Leaf 2 - Modifications to My Bible Study Approach

One of our friends decided to figure out how much of the Bible is read in one year of sermons. Of course, since he used his own notes to figure this out, his results are specific to his church area & such, but as a case study it’s eye-opening. He found that in 2008, only 6% of the Bible was actually read in church, and 11 books of the Bible weren’t read from at all. The point of this is not to criticize the speakers for being narrow in speaking, but rather to reaffirm just how much we are each responsible for our own Biblical literacy & knowledge. Over the past year I haven’t been good about routine study at all, so I’ve started being more intentional about it. At Challenger II this winter, methods of study came up in one of our campfire conversations, and I thought I’d share some suggestions…

~ A couple of ladies invited me to join them in reading one hymn each day. We don’t physically read together, nor do we follow up with each other on any obligatory basis, but knowing that there are two other women following the same study plan (and knowing that we each think of & pray for each other when we sit down to read through & meditate on a hymn) is a good encouragement & motivation to stick with it. We expect that after studying each of the hymns, we’ll think about them differently when we sing them in church services. I also like the direction it provides, since sometimes the “hmm, what should I read today?” can hamper progress & this answers it with “where did you leave off in the hymnal?”

~ I’m sure you’ve heard of reading the chapter in Proverbs that matches with the number of the day in the month. Some people really enjoy that. I prefer taking more time than that to really draw out the depth & connections, but am still going in order. At Winter Family Weekend this year Mr. Kilough gave a 3-part seminar titled “Gaining, Grasping and Giving Wisdom.” He included some handouts to use as guides for studying Proverbs, and I requested the electronic versions, so if you’re interested, send me an email & I can pass them along.

~ There’s a Facebook group for daily Bible study. I didn’t join (the hymns, Proverbs, & other topics are enough to keep me busy right now), but you could probably find it easily enough. If anyone doing that wants to share their experience with it for others who are considering it, feel free to comment.

~ The Bible Reading Program sometimes gets overlooked. So, here’s a reminder that it’s a resource. :-)

~ Much of the Ambassador Bible Center classes have now been made available. I attended in 2004, and it was an extremely valuable experience, but for those unable to physically go you can still get the instruction online. It’s intense, but that’s why it’s great!

~ Seek out the less-well-known parts of the Bible. At CII, one of the points made was that when you do a topical study, you’re searching for what you want to hear from God, but God wants you to hear everything He wrote.

~ Figure out your learning style & how to make it work for you. For example, I’m a visual learner, so to help me remember where something is, I draw in my margins. I actually developed an entire coding/indexing system with various symbols, & it’ll probably end up super elaborate when it’s all said & done, but it taps into my visual memory. I’ve also come to realize that often if I’m studying a particular passage, I have to read it in three separate sittings – the first time is just to read it & get the general idea of it; the second time is to dig deeper after I’ve had time to let the initial reading roll around in my head; and the third time is to cement the themes & connections and do the indexing. It takes a long time, but that’s what seems to work for actually getting the study to stick, and that’s the point, right? :-)

Psa 143 :6 I stretch forth my hands to You; my soul thirsts after You like a thirsty land. Selah. … :8 Cause me to hear Your loving-kindness in the morning, for I do trust in You; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You. … :10 Teach me to do Your will; for You are my God; Your Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

Psa 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who… in His Law he meditates day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its seasons, and its leaf shall not wither, and all which he does shall be blessed.