2015 Bible Bee Sword Study Book!

The 2014 Bible Bee is over. :( Wish I went.

Anyone want to guess next year's book.

1 or 2 Thessalonians, James, or Philippians?? Personally hoping for Philippians. :D What do you think?

I wish that I went too. :'( I was pretty close to qualifying. Next year is probably my last year.

I'm hoping for Philippians too! Have they already done that…?

Next year I'ma senor! :(

Nope! At least…not in the years that I have done it. :D

They've never done Philippians. I hope they do that or James. Of course, that's what I hoped for this year, and look what we got…. XD

How about Daniel…. or Revelation?! XP

Revelation or Daniel would be AWESOME!!! ^Next year I'll be a Senior….^

^Next year I'll be a Senior....^

Me too… :(

How about Daniel.... or Revelation?! XP

No please! Lol

Next year I'ma senor! :(

James or Ruth. :)

^Next year I'll be a Senior....^

Me too... :(

Same here. =)

Song of Solomon.

eyes widen and is speechless for five seconds

XD

The real question to ask is: are your eyes like doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set, or like pools of Heshbon?

*eyes widen and is speechless for five seconds*

^Next year I'll be a Senior....^

Me too... :(

Same here. =)

:)

*eyes widen and is speechless for five seconds*

O.O

Anyways….

How about Daniel.... or Revelation?! XP

Oh, that would be FUN!

And then our pastor would have to do Daniel again! That would be great! ^He is really good at history.^

I will guess the book of Matthew. :)

Maybe Philippians or Ruth. What about the next Nationals location?

James is my guess. x)

1 Thessalonians.

I don't know if I'm supposed to say this or not… but Phillip A was talking about something about them putting in a hint in the Sword Study for next year's book. It's probably just a rumor, but I wonder… xP

I really hope that it's James! Of course, I've said that every year, and it never has…

Where? lol

Now that's the real question… :P

Yeah :P LOL…but where did Philip hear it from?

1 Thessalonians.

You said that earlier this year x)

I don't know if I'm supposed to say this or not... but Phillip A was talking about something about them putting in a hint in the Sword Study for next year's book. It's probably just a rumor, but I wonder... xP

We heard from a reliable source that Mrs. McMahan always leaves a clue about the next Sword Study on the table that's on stage during the Closing Ceremony. Apparently, at Nats 2013, it was a fish. =P

We totally forgot to look for it this year, though, even we found out while we were there… =(

SERIOUSLY?! I wish I had known about this! xD

There really was a 'fish' at 2013 Nationals?! lol

That's interesting. I talked to Phillip recently and he said that the clue is in the previous year's Sword Study. He thinks it's in the Week 8 Day 3 section. I agree and think it has to be James. Another reason why I think it's James: They alternate between four and five chapter books :P

is trying to figure out who you are… ^sorry^

*is trying to figure out who you are... ^sorry^*

Everett.

Ohh……Sorry Everett! :P

I don't know if I'm supposed to say this or not... but Phillip A was talking about something about them putting in a hint in the Sword Study for next year's book. It's probably just a rumor, but I wonder... xP

We heard from a reliable source that Mrs. McMahan always leaves a clue about the next Sword Study on the table that's on stage during the Closing Ceremony. Apparently, at Nats 2013, it was a fish. =P We totally forgot to look for it this year, though, even we found out *while* we were there... =(

I wonder, if she had written the sword study off of Nahum, if the hint would have been a candy bar.

I don't know if I'm supposed to say this or not... but Phillip A was talking about something about them putting in a hint in the Sword Study for next year's book. It's probably just a rumor, but I wonder... xP

We heard from a reliable source that Mrs. McMahan always leaves a clue about the next Sword Study on the table that's on stage during the Closing Ceremony. Apparently, at Nats 2013, it was a fish. =P We totally forgot to look for it this year, though, even we found out *while* we were there... =(

I wonder, if she had written the sword study off of Nahum, if the hint would have been a candy bar.

It would probably be an advertisement to get BB lovers to buy candy. It would be an application activity like, "Look in your house for all the candy bars you have. Then relate each one to a specific book of the Bible. Only 1% of the population has the candy bar that relates to next year's Sword Study book. So buy lots of candy and eventually you'll stumble upon the right one!" JK. That would be kind of fun though…

That's interesting. I talked to Phillip recently and he said that the clue is *in* the previous year's Sword Study. He thinks it's in the Week 8 Day 3 section. I agree and think it has to be James. Another reason why I think it's James: They alternate between four and five chapter books :P

What makes you think that Week 8 Day 3 points to James? I looked, but didn't see anything. :P

Taming the tongue?

Ohhhhh… ok, now I see it. Yeah, that part doesn't really fit in with the rest of it: "to seek additional wisdom" about when to talk and when to hold your tongue. It hadn't been talking about that before.

Well, now we know that unless they change the format of the Sword Study (doing one chapter every two weeks), it can't be James xD

Here's my guess: 2 Thessalonians.
Bible Bee has revealed that locals is on August 8, and that as usual we shall receive our materials on June 1. That gives us 69 (or 68, if you don't count contest day) to study, or 9.(857142) weeks.
Generally, Bible Bee gives us some time between finishing the Sword Study and contest day. So perhaps we're facing a nine-week Sword Study. However, Sword Studies generally take an even number of weeks, because they spend two weeks on the whole book, and two weeks on each chapter. Thus, eight weeks is more likely.
Assuming that Bible Bee doesn't break from this format, two weeks will be spent studying the book as a whole, and six weeks will be left for studying the chapters. We divide this amount by two weeks per chapter.
!http://biblebookworm.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/1/9/19192093/4204217.png!
Using this formula, we arrive at three chapters for this year's Sword Study.
The books of the Bible with only three chapters are Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, 2 Thessalonians, Titus and 2 Peter. Of these, Nahum and 2 Peter have already been studied, so they may be ruled out.
The remaining books are Joel, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, 2 Thessalonians and Titus. While each of these could easily be paired with another book for Nationals, 2 Thessalonians seems to be the best choice because of its obvious partner, 1 Thessalonians. Moreover, the Bible Bee has shown a marked preference for New Testament books.

That's my thinking on the matter, formula and everything. Over and out.

My thoughts exactly. I highly doubt they'll choose a minor prophet, so it's between Titus and 2 Thessalonians. Both are good options, and they'll probably pair the Thessalonians.

So what do you think about the hint in the Sword Study, now? :)

I have to say, I don't think the probability of them keeping the format of the SS significantly affects the likelihood of them using James, if years past are any indication, there will be more changes this year than just an Aug. 8 locals date.

@ISC- That was very interesting to read how you came to that conlusion, and as much as I would rather have a different book, you may very well be correct.
I expect however that the book was not chosen because it fit within the time period that they had set upon, but because of the message they wanted to teach. If we looked at the overall themes of the previous books (local and national separately perhaps) and considered what might next be taught to build the faith of a young Christian, what would the book be then? Just something to consider. :)

Has SKF released other information besides local's date?

Thanks. :) I'm not necessarily saying that the book was chosen to fit the time-frame; it may actually be that the time-frame was chosen to fit the book. On the other hand, it definitely is possible that they will simply be changing everything around this year…
And you're right; theme certainly is something to consider. 2 Thessalonians really seems to stress the importance of good works, because of the impending judgment, and exhorts us to stand firm in a time of lawlessness - things which really cannot be stressed enough, especially at a young age. 1 Thessalonians visits many of the same points.
I can't really predict what the Bible Bee thinks should follow a study of God's sovereignty and loving-kindness (Jonah) or his judgment and redemption for his people (Nahum). (Though in my mind, a book that spends a lot of time in preparation for the final judgment would definitely be in order.) Perhaps such a comparison should be made by someone who thinks less like Paul and more like John. :P

If you're looking for more official information, the 2015 rulebook has been released: http://www.biblebee.org/uploaded_files/files/2015CompetitionRulebook-151501.pdf .

Perhaps such a comparison should be made by someone who thinks less like Paul and more like John. :P

Hehe. :D

I agree that the BB book will probably be 2 Thessalonians. However, there is always the possibility that they will surprise us with a long book, and do just a chapter per week (or even less than a chapter per week). No one was expecting Jonah (or at least not many people were :)), so there is no reason why they wouldn't try to surprise us even more (does anyone else think that Mrs. McMahan likes surprises and keeping people in suspense?). I also agree that the book will most likely not be a minor prophet (although I think they will do one again, just not this year). But I still think it will be 2 Thessalonians :).