bible study

A Bible Study Plan That Works--Part 2

Sean McDowell — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:03:05 -0800

In my last blog post I shared the process I took my students through to come up with a theme statement for the book of Ephesians. It took us an entire week of class, but it was well worth it!

For the second week, I had them work in groups to break down the book into chapters, sub-chapters, and to come up with a heading for each of them. Rather than simply accepting the existing divisions of Ephesians, they came up with their own analysis of the structure of the book. Below is a sample of their work. Once they broke down the book into their own divisions, they used the existing chapters and verses to communicate how they believed it should be organized. As you can tell, their outline is very similar to the existing outline in the Bible!

Chapter I: Salvation Through Christ (1:1-23)

1: 1-2 Greeting

1: 3-14 Blessings

1: 15-23 God's Greatness and Power

Chapter II: Grace Alone (2:1-22)

2: 1-10 Saved By Grace

2: 11-22 Unity

Chapter III: Salvation for Gentiles (3:1-21)

3: 1-13 Mystery of Christ

3: 14-21 God's Power

Chapter IV: Christ-Like Living (4:1-5:5)

4: 1-16 One Body In Christ

4: 17-Ch. 5:5 Be Imitators of God

Chapter V: Wise Living(5:6-33)

5: 6- 21Be Wise

5: 22- 33 Husbands and Wives

Chapter VI: Stand Firm (6:1-24)

6: 1- 24

6: 1- 9 Children and Slaved

6: 10- 20 Armor of God

6: 21- 24 Closing Statements

For the last step we took three verses, Ephesians 2:8-10, and analyzed them in-depth. I had them work in groups and come up with at least 25 observations of those two verses. Yes, 25 observations! We wrote many of their observations on the board and talked about them. The next day I put them in groups again and made them come up with 10 more! Here are some of the observations they came up with:

“Good works are the result of salvation, not the cause”

“Part of the reason we were created is to do good works”

“Salvation is a gift from God, not from our efforts.”

These observations are simple, but profound. In fact, many cults such as Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses miss the relationship between works and salvation these verses so clearly lay out. We talked about this so they would see how critical the details are.

This also helped them see how much depth can be found in a single verse. And yet they also realized that individual verses only made sense with an understanding of the whole book. This experience highlights a few key truths about youth and Bible study:

1. Many students want to study the Bible if we can give them a simple, understandable, practical plan.

2. Dictionaries, commentaries, Bible atlases are all critical, but much understanding of the Bible can be attained simply by reading it with a purposeful plan.

3. Repetition is one of the most important Bible study principles. This is true in two ways. First, reading the same passages continually brings out certain truths we often miss on initial reading. Second, important truths in the Bible are often repeated for emphasis (For example, the word “Jordan” is repeated 28 times in Joshua 3-4, because the crossing of the Jordan was a monumental period in the life of Joshua and the Israelites).

4. The best Bible study plan is to start from the big picture and then work down to the details. As I said earlier, the particulars only make sense in light of the whole. The chapters and verses in our Bible are helpful, but the predispose us to read the Bible in a way not intentioned by the original authors. Sometimes it’s best to take them out.

The Bible is an understandable book. We don’t have to speak Greek or have a Ph.D. in theology to study the Bible effectively (as helpful as these may be). We just have to be willing to put in a little thought and effort. Are you willing?

A Bible Study Plan That Works

Sean McDowell — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:58:34 -0800

One of the most disconcerting trends of 2011 is the continued lack of theological knowledge among the church, as demonstrated in the Barna 2010 Trends. As Christians we simply don’t have theological depth or know how to relate it to our lives. And we spend little time studying the Bible, despite Paul’s strong admonition to Timothy (2 Tim. 2:15). Even though we claim to believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, it tends to take a back seat to other priorities in our lives.

Why is this? Many possible reasons come to mind. One reason is that we are simply busy. Are lives are filled and studying the Bible takes time and effort. Another reason is that we simply don’t know how to study the Bible. I’m convinced that if more people in the church truly knew how to study the Bible, and saw the fruits of increased understanding, they would make time for it.

To help counter this trend with my students, I decided to try and new approach this year. Taking cues from my friend Brett Kunkle of Stand to Reason, I took my students on a 2-week journey of the book of Ephesians to see how much they could garner from a guided expedition.

