Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible
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Here is a very brief, yet marvelous reflection from Jared Wilson on the glory of the Scripture.
I want to bleed Bible. Don’t you? I want, when somebody cuts me open, my guts to spill out in Bible verses.
We are staring back along the wake of an entire generation of church teaching that treats the Bible likes Bartlett’s Book of Quotations. We swoop down toward the Scriptures quickly and snatch something, anything, that will do for a pick-me-up, a soundbite, a prooftexted inspiration. Jeremiah 29:11. Philippians 4:13. Romans 8:28. These verses and more we have decontextualized into a devastating discipleship deficiency. And then we act shocked when professing Christians who otherwise know some Bible verses do not portray the wisdom of the Word.
He concludes:
Be careful with how you use your Bible, then, to make sure it is actually using you. Consult its whole counsel. Don’t be an adherent of pick-n-choose-ianity. Reject sloganeering and cliche-peddling. Through the deep Word, become a deeper person. The Bible is bigger than your bumper sticker.
Please read the rest of Wilson’s exhortation, and please, please, take it to heart. Check it out!
For more than 4 years now, I have used Logos Bible Software nearly every day, without regret. My only potential for regret has to do with having gone without Logos for the prior 17 years of ministry. Just this week, the good people at Faithlife released the software’s new version, Logos 9. And as usual, it’s nearly unbelievable how much goodness they thought to stuff into this system.
Logos 9 still functions basically like a Bible analysis program crossed with a research library. I’ve explained how it works in my reviews of older versions. Especially see the first two reviews, were I explain how it works generally, and how it can help with your personal Bible study.
Everything I’ve said in reviewing older versions of Logos hold true. I can generate, in seconds, an exhaustive list of repeated words in the book of Acts, as I prepare to begin preaching through it. I can click on one of those words anywhere in Acts, and have all instances of it instantly highlighted for visual referencing. I can write my sermons in Logos, integrating it directly with the Bible passage without having to keep switching between programs. I can generate a reading plan for any part of the Bible (or any other book in my library), with any parameters for the plan’s length or how I want the text broken up. I can take courses on various topics or books of the Bible.
But let me now explain some of the new features in Logos 9 and how I am using them.
Logos 9 makes it easier to create reading plans for any Christian book. I buy almost all my Christian books in Logos, so that they will directly interface with the Scripture. So it’s nice to set up a reading plan, with dates and checkboxes, to map out a plan to get through a book in a defined time period. And while I could do this roughly in Logos 8, it now is streamlined for a better reading experience. The auto-generated reading plans used to end abruptly in the middle of a sentence or paragraph, and now they are better organized around chapter divisions.
Logos 9 now has a pretty amazing way to visualize charts. For example, I can search for every reference to the Apostle Peter in the book of Acts (note: this is not simply a word search for the name “Peter,” but a search for every reference to the character Peter, even if only in pronouns). Then with a single click, I can turn it into a bar chart to visualize how frequently Peter pops up over the course of the book.
Then I can do the same with respect to the Apostle Paul:
Does a cursory glance at those two charts suggest anything to you about how Luke’s focus shifts over the course of the book? Of course, we could identify that shift in focus by simply reading the book over and over. But in seconds, Logos gives me precise data, in a variety of attractive formats, and without having to count these observations myself.
Logos 9 has a wonderful new tool called the Bible Books Explorer, which gives me quite a bit of data at a glance. Timelines, author and audience info, major themes, etc. But what I love the most in this new tool is a quick way to visualize connections between Old and New Testaments. For example, here is a diagram showing which OT books Luke directly quotes in either his gospel or the book of Acts.
And I could click on any of the specific books to generate either a list of which verses in Luke-Acts quote the OT, or a list of which OT verses are being quoted. I could make similar diagrams/passage lists not only for direct quotations, but also for simple allusions to OT texts, or for bare echoes of OT texts. Or I can make a single diagram/passage list for all of them combined!
While those features (and many others I could list for you) are pretty cool and really useful to my study, the biggest new features have more to do with providing a place to manage my ministry.
Logos 8 introduced the sermon editor, which basically added a word processor that was interconnected with the Bible. So, for example, I can simply type a verse reference (such as “Acts 1:1-8), and the Logos sermon editor will automatically paste the full text of those verses into my sermon notes if I want.
But in Logos 9, the sermon editor has morphed into a sermon manager. It still has the full word processing capabilities and interconnectivity. But now it also has a place for me to map out an entire sermon series (like a set of lesson plans). I can sort sermons by series, venue, or date. I can view them in a table, or a radial calendar format, and have it all linked up with my church’s calendar or a liturgical calendar. I can click on any sermon’s title to open up the sermon notes themselves, and I can track which sermons have been preached at multiple locations.
