S8.15 | Exploring Scripture: Five Effective Bible Study Approaches
Carla delves into the essential practice of bible study, underscoring its importance for everyday Christian living. Carla outlines various bible study methods suitable for different learning styles and preferences, making the Word of God accessible to everyone. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to deepen your existing bible study habit, this episode provides practical insights and resources to help you grow in faith and root your identity in Christ. Don't miss out on this transformative discussion that encourages us to prioritize our spiritual growth through diligent study of Scripture. For more support, explore Carla's Bible Study 101 course available at her website.
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Key Takeaways
Five Bible Study Methods:
- **Inductive Bible Study:** Also known as the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), it focuses on historical context and proper application.
- **Verse Mapping:** A creative approach involving dissecting and highlighting key scriptures.
- **Bible Journaling:** Ideal for visual learners, combining scripture study with art and creativity.
- **Topical Studies:** Focuses on specific themes like love, peace, or faith by examining multiple scripture references.
- **Character Studies:** In-depth analysis of biblical figures to glean life lessons and understand God’s character.:
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Resources:
5 Steps to Building Resiliency
Affirming Truths Facebook Community
5 Tips for Overcoming a Negative Body Image
Who You Say I Am Biblical Affirmation Cards
TRANSCRIPT
Carla Arges [00:00:08]:
Hey friends, welcome to affirming truths. I'm your friend and host, Carla Arges. This show is a safe place to share our struggles, grow in faith, and root our identity in Christ. My hope is that you will leave each episode feeling encouraged in your journey. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode and it would mean the world to me if you would leave a review. I am so glad. Here, let's get started. Hey friends, welcome to this episode of affirming truth.
Carla Arges [00:00:40]:
I am your host, Carla Arges, and we are going back to school today because I'm going to teach you some stuff. Here is the truth you need to study the Bible. You need to study the bible as much as you need breath in your lungs and water and food for your body. You need the word of God. Whether you struggle with mental illness, whether you struggle with trauma, whether you are trying to be the best wife you can be or the best mother you can be. To live out the life God has called us to live, we need the word of God. We are told in scripture to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We are told in scripture to take thoughts captive any thought that elevates itself above God and put it in obedience to Christ.
Carla Arges [00:01:36]:
We are told in scripture to wield the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. We cannot do these things. We cannot walk in a truly faith filled, trust filled, confident in Christ, walk without the word of God planted in us. And I hear from so many women that they are overwhelmed, intimidated, don't know where to start with studying the word of God. And we have become, in large part, a group of women that have relied on devotions. And guys, I have nothing against devotions. I've written a devotion. I write devotions for the Bible.
Carla Arges [00:02:19]:
App devotions are great and have their place, but they do not replace the word of God. They are the add on. They are not the main course. The main course is scripture. It is a light for our path. Guys, the scripture is what seeps into us and allows us to know God's will. It is what allows us to resist the enemy. It is what the Holy Spirit uses to sanctify us.
Carla Arges [00:02:51]:
It is how we live an overcoming life in Christ because we know his word. When Jesus was in the wilderness and the enemy was tempting him, Jesus could have used anything to defeat the enemy because he's God, right? What did he do? He rebuked. He battled the devil with scripture. Jesus modeled to us how we resist the enemy. And this through the use of scripture. How do we renew our mind with scripture. So if you do not have a Bible study habit, if you do not have a Bible study routine, if this is not part of your daily process, guys, it needs to be. And I want to tell you, there is not just one way to study the Bible.
Carla Arges [00:03:39]:
I'm going to go over a few different ways for you today in high level detail so you can see that there's not just one way that God to has created us with different personalities and different learning styles. And it's okay if how you study the Bible looks different than how someone else studies the Bible. But what's important is that you study the Bible. This is what is important. I'm going to talk about five different ways, five different Bible study methods that you can incorporate into your study. And then I'll talk about some great places to start. But guys, get a pen and paper, write this down. And if you want to go into more detail into any of these, I actually created a Bible study 101 course which is perfect for the beginner in Bible study who doesn't know where to start, who's intimidated by the scripture, who's intimidated by the Bible.
