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Bible Study - Learning the Word for Yourself

2 Tim 4:2-4 – “… preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” (NASB)

I have had the pleasure of teaching an adult Sunday School class at our church for the past four years. Each class has been a Bible study on one of the books of the Bible. I use a number of materials in the preparation of my class lessons and one of the key tools I use each week is my Logos software. My preparation time runs about 8-12 hours per week and I’d hate to think how long it would take to prepare for these Bible study classes without the use of Logos!

Each week in preparation for these Bible Study classes, I create a list of questions for the students. Their assignment is to read a passage of scripture and then write down their answers. When we meet again, we re-read the scripture and discuss our answers. This is my favorite part of the class. I never cease to be amazed at the “nuggets” of wisdom and understanding that come forth in the discussions!

Even though we are studying a specific book of the Bible, my real emphasis in the classes is to teach the people how to study the Bible for themselves – “the equipping of the saints” and building in them a love for the Word of God. As we work our way through the class, each week I bring in some type of resource material such as, concordances, lexicons, commentaries, Bible dictionaries, Word Study reference materials, Bible atlases, various Bible translations, internet resources, videos and Bible software products. As these materials are introduced, we conduct hands-on exercises to familiarize the students with their use in Bible Study. During these times I also try to highlight some “fun” aspect of the scripture, building in them an inquisitiveness and encouragement to dig in and discover things for themselves. We learn to outline the passage, the historical setting of the times, the geographical setting and distances traveled, how to conduct an original language word study, how to use the Bible to interpret the Bible and the importance of prayer each time we enter into a Bible study. Furthermore, when we learn the Word of God for ourselves, we can better discern sound doctrine and be ready “in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction”.

In this way, each student is equipped with the tools and skills to further enhance their own personal Bible Study time or simply built up in confidence that they are able to answer questions for themselves. I know these classes are working because I have been blessed to see my students go out and begin their own Bible study groups in their homes!

Submitted by Larry Messer