How to Study the Bible
If you came to this article expecting some “7-step process” on Bible study, you might as well click away now.
Instead, this is based on something I am getting ready to teach and I am really excited about it. But, in some ways, I’m more excited about the process that led to this teaching opportunity.
Starting next Wednesday, I will have a class of probably about 10 people and we will be taking the fall Bible school quarter (September through November) to walk through a class entitled “How to Study the Bible.”
Here’s the thing: those 10 are our teenage boys…and the teen girls are studying the same thing in another class!
Is that not exciting? How often do we send kids to Bible classes for years and never teach them how to actually study? We just tell them they should. We just assume they will figure it out.
Here is the “process” I was talking about earlier that makes me excited. Several years ago, Central set up a curriculum for our youth group. From grade 7 through grade 12, there is a six-year curriculum. Certainly, it has been tweaked a time or two (and will again, I’m sure). In those six years, our students cover–or at least touch on–every book of the Bible. They are exposed to various topics (Leah and I even taught a dating and marriage class to them!).
And, as part of that curriculum, we make sure that we do not just tell them they need to study. We included it in the curriculum. At some point during their “youth group” years, they will have an entire quarter dedicated to helping them know how to tackle this wonderful, but massive book.
I’m writing this today to challenge other congregations to do the same. Don’t just tell your kids to study; teach them how. Whether it’s in a formal Bible class or a special setting, take the time to give them the basics of reading in context, looking for key words, doing a basic word study, and similar things.
What a wonderful quarter is upcoming, and I pray each student gains a deeper thirst for understanding Scripture…and feels more equipped to study it.
AUTHOR: Adam Faughn