When people get excited about the OIA method of Bible study and want to teach it to others, they often ask me what the best books of the Bible are to use for this purpose. In other words, which book (or books) will make it easiest for newbies to acquire the basic skills of observation, interpretation, and application? Which book should I use as my example to make it easiest for people to learn to study the Bible for themselves?
And herein lies the beauty of the OIA method: it works equally well on any book of the Bible.
Built into the method is the need to observe the genre and ask corresponding interpretive questions. The OIA method requires you to adjust your expectations for narrative, poetry, prophecy, law, and epistle. It requires you to discover the author’s main point for his audience in their historical circumstances. It expects you to remain aware of the context so you can follow the author’s train of thought. It pushes you to connect the main point to the person and work of Jesus Christ before you attempt either inward or outward application.
And you can and should do all of these things on any and every book of the Bible.
Therefore, my stock answer to the question of which book you should use to teach the OIA method is whichever book you want. People are more likely to catch a vision for OIA Bible study from your enthusiasm for it than from any particular book of the Bible. If you try to teach the method using the “right” book or a recommended book, but you are not thrilled to your core by what God is teaching you in that book, people will tend to think the OIA method is dry and dusty.
In 20 years of teaching the OIA method, I can remember using each of the following books at various times:
- Genesis
- Exodus
- 1 Samuel
- 1 Kings
- Proverbs
- Ecclesiastes
- Joel
- Amos
- Nahum
- Haggai
- Matthew
- Mark
- John
- Romans
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- 1 Thessalonians
- 2 Timothy
- Hebrews
- James
- 1 Peter
- 3 John
None of these books were any better or worse than others for teaching the method. What made each one work was that I was intrigued by it at the time.
Therefore, the best book of the Bible for teaching OIA Bible study is whichever book you are currently most interested in and excited about. It’s more important for you to be enthusiastic than for you to select the “right” book. Your enthusiasm will be infectious, and the people you teach are then most likely to experience firsthand the riches of the method.
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