University Presbyterian Church

Last Sunday, I preached from Luke 10:38-42 on how to study the Bible for yourself. I hoped that by leading the church through an "inductive" study of this story about Mary sitting at Jesus' feet, I could model a way to apply the same method to any other passage of Scripture. After the sermon, several people asked me for a review of the five steps that I used. Here they are:

1. Get the necessary RAW MATERIALS: sufficient time, a quiet place, a good Bible (preferably a study Bible), a notebook or journal and pen, a Bible dictionary, and perhaps an online resource like http://www.CrossWalk.com
2. WARM UP: read a Psalm or devotional, sing/read a hymn or praise song, and pray (perhaps using 1 Samuel 3:10, Psalm 199:18, or Ephesians 1:17)
3. READ: Focus on a short passage of Scripture, read through it several times, and do a "fly over," asking:
   • Who wrote the book?
   • To whom was it written and where?
   • What's the purpose of the book/letter?
   • What's the book about?
   • What kind of literature is it? (poetry, history, parable, narrative, prophecy, letter, etc.)
   • What just happened?
   • What happens next?
   • What's the atmosphere?
   • Jot down anything else that hits you.
4. KNEAD - dive deeper into the text, answering questions like these:
   • What do you find interesting or puzzling about the passage?
   • What words or phrases jump out at you as especially important?
   • What do those words mean? Look them up in a dictionary, check the cross references, compare different translations using http://www.BibleGateway.com or http://www.BlueLetterBible.org.
5. HEED - Find out what God is directing you to believe and/or do.
   • Are there any commands in this passage to obey?
   • Are there any promises in this passage to believe?
   • Is there an example to follow or to avoid?
   • Is there an area in your life where you're falling short and need to repent?
   • What is God revealing about human beings - their needs, problems, faults, tendencies, dreams, or yearnings - in this passage?
   • What is he revealing about Jesus - his person and/or his work - in this passage?
   • Where is the gospel - the good news - in this passage? (When you answer that question, you are discovering the real meaning of the passage!)

There are many ways one might effectively study the Bible. What I've given you is but one way. The main point is that it's vitally important to sit regularly at Jesus' feet (like Mary) and treasure his words. Not only will your spiritual growth and health be stunted if you don't, but also you'll be an easy target of the enemy. Being a student of the Word of God is key to spiritual warfare. John Piper put it like this: "Satan's number-one objective is to destroy our joy of faith. We have one offensive weapon: the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. But we can't draw the sword from someone else's scabbard. If we don't wear it, we can't wield it. If the Word of God does not abide in us, we will reach for it in vain when the enemy strikes. But if we do wear it, if it lives within us, what mighty warriors we can be!"