This manager is a one-stop shop for planning out an entire teaching ministry. It doesn’t have to be focused on sermons, but would work just as well for any Bible study leader or Sunday school teacher and their teaching notes or lesson plans. This is simply wonderful.
Logos 9 has a similar new feature for a counseling or discipleship ministry. It has a Counseling Guide which can quickly suggest resources and Scripture passages on hundreds of topics, along with a place to keep track of and organize private notes.
With Logos 9, this software now does much to assist not only your personal Bible study but also your teaching or leadership of others in Bible study. I am delighted to commend it for your consideration. Keep in mind, though, that if you are already a commentary junkie, Logos might only accelerate your journey toward overdose. But if you have disciplined yourself to love and study the biblical text itself, inviting outside resources to join you as conversation partners and not personal trainers, Logos will serve you exceptionally well.
You might think it’s easy for me to say that, since Faithlife offered me a complimentary upgrade to Logos 9 in exchange for an honest review. But my review here is thoroughly honest. While my upgrades have come to me at no cost, I have deposited large amounts of money into shaping my Logos research library into just what I want it to be. And if I could go back to the beginning of my ministry knowing what I know now, I would absolutely have sought to raise the additional funds to provide myself with this inestimable tool.
They have made it easier than ever to benefit from this powerful software regardless of the size of your budget. You could spend thousands of dollars to squish a world-class theological research library into your pocket; or you could spend about $30 just to get access to some dizzyingly powerful study tools. Take your pick, or find something in between. I don’t think you’ll regret it. Check out Logos 9.
Justin Dillehay takes a close look at Psalm 110 to unpack what it has to say about the person and work of Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus said the Psalms were about him (Luke 24:44), and Psalm 110 was one the apostles returned to time and again to show forth Jesus’ work.
Out of all the verses in the Hebrew Bible, the most frequently quoted in the New Testament is Psalm 110:1. But that’s not all. Verse 4 of the same psalm gets almost an entire chapter’s worth of commentary (Heb. 7:11–28). Clearly, the apostles and prophets saw this messianic psalm as highly significant for their understanding of Jesus.
We would do well, then, to consider how this psalm presents the Messiah whom we worship.
The phone rings, and you’re needed. Maybe there’s been an injury or an illness, or maybe your church has changed plans at the last minute. You need to prepare a Bible study, and you only have an hour.
This may sound more like a Mission: Impossible plot than real life. But these scenarios really do happen! And it’s not too hard in 2020 to imagine an event not working out as planned.
In my previous article I described an ideal setting, where I take an average of 6.5 hours to prepare a Bible study. Today I want to consider a scenario that’s much less than ideal.
With such limited preparation time, I suggest rethinking the purpose of this particular gathering. Where most meetings center on discovery guided by a leader who has thoroughly considered the passage, this meeting might be better focused on mutual discovery.
Since you’ll have only a tiny head start on the rest of the group, I suggest treating this study as a workshop more than a traditional Bible study. Together, you and the group can study the passage and move toward the author’s main point.
This approach takes a great deal of humility and trust in the Lord. This approach also rests on the fact that the Holy Spirit is our Bible teacher. During a standard Bible study meeting I find God often brings understanding and clarity (and conviction!) through other group members; this will be even more likely during a meeting with light preparation.
Treat this meeting as an opportunity to teach your friends how to study the Bible as you practice observation, interpretation, and application together. And for those who know the OIA method already—we all need to practice and sharpen those skills.
If you’ve re-framed this last-minute Bible study in the way I’ve suggested, a crucial question still remains. How exactly should you use that one hour of preparation time?
Read the passage as many times as possible for 40 of those 60 minutes. After every time or two through the passage, jot down some notes about the overall structure and themes.
For the final 20 minutes of preparation, do some observation and interpretation work, trying to notice important features of the passage and asking why they are there. Be sure to pray and ask for God’s blessing and help.
You’ll likely have more questions than answers going into the meeting. But this exposure to the passage, along with the God-given wisdom and insight of your group members, may make this an exciting learning experience.
Some may wonder why I haven’t suggested picking up a study Bible or commentary. After all, the reasoning goes, why not spend all 60 minutes of your limited prep time learning from someone who has invested in this passage deeply?
The most fruitful Bible studies are led by those who are deeply acquainted with the text. You will have a more engaged and productive discussion by spending time in the Scriptures instead of any commentary about the Scriptures. Commentary-heavy preparation will likely result in a Bible study that sounds like an extended academic citation garnished with a few courtesy questions. And true application would be unlikely.
It may not ever happen that you’re asked to lead a Bible study on short notice. But if you’re anything like me, there will be times when your ideal preparation time is slashed and squeezed by the circumstances of life.
