A recap from Wednesday of the different bible study methods. Have fund studying the word!! Important to note is that there are several study tools you can use to help you like: - Different translations - A concordance - A commentary - A dictionary - Studies on a specific topic - The internet! 1) DEVOTIONAL STUDY: take 1 verse and pray and meditate about that verse. Practical steps: a) pray first and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance b) visualize - picture yourself as being in that situation c) emphasize - read the verse and emphasize different words d) personalize - replace the words where you can with your own name e) application - determine a practical application for yourself 2) WORD STUDY: identify a word you want to study and understand the meaning of the word throughout the bible. This helps in understanding the verse (devotional study) as well and is similar to a topical study Practical steps: a) pray first and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance b) use a concordance / greek / hebrew bible to determine the meaning of the word c) use a concordance to identify the occurences of the word in the bible d) identify and understand the context the word was used in e) application - determine a practical application 3) THEMATIC STUDY: identiy a theme you want to study and limit yourself with maximum 3-5 questions you want to answer. This will limit what you are looking for as the bible can say a lot more about the specifically selected theme. Practical steps: a) pray first and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance b) identify the theme and questions you like to ask about it. c) find verses (with the help of a concordance) where this theme surfaces. d) pay specific attention the first time this is mentioned in the bible as this usually has a significant meaning (how God intended something to be) e) ask your questions for each verse f) compare the answers for each of the verses to identify any recurring themes g) draw conclusions and determine a practical application 4) TOPICAL STUDY: Identify a topic you want to study and investigate how the topic surfaces throughout the entire bible. You are not limited to a predefined set of questions and thus this study takes longer than a thematic study. Practical steps: a) pray first and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance b) identify the topic you want to study c) determine words that are similar to this specific topic that might have the same meaning. d) find verses (with the help of a concordance) where this theme surfaces. e) pay specific attention the first time this is mentioned in the bible as this usually has a significant meaning (how God intended something to be) f) determine how the topic applies in the specific context g) compare the references to identify any recurring themes h) determine practical application 5) CHAPTER STUDY: The idea of this study is to get a thorough understanding of a specific chapter. What is the message in this specific chapter? Practical steps: a) pray first and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance b) read the chapter several times to get a feel for the chapter and the flow of it c) write down a chapter summary d) list any observations you have e) ask questions to understand your observations (e.g. check context, what is the meaning of the word, who is saying it, etc.) f) where necessary, compare with other verses in the bible g) determine practical application 6) BOOK STUDY: In such a study you will read a book in the bible several times to understand the message that is conveyed in the book. Practical steps: a) pray first and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance b) read the book several times c) make notes on what you read, as some books are quite lenghty d) do a background study of the book - what is the historical context, when was it written, who were the writers e) make a horizontal chart (1 or 2 pages) where you summarize and divide the book in the main sections and reference the corresponding verses with it. This helps you in getting across the main message f) make an outline of the book g) determine a practical application
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 07:49:54 +0000
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