How to Read the Bible
St Marks
Discipleship Class
"For the Word of God is your
adversary, if you be a friend
to your ungodliness; but if you
are an adversary to your own
ungodliness, the Word of God
is your friend, as well as the
adversary of your
ungodliness"
-St. Augustine
5 Keys to a Dynamic
Bible Study
1. The secret of dynamic
Bible study is knowing
how to ask the right kinds
of questions .
5 Keys to a Dynamic
Bible Study
2. Dynamic Bible study
involves writing down what
you have observed and
discovered .
5 Keys to a Dynamic
Bible Study
3. The ultimate goal of
dynamic Bible study is
application, not just
interpretation.
5 Keys to a Dynamic
Bible Study
4. Dynamic Bible Study
means that God’s Word
must be studied
systematically
5 Keys to a Dynamic
Bible Study
5. In dynamic Bible study
you will never exhaust the
riches in any one passage
of Scripture .
How to Prepare?
1. Schedule your Bible
study time .
How to Prepare?
2. Keep a notebook .
”The Shortest Pencil is
Longer Than the Longest
Memory”
How to Prepare?
3. Get the right tools
Tools Needed:
a.A study Bible
b. Two recent Bible versions
c.An exhaustive concordance
d. A topical Bible
e. A Bible handbook
f. Commentary
How to Prepare?
4. Spend a short time in
prayer before each study .
Approaches to
Studying the Bible
Personally
1. Devotional Study
2. Chapter Summary Method
3. Character Quality Method
I. Devotional Study
Goal:
The goal is for you to take
seriously the Word of God
and “do what it says”
James 1:22
Steps for
Devotional Study
a. Pray for Insight on How
to Apply the Passage
Devotional Study
b. Meditate on the Verse(s)
You Have Chosen to
Study
S-P-A-C-E-P-E-T-S
Sin to confess?
Promise to claim?
Attitude to change?
Command to obey?
Example to follow?
Prayer to pray?
Error to avoid?
Truth to believe?
Something to praise God for?
Devotional Study
c. Write Out an Application
Shoud be:
• Personal
• Practical
• Possible
• Provable
Example
“All man’s efforts are for his mouth, yet
his appetite is never satisfied.
Ecclesiastes 6:7
1.Personal: “I need to stop being a
glutton”
2. Practical: “I need to lose some
weight.”
3. Possible: “I need to lose 10 pounds.”
4. Provable: “I need to lose 10 pounds
before the end of the month.”
Devotional Study
d. Memorize a Key Verse
from Your Study
PRACTICE TIME: John 6:31-36
II. The Chapter
Summary Method
• The Chapter Summary Method
of Bible Study involves gaining
a general understanding of the
contents of a chapter of the
Bible by reading it through at
least five times, asking a
series of content questions, and
summarizing the central
thoughts of the passage
Tips to Read a
Chapter of The Bible
• Read it in a Bible without notes
• Read it without stopping
• Read it in different translations
•
Read it aloud quietly to yourself
II. The Chapter
Summary Method
Step One: Caption
1 Corinthians 13 might be titled
“Love Chapter”
II. The Chapter
Summary Method
Step Two: Contents
List of the major points in a
chapter
II. The Chapter
Summary Method
Step Three: Chief People
Who are the main people in
this chapter?
II. The Chapter
Summary Method
Step Four Choice Verse
The verse that summarizes
the whole chapter or one that
speaks to you personally
II. The Chapter
Summary Method
Step Five Crucial Word
Word used frequently
Ex: “faith” in Hebrews 11
II. The Chapter
Summary Method
Step Six: Challenges
List Difficulties, Questions,
things you need to study
further
II. The Chapter
Summary Method
Step Seven Cross-References
II. The Chapter
Summary Method
Step Nine: Central Lesson(s)
Major principles, insights, and
lessons you learn from this
chapter
II. The Chapter
Summary Method
Step Ten Conclusion
How do these truths apply to me
personally?
What specifically am I going to
do about them?
PRACTICE: Mal 1
III. The Character
Quality Method
• The purpose of this method
of Bible study is to identify
character qualities taught in
the Bible with the view of
learning to avoid the
negative ones and learning
to work on the positive ones,
so that we become more
like the Lord Jesus Christ.
Tips for Effectiveness
1. Only work on one quality at a time
2. Don’t rush it! Character development takes
time.
3. Stay with that one quality until you get
victory in that specific area.
4. Be alert to a negative quality in your life that
is actually a positive one being misused.
5. Trust the Holy Spirit to build these qualities
in your life.
III. The Character
Quality Method
Step One:
Name the Quality
Tip: List any synonyms or
related words
III. The Character
Quality Method
Step Two:
Name the Opposite Quality
III. The Character
Quality Method
Step Three:
Do a Simple Word Study
Use Bible Dictionary:
http://www.biblestudytools.com/dicti
onaries/eastons-bible-dictionary/
III. The Character
Quality Method
Step Four:
Find Some Cross References
III. The Character
Quality Method
Step Five:
Do a Brief Biographical Study
Try to find at least one person who showed
this character quality in his or her life.
III. The Character
Quality Method
Step Six :
Find a Memory Verse
III. The Character
Quality Method
Step Seven Select a Situation or Relationship
to Work On
III. The Character
Quality Method
Step Eight:
Plan a Specific Project
III. The Character
Quality Method
Step Nine:
Write Out a Personal
Illustration
PRACTICE: Humility