Carla Arges [00:04:38]:
And you can find that course@carlaarges.com. Dot all right, Bible study methods. One of the most popular that you may have heard of is inductive Bible study method. You may have also heard it known as the soap method, scripture observation, application, prayer. The inductive Bible study method really breaks it down into those four parts. First off, observation. Who wrote this book? Who was it originally written for? Where did they live? What was happening at this time? What message was intended for the original audience? When we're doing observation, we're looking for context. What is the historical context of that time? What is the social context? What is the economic context? We need to understand the original meaning of the scripture if we're going to be able to appropriately apply it to our lives.
Carla Arges [00:05:42]:
So observation goes to look at answering those questions. And a great way to support your Bible study is to have a concordance or even Google, right? Google. Who wrote this book? When was it written? When you get my Bible study 101 course, you actually get a context document for every book of the Bible to help you answer these questions when you're doing observation, once you do observation in the inductive Bible study method, you go to interpretation. So what did that passage mean then? How do I see God in it? We often look for ourselves in the Bible when it's not a story about us, it's a story about God. How do I see God in it. How does this scripture point to Jesus? What is the Holy Spirit communicating? And then going to application. What does this mean for me today? What does this mean for me today? So inductive Bible study is a very pragmatic way of studying the Bible. You get a notebook out, you answer a series of questions about observation, finding the context.
Carla Arges [00:06:54]:
You look at interpreting it, seeing where God and Jesus is in the story, and then you look to apply it to your life. The second method that you might want to try is called verse mapping. And it's a little bit more of a creative approach, similar to Bible journaling, which I'll talk to next. With verse mapping, you take one or two scriptures and you try to dissect them. You write out the verse and you highlight sections or words that stand out to you, defining words that you don't know, looking up cross references. You're trying to identify the who, what, where, when and why. Here we look for repetition. Where do we see words repeated? Where do we see words like therefore, that strings two ideas together? Verse mapping is really looking at dissecting it.
Carla Arges [00:07:47]:
Now, as always with any Bible study method, context is important, an application is necessary. Where does this point to God? What does this mean for me today? Bible journaling, which is somewhat related to verse mapping, is a very creative way. So if you are a visual learner, if you are a creative person, if this is how you absorb material, if you are much better in the artistic classes in school than maybe the sciences and the math, Bible journey may be a great place for you. It's a very reflective practice where you look at a passage of scripture and you bring it to life through coloring and drawing, maybe lettering, scrapbooking and more. It is a great way for visual learners. It promotes focus. If you have a hard time with focus and just reading Bible journaling is a great way because it gets your hands involved. You're taking a scripture and you're bringing it light to life through the creative arts.
Carla Arges [00:09:01]:
What themes do you see? Draw them out. What words do you see repeated? Maybe hand letter them in a very special way. What is the application you can take for yourself? Draw it out. This is a very creative outlet. Another way to study the Bible is to do a topical study or a character study. And this is, for example, a topical study would be like, I want to do a Bible study on love. And here you would look for the instances of the word love mentioned in the Bible and you would ask yourself, how is it mentioned? What derivative of the word love is being used? You meditate on it. What is God trying to convey about this topic? How can I apply it to my life? You go through the verses one by one over the course of days or weeks, and you really search God's heart on that topic.
Carla Arges [00:10:03]:
A character study is one where you look at a specific character, like Moses or Joshua or Jesus, and you look to see how God reflects, how God is reflected in his people, how they respond to him. You can make a timeline of their life. What are their character traits? What lessons can you learn from their life? And in either of these, a topical study or a character study, you can invoke an inductive method, or you can invoke a Bible journaling method. You can bring these to life in whatever way is most suited to your personality and your focus level. Another way to study the Bible, and this is one of my favorite ways, is a chapter analysis. Just going book by book, book by book, verse by verse. Right now I'm doing this. In the book of John, you look for keywords and phrases.
