The words we choose to use have an enormous impact on the people who hear them. Our words represent our ideals and beliefs – pointing a spotlight on the things we value. Our words represent who we are and who we want to become.

It is ironic how important words are because we live in a culture that wants to reduce those words. In a day of texts filled with emojis, character limited tweets, and video and picture driven posts, more and more people have less and less practice using words. You can be dismissed by society over a poor selection of word choices.

Use this website to become reacquainted with how to use words efficiently, effectively and eloquently.

Words You Can Buy

market place

I am working right now on three books. The first, Holding Out Hope: what the Bible says about hope, I finished at the end of October. The book sells for $5.00 – a cost that I hope will make it affordable for everyone. The book is a thirty-day devotional taking you through Scriptures that help you understand what hope is, why it is easy to feel hopeless, and some strategies that you can use when you feel that hope is slipping away. In addition to the Scriptures and devotionals, every section ends with some discussion questions for you to ponder. These questions could easily guide your small group through several studies.

It is my goal to sell 150 copies of this book by mid-December. Would you like to help me reach my goal? The book will be available here on my website or at Amazon.

Holding Out Hope

Psychology professors Anthony Scioli and Henry Biller published “Hope in the Age of Anxiety” in 2009. The self-help book explores the concept of hope as a virtue and explains how hopefulness helps us cope with life’s common circumstances. We all want someone to be holding out hope to us.

But we often feel hopeless, don’t we? Scioli and Biller suggest there are nine forms of that hopeless feeling that we all have experienced. Feeling hopeless may be a natural response to the events and people that impact our lives, but the feeling doesn’t have to become permanent.

The God of Creation, through the Bible’s explanation of shattered lives and restored relationships, holds out hope to each of us. Though “Holding Out Hope” is written from a Christian perspective, the book systematically discusses the causes of hopelessness and suggests several practical ways that anyone can use to build a foundation of hope for their life.

The book is written to be used as a thirty-day personal devotional, but includes thought-provoking questions that allow the book to be used in a small-group setting.

See how God is “holding out hope” to you.

BUY “HOLDING OUT HOPE” AS A KINDLE BOOK FROM AMAZON.

BUY “HOLDING OUT HOPE” AS A PDF FROM KOINONIA BIBLE STUDIES

BUY “HOLDING OUT HOPE” AS A E-PUB FILE FROM KOINONIA BIBLE STUDIES

The Words of the Week

This is a very thoughtful time of life. I am thinking constantly and writing almost as often. Hardly a day goes by that I have not been writing words in the morning and again as I prepare for sleep. “This Week in Church History” is one of the results of this time.The church’s history is filled with stories of how men and women of faith tried to solve the problem of meshing Christianity with culture. Sometimes their decisions were remarkable. Often they were fraught with poor judgment and sometimes with sin. Perhaps there are words of wisdom to be gleaned from the pages of history.

Blogs

Blogs contain our words, don’t they? Right now there are three very general topics that are on my mind. During second year Greek class, we translated many chapters of the writings of John. One of the first words of John’s writings that I learned was λόγος (logos) – in the beginning was the word. This is the masculine form. Words that we speak or write are often considered feminine – logia – hence the name of the first blog. Here are words which share our thoughts and understanding of His words.

The second blog speaks words with an “Element of Eloquence.” Did you ever need to say things “just the right way?” Perhaps you were called upon to deliver some important words to a group of people at work. Maybe you needed to say the right thing to someone that you care about deeply but that you had hurt earlier with your words or actions. This blog concentrates on saying the right words.

The third blog is a topic that has been weighing on my mind lately. Part of the weight comes from the headlines – week after week we read of leaders within the church, within education, within politics, within business – who fall from their positions because of bad decisions. The bad decisions can involve anything from sexual impurity to financial embezzling. Why do people who know better wander down a path that leads to their own destruction? But the interest has also been driven by Scripture. The same thing happened to many biblical leaders – Abraham, Moses, and David quickly come to mind, but there are many more. Do sinful decisions negate their love for the Lord? Can they be redeemed and restored from their fall? These issues and more will be explored through this blog.

As you can see, there are four or five topics that need words each week. I will try my best to keep all of these “columns” updated regularly. Be in prayer for me as I try to keep up this pace.

Logia
Elements of Eloquence

Let’s Be Persuasive

ByTom May

We all need to be persuasive. Maybe you are trying to get a customer to buy something, or you want someone to trust what you are saying, or perhaps you just want a friend or family member to do what you say- you are trying to be persuasive because you believe in your position. We…

We’ve all driven the road below, haven’t we? Last gas station before Nevada. No rest stops. No McDonald’s. Just you, the scenery, the dashed white lines, the am-radio, and your thoughts. You have driven enough to know that God has promised to meet you somewhere on this road, but where in the world is He meeting you? And what is He going to say when you get there?

Are you in-between right now? What will you do to pass the time while you are waiting?

Waiting Words

The next sections of this site contains my two favorite topics. I love to look for moments where the words of Scripture come alive to me – helping me understand the Message more clearly and to touch my life in a much more practical and life-changing way. For me, those moments come through my times of studying the Bible.

The Scripture Speaks

This Week with the Word

I am working right now on three books. The first, Holding Out Hope: what the Bible says about hope, should be completed before the end of this month. As I make my plans, my intention is to sell the book for $5.00. The book is a thirty-day devotional taking you through Scriptures that help you understand what hope is, why it is easy to feel hopeless, and some strategies that you can use when you feel that hope is slipping away. In addition to the Scriptures and devotionals, every section ends with some discussion questions for you to ponder. These questions could easily guide your small group through several studies. It is my goal to sell 150 copies of this book within a month. Would you like to help me reach my goal? The book will be available here on my website or at Amazon.