If that happens, there’s no need to worry. Your Bible study may not look like it usually does, but God is not limited by your standard of normal. Studying the Scriptures alongside your friends may prove more fruitful than you imagined.
Perhaps you’ve heard reference to a “Bible-believing” church, or perhaps you’ve been told the Bible is the “Word of God” and can be trusted. But why is it that we can trust this book? And why would churches stake their reputation on believing it?
While I could give many reasons to support the essential trustworthiness of the Bible, perhaps the most important reason is simply that Jesus trusted it.
Luke concludes his narrative of Jesus’ life with a brief discussion between the risen Christ and his disciples (Luke 24:44-49). And in this narrative, Jesus’ parting words are words of trust in the Bible’s reliability.
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
Luke 24:44
Jesus believes not only that the Bible speaks, but that it speaks about him. He refers specifically to the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible (what we call the Old Testament): the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (the Psalms were the most identifiable part of the poetic books, or “Writings”). And the things written in these three sections are about him.
In addition, those are the very words Jesus himself spoke to them while he was ministering among them. So the Hebrew Bible speaks about Jesus, and Jesus has spoken those same things about himself.
But what exactly do the Hebrew Scriptures say about Jesus, which he underscored in his own teaching?
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Luke 24:45-47
The message of the Old Testament can be summarized in four points:
This is what the Bible says. This is what Jesus himself says.
But that’s not all. This message must go out, but how?
You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 24:48-49
Now that Jesus has affirmed the message of the Old Testament—which lines up with his own message about himself—he calls his disciples to do something new. He wants them to bear witness of these things as well. He will send the promise and power of the Father to help with this task (Luke’s next volume, the book of Acts, will tell us that the Father’s promise and power is the indwelling Holy Spirit).
So what is Jesus (and Luke) referring to when he speaks of the apostolic witness to these things? Certainly this includes the marvelous preaching that will take place over the next generation, some of which is recorded in Acts. But it has particular reference not only to the preaching but especially to the writings of these witnesses. Matthew, John, and Peter were almost certainly present when Jesus spoke these words. Perhaps James and Jude were as well. Paul would later receive a similar commission (Acts 26:16)
So Jesus relies on the witness they will speak and write, a witness which will be empowered and directed by nothing short of the Spirit of the Father. A witness that we call the New Testament.
Jesus came with a message to proclaim about himself—who he was and what he came to do. This message was enshrined in the Old Testament, and it would be reinforced by the New Testament.
So why can we trust the Bible? Because Jesus did. He trusted the Old Testament, for it spoke about him. And he trusted the New Testament, because it would speak about him. “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you” (Luke 24:44).
Though Jesus has ascended to heaven and no longer walks the earth in the flesh (at least, for a time), he still speaks to us through the words of the Old and New Testaments. He trusted them, and therefore so can we.
I appreciate Megan Taylor’s piece at Reformation21, where she observes the help offered in Psalm 121, considers the disconnect between such promises and real life, and finds satisfying answers in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This brief devotional piece is worth your time.
How can the believer reconcile the suffering, trials, and persecution they are guaranteed with the astounding assurance in Psalm 121 that the Lord will keep them from all evil? Some might misinterpret this passage and claim a false gospel of health and wealth. Others may question God’s wisdom when they look at the tragedies befalling Christians throughout the world. Often we simply view this psalm as a platitude. We turn to it when we feel uneasy or anxious, but stop short of the solace it offers once our fears are momentarily assuaged. We are satisfied with momentary relief when we are promised comfort forevermore.
Luke ends his gospel with a masterpiece of a story that has captured our imaginations for millennia. And the story is so vivid and well-told that, if we’re not careful, its artistry can easily distract us from its chief message. I imagine you’ve heard speculation about whether the “other disciple” is Cleopas’s wife. And perhaps you’ve wished to be part of the greatest Bible study of all time on that 6-mile walk. Or maybe you’ve wondered how Jesus could simply vanish into thin air. And maybe you’ve been inspired by the eagerness of the two disciples to return to Jerusalem “that same hour,” after their long walk home on that long day.
These matters are all worth considering, and they are rightly in the corporate consciousness of those who read this story today. But allow me to model how a few key principles will help us to penetrate the outer edges of the story to better grasp its main point. (In what follows, I seek to apply the principles of narrative plot structure explained in this post.)
With even an elementary grasp on how plot structure works, you know to look for the introduction of conflict. Everything before that conflict is simply setting the scene.
So we read, beginning at Luke 24:13, and we’re told of “two of them” going to Emmaus, about 7 miles from Jerusalem. They were talking about everything that had happened. While they were talking, Jesus himself draws near and goes with them. None of this is tense. There is no conflict yet, so all these details provide the setting for what is about to transpire.
