The Everything Bible Study Book

All you need to understand the Bible--on your own or in a group

James Stuart Bell

• Publisher: Everything
• Year: 2007
• ISBN:
  9781440524172
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

A complete package for individual or group bible study! Studying the Bible can be a daunting prospect—but with The Everything Bible Study Book, reading and understanding this great work has never been easier. This unique, nonsectarian guide has everything you need to study the Bible, either on your own or in the company of your peers.Beginning with an overview of the various methods of Bible study, this fascinating and informative book takes you step by step through the important sections of Scripture, beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelations.Every Scripture reference includes:
-Brief summaries of each biblical book
-Critical historical and background information
-Interpretations relevant to today
-Ways to apply Bible teachings to daily life The Everything Bible Study Book provides fifty lessons and discussion topics designed for a full year of Bible study. The accompanying CD includes lesson plans, study guides, readings, and other ready-to-print handouts. Whether you're studying solo or starting your own Bible study group to accompany you, you'll be ready for the spiritual journey of a lifetime with The Everything Bible Study Book.

Chapter 1
A Bible Study How-to

Like just about anything else, if you want to effectively read and study the Bible and apply it’s principles to your own life, you’re going to have to have a plan. In this chapter, you’ll find some techniques for Bible reading and study—all of which are tried and true over the centuries— that will help make it easier for you to become better acquainted with what God’s Word has to say to you personally.

The Importance of Studying the Bible Effectively

There once was a story of a man who needed to buy a new family car. Since he was a man of prayer who often went to the Bible when it was time to make big decisions, he opened his King James Bible at random and pointed to one verse on the page, hoping to find some kind of direction for his decision. That verse was Acts 1:14, which reads:

“These all continued with one accord . . .”

The very next day the man went to the local Honda dealership, where he purchased a brand new Honda Accord. Never mind the fact that he and his wife had four children—three of them teenagers—and that this particular car was much too small to meet their needs. As far as he was concerned, the Word of God had spoken to him very clearly.

While most believers know that God can certainly give direction by guiding people to specific passages of Scripture—and by other means— more often than not, the “open-and-point” method of Bible study isn’t going to yield the kind of results, knowledge, or direction needed to make sound decisions. Taking that a step further, God wants each of us to be ready and willing to make a commitment when it comes to studying our Bibles.

The topic of this chapter is how the individual believer/reader can more effectively study the Bible. If you’ve been wondering about that in your own life, then it shows you are ready—or getting ready—to make the kind of commitment it takes to make Bible reading and study a regular, everyday part of your Christian life.

This chapter includes a list of things you’ll need as well as some ways to use those things in order to learn and apply not just what the Bible has to say but also what it has to say to you. And you can bet that it’s well worth the time and effort it will certainly take!

What You’ll Need or at Least Find Useful

There are several items—all of which are readily available for purchase or download—that can help make Bible study both easier and more beneficial to the one who wishes to take the time to make studying the Bible a life priority. While some of these items are essential for good Bible study—for example, you can’t very well study the Bible unless you have one—some of them aren’t absolutely necessary but can be very helpful.

Here are the things you will need or will find helpful:

Study Bible

You can’t very well study the Bible without your very own copy. Fortunately, there are hundreds of Bibles in dozens of translations available today. Some of them, those we refer to as “study Bibles,” include mini concordances (lists of words) and dictionaries, and some include cross references so that you can better understand a verse or passage and put it in context with the entirety of the Bible.

What is the best time of day to study the Bible?
There is no bad time of day to study the Bible, but the Bible itself implies that we should begin each day in God’s Word. The practical element of starting the day that way is that it makes it easier to commit time to Bible study.

There are study Bibles for different age groups, different ministries, and different life stations, so if you take the time you can find a study Bible that best meets your needs.

If you can afford it, purchase more than one translation of the Bible. It would be useful to have a copy of the King James Version and a copy of a version that uses more modern English, such as the New American Standard, the New Living Translation, or the New International Version, just to name a few. The Scripture you’ll find quoted in this book is from the New Living Translation.

Bible Concordance

Most of us aren’t experts in the original Biblical languages—Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic—so a good concordance is a great help to those of us who want to study the Bible in depth. A Biblical concordance is a published list of keywords in the Bible text, and it includes thumbnail definitions and the context in which all those words are used. A concordance is especially useful when it comes to finding keywords and phrases in the Bible.

There are several concordances in both printed and electronic form— some you can even use for free online. The best known are Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible.

When you go to purchase a concordance, it is helpful to buy one that is compatible with the version of the Bible you are using. For example, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance is regarded as a companion to the King James Version of the Bible. A few minutes of research or shopping will help you to buy the right concordance.

