OIMA: a Bible study method BASIC Training OIMA: a Bible study method

Observation Observation: What do I see?

The Skill of Observation

Examples of Good Observations Key Words Words that are repeated Therefore, but, so Structure Grammatical – Subject and verb of the passage. Literary – Is there a cause and effect statement Atmosphere Use your imagination

Websites for Study Tools http://www.biblegateway.com http://www.blueletterbible.org http://www.studylight.org http://www.esvbible.org

Observation Observation: What do I see? Psalm 119:18 – Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law

Observation Observation: What do I see? Psalm 119:18 – Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Six Questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How Look for things that are Emphasized Repeated Related Alike Unlike

Interpretation Interpretation: What does it mean? Psalm 119:34 – Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. The number one killer in interpretation is overconfidence.

The Process of Interpretation Begin with Prayer 1 Corinthians 2:10-13 – “For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

The Process of Interpretation Check the context of the passage. Compare Scripture with Scripture. Write the interpretation of the passage. Check outside sources

Finding Christ “Every [Scriptural] text is predictive of the work of Christ, preparatory for the work of Christ, reflective of the work of Christ, and/or resultant of the work of Christ.” Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching. This means if we are going to read the Bible correctly, we must see Christ as the point of every passage.

Finding Christ There are two ways to read the Bible. The one way to read the Bible is that it’s basically about you: what you have to do in order to be right with God, in which case you’ll never have a sure and certain hope, because you’ll always know you’re not quite living up. You’ll never be sure about that future. Or you can read it as all about Jesus. Every single thing is not about what you must do in order to make yourself right with God, but what he has done to make you absolutely right with God. And Jesus Christ is saying, “Unless you can read the Bible right, unless you can understand salvation by grace, you’ll never have a sure and certain hope. But once you understand it’s all about me, Jesus Christ, then you can know that you have peace. You can know that you have this future guaranteed, and you can face anything.”  Tim Keller

Finding Christ Read with the goal in mind of determining how this passage affects your understanding of what Jesus did on the cross? Howard Hendricks

Finding Christ in Every Passage "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life." (John 5:39-40) And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luk. 24:27)

Meditation Questions to Find Christ Psalm 119:97 – Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. How is it predictive of the work of Christ? How is it preparatory for the work of Christ? How is it reflective of the work of Christ? How is it resultant of the work of Christ. How does it affect your understanding of what Jesus did on the cross?

Application Application: How does it work? Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The Bible was not written to satisfy your curiosity; it was written to transform your life.

Application Sin to avoid? Promise to claim? Example to follow? Command to obey? Knowledge to seek?

1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation”