Bible Study Helps

　Our recent sermons have emphasized Biblical preaching and teaching.  The following are suggestions that might help you in your own reading and studying the Bible.  These are suggestions, not commands.  You may have ideas that are far better.
1. Find or start a Bible study group. Whether 2 or 10 people are interested, studying together is one of the key ways to grow in Biblical knowledge. Some members have enjoyed Bible studies with people from other churches, but it is really good if we have some such studies going on.

2. Teach a children’s Sunday school class. “To teach is to learn twice.” (Joseph Joubert)

3. Study or read the Bible or a Christian book along with someone else. “It does not matter what books you read. What matters is who you read them with.” (Andrew Nelson Lytle)

4. Read books of the Bible in two translations. Use one of the more correct translations (NKJV, KJV, ESV) and a looser translation (Amplified Bible, NIV, Phillips, The Message).

5. Find a CD series on the Bible and theology or a good radio program to listen to while driving or getting ready.

6. Start (or renew) either personal or family Bible reading programs. (You don’t have to wait until January.)

7. Keep a cheap, expendable Bible with you. Keep it in your lunch box, car, or somewhere handy. (Be willing to give it away, if necessary.)

8. Get a journal or spiral notebook and begin making notes on your Bible reading and study.

9. Read a Bible commentary. Many people enjoy Calvin’s commentaries, but there are many others that are easier, more practical, and accessible.

10. Use a study Bible and use the notes, outlines, and helps contained in it. The Reformation Study Bible, the Geneva Study Bible, and the ESV Literary Study Bible are all good.

11. Read a particular book of the Bible over and over. (See #4) Master a book of the Bible, even if it is one of the shorter books.

12. Talk with someone (or with several people) about Bible study. Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17).

13. Actively be involved in a Sunday school class. Read on the Bible or subject ahead of time, participate in the class, and review the handouts after class. (Danger: This could land you a Sunday school teaching job.)

14. Inform the elders and other teachers in the church of classes and topics you would like to see taught. If nothing happens, tell them again. (Remember the parable of the importunate widow.)

15. Read a passage and paraphrase it. That is, write out the passage using your own words.

16. Read a passage and write down 10 or 20 or more applications. (See how the authors of the Westminster Larger Catechism did this with the 10 Commandments.)

17. Memorize a Bible passage (whether one verse or many). Recite and meditate on the passage throughout the day.

18. Talk to people whose Bible study and knowledge exceed yours and find out what kinds of things they do in Bible study. Often people whose theology differs from our have much to share with us about Bible study.

19. Join with others in a “Read the Bible in 90 Days” program. (Or if less ambitious, begin a “Read the Bible in One Year” in January.)

20. Create a blog featuring Bible passages with your own explanations and exhortations.

21. Either eliminate some habits or time-wasters that interfere with your Bible reading or supplement an activity with Bible reading. For example, political talk radio has many benefits, but can use lots of time that could be used for better purposes. Listening to the Bible on CD or MP3 players can be done while driving or jogging.

22. Read a Christian book and look up all the Bible verses that are referenced.

23. Buy at least one Bible study tool, such as a Bible dictionary, a concordance, or a commentary, and use it for the next several months extensively.

24. Buy a Bible computer study program and use it extensively for the next several months.

25. Buy a Bible study guide and use it. Navigators has been publishing these kinds of materials for years. Many of these programs are heavy on Bible reading, with an appeal to a wide evangelical community.