Carla Arges [00:11:03]:
You identify main themes. You study the background of the book. This is where context comes in and you really try to glean what that author was trying to get across. Now, I know that this can still seem overwhelming, but I want you to be reminded that you are not going to the Bible to understand it in your own strength. Do you hear me? We are given the Holy Spirit that illuminates the word of God for us. You don't have to be afraid that you won't understand because you're not leaning on your own understanding. Do you hear me? You are not leaning on your own understanding. You are being guided by the Holy Spirit into understanding.
Carla Arges [00:11:55]:
God through his holy spirit takes blinders off our eyes. He leads us into understanding. But it cannot be an excuse any longer that you don't know how to study the Bible that keeps you out of the Bible. It cannot be an excuse any longer that you are too intimidated. Guys, you want to live a life of freedom. You want to live a life of conquering. You want to live a life where you are bold for the kingdom. You want to live a life where you are walking in the plans and purposes God has placed over you.
Carla Arges [00:12:28]:
You want to live a life of obedience and surrender? You've got to know the word. You cannot live out the christian life to the fullest fullness without knowing God. And how do we know God? We know him through his word. This is the chosen vehicle in which God has revealed himself to us. We get to know his character. We get to know his attributes. We get to see his love. We get to see his justice.
Carla Arges [00:12:57]:
We get to see his grace. We get to learn all about him and what he says about us through the word of God. You cannot live an overcoming life and not be in the word of God. And friends, I want you to be an overcomer. We are told in the Bible that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus, but that doesn't happen passively. We have to be active in our faith by getting into the word so we can walk it out and live it out every day. You will not be a conqueror in your life without the word of God. You will not resist the enemy without the word of God.
Carla Arges [00:13:37]:
You cannot live out God's plans and purposes for you without the word of God. It's got to get in you. It's got to be part of you. It's got to be something that you breathe in and out every day. There is no excuse. Yes, I've only touched on these high level, but there are so many resources out there. You can get a Bible study guide. I love the guys from Daily Grace Co.
Carla Arges [00:14:05]:
Get a Bible study guide to help you if you're too nervous to do it on your own. Get my course, Bible study 101 and the context document that comes with it. There are resources for you. There is no excuse to be a Christian and not be studying the word of God. You don't have time. You prioritize the time. You make time for what's important to you. It is inconsistent to say that you want to spend eternity with God in heaven and you can't find time to spend 15 minutes with him in the day to study the word.
Carla Arges [00:14:40]:
That is inconsistent. How can you want to spend eternity with God when you can't give him 15 minutes of your morning in his word, not just in devotion. I know I'm speaking harshly to you guys. It is tough love because I love you and I know the power that comes from the word of God. Guys, I want to give you this affirming truth today, that I have the mind of Christ and I'm capable of understanding his word through the Holy Spirit. And remember, the anchoring verse here is second Timothy 316. All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. God would not have breathed this out and made it profitable for us just to have us have it sit on a shelf and get dusty.
Carla Arges [00:15:38]:
You want to be transformed. You're transformed by the word of God. The Holy Spirit at work in you. The Holy Spirit uses scripture to sanctify us. The Holy Spirit uses scripture to guide us. That is the basis in which the Holy Spirit speaks to us. So I want to encourage you today to get past the excuses of. I don't understand.
Carla Arges [00:16:05]:
To get past the excuses. I'm overwhelmed. To get past the excuse. I don't have time. And make it a priority. You want to spend the rest of your life in eternity with God? Start with 15 minutes in his bible. Again? Check out Biblestudy 101 at carlaarges.com if you need help with this. But, guys, this is imperative to your christian walk.
Carla Arges [00:16:32]:
If you have any questions, come find me on Instagram, Carla Arjes. And we can continue a dialogue on this. And I would love to point you out, point you to other resources. Come talk to me and find me there. Okay? Talk to you next time. Thanks for joining me today. I hope we're already friends on social media, but if we're not, come find me on Instagram at Carla Arges or at affirming truth. Can't wait to see you back here next week.
Carla Arges [00:17:04]:
Bye, friends.