Take notes - Ask lots of questions and mark up your passage, you can either give special markings to your notes or use a color-coding system, whichever works best for you. Below are some helpful ways to get started: We don’t want to import our own biases and have the passage say something it doesn’t (eisegesis), rather we want to discover how the original audience of the passage would have received it (exegesis). Once you’ve comprehended a passage, it’s time to do the hard work of interpretation. REFLECT (INTERPRETATION) WHAT DOES THE TEXT MEAN? To start out we’d recommend comparing a passage against the ESV, NIV, CSB, and NIrV translations.) ( offers an “Add parallel” feature where you can compare up to five translations back-to-back. Use different translations - Reading from different translations helps you encounter a passage afresh and can help clarify any questions you have with the text. You can also purchase one of Crossway’s Bible journals to write down your notes. To do this, simply copy/paste from onto a blank document, making sure your printout is double-spaced with plenty of room in the margins for your notes. Print out the passage - have a physical copy of what you’re studying so you can underline, circle, and mark up your thoughts. (To make it even easier, The Bible Project has broken down the context for every book in the Old Testament and New Testament.) Below are some questions to ask: Look at the context - Imagine how frustrating it would be to watch a movie clip with no context whatsoever on the plot or characters - and yet we do that so often with our Bibles! So to help us unpack what a passage means we need to know some background information. If you’re in a LifeGroup, consider holding each other accountable by scheduling a time each day where everyone in your group will study the Bible together - for example, one of our LifeGroups makes a conference call to each other every morning at 6am to pray and remind themselves to study their Bibles!īelow are some helpful steps to comprehend a passage: So as you begin, find a quiet place (ideally not a coffee shop), that is free from distractions (ideally not in the same room as your TV or other screens), where you can be alert (ideally not in your bed), at a time when you can be alert (ideally not as you’re about to fall asleep). While this sounds simple enough, there are often many barriers that keep us from studying the Bible - time management, lack of focus, lack of sleep, etc. Studying the Bible begins by first carving out time, sitting down, and thoroughly reading the passage. READ (COMPREHENSION) WHAT DOES THE TEXT SAY? As Bible teacher Jen Wilkin puts it, “The heart cannot love what the mind does not know.If we want to feel deeply about God, we must learn to think deeply about God.” Whereas lectio divina relies more on reading a passage meditatively with our hearts, inductive Bible study relies more on reading a passage methodically with our minds, and as followers of Jesus, we want both. As you work through this, you’ll notice the similarities and differences between inductive Bible study and lectio divina. Just like regular Bible reading or lectio divina, it involves three main steps: read, reflect, and respond with questions to ask yourself for each step. Inductive Bible study is one way we do this. When we do, God uses that to slowly make us more and more like Him. And while no one expects us to all be seminary professors or in full-time ministry, we are expected to be in God’s Word regularly (Psalm 1). As God’s people, we want to be guided by His Word and empowered by His Spirit to be a Jesus-centered family on mission.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |