1. Commitments in 2008 Commitment to Bible Study Part III – Section 2 March 2, 2008

2. Commitments in 2008 Commitment to Bible Study Section 1 - Review March 2, 2008

3. Commitment to Bible Study Purpose: To examine a bible study method that will help us study the bible more effectively. Objective: Is two fold: To understand the problems associated with bible study. To give you an outline to follow when you study the bible.

4. Commitment to Bible Study Text:2 Timothy 2:15, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the Word of truth."

5. Commitment to Bible Study How are we to get a grip on this book? It's such a thick book and long book, in fact 66 books make up this one book. 27 in the New Testament - Revelation revealed 39 in the Old Testament – Revelation concealed

6. Commitment to Bible Study 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV All Scripture is God- breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

7. Commitment to Bible Study There are so many details – Every word, every phrase, every sentence and every paragraph, every chapter, every book itself is of such vital importance, how are we ever to be able to grasp the fullness of the Word of God?

8. Commitment to Bible Study The inductive Bible Study Method: Observation Interpretation Application Meditation Communication

9. Commitment to Bible Study How to misinterpret Scripture. Not have any basic bible study tools: Topical Study Bible A Bible Dictionary and A Greek and Hebrew lexicon Contemporary English Bible The New Living Translation The Message (remixed) The New International Version A Parallel Bible with KJV & NIV or NLT

10. Commitment to Bible Study How to misinterpret Scripture. The top 3 ways to misinterpret scripture: 1. Approach Scripture with predigested theology and understanding of doctrine from the past and force the Word of God to conform to that.

11. Commitment to Bible Study How to misinterpret Scripture. The top 3 ways to misinterpret scripture: 2. Approach Scripture with presuppositions and force the Bible to conform to those presuppositions.

12. Commitment to Bible Study How to misinterpret Scripture. The top 3 ways to misinterpret scripture: 3. Be enamored by some prominent teacher or prominent writer and line up with that individual.

13. Commitment to Bible Study How to misinterpret Scripture. The result is that you study to affirm what he/she says or what that group says without regard for a careful understanding of Scripture.

14. Commitment to Bible Study Step one to bible study: Read the Bible. Now that may come as a shock to you but it's where you have to start. Most people don't know what the Bible means because they don't know what it says.

15. Commitments in 2008 Commitment to Bible Study Part III – Section 2 March 2, 2008

16. Commitment to Bible Study Purpose: To examine a bible study method that will help us study the bible more effectively. Objective: To understand each step of the Inductive Bible Study Method. Step one: Observation

17. Commitments in 2008 - Review Spiritual Growth is our #1 objective! Activities that lead to Spiritual Growth: Consistent Prayer life Consistent Bible Study Consistent Christian fellowship Consistent Positive and Spiritual relationship Consistent Church attendance

18. Commitment to Bible Study The inductive Bible Study Method: Observation Interpretation Application Meditation Communication

19. Commitment to Bible Study The inductive Bible Study Method: Allows us to dig deeper into a book of the bible to exploring it verse by verse.

20. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION What does it say? Look at the forest (Get the big picture). This is the foundation for Bible Study. Spend most of your time with observations.

21. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Principles for reading: 1. Read Telescopically. a. Look for the connectives. b. Pay attention to context. c. Evaluate the passage in light of the book as a whole. d. Look for the big picture or major thoughts of the passage. 2. Read repeatedly. 3. Read prayerfully (Ps. 119:18,27,33-36). "Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law." Ps. 119:18

22. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Read Telescopically. a. Telescopic reading means viewing the parts in light of the whole. Illustration: Sony president Akio Morita & came to Texas recently to answer the question, Why are the Japanese reluctant to build consumer products in the United States?

23. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Read Telescopically His answer: They can't find American parts that meet their quality control standards. Sony Camcorder: Sony has a production standard that tolerates only one out of a hundred Camcorder’s to fail.

24. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Read Telescopically The Camcorder is made up of two thousand component parts.

25. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Read Telescopically With that many parts, each one must work flawlessly Not One failure in a hundred thousand, or even a million parts in order for the whole unit to meet the standard.

26. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Read Telescopically. The whole is far greater than the sum of the parts.

27. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Read Telescopically. So it is with the Bible. It is not simply a collection of parts. It is an integrated message in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

28. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Read Telescopically. Read, analyze Scripture, take it apart, but realize that you've only done half the job.

29. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Read Telescopically. Your next task is to put it back together again. How can you do that?

30. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Look for the connectives Look at the power in the little words: But, And, Or Therefore. These and other words are "connectives" in that they link the text together.

31. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Look for the connectives These little words are the coupling pins in a train of associated words that work together to communicate meaning.

32. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Look for the connectives Telescopic reading demands that you pay attention to these links, so that you tie the author's message together in your mind.

33. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Pay attention to context Whenever you study a verse or a paragraph, always consult the neighbors of that verse or paragraph to find out what the broader context is.

34. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Pay attention to context Telescopic reading is based on this principle: It never settles for close-ups alone; It always demands the wide-angle lens of perspective. It always asks, What is the big picture?

35. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Evaluate the passage in light of the books as a whole It's like flying a plane over some land in order to evaluate distances and relationships.

36. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Evaluate the passage in light of the books as a whole If you read the Book of Mark verse by verse, we would enjoy the narrative, but may miss the author's message. Obliviously the story is about Jesus.

37. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Evaluate the passage in light of the books as a whole But so are three other books in the New Testament. What makes this one distinctive?

38. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Evaluate the passage in light of the books as a whole If we evaluate the book as a whole that you discover that Mark breaks his account into two major sections:

39. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Evaluate the passage in light of the books as a whole Mark 1:1 through 8:26, is about the Person of Christ; Mark 8:31 through 16:20 is about the purpose of Christ. Mark 8:27-30 is the hinge of the book, where He asks the crucial question:

40. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Evaluate the passage in light of the books as a whole "Who do people say that I am?"

41. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Evaluate the passage in light of the books as a whole All kinds of insights flow out of this structure. But it is something you can detect only by examining the book as a whole

42. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Look at the historical context of the book History lends relevance to otherwise insignificant details.

43. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Look at the historical context of the book Keep in mind that God is the God of history. He works in and through real people in the real world to accomplish His purposes.

44. Commitment to Bible Study OBSERVATION Look at the historical context of the book Next Week