Rather than reading from our Bibles, I printed out the entire book of Ephesians with the chapters, verses, and headings removed. Ephesians was written as a letter from Paul to the church at Ephesus and, quite obviously, did not originally contain these divisions. With the divisions gone, the students could see the letter in a much closer form to the original and come to their own conclusions about its structure and meaning. While chapters and verses are helpful in some respects, they often cause us to focus on the particulars and miss the larger point.

The first thing I had my students do was read the entire book in one setting without taking any notes. It took about 20 minutes the first time. Amazingly, this was the first time some of them had ever read an entire book of the Bible straight through. I told them to focus on the big picture of Ephesians and not get lost in the details. Then we briefly discussed the central ideas of Ephesians. I simply asked them what they learned by reading the book straight through.

The next day we began class by reading Ephesians again in its entirety. I told them to focus on what is repeated throughout the book so they could pick up on important themes and trends. This time I let them take notes. Afterwards, I asked them what they learned about the church at Ephesus just by reading the book. They observed that the people were having trouble with both their beliefs and behavior.

The third day we read it through out loud popcorn style. Then I asked what they learned by hearing it instead of reading it. I also pressed them to share what big ideas they see in both the structure of Ephesians and the ideas of Ephesians.

The fourth day they read it again silently. Then I put them in groups to work out a summary statement for the whole book. They came back with lengthy sentences strung together, which should have been broken down into 3-4 separate sentences! But they were starting to get the idea that an entire book of the Bible has a central theme that ties it all together.

The fifth day I had them read the entire book again silently (this was the last time. Now it took about 15 minutes rather than 20). Then they worked again in groups to try and simplify their summaries to one punchy statement. I wrote them on the board, and as a group, we evaluated them. After about 20 minutes we came up with a summary statement for all of Ephesians: By God’s grace and truth, live like Christ in unity. Those of you familiar with the book of Ephesians will realize rather quickly that they did a great job. The class cheered when we came up with it!

All this took one week of class, which is five periods of 45 minutes. In my next blog post, I’ll share what we did the following week. Here’s a hint: once we got the big picture, we worked our way down to the particulars…

Why Not Go Deep?

Stan Jantz — Sun, 23 May 2010 12:15:32 -0700

I've been thinking about going deep lately. Something clicked in me after meeting with Jim Belcher, former pastor of Redeemer Prebyterian Church in Orange County and the author of Deep Church. Jim is leaving the church he planted almost ten years ago to move his family to England and work on a second book, which will most likely have the word "deep" in it. Jim seems to have hit a nerve with the idea of going deep, whether it's a church or an individual.

We didn't get deep into the subject, mainly because Jim is moving in a few weeks and every minute in his life counts right now, and he couldn't spend any more time with me than it took to consume a $4 Dennys value breakfast. But our conversation was enough to get me thinking:

Why don't more Christians go deep?

In all kinds of other areas, going deep is a very admirable quality:

A baseball player who goes deep is a home run hitter. Everybody gets excited about home runs and home run hitters (as long as they don't take steroids).
An airplane pilot who goes into deep space is an astronaut, and who doesn't admire astronauts? I mean, Buzz Aldrin made a guest appearance on 30 Rock, and how cool is that?
If a student thinks deeply enough for an extended period of time and gets an advanced degree for the effort, he or she becomes a scholar, and who among us doesn't occasionally fantasize about being a scholar?

You get the idea. Going deep is good. We admire people who go deep. So why don't more of us do it, especially when it comes to our relationship with Christ? Well, for one thing, it's hard work. Going deep takes practice, discipline, and preparation. Who has time for that? It's so much easier to go through life being average or maybe kind of good at a lot of things rather than really good at one or two things. And because we take that attitude with most things in our lives, we tend to treat our life with Christ in exactly the same way. We stay on the surface, settling for average, content with good enough, rather than developing the discipline, doing the work, and taking the time required to go deep. And I for one think we're missing out.

Going deep isn't just about performance or effort. It's also about the results and reward that come from going below and beyond the surface. Precious stones are found deep in a mine. The wonders and mysteries of the sea are in the depths. Profound thoughts emerge from deep thinking.

Likewise, the Christian who goes below and beyond the surface with Christ is rewarded with a deep relationship. How do I know that? I've had some moments in my life when I went spiritually deep, and I suspect you've been there too. You were asked to lead a Bible study, so you did a deep study of a portion of Scripture. You were at a tough place in your life, and you were driven to your knees in deep prayer. You were in church and the worship took you to a place you hadn't been in a while. You've been there, if only for a brief period of time, deep in the word, deep in worship, deep with Jesus. And it was great.