Bible Dictionary

Like concordances, there are many quality Bible dictionaries in both printed and electronic form, and most of them are readily available at your local bookstore or as downloads from the Internet. You can use some of them for free by simply going online. Try the Holman Bible Dictionary at www.studylight.org/dic/hbd/ or the Smith Bible Dictionary at www.study light.org/dic/sbd/.

Bible dictionaries are different from concordances in that they cover topics, events, places, and people rather than keywords. For example, if you wanted to study personal salvation, the Bible dictionary would give you the scriptural basics on that subject, while the concordance would direct you to passages in the Bible where that word (or variations of it) is used.

Bible dictionaries are also important in that they give the reader easier access to the different contexts of what they are reading. For example, any Bible dictionary will tell the reader the time and historic context of the writings of the Old Testament prophets as well as the target audiences of the New Testament writings of the apostle Paul.

There are several Bible commentaries available today that are considered classics in Christian literature. While these commentaries offer excellent insights to the Bible, some of them are, because of the outdated English used, difficult to understand for the modern reader. Read a sample of a commentary before you buy.

Bible Commentary

Over the centuries, many men of God have taken the time to write detailed Bible commentaries, some of which have withstood the tests of time. Renowned Christian figures such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, Matthew Henry, and John Wesley have all penned Bible commentaries. While there may be differences between them in the interpretation and applications of specific texts, they all have valuable insights for those who make Bible study a part of their daily lives.

Dictionary and Thesaurus

If you’re going to study anything in the English language, it is helpful to have a dictionary and thesaurus available. A thesaurus is especially helpful because the Bible text often uses different words to convey what is essentially the same thought or idea.

Writing Supplies

Remember what you did as you sat through class lectures during your high school or college years? If you’re like most successful students, you took notes on the lecture of your teacher or professor. Doing that was helpful in two ways: First, it enabled you to go back to your notes so you could be reminded of what the instructor said. Second, it helped brand what he or she said on a particular day into your memory.

But what student has never taken a pen or colored highlighters and marked key passages in a textbook? Obviously, that is an excellent way to remember what is noteworthy and important in the class. The same techniques work when it comes to studying the Bible, and for that reason it is recommended that you have a pen, a notepad, and colored highlighters available when you study your Bible.

Some people are reluctant to mark up their new study Bible with colored pens, but those who are experienced at personal Bible study will tell you that this is an effective way to focus on the keywords in a text, thus giving the reader a leg up in understanding what God is saying through it. You can always keep a second Bible free of all markings if you are distracted by the colored highlighting.

Once you arm yourself with the items listed above, you’ll be ready to start a systemized Bible study. The only question then is which method to use. There are many good ways to read and study the Bible, and some are detailed for you in the rest of this chapter.

Reading Through the Bible in a Year

The simplest way to read and study the Bible is to read it very much like you would a novel, meaning starting at “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1) and ending with “The Grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all” (Revelation 22:21).

There are many excellent study Bibles on the market that can guide the reader through the entire Bible in a year. In addition, there are many outlines available that can take you through the Bible in 365 calendar days—some for sale in the local bookstore and some readily—and freely—available through Internet sources.

Reading the Bible verse by verse from beginning to end in a year is a great way to get an overview of what the Book as a whole has to say, and it is something every believer should strive to do at least once. But there are more effective ways to take from the Bible the personal applications God wants each Christian to have. In order to help you achieve those goals, try one or more of the following tried and true methods of Bible study.

Without a plan to get through the Bible in a year, it’s nearly impossible to keep accurate track of your progress. That’s why it’s important if you begin reading through the Bible in a year to have a plan or outline and that you stick to it once you’ve started.

Deductive Bible Study

The deductive met...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Top Ten Greatest Things about Studying the Bible
• Introduction
• 1. A Bible Study How-to
• 2. Bible Reading and Study: What’s in It for You?
• 3. Taking It Personally
• 4. Other Uses for the Bible
• 5. Genesis: Abraham’s Amazing Faith
• 6. Numbers: Standing Out from the Crowd
• 7. Joshua: God Always Finishes What He Starts
• 8. First and Second Samuel: The Life and Times of David
• 9. Job: With Suffering Comes Wisdom
• 10. Isaiah: A Word Picture of Jesus
• 11. Jonah: A Picture of Disobedience Then Obedience
• 12. Matthew: Some Tough—and Practical—Teaching
• 13. John: The Apostle’s Account of Holy Week
• 14. Acts of the Apostles: Paul’s Life and Ministry
• 15. Romans: The Basics of the Christian Faith
• 16. Ephesians: Engaging in Spiritual Warfare
• 17. Philippians: Real Joy in the Midst of Suffering and Adversity
• 18. Hebrews: The “Betterness” of Jesus
• 19. First Peter: The Look of the Christian Life
• 20. First John: A Life of Love
• 21. Revelation: How It All Ends Up
• Appendix A: Help for Studying the Bible
• Appendix B: Description of the Books of the Bible
• Appendix C: How the Bible Came to Be