Then Luke goes out of his way to tell us, “But their eyes were kept from recognizing him” (Luke 24:16). Now the story finally feels tense. Now there is a sense of uncertainty, of conflict between what is happening and what they perceive is happening.
In particular, we see a conflict between the disciples and their perceptions (your English teacher may have called this “man vs. himself”). The issue this story wants to address is: Can they recognize Jesus? And if so, how?
Now don’t get distracted. I can observe as well as you can that the passive voice is used: “their eyes were kept…” But don’t let that distract you into speculation on divine sovereignty vs. free will, nor into questions about why God would prevent them from recognizing Jesus. Much of the purpose of the passive voice is to avoid such matters entirely. Narrators typically use passive voice when they wish to direct your attention away from the person doing the action. They want you to gaze instead simply at what is happening to the object(s) of the action.
Skimming through the story for now, we should look for the climax. Where is the conflict (they can’t recognize Jesus) reversed? Luke does all the heavy lifting for us here, making it as clear as possible: “And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him” (Luke 24:31).
So everything between verses 16 and 31 serves as “rising action.” The events recounted here are heightening the tension and magnifying the conflict. And the material in verses 32-35 provide the resolution (32-34) and new setting (35). Remember, our opening setting involved two of them walking away from Jerusalem discussing the events surrounding Jesus’ resurrection. On account of the conflict, rising action, and climax, we have reached a new state of affairs where these two folks are no longer asking and wondering, but telling of what happened. And more particularly, they can proclaim “how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread” (Luke 24:35).
So our simple identification of conflict and climax strongly suggests that Luke’s main point in this episode has something to do with recognizing the risen Jesus. Of course, that’s not quite enough to go on just yet (it’s only a short phrase and not a truth proposition that ought to be believed or obeyed). But it sets us in the right direction.
We can look within the story’s action to discover that the testimony of the Hebrew Scripture plays a major role in such recognition. And there is something more going on than simply identifying Jesus by name in a lineup (bare “recognition” of Jesus’ name or face). Luke is communicating quite profoundly that they failed to recognize resurrection as being fundamental to the person and work of the Messiah. And this was not a problem of education but a problem of faith and of biblical interpretation (Luke 24:25-26).
That’s as far as I’ll go for now. I don’t want to simply tell you what I think the main point is. That would defeat the purpose of trying to help you figure it out for yourself.
But I trust my reflections here have done enough to show you that their eyes, while on the text, had been focused in all the wrong places. Perhaps we ought to avoid the same error when we study these Scriptures ourselves.
Douglas Sean O’Donnell asks and answers some key questions to provide background to a study of the Psalms:
On the one hand, answering the question posed in the title of this article is impossible. The amount of time required to prepare a Bible study is highly individual, depending on the passage involved along with the leader’s experience, skills, and life circumstances.
So, why attempt this at all? Some readers may be thinking about starting a Bible study group, and some may soon be asked to lead a study at their church. The time involved in such service should be part of their considerations.
My aim in what follows is to be descriptive, not prescriptive. I’ll describe roughly how long it takes me to prepare a Bible study. I am probably average when it comes to preparation time, though I have been doing this for many years.
The first step in preparing a Bible study is to study the passage. And the first—perhaps most important—step in studying the passage is to read it as much as possible. I try to read or listen to the passage at least 20 times before I begin any further study. (This is one of the most valuable parts of my process that I’ve changed in the last three years.) On average this takes me about two hours.
After reading and rereading the passage, I begin my OIA study. I’ve described my tools and process before, so I won’t repeat myself. My goal at this stage is to understand the author’s main point. This also takes me around two hours.
I then grab a commentary or sometimes two. My use of these tools varies depending on the complexity of the passage I’m studying. (And choosing a good commentary is important!) I’m looking for interpretive help from my commentary; I like to compare the author’s conclusions with my own. This usually takes one hour.
I next try to synthesize the commentary and my own understanding of the passage to write down a main point. I then work on personal application; after all, the best small group leader is one who has been changed by the passage. A rough time estimate: half an hour.
The final stage of my process is to turn my private study into something useful for my group. Most of this time is spent writing questions to help my friends understand the passage and discover its main point. I try to think of a good launching question, and I make sure to pray. Time: one hour.
Adding up my time estimates gives a total of about 6.5 hours.
For most Bible studies, I spread my preparation time out over a week. I finish the task by spending 30–60 minutes/day.
I also have friends that pack their preparation into one or two longer time blocks. Some simply prefer this; others do it out of necessity. Again, there’s no single correct approach.
As you gain experience and confidence in leading Bible studies, you will gradually need less time to prepare. That’s true with most endeavors in life.
However, I learn and grow so much during my Bible study preparation, I’m not eager to cut my time much further. For my own spiritual health, it is time well spent.
