How to study your Bible

Hi! Future Ticia 2024 (Oh my goodness! It’s 2024!) here, and I’m updating this Bible lesson and slowly the rest of the series. This post talks about how to study your Bible and gives some suggestions of Bible Studies for adults (I have another post on Children’s Bible studies) that I’ve liked or know has good theology and skills. Now back to past Ticia 2012.

A few years ago I sat in a MOPS meeting with another Mom who had grown up in the church but was saying, “I just don’t know HOW to study the Bible or where the answers are to everything.  I don’t know how to answer my kids’ questions.”

I wanted to cry for her because she lacked knowledge that could have been available.

The good news is that set me on a journey to figure out ways to help alleviate that problem.  So today I want to tell you about learning to study your Bible.  That could be a whole series or a whole blog in and of itself.  I’ve taken several classes to learn about this.

{There are affiliate links in here.}

How to study your Bible: 1.  Find a good church

First and foremost, you need to be involved in a good Bible-believing church.  For each person that is going to look different.  Some people feel comfortable in a big church with lots of people, others feel comfortable in a smaller church where they know everyone by name.  My in-laws go to a big church that sings mainly hymns from when they were growing up and uses hymnals.  My church seems like it changes songs every few months and is like a rock and roll band when it plays praise music.  My in-laws are not comfortable at my church, and I would not choose theirs as my home church. And that is okay.

After you’ve found a good church find a way to study the Bible yourself to learn more.  JUST  listening to sermons is like being spoon-fed baby food.  It’s good for you when you’re young, but you need to mature.

Here are some ways to do that.

Get my ebook How to Study the Bible, work through it, and then work through it with your kids.  It goes through a great step-by-step approach of how to study your Bible and learn from it.

Until you get that, here are a few ideas of ways you can learn about the Bible.

How to study the Bible: 2. Try the 5W’s

(I got into a lot more detail for this method in my ebook, it’s an entire chapter)

Just like we learned in school, it’s good to ask the W questions.

Who is this written to, who is writing it? 

People write very differently when writing to a friend versus writing to a large group. If the book does not outright say it, the introduction to the book will probably give you this insight.

Or who are the major characters in this section?

What are they saying? 

Outline the major events or points in the book or chapter as you read it.

What happens in the book?

When was it written? 

In Romans, Paul tells the Roman church to submit to their government.  If you know Romans was written in the late first century AD, then you know there was a lot of persecution of the church and there was a good chance they could be arrested for believing.  That put a different perspective on it.

Or when do the events happen? If you are reading a history book (about 1/3 of the Old Testament, the Gospels and Acts), do a timeline of the events in the chapter.

Where was it written or where was it written to? 

1 and 2 Corinthians was written to the church in Corinth.  Corinth was a port town that is about the same in personality as Vegas is today, they would have a similar motto.  So when you read some of the things going on at the church you have more context.  Philippians was written while Paul was in jail, so it gives more meaning when Paul says “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4).

Or where does this story take place?

Why was it written? 

Did you know 1 Corinthians was written to a church about to split over theological differences?  That gives you more information for understanding the book.

Or if you’re reading history, start thinking about why God put that story in the Bible. Why do we learn about David defeating Goliath?

I’m sure you’re asking at this point, where do I find out some of this stuff?

How to study your Bible: 3. Bible tools

Book introductions are written in your Bible, much of this information is in book introductions (Oops, Future Ticia 2024 put that up in the section up above)

Free online commentaries– I enjoy Matthew Henry’s commentary for his insights (there are many more, but his is on this site for free)

I would also recommend the Blue Letter Bible. This is both a website and an app. It has loads of Bible commentaries, Bible dictionaries and more for free!

Often the book of the Bible says in the start much of this- For example Luke 1:1-4 says who it’s to, why he wrote it, and how he wrote it.

How to study your Bible: 4. Read the Categories of the Bible–

Books of the Bible are divided into different types and reading similar types can help you understand them.

Here’s a great rundown of the Books of the Bible by category.  So you could read several Letters at a time and see similarities and differences in them. If you sign up for my newsletter you can get these books of the Bible cards for free.

Read the same book of the Bible in several different versions– I did this for a homework assignment once and it’s interesting.

For a week I read the book of Esther once a day in a different version each day.  The first day I read in NIV, the next in NASB, the next in The Message.  Each day I noticed something different.  When I was in high school I did a smaller version of this reading the chapter first in NASB and then again in The Message.  I enjoyed the comparisons and often got something new from each version.

Do you still find this idea insanely overwhelming?

Find a Precept Bible study group (I’ve got tips for staring a Precept Bible study).  This is one of the first ways I learned to study the Bible sitting with my Mom and learning this method.  It goes through a book of the Bible at a time and is a great way to learn with other like-minded people.

Another great option is to find a Bible Study Fellowship group.  Several of my friends attend one of these groups and each year or semester the WHOLE group nationwide chooses a book of the Bible to study through and everyone goes through in the same pace.  That way if you move to another state, you can pick right up where you were and not miss anything.

The third option I know of for group Bible studies (not associated with a specific church) is Beth Moore.  Her studies also go through books of the Bible and are great for getting a group together to learn. ** Caveat, Future Ticia 2024 says her more recent Bible studies have been really weak theologically and rather than being a Bible study, are more touchy-feely.

OR

Try the Bible studies from Stone Soup for Five.  {editing this to add in this Bible study}, I’m currently working through 1 Corinthians on my own, but I might try it with my kids in a year or so. I’ve got an entire review of her studies.

Some good blogs and websites on Bible Study I’ve found recently

• En Te Eremo-Going through the Bible in 3 years, the entire thing, with the pastor’s thoughts and ideas
• Desiring God– I read Jon Piper’s book “Desiring God” in college.  I love his heart for God.
• Denton Bible Church– Another church I enjoy listening to their podcasts.  Their pastor, Tommy Nelson, has a bit of a “good old boy” feel and a laid-back feel, which amuses me.

That’s a lot I just threw at you, and I promise tomorrow we’ll start getting into your kids, but before you can teach your kids it helps to have a firm groundwork yourself.

What’s your favorite Bible study method?

• Day 1: Choosing your Bible
• Day 2: Finding the right Bible study for you
• Day 3: Choosing a children’s Bible
• Day 4: Choosing a children’s Bible study
• Day 5: What to do when you’re spiritually empty
• Day 6: Digging Deeper
• Day 7: Live it Out
• Day 8: Sing it Loud
• Day 9: Act it Out
• Day 10: A week in our Bible Study