So why not go deep more often? I'm not talking all of the time. Even astronauts and deep sea divers live on the surface most of the time. Home run hitters often strike out. But when they're on the surface doing average things, these above average people are thinking about the next time they go deep. They're planning their next adventure, envisioning their next home run.

As Christians, we can accept the reality that we can't go deep all the time. But shouldn't we think about it more than we do? That's where I'm at right now. I want to go deep more than I do. I want to be able to exult like the apostle Paul did in his letter to the Roman church, "Oh the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"

I would be interested if you have any deep thoughts of your own on the subject. Tell me about a time when you went deep spiritually. What happened? What was the effect on your life? Are you planning to go deep again any time soon?

Oh, and by the way, if you haven't read Jim Belcher's Deep Church, I highly recommend it. And if you are a Facebook user, become Jim's friend. He has a lot of deep stuff to offer.

Sometimes All You Need is a Plan

Christy Tennant — Wed, 19 May 2010 09:56:39 -0700

Lately, I've had trouble focusing when it was time to read the Bible. I realized that this was largely due to the fact that I have not been following a reading plan this year. During odd-numbered years, I read through the whole Bible, usually using this plan. But during even-numbered years like the one we're in now, I have historically taken a more systematic approach. For example, one year I focused on the Sermon on the Mount (using this excellent book by John Stott as an accompanying text), another year I used Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology and read scripture as I studied particular topics.

All in all, I have found this rhythm of Bible study to be a good one, but lately, without the structure of a reading plan, I am often prone to be less disciplined in my morning devotional time when it comes to Bible study. This morning, for example, I reached for a Christian book and then a Christian magazine before picking up my Bible. It was at that moment I knew I needed to take action.

I did a Google search of "Bible Reading Plans" and, after considering several options, I landed on this one: "30 Stories You've Probably Never Heard" from Zondervan. (Click here for a list of many other great reading plans from Zondervan.) It's a great list, and I am looking forward to revisiting some of the more obscure, yet rich, stories from scripture.

I started with Day One today, and within five minutes, God had used the passage listed (Number 11) to speak to me in a powerful way.

In the next post, I'll tell you how!

Apologetics Study Bible for Students

Sean McDowell — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:13:35 -0800

The Apologetics Study Bible for Students is here! The Bible shipped January 31, and now you can order from Amazon. This is something I've been working on for two years and I am absolutely thrilled about it.

The Apologetics Study Bible for Students will anchor younger Christians in the truths of Scripture by equipping them with thoughtful and practical responses for whenever the core issues of their faith and life are challenged.

Multiple research studies have shown that spiritual focus often weakens among teenagers as they head into the attention-dividing realm of young adulthood. Up to 66% of them leave church altogether. The Apologetics Study Bible for Students works against that trend by helping this audience begin to better articulate its beliefs.

Playing Tag with God

Christy Tennant — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:41:41 -0800

People sometimes ask me what my favorite passage of scripture is, and I usually have a hard time coming up with an answer. However, this morning I finished my 2009 Bible Reading Plan by reading the last three chapters of Revelation, and I think this might just be my favorite passage:

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."*

I usually only read Revelation once a year, but this morning as I was meditating on this passage (and its wider context of chapters 20-22), I was deeply encouraged by this glimpse of the end of the story. A day is coming when everything from this life will finally make sense; a day is coming when suffering and sorrow will end for those who are found to be in Christ, and we will be floating on streets of pure gold.

This passage also reminds me how much of the story we simply will not know or understand fully until the time comes to actually live it out. What does it mean that there will be a first and second death? What does it mean that death and hell will give up their dead, and then be cast into the lake of fire, and that everyone who is not written in the book of life will likewise be thrown into the lake of fire? I have so many questions as I read these passages - there is so much we can only guess at.

Unlike some of my contemporaries, I do believe in a literal heaven and hell, and I do believe that there will be eternal gladness for those who are in Christ, and eternal suffering for those who are not. I believe this because, having thoughtfully and humbly investigated several faith systems, having been willing to be convinced otherwise, I have only been all the more pursuaded that the Bible is the only trustworthy and reliable source of revealed knowledge of God. And there is no way to read the Bible and dismiss eternal gladness with Jesus or eternal suffering apart from God without taking a scissors to many passages from both old testament and new, both red and black letters. Some of the hard questions make me wish I could do that, but I'm not prepared to start cutting out the bits of the Bible I don't like. Interpret them? Yes. Disregard them altogether? Nope.

