How to Read the How to Read the BibleBible

St Marks Discipleship Class

"For the Word of God is your adversary, if you be a friend to your ungodliness; but if you are an adversary to your own ungodliness, the Word of God is your friend, as well as the adversary of your ungodliness"

-St. Augustine

5 Keys to a Dynamic Bible Study

1. The secret of dynamic Bible study is knowing how to ask the right kinds of questions .

5 Keys to a Dynamic Bible Study

2. Dynamic Bible study involves writing down what you have observed and discovered .

5 Keys to a Dynamic Bible Study

3. The ultimate goal of dynamic Bible study is application, not just interpretation.

5 Keys to a Dynamic Bible Study

4. Dynamic Bible Study means that God’s Word must be studied systematically

5 Keys to a Dynamic Bible Study

5. In dynamic Bible study you will never exhaust the riches in any one passage of Scripture .

How to Prepare?

1. Schedule your Bible study time .

How to Prepare?

2. Keep a notebook .

”The Shortest Pencil is Longer Than the Longest Memory”

How to Prepare?

3. Get the right tools

Tools Needed:

a.A study Bible

b. Two recent Bible versions

c.An exhaustive concordance

d. A topical Bible

e. A Bible handbook

f. Commentary

How to Prepare?

4. Spend a short time in prayer before each study .

Approaches to Studying the Bible Personally

1. Devotional Study

2. Chapter Summary Method

3. Character Quality Method

I. Devotional Study

Goal:

The goal is for you to take seriously the Word of God and “do what it says”

James 1:22

Steps for Devotional Study

a. Pray for Insight on How to Apply the Passage

Devotional Study

b. Meditate on the Verse(s) You Have Chosen to Study

S-P-A-C-E-P-E-T-S

Sin to confess?

Promise to claim?

Attitude to change?

Command to obey?

Example to follow?

Prayer to pray?

Error to avoid?

Truth to believe?

Something to praise God for?

Devotional Study

c. Write Out an Application

Shoud be:

•Personal

•Practical

•Possible

•Provable

Example

“All man’s efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. Ecclesiastes 6:7

1.Personal: “I need to stop being a glutton”

2. Practical: “I need to lose some weight.”

3. Possible: “I need to lose 10 pounds.”

4. Provable: “I need to lose 10 pounds before the end of the month.”

Devotional Study

d. Memorize a Key Verse from Your Study

PRACTICE TIME: John 6:31-36

 II. The Chapter Summary Method

• The Chapter Summary Method of Bible Study involves gaining a general understanding of the contents of a chapter of the Bible by reading it through at least five times, asking a series of content questions, and summarizing the central thoughts of the passage

 Tips to Read a Chapter of The

Bible

• Read it in a Bible without notes

• Read it without stopping

• Read it in different translations

• Read it aloud quietly to yourself

 II. The Chapter Summary Method

Step One: Caption

1 Corinthians 13 might be titled “Love Chapter”

 II. The Chapter Summary Method

Step Two: Contents

List of the major points in a chapter

 II. The Chapter Summary Method

Step Three: Chief People

Who are the main people in this chapter?

 II. The Chapter Summary Method

Step Four Choice Verse

The verse that summarizes the whole chapter or one that speaks to you personally

 II. The Chapter Summary Method

Step Five Crucial Word

Word used frequently

Ex: “faith” in Hebrews 11

 II. The Chapter Summary Method

Step Six: Challenges

List Difficulties, Questions, things you need to study further

 II. The Chapter Summary Method

Step Seven Cross-References

 II. The Chapter Summary Method

Step Nine: Central Lesson(s)

Major principles, insights, and lessons you learn from this chapter

 II. The Chapter Summary Method

Step Ten Conclusion

How do these truths apply to me personally?

What specifically am I going to do about them?

PRACTICE: Mal 1

III. The Character Quality Method

• The purpose of this method of Bible study is to identify character qualities taught in the Bible with the view of learning to avoid the negative ones and learning to work on the positive ones, so that we become more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

Tips for Effectiveness

1. Only work on one quality at a time

2. Don’t rush it! Character development takes

time.

3. Stay with that one quality until you get

victory in that specific area.

4. Be alert to a negative quality in your life that

is actually a positive one being misused.

5. Trust the Holy Spirit to build these qualities

in your life.

III. The Character Quality Method

Step One:

Name the Quality

Tip: List any synonyms or related words

III. The Character Quality Method

Step Two:

Name the Opposite Quality

III. The Character Quality Method

Step Three:

Do a Simple Word Study

Use Bible Dictionary:

http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/eastons-bible-dictionary/

III. The Character Quality Method

Step Four:

Find Some Cross References

III. The Character Quality Method

Step Five:

Do a Brief Biographical Study

Try to find at least one person who showed this character quality in his or her life.

III. The Character Quality Method

Step Six :

Find a Memory Verse

III. The Character Quality Method

Step Seven Select a Situation or Relationship to Work On

III. The Character Quality Method

Step Eight:

Plan a Specific Project

III. The Character Quality Method

Step Nine:

Write Out a Personal Illustration

PRACTICE: Humility