Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible
This week, the Logos Talk blog published a guest post Ryan and I worked on together, called “How to Ask Excellent Bible Study Discussion Questions.” The post abridges some of the lengthier material from our series on how to lead a Bible study. If you’d like to lead a small group discussion well, we recommend you master these four kinds of questions:
Check it out!
For a few years, I’ve promoted the idea of reading the entire Bible as quickly as possible. I’ve made it my annual practice beginning on New Year’s Day for 6 years now, and it shows no sign of slowing.
What do I get out of the practice?
Now I have some more reasons to offer you, courtesy of Jordan Standridge:
Standridge writes of his experience reading the entire Bible quickly in an article at The Cripplegate. Check it out!
OIA Bible study is a wonderful tool. With this tool, anyone can get to know the Lord Jesus by learning to study his word.
Perhaps you’ve worked through our series of posts walking you through the full process of observation, interpretation, and application. Perhaps you’ve read the book Knowable Word, which gives clearer examples and practice exercises in a manageable package. These resources have helped you to learn the OIA process, but you’d like something more.
What you could really use is a shorter booklet that merely summarizes the key principles. You don’t need all the drama or the fluff; there’s no need to pierce your ear with an awl just to prove how committed you are (Ex 21:5-6). You, like the Apostle Peter facing Ananias and Sapphira, just want the facts (Acts 5:7-9). You might use such a booklet as a reference guide to help you practice OIA, as it reminds you of the main concepts and the steps. You don’t want to have to go back to the complete book every time you have a specific question. And you don’t want to have to sift through page after page on this website to get a speedy answer or reminder. So what is there for you?
Yesterday, I would have sadly turned you away, like a bridegroom at the door of his wedding feast (Matt 25:10-12). But not today. Today, I am happy to welcome ye who are weary and heavy laden. May you find some rest for your soul.
We’ve had a project in the hopper for many months, and I’m delighted to finally release it for general consumption. We have a short booklet outlining basic Bible study skills, and we’ve uploaded it for you to use at no cost.
You could keep this booklet on your desk as a handy reference. Or you could print it out for your study group or church book table. The booklet focuses only on the principles; it gives almost no illustrations or practice exercises. The point is simply to have all the concepts in a short reference guide.
Without further ado, you can find the booklet here:
I’ve also put these links up on the blog’s resources page, so you can find them easily in the future. Happy studying!
Many, many thanks to my colleagues who made this project come alive:
A few more articles from this blog have been translated and posted in Spanish. Thanks to Armando Valdez for taking on this work!
I created a new page that links to all the articles on Armando’s Spanish site. I’ll keep that page updated as he posts more. You can navigate to that page right from the bottom of the Resources page if you ever want to check back for more.
Check it out!
Erik Raymond writes of “A Couple Phrases I Wish Preachers Would Stop Saying So Often.” And though Raymond directs his comments at pastors, Bible study leaders would be wise to listen in:
In recent years I’ve noticed an uptick in a couple of phrases from preachers and teachers. I don’t want to go so far as to mark them as homiletical cuss words, but I do want to draw a circle around them and ask why we are saying them so much. These two phrases are “I think” and “I feel.”
Let me explain. Suppose someone is preaching through Colossians and they come to chapter 3. They then read the following words aloud:
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col. 3:1–2)
Then they say, “I think what Paul is saying here is that we need to be seeking the things above.” After a pause, he goes on to say, “I feel like this is especially hard for us today because of all of our temptations for distractions.” Later he says, “I feel like too many of us, myself included, are really susceptible to this. I think it can really hinder our walk with Christ.”
Now what’s wrong with this phrasing? On one level, nothing. He is not saying anything wrong. But, at the same time, he is not saying it like he could. If he is not completely declawing the passage he is at least filing down its nails. He is saying it in a less authoritative and offensive way. And while he may still be bouncing the ball to his congregation for application it is a bit of a deflated ball, or at least not as pumped up as it could be.
To see how Raymond would revise such comments to sharpen their claws, you’ll have to read the full article. Check it out!
However, I will make one disclaimer. When we are not (or cannot be) certain about the meaning of a passage, “I think” would be a perfectly reasonable thing to say. Or if we move off the main point into the sub-sub-sub-points of the passage, we should also avoid confident bluster and bravado. Remember, the main points are the ones worth fighting for. And they are the points whose claws must never be pared.
Tim Challies writes of “One Very Good Reason to Read Your Bible.” And he’s absolutely right. This is about the best reason I can think of.
One of the great dangers in the Christian life is living first for self. One of the associated dangers, then, is seeing personal devotion as a practice that goes no further than my own mind, my own heart. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Your intimacy with God, your knowledge of God, your time with God, works its way outward to everyone around you. The good you can do them every day is the good of spending time with God.
Challies expands on how your daily Bible reading will benefit your spouse, your children, your neighbors, and your fellow church members. If you think you are not smart enough, or you are too busy—or if you ever struggle with finding the Bible too boring or Bible study too complicated—please lift your eyes off yourself and consider the good God would have you do for those around you. There is too much to lose if you don’t read your Bible.
Challies’s article is excellent and worth full consideration. Check it out!
Armando Valdez has taken Ryan’s recent article, “The Bible is Not Boring,” and translated it into Spanish for his blog Evangelio Segun Jesuchristo. If you know any folks or churches who would benefit from material about Bible study translated into Spanish, please share it around. We’ll also let you know if Armando gets more resources translated and posted.
This week, I’m taking off from writing to take my family on our annual trip to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. In honor of the season, I have two brief posts to recommend:
Check it out!
Writing at For the Church, Godwin Sathianathan has some great ideas for making the most of your Bible reading.
Sathianathan’s article has more explanation for each point. Check it out!
I remain much impressed by the videos being produced by The Bible Project. If you haven’t seen these videos, you really should check them out. I’ve begun having longer out-loud Bible reading times with my children (30-60 minutes at a time), and when we start a new book we always watch the Bible Project’s video first. Right now we’re in Leviticus—and my kids understand and love Leviticus!
However, I’m writing now to highlight their recent video on the book of Zechariah, which I consider the most difficult book in the Bible. This video does a better job communicating the main message of Zechariah than a long commentary I recently read. I suddenly have much hope for my study of this mysterious book.
This is top-notch Bible study in visual form. What a tremendous gift we have in these free videos.