Certainly, nature and humanity tell us a tremendous amount about God; the heavens declare the work of his hands, and humanity is made in his image. But there is much vital knowledge about God that can only be found through reading these scriptures, and as I closed the book this morning and reflected on the past year as seens through the lense of scripture, I find myself muttering, "truly, I am further up and in than I was one year ago."

I have several goals for the coming year, which I plan to share here tomorrow. But for the past decade or so, my goals have been rooted in the same thing: to know God better, primarily through the study of His word and the humble acknowledgement that God's word and the world around us are both necessary for knowing Him. Someone who reads scripture diligently but neglects to likewise study his fellow man in the pursuit of God will fail to know God truly. Someone who reads studies the Bible daily, yet does not take time to gaze at the stars or observe an animal's dependence on its master for provision will not know God. Sometimes, knowing God must come from experience.

By the same token, someone who studies man and beast and the stars, but rejects the written word of God, will be in grave danger of missing out on the most important aspect of why Jesus came: not just rebirth, but new birth, which does not happen in nature - only in divinity. Ex nihilo nil fit.

So one of my goals for the coming year is to gain an increased appetite for scripture, as well as divine illumination in my mind, so that I might see God and know him more in both the written word of God, and God's reflection in all of creation. The thing that I am most encouraged by, as I sit here thinking about the pursuit of knowing God, is the revelation that God wants to be known. Everything he does seems to be aimed as us knowing him. The more I think about it, the more it occurs to me that knowing God is less like playing Hide and Seek and more like playing Tag.

And this morning, I have a giddy sense that God just touched my shoulder and said, "You're it!"

Ready or not, here I come.

James Bond and Bible Software (004)

John Barry — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:36:09 -0800

As the Editor-in-Chief of Bible Study Magazine, people regularly ask me, “How should I study the Bible?” I answer this question differently nearly every time. Why? Because there is no simple answer. There are hundreds of ways to study the Bible. (You can listen to my answer on the Debbie Chavez Show here.) Nonetheless, I always come back to two points: Ask questions of the biblical text and get good resources. Let’s talk about the second point.

Me, Myself and I (oh yeah, and the Spirit) Bible study is one of the great assassins of biblical interpretation. We need the community of God and good resources. If you have been a long time reader of my blog, you know I regularly try to bring context to the passages we discuss. I love (maybe a little too much) loading my PP7 and shooting down current notions about what prophecy is. So, let me reveal my ‘secret agent man’ identity a bit, by showing you what gadgets I use to get the job done. (Yes, I own all the James Bond films. I even collected each individually. I know. I am a nerd.)

My Austin Martin with rocket launchers in the headlights is Logos Bible Software 4, which was released today. I have been covertly testing the new product for the past few months. Full 004 Disclosure: I work for Logos Bible Software—they are the publisher of Bible Study Magazine. I began using Logos when I entered University. I use Logos for researching blog posts and articles, fact checking Bible Study Magazine, reading the Bible, and preparing sermons. I rarely closed Logos when researching my forthcoming book (and thesis) on the Resurrected Servant in Isaiah. I pretty much use it all the time. I now will begin doing all my Bible study using Logos Bible Software 4. Why? Because I have nearly 3,000 books in Logos; and in seconds I have full guides on a passage or word generated

Logos Bible Software 4 truly is Bible study reimagined. Logos 4 includes cutting edge tile and tab technology. It can be synced across multiple platforms—Mac, PC and iPhone (or iPod touch). The home page is basically an auto-updated newspaper with content from your library and Logos Bible Software's blog, which makes getting into Bible study easy. The insane amount of specially commissioned infographics and maps is mind boggling. (And all of them can be put into customizable handouts right in the software.) Plus, Logos Bible Software 4 allows for me to search my entire library at breakneck speeds. As we have been saying around the office, “ 'powerful and easy to use' is more than just a catch phrase with Logos Bible Software 4.”

I could go on and on about the things I love about my company’s new product (just ask my family). Instead of doing that, I will just let you watch the video. But let me make one promise (a promise I would make whether I worked for Logos Bible Software or not): Logos Bible Software 4 will absolutely take your Bible study to a whole new level. It will change the way you read God’s Word.

P.S. We will resume our discussion of the ‘Infinite in Everything’ in my next post.

What Verse Rocked Your World Today?

Christy Tennant — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:36:26 -0700

Am I the only one?

