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Before I post a rundown from last Sunday I would just like to say a few things about the purpose of this series. You may have been in attendance last week and thought, "There's no way in the world that I have time, energy, or interest to do what Matt is talking about!" You're right! I don't either! This method of studying the Bible that we have been talking about isn't something that you have to do everyday or even every week (unless you teach a class of interested people like you all!). Also, this method isn't intended to demean or replace reading your Bible devotionally. Instead, studying the Bible in this way is useful for us to know whenever we are curious about something that we read in our quiet times or heard in a sermon. If you are leading a Bible study sometime, following these steps could be helpful for you. And while it may seem time consuming, in practice this won't take you very long if you have the resources at hand (which I assume you do since you are reading this on the internet right now and some of the sources we talked about are online!). So while some of you might have found the last two Sundays a bit daunting, don't worry. No one is asking you to do this all the time! Nope, instead it's just another tool to have in your Batman utility belt so that you can know Scripture better!
Okay, so here's the quick rundown:
After completing the quick and slow readings, you would start by thinking about concentric circles. First, how does your passage fit with those around it? How does it fit in the book that its in? How does it fit with the rest of the NT or OT? How does it fit with the Bible as a whole? These are questions that you can answer on your own. You don't have to read all of John if you are interested in the Miracle at Cana, but you can skim it! The same goes for the NT/OT and the Bible circles. The idea here is to get a hold on how your passage fits with the rest of Scripture.
Next you will whip out your helps (study Bible notes, one-volume commentary, online commentaries, etc). But before starting to read, re-read your notes that you have made so far. This will help you remember what to be on the lookout for when you peruse your helps. Here are some common things that your helps will show you: historical context (who wrote your text, when, why, to whom, what the cultural situation was like, etc), the definitions of important words in your passage, connections with the immediate and wider contexts, how non-biblical stuff might shed some light on your passage, other points of view, and, if your interest has been piqued, other places to find more information.
Here are a few sources that might help you out in this process: How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (introduction into studying the Bible by two excellent believing scholars), HarperCollins Bible Commentary (a little left of center), Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible (centrist), Baker Commentary on the Bible (right of center), Oxford Annotated Bible (left of center), NIV Study Bible (right of center, NASB Study Bible has the same notes), SonicLight.org study notes (really conservative), NTGateway.com (collection of links), OTGateway.com (collection of links), iTanakh.org (collection of links for OT), BibleMap.org (helps with geography), BibleGateway.com (concordance and loads of other stuff too), Google Books, Fuller's bookstore, and Archives Bookshop.
I hope this is helpful!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Studying the Bible
As requested, here is an overview of what we talked about on Sunday regarding studying Scripture:
Materials needed: 1) A Bible translated into your "heart" language; regarding English translations, I prefer the NIV or the NRSV but the NKJV, NLT, NASB, and ESV are all good too (as are many others); the question to ask yourself is this: Do I prefer translation that are word-for-word, thought-for-thought, or some combination of the two?; Don't just buy the one that looks cool, do a bit of research first!; 2) pen and paper (or your computer); 3) a concordance (or and internet connection hooked up to biblegateway.com); and 4) a one-volume commentary of the Bible (or an internet connection that will give you access to solid information [more on this in the coming weeks]) and/or a Bible with study notes
First Step - Pray: Ask the Holy Spirit to be with you as you study God's Word.
Second Step - Choose a Passage: We talked about how this can happen organically, that is, during your devotional Bible reading you may find a passage that you find interesting or confusing; make a note of it so that you can study it later; and by "passage" I mean a paragraph or a story, not (necessarily) one verse or one word
Third Step - Read the Passage Quickly: Read your text quickly out loud and ask yourself this: What is this passage about? Write down your answer(s). Don't use any helps yet.
Fourth Step - Read the Passage Slowly: Now look at your text in more detail (which may meant that you need to read many times) and ask yourself these questions: Is there anything that I find confusing?, What transition words (therefore, thus, moreover, etc) are being used in this passage?, What are the keywords (words that are used a lot or that are especially meaningful to your passage)?, Does this text bring up any questions for me?, and What genre (poetry, narrative, letter, etc) is this text? Write down your questions and any possible answers that you can think of during this step. Don't use any helps yet.
Next week we'll talk about the next steps, some of which will may require the use of outside helps. I'll also be providing some book suggestions and internet links to things that might prove to be helpful.
God bless!
Oh, I almost forgot. Next week (9/13) is not the last week that we'll be talking about this. We'll also discuss it the following week (9/20) and we'll practice on a few passages. The last Sunday in September, the 27th, we'll have the "State of Crossroads" meeting where we'll hopefully introduce our new leadership team, talk about the past year, and discuss plans going forward. Thanks!
Materials needed: 1) A Bible translated into your "heart" language; regarding English translations, I prefer the NIV or the NRSV but the NKJV, NLT, NASB, and ESV are all good too (as are many others); the question to ask yourself is this: Do I prefer translation that are word-for-word, thought-for-thought, or some combination of the two?; Don't just buy the one that looks cool, do a bit of research first!; 2) pen and paper (or your computer); 3) a concordance (or and internet connection hooked up to biblegateway.com); and 4) a one-volume commentary of the Bible (or an internet connection that will give you access to solid information [more on this in the coming weeks]) and/or a Bible with study notes
First Step - Pray: Ask the Holy Spirit to be with you as you study God's Word.
Second Step - Choose a Passage: We talked about how this can happen organically, that is, during your devotional Bible reading you may find a passage that you find interesting or confusing; make a note of it so that you can study it later; and by "passage" I mean a paragraph or a story, not (necessarily) one verse or one word
Third Step - Read the Passage Quickly: Read your text quickly out loud and ask yourself this: What is this passage about? Write down your answer(s). Don't use any helps yet.
Fourth Step - Read the Passage Slowly: Now look at your text in more detail (which may meant that you need to read many times) and ask yourself these questions: Is there anything that I find confusing?, What transition words (therefore, thus, moreover, etc) are being used in this passage?, What are the keywords (words that are used a lot or that are especially meaningful to your passage)?, Does this text bring up any questions for me?, and What genre (poetry, narrative, letter, etc) is this text? Write down your questions and any possible answers that you can think of during this step. Don't use any helps yet.
Next week we'll talk about the next steps, some of which will may require the use of outside helps. I'll also be providing some book suggestions and internet links to things that might prove to be helpful.
God bless!
Oh, I almost forgot. Next week (9/13) is not the last week that we'll be talking about this. We'll also discuss it the following week (9/20) and we'll practice on a few passages. The last Sunday in September, the 27th, we'll have the "State of Crossroads" meeting where we'll hopefully introduce our new leadership team, talk about the past year, and discuss plans going forward. Thanks!
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