“AN EMPTY MANSION”

“In my Father’s house are many mansions….I go to prepare a place for you” (Jn. 14:2)

INTRO.: A gospel song which centers upon the many mansions that Jesus is preparing in the Father’s house is “An Empty Mansion” (#198 in Hymns for Worship Revised, #392 in Sacred Selections for the Church). The text was written by Beuna Ora Bryant (Mrs. J. B.) Karnes, who was born on Feb. 8, 1889, in Comanche County, TX, and in 1911, at the age of 22, met and married Jess O’Brian Karnes, who had also been born in 1889. A series of events led up to the production of this song. In 1928, Jess, who was a successful builder in Abilene, TX, lost his lumber yard to a disastrous fire and had no insurance to cover the loss. A few months afterwards, the Great Depression began and their life’s…

Daddy’s word study method was how I studied for a  very long time, and is still how I study a topic when I need to learn about it in a hurry. Bible software and “cut and paste” make it a pretty quick way to find many verses about a particular subject. However, there are lots of verses that have to do with certain topics, which don’t use that particular word in the passage – humility, for example. Not every passage which shows humility uses the word “humility” directly. That’s one of the things that encourages me about most of Granddad’s lessons; he brings in so much understanding from verses which you would not be able to find just by doing a word study.

I’m sure Granddad’s ability to “compare spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:30) comes from many years of intense study and teaching. However, I discovered in the…

When I was younger, Daddy taught a class for the young teens at Church on how to study, which probably benefited me more than any other class I’ve ever had. It was the thing that got me seriously studying on my own, and moved me past the “read-a-chapter-a-day” goal. His method really isn’t rocket science, but it broke Bible study into steps that gave us a place to start, and when he stood beside us and made us do it ourselves, we realized we could. It was encouraging.

• First, he made us choose a topic such as “discipleship” or “mercy.”
• Then, he showed us how to use a concordance to make a list of all the references where the word “disciple” or “mercy” is found.
• Once we had the list of references, we looked up each one, and wrote down a simple summary beside the reference.
• Then, Daddy helped us…

One of the biggest things I find daunting about reading the Bible is knowing where and how to start, and what to start on, so when some of the ladies in India asked for lessons on how to study, I wasn’t quite sure where to start on that either. But several people shared some inspiring tips with me.

Uncle Jon said when he was getting ready to go to India with Granddad, as a young man, he felt daunted by how much the brethren there already knew, and concerned that he didn’t know enough to be a teacher. So a few months before he went, he set himself a goal to learn where everything was in the Bible.

• He said he outlined each book, labeling the major contexts. That helped him remember where certain passages were. For example, 1 Corinthians 13 is in the middle of the context about spiritual…

When we choose to be a Christian, we are choosing to fulfill God’s expectations of a Christian. One of the biggest of those expectations is that we must know His words. (If we choose to be a doctor, we understand we must learn what a doctor needs to know. If we choose to be a disciple, we understand we must learn what a disciple needs to know.)

John 8:31

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

We can’t be a disciple without knowing what our Master teaches! But Satan somehow makes us think that we can be disciples [literally “learners”] without spending much time learning:

• “I’ve been taught well. I think I already know the important things I need to know.”
• “I’ve read the Bible before.”
• “I make sure I read my chapter every day…