Personal Bible Study
It came to me the other day, during this year of studying the gospels, that studying other people’s questions and thoughts is all well and good, but there should also be personal Bible study. There should be time for us to sit with God’s word, his conversation to us, and let it speak to us. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the word is alive and active. So, it speaks to us, even more deeply than any other words could.
As much as I want to encourage and lead people into a deeper experience with the word, all that is for naught if we aren’t armed and ready to it up on our own and study it.
Do we long to see the connection of the New Testament and Old Testament? That has been my longing this year and it has led to much more rich understanding of God and his perfect representation Jesus. It has led to a meaningful understanding of the law and the rules and the longing that God has for us to be with him, dwell within him.
Or maybe you have other interests about the word:
Do you long to understand why God has chosen you?
Do you wonder each time you hear a certain verse exactly what it means and how it relates the other verses that mention that topic?
Do you have a standard reading time but no idea how to make a connection with God through his word?
Do you want to be a woman or man after God’s own heart and yet struggle with what that entails?
I just want to encourage those studies. You can know these answers for yourself! Jeremiah 29:13 says, ‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’ He wants to be found by you, this is no game of hide-n-seek, he isn’t waiting for the longest time until you have given up on him. He is there, ready to embrace you when you say, ‘Here I come!’.
In wanting to provide tools that help make this task of ‘Bible study’ less daunting (after all it is thousands of pages and 66 books!), I thought I would compile some simple study methods that are already in circulation. You may have heard of s.o.a.p. method, h.e.a.r. method and the w.o.r.d. method. What I saw when I began compiling is that they are rather similar. And I found that they are not at all what I usually do! This may still be useful, but I think you should consider this little booklet a first installment. This is not the only time we will look at Bible study methods. (I’m excited thinking about it, but it was a rabbit hole I can’t focus on right now!)
These methods focus on a short passage, with observations and then application to your own life and generally closes with prayer. These are a good start to thinking about what we read in the Bible and how the word is relevant to our lives today, even though it was written many years ago.
If you’d like to see details from each of the methods and have a printable journal form for each, please download the free summary and pages in pdf below. I look forward to making this into a bit of a series!
What method do you use for Bible study? Do you prefer a personal journal style like these? Do you like to follow a formal study? Let us know in chat. (The nerd in me wants more options and more to pass on to you!) Tell us too what you long to know more of through the word!
FREE Bible Study Methods
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