I found this while googling something else, and thought it would be a good start for anyone who has not studied the Bible seriously.
How To Study the Bible
Simply reading the Bible is not the same as studying. Christianity holds that the Bible is the divine word of God and therefore deserves respect. The Bible is one of the most misinterpreted books ever written, and most people find it to be very hard to understand. A long time and many cultures were involved between the time of the Bible's composition and the modern age. The goal to studying the Bible is to understand the content in the original languages. If you struggle with where to start with your Bible reading, how often to read your Bible or how much to read at one sitting, or how to get things out of it, this article can help.
1. Plan your study. Set aside a time and place to study. Develop a plan of what you want to do. You may want to write out a plan in a calendar format assigning what you will want to read each day. Forming a plan get help you stay motivated and give you structure.
2. Get a good study Bible. Choose a translation to use during your study. You should select from translations as opposed to simple paraphrases, as this makes sure you are reading the text as it was meant to be read.
3. Study the Bible with an attitude of prayer. This should be the first step in understanding the Bible. Bible study should be approached with a prayerful desire to learn. Discipline yourself to be with the Word. The Bible will come alive for you. After all, it is spiritual food.
4. Pray. Ask God to help you understand his word before you even begin. Take the Bible literally. Don't assume a parable or story just because it seems vague. Don't try to interpret the Bible. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." (2 Peter 1:20,21) That's where misunderstandings come from.
5. Focus on the New Testament first. Though the New Testament compliments the Old, and the Old compliments the New, it is better to read the New Testament first if you are a novice. The Old Testament will make better sense if you read the New Testament first.
6. Consider reading John first. It's best to start with John, as it's the easiest Gospel to read, identifies who Jesus really is, and prepares you for the other 3. It would help to read it 2 or 3 times to get a good understanding of the author, topic, context, and characters. Read 3 chapters per day. Concentrate on your reading. and be patient.
7. Pick out topics to study. A topical study is very different than a book study or a chapter study. The subject index of most Bibles have specific areas of study. Once you have found an interesting topic, you begin by doing a rough read through of the verses. This will give you a general oversight of what the verses have to say. For example: salvation, obedience, sin, etc. Remember: reading a chapter several times will help you find things that you might have missed or skipped over before.
Other helps:
1. Use the dictionary. Make sure that you look up words in the chapter that you are reading from. This will help you understand the Bible better.
2. Have a Bible notebook. This will keep you accountable to reading everyday. Also, ask yourself questions and write them down in your Bible notebook. Use the "who", "what", "when", "where", "why", and "how" formula for your studies. For instance, "Who was there?", "What was happening?", "Where is this happening?", "How did it turn out?". This simple formula will make the story make sense.
3. Highlight important stuff or things you really like in your own bible. But don't do this if it belongs to someone else.
4. Use cross references and footnotes if you have them in your Bible. These are little numbers and symbols which tell you to look somewhere else in the text for more information, or show you when something was previously discussed. Footnotes, usually found at the bottom of a given page, will tell you where information is coming from or explain complex ideas or historical events and concepts.
Try picking out a few words that jumped at you and looking them up in a concordance to find other verses talking about the same thing.
5. Follow the references in your Study Bible back to the first time it was used. This is where a chain reference Bible is essential.
6. Keep a journal. You don't have to write a lot. Just use a notebook page with the date, book / chapter / verse on the top. Ask yourself some questions and outline what you are reading. This helps to show you what God is revealing to you through His Word. Write out ideas or verses or thoughts that come into mind as you read. Think "Who, What, When, Where, How." Answer every possible question under each category. Then look them over and pray about it.
7. Get rid of all distractions. Turn off the television or radio. Unless you're studying with a group, try to to find a quiet place where you have a table to read and take notes. This is alone time between you and God.
4 Ways to Study the Bible - wikiHow
How To Study the Bible
Simply reading the Bible is not the same as studying. Christianity holds that the Bible is the divine word of God and therefore deserves respect. The Bible is one of the most misinterpreted books ever written, and most people find it to be very hard to understand. A long time and many cultures were involved between the time of the Bible's composition and the modern age. The goal to studying the Bible is to understand the content in the original languages. If you struggle with where to start with your Bible reading, how often to read your Bible or how much to read at one sitting, or how to get things out of it, this article can help.