This morning, my alarm went off, as it usually does. After pushing snooze once or twice, I got up, as I usually do. Got the coffee started and unloaded the dishwasher while it was brewing, and by a little after 7, I was in my favorite chair with my stack of morning reading.

This year I am going through the Discipleship Journal Bible-in-a-Year Reading Plan. Because of my wonky travel schedule of late, I'm a bit behind in the reading, so I'm presently somewhere in early April right now. I opened my Bible to the next reading - Psalm 76 - and began to read.

I got to the end of this short psalm, and was about to check off the little box, when it suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea what I had just read. If I had closed the Bible right then and there, and you had asked me, "What did you just read, Christy?" I would have had nothing to say.

I had skimmed over the words, already thinking about the day ahead. I had been formulating in my mind what I would do first when I got to work (finish editing the latest IAM Podcast, write some checks for my boss to sign, read up on Barbara Takanaga, who spoke at last year's Encounter and whose opening I am attending this evening). But nothing of what I had just read had sunk in to my mind or heart in any way, shape or form.

Does this ever happen to you? I was reading the word of God and it was as meaningful to me as if I were skimming the Yellow Pages. YIKES.

I didn't check off the box. Instead, I went back to the top of Psalm 76 and began to read again, only this time I read one verse and then waited as I thought about what I had just read.

I didn't even get past the first verse.

Here's what happeend inside my head:

1 In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.

Lord, I pray that you would be known here in New York City. I pray that your name would be great in New York City! Heck, for that matter, I pray that your name would be known in Staten Island. Actually, let me start with my street. Lord, I pray that you would be known on Tysen Street!

I began to imagine the houses up and down my street, neighbors whom I've seen or spoken with. Some of them are going through some really hard things. One neighbor just lost a son in a plane crash recently. Another has a son who is an alcoholic and drug user. Several I know of are struggling financially, and even on the verge of losing their homes.

Lord, I pray your name would be great here. For that to happen, my neighbors need to know the real YOU, not the made-up, crappy public opinion of who you are. The name of "Jesus" is not great here! I know several of my neighbors actually despise you, because they think they know you but they don't. So I pray that your name would be great - your name, which I know brings salvation and grace and peace and love. I pray that you would be known by everyone on my street, and that your name would be great to them.

I then started to imagine a gathering of neighbors in my apartment. I imagined making invitations and handing them out to everyone on my street: "Neighborhood Fellowship at Christy's Place. All are welcome to come. We will look at biblical principles for life (finances, family relations, marriage, conflict), share prayer needs and pray together for Tysen Street. You do not need to be a Christian to come, but we will be looking at the Christian Bible for direction. We'll pray for our neighborhood's children, schools, businesses, families, marriages, finances, etc."

I wrote down this idea. It's not something I would do flippantly, so I need to pray about whether I can handle something like this right now (I travel a lot, and there is a lot going on at my church right now).

But I think it's a pretty good idea. Don't you?

All of this came from meditating on ONE VERSE: Psalm 76:1. By the time I had prayed and dreamed and schemed all of this, I had run out of time. So much for checking off all the boxes in today's Bible reading plan!

Oh, my friends. I got to see this morning, once again, that the Bible is, indeed, alive. But just as looking at a sandwich doesn't nourish our bodies, neither does "looking at" the words on the page. We must take time to bite, chew, masticate, taste, ingest, digest and be nourished by the words. When we do, at least, when I do, ideas come, inspiration comes, excitement and hope arise.

What verse rocked your world today?

# # #

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-24)

PR Opportunity for Writers of Bible/Book Studies for Women

Joan Ball — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:52:03 -0800

I came across the following PR query today and thought I would pass it along. I have not dealt with Marnie Swedberg or her online resource for women's ministry leaders, Leadership Mentor, but the query comes from a credible source of quality leads, so it might be worth an email to check it out. Let me know how it goes!

Name: Marnie Swedberg

Email: info@marnie.com

Title: Leadership Mentor

Media Outlet/Publication: Online Resource Center for WM Leaders

Anonymous? No

Specific Geographic Region? No

Deadline: 6:00 PM CENTRAL - February 23

Query: "Have you written a Bible or Book Study for Christian Women? I am looking for guests to promote to my group (in the form of a report), but who would also be available to join me for a live
phone interview (to which we would invite my audience of 15,000+ Women's Ministry Leaders).

Experienced authors should reply with the name of your most recent study, including publisher information. First time authors, please include three contact names of group leaders we can contact who have successfully completed the study with their own groups.

Note: 2 media copies required.