our responding to His call looks like in daily life as we live out His words. Then He shows us how to pray. In Verse 7, He starts out by saying:

7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "So do not be like them; for your, Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” (NASB)

So we asked ourselves why do we pray the Lord’s prayer as meaningless repetition? Is there more to this prayer than how we were taught in church? We believe yes, and thus could it be an outline for us to follow? For years we have broken this prayer down and spent time walking outside or praying in a quiet place to spend time on each part of the outline. As a couple, we will use this as an outline when we pray together. Great relationship building with the Lord has occurred. We want to caution that this is no formula because this is how Christ said to pray. Faith is acting on God’s word. And if you look closely at the whole prayer, it is indeed an outline, and each part of it takes time. Join Ric and Mary Joyner in their podcast for Pewsitters spending time on each part of this prayer. Let us know what you think.

Open Matthew 6:9 and read along with us.

We are home from Israel after being on a study tour with Dr. Baruch Korman of Loveisrael.org.  The tour was a treasure of experiences causing the Bible to come alive. We felt we were in "God's home" and we could literally see prophecy fulfilled.

We were able to experience the peoples' daily lives and how God cared for them. But "daily circumstances" invaded our lives too once we returned home.  This podcast is about why there were no podcasts to continue our study of Exodus and what "other things" happened in our life. Grab your favorite beverage and join us for an update.

Our podcast and Exodus Chapter 2 has several moving parts. Since Exodus is a factual narrative, we need to “read” between the lines, so to speak, to find out what God is asking us to “see” so that we may act appropriately. What are the lessons? Why did the Israelites go into slavery in Egypt? Mary and I believe this question is highly important and relevant to today’s Christianity. The answer lies in Jeremiah 2. We can go into slavery as God’s people by not living according to His Word. One of the themes of Exodus is dependence on God. So how do we get into bondage in this modern world? And that is the biblical study principle of application. How does God want us to look at the story and get the lessons within it for our lives? 
We are in Exodus 2 Part 3 where Moses is now older and is deciding there is another call on his life. He makes some choices that cause an irrevocable decision. Moses, although acting on the promises of God to Abraham, takes the situation into his own hands rather than waiting on God and is forced to flee. 
But there is much more going on in this story. Through word studies, we will see the lessons God wishes to teach us, and we will see that symbolism in the old testament foreshadows Christ! Please listen and comment below.

Have you ever wondered why Exodus is a picture of our Christian walk with Christ? Or why this incredible story is a part of the Jewish nation's history? Could it be about people acting in faith? We need faith to believe in God. Or do we? Is there more to faith than just believing? What if actions play a role? What is biblical faith and why does it matter? There are two undercurrents in the storyline that God wants to reveal to us. One has to do with faith and the other being Kingdom minded. 

In this Podcast called “Faith and Kingdom people," we will see men and women operating for God or against His agenda. What type of people will WE be? Join Ric and Mary Joyner in studying Exodus to live a praiseworthy life to God. HIS AGENDA HIS WAY!

Resources: Paul Washer “Shocking Video”,

Here is the youtube version of our podcast Exodus Chap 2 Part 2 Faith and Kingdom People. 

We are still in Chapter 1 and reading about some very brave Hebrew midwives who were told by Pharaoh to kill the Hebrew children. They disobey Pharaoh. WHOA, drama and tension heat up the story! They are called to provide an explanation to Pharaoh! Have you ever faced a fear that could end your life? The midwives did. But they chose the fear of the Lord over the fear of Pharaoh. They let God handle the outcome. At Biblestudycompany.com we feel it is easy to understand the fear of the Lord. It is not a cowering fear; it is the “fear to offend Him”. In this case, the midwives were protecting God’s Children from a wicked man. When things look the darkest, God is in control and we can learn either to complain, blame or turn and worship God for His future outcome. We want to live a praiseworthy life, so we respond by choosing the fear of the Lord and worship Him with thanksgiving in the midst of our fears and trials. We are also exploring the sufferings of the Hebrews and how they got into slavery.

We finish Exodus Chapter 1 with Pharaoh brutalizing the Hebrews. In addition, we are starting to look at several tools in our approach to scripture. A tool we love to use is immersion. Simply stated, we are immersing ourselves in the lives of the Hebrews. They will react like we would if we were threatened, for example. We are no longer viewing some of the Bible as stories for children, but as real people in extraordinary situations for our instruction. By taking this approach the Bible now comes alive with richness, drama, and depth. Join us and tell us what you think in the blog or on Facebook.

Notice another interesting phenomenon. There were many silent years in the bible and then prophecy is being fulfilled by an amazing series of events converging to an outcome. This outcome was the destruction of Egypt (Genesis 15:13-15) and another was Christ coming. 