1. Plan your study. Set aside a time and place to study. Develop a plan of what you want to do. You may want to write out a plan in a calendar format assigning what you will want to read each day. Forming a plan get help you stay motivated and give you structure.
2. Get a good study Bible. Choose a translation to use during your study. You should select from translations as opposed to simple paraphrases, as this makes sure you are reading the text as it was meant to be read.
- Avoid bibles that have been translated from Latin, rather than the original Greek and Hebrew. These, like a game of telephone, can get incorrectly translated. You also want to avoid old translations (like the King James Bible), as earlier and more texts have been discovered since it was written, revealing deeply ingrained translation errors (for example, did you know that Moses did not cross the Red Sea?).
- There are two main schools of thought when it comes to translating: dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence. Dynamic translation is thought-for-thought, while formal translation is word-for-word. With word-for-word translations, you will find that sometimes a word literally means one thing but functionally means another (like the English word "blue" technically means the color but functionally can mean "sad"). However, less reliable or too biased translators can make a dynamic translation inaccurate. A mix can help but if you're unsure, just look for bible translations that are recent (within the last 20-40 years), from the original text, and done by reputable scholars.
3. Study the Bible with an attitude of prayer. This should be the first step in understanding the Bible. Bible study should be approached with a prayerful desire to learn. Discipline yourself to be with the Word. The Bible will come alive for you. After all, it is spiritual food.
4. Pray. Ask God to help you understand his word before you even begin. Take the Bible literally. Don't assume a parable or story just because it seems vague. Don't try to interpret the Bible. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." (2 Peter 1:20,21) That's where misunderstandings come from.
5. Focus on the New Testament first. Though the New Testament compliments the Old, and the Old compliments the New, it is better to read the New Testament first if you are a novice. The Old Testament will make better sense if you read the New Testament first.
6. Consider reading John first. It's best to start with John, as it's the easiest Gospel to read, identifies who Jesus really is, and prepares you for the other 3. It would help to read it 2 or 3 times to get a good understanding of the author, topic, context, and characters. Read 3 chapters per day. Concentrate on your reading. and be patient.
- When you're done with John, move on to Mark, Matthew, and Luke. As those tend to be the next easiest material. Read all the books -one after the other- until you have read all the Gospels.
7. Pick out topics to study. A topical study is very different than a book study or a chapter study. The subject index of most Bibles have specific areas of study. Once you have found an interesting topic, you begin by doing a rough read through of the verses. This will give you a general oversight of what the verses have to say. For example: salvation, obedience, sin, etc. Remember: reading a chapter several times will help you find things that you might have missed or skipped over before.
Other helps:
1. Use the dictionary. Make sure that you look up words in the chapter that you are reading from. This will help you understand the Bible better.
2. Have a Bible notebook. This will keep you accountable to reading everyday. Also, ask yourself questions and write them down in your Bible notebook. Use the "who", "what", "when", "where", "why", and "how" formula for your studies. For instance, "Who was there?", "What was happening?", "Where is this happening?", "How did it turn out?". This simple formula will make the story make sense.
3. Highlight important stuff or things you really like in your own bible. But don't do this if it belongs to someone else.
4. Use cross references and footnotes if you have them in your Bible. These are little numbers and symbols which tell you to look somewhere else in the text for more information, or show you when something was previously discussed. Footnotes, usually found at the bottom of a given page, will tell you where information is coming from or explain complex ideas or historical events and concepts.
Try picking out a few words that jumped at you and looking them up in a concordance to find other verses talking about the same thing.
5. Follow the references in your Study Bible back to the first time it was used. This is where a chain reference Bible is essential.
6. Keep a journal. You don't have to write a lot. Just use a notebook page with the date, book / chapter / verse on the top. Ask yourself some questions and outline what you are reading. This helps to show you what God is revealing to you through His Word. Write out ideas or verses or thoughts that come into mind as you read. Think "Who, What, When, Where, How." Answer every possible question under each category. Then look them over and pray about it.
7. Get rid of all distractions. Turn off the television or radio. Unless you're studying with a group, try to to find a quiet place where you have a table to read and take notes. This is alone time between you and God.
4 Ways to Study the Bible - wikiHow