Ric and Mary Joyner explore, Exodus 1 Part 2 which discusses the Hebrews entering a crisis of faith and fear called slavery that will last almost 80 years. This is a harsh reality. How did the Hebrews go from high stature in Egypt under Joseph to being brutalized? What happened? The story may surprise you, which the Bible so often does, that there are patterns and principles that affect us today! Join us for this exciting study of a God who keeps promises and discover how to live a praiseworthy life to God. This is His creation and we are His servants! He is in control! Glory to God!

Is Exodus a symbol of our walk with Christ? Ric and Mary Joyner of Biblestudycompany.com start our Exodus study asking God questions. What if we are not trained in bible study will You still speak to us? Why did the Hebrews go into slavery? How do we respond to God?

Let’s take a different approach to the bible. What if we change our focus to finding out what God’s agenda is for our lives? Are we not in a relationship with Him? The intimacy we have with people in our lives is in direct proportion to the time and knowledge of the person. The disciples had a close relationship with the Lord. We are called to be disciples so we can carry out His Will. And now we are going to open our bible study with Exodus Chapter 1 discussing the methods and principles we learned from Dr. Baruch Korman of Loveisrael.org. Come join us on discovering intimacy with our Creator and how to respond.

What is the Kingdom of God? How do we find it? How should we respond? Dr. Baruch of Loveisrael.org and Ric Joyner of Biblestudycompany.com are discussing this very topic on the latest Podcast for Pew-sitters. Coming to an understanding of the Kingdom of God is vitally important to us as believers. Christ came as a King and He said to Pilate, just before the crucifixion for our sins, that “My Kingdom is not of this world….” We can read a scripture and take the meaning for granted. At Loveisrael and Biblestudycompany, our mission is read scripture to find God’s agenda as our Creator. Thus, everything in this world is made by Him and for His glory. We want to see His plan and will for our lives so that we too can live a praiseworthy life to God. Why should we seek to find the Kingdom of God? Come with us as we ask these questions. Don’t forget to dialogue with us on our blog.

Ric and Mary Joyner discuss Exodus 25 and 26 where God commands Moses several times to follow the pattern. Ex:25:40 "See that you make them after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain." (NASB) The symbolism in this verse is plentiful, and you should take the time to dig into the symbols using biblestudycompany tools. But we see two things God does when building the tabernacle. He speaks to us from Heaven and then asks us to follow the pattern carefully. What is the pattern? We discuss what this pattern is during the podcast. Please join us. In fact, the reason for this podcast is to set the stage for studying Exodus with two pew-sitters; Ric and Mary. We need to understand that studying scripture is a pattern given to us from Heaven. Ultimately Christ is the pattern for us to follow. But we begin the pattern with God speaking to us, and we need to have hearts willing to implement His truth in our lives. Look at Exodus 3 and God moving to draw Moses. He was unwilling to take on the role God gave him at the burning bush, but now in Exodus 25-26, we see Moses being careful to follow the pattern. Listen to the podcast and see what you think. Can we pay close attention to what God says because we were all made to serve Him? We are His creation. Many scriptures verify this truth. Can we become skillful workmen and women in studying the bible? Is our heart willing? Can we be honest enough to admit we might not want the task? Or are unsure of ourselves? What if we have tried and got nothing out of the bible? Or there is too much to learn? Whatever the reason for not studying, will you join us and be willing? Ask the Lord to help you, we did, and we are changed in unexpected ways.

Erin and Pete Janus are new to bible study and are coming into the podcast to learn. Grab your favorite beverage and open-up biblestudycompany.com and study with us.

Exodus is a key book to start our study of the bible using Bible Study Company tools. It shows the Hebrews believing in the Passover lamb and salvation from Egypt slavery and bondage. We learn that Egypt is the world system ruled by a Pharaoh who is bent on killing the Hebrews, stealing their labor and enslaving them harshly. This sounds like the "god of this world (the devil)" and what we face daily. Even if we ask Christ into our hearts, we will go into the wilderness after believing in the Messiah as the Passover lamb. Or will we? It was a choice to leave Egypt because God made the way and it is a choice for us to leave the world system. Exodus is symbolic in God's plan for us and what happens after we believe in the Passover Lamb. Christ is our Passover lamb. God is a promise keeping God.

We will discover topics like: Why send the Hebrews into the wilderness? How bad IS the wilderness? How will we survive? What does Egypt mean? Some important metaphors develop: Souls, beit or house, Egypt, Wilderness, tent, complaining, manna etc. and how it helps us see God's agenda in our modern lives. Come join us as we explore how to study the bible and look for ways we can find God's agenda and then choose to live a praiseworthy life to Him. His Agenda not ours.