Suggestions for special Bible studying and teaching

Suggestions for Inductive Bible Learning

Introduction:

     One of my main concerns is that most Christian churches don’t have very much Bible teaching.  So I have tried to encourage many to study the Bible more and even begin home group Bible studies.  Recently, I have had opportunities to share about my logical indent method of formatting Scripture with some leaders in a world-wide denomination and they thought it was good and could help the indicated Bible study revival.  In the last part of August 2007, I re-organized about 140 complete and partial Bible studies for making some MS Word files of Bible studies which could be used as “springboards” for personal or group Bible studies.  Hope that you will enjoy all that follows.

Note:  The following is about a way I have been logically formatting Scripture since September 1977.  Many of my Bible study courses have it because it causes reasoning which helps for better retention.  After reading the directions, try your favorite Bible chapter.  The man I learned this from even did his personal letters this way.

Proper Bible study is so important because it is the best way to discover

    “the mind of Christ” (Philippians 2) or how Jesus Christ thinks. 

           That is the way to get to know Jesus Christ intimately

                 which the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3 is so important. 

Studying and using Scripture suggestions:

    First in responding to any Bible verse or Scripture passage you hear in a sermon,

        skim the verse or passage and then check the verses before and after

            to make sure that was is being said really relates to the verse quoted. 

    Sometimes after the sermon and I am at my computer,

         I will download any meaningful verses’ passages and at least do the indent formatting to them

             to understand better the logic of them.

    If you are just typing Scripture without using Bible software to copy/paste from,

        be very careful and double and triple check what you have written. 

            One letter missing or one letter added can change the meaning of a verse. 

    For each verse, think:

         “Does it just tell me something I believe already

                or does it indicate something I should change in my life to be more Christ-like?” 

                     If it is the latter, you should copy it onto a 3 x 5 card

                         in your own words in a commitment form.

For your e-mail and Internet ministries, you can share any of my Bible studies

            (which are free for the asking

             or downloadable from http://www.box.com/s/b5e77263893659cd0b28

     or even uses parts of them in counseling or for your website. 

But if you want to develop your own inductive Bible studies or Bible study tools,

     following is some advice from me:

          Back in 1977-78, I learned to do a special logical formatting. 

                The above and the below are samples of it.

          This method of Bible study

                will help the formatter learn new understanding of God’s Word

                and can be used

                     for inductive teaching for Bible study discussion groups and

                     for easier memorizing of Scripture.

          This way of writing Scripture can be done using any translation of the Bible

                but please show respect in and capitalize the first letter of

                     deity pronouns,

                     Earth (for God’s special planet),

                     Christian,

                     and other words that indicate uniqueness (like “Bible” and “Apostle”).

This will almost look sort of like the outline format

     with the verses or groups of verses that seem to be of equal importance

         indented the same positions from the left of the page.

For producing inductive study for a Bible chapter or passage: 

     First be in the frame of mind as Proverbs 3:5-6 in order to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

     Download the desired Bible chapter or passage into a MS Word document. 

            The software I usually use is from the free e-Sword downloads (usually KJV red letter edition)

                  or from  the Lockman Foundation downloads of the Amplified and NASB Bibles. 

     Type the reference title above the first verse. 

            Press the Enter key and that is where the first verse number goes.

                  If the verse number is one digit, put a space in front of it.

                      Then press the space bar 4 times. 

     Determine how much of the first verse should be on the first line. 

          Most likely there will be a comma or semi-colon at the end. 

               In most cases, you will want to get as much on each line as possible,

                   but any equal important phrases usually should be separate lines

                       indented the same positions from the left of the page.

     There are four main choices of this logical formatting:

           If a phrase or statement is just a logical continuation or subordinate to the line above,

                start it three or four spaces to the right of the starting place of the line above.

                     Some letters are thinner than other letters, so that is why the 3 or 4 option of spaces.

           If a phrase or statement seems to be of equal importance to one of the lines above,

                start it three spaces to the right of the starting place of that same importance line above. 

           A phrase or verse which seems to be just a clarification of a word or phrase in a previous verse

                should be indented at least 7 spaces to the right compared to the previous line,

                    a so that the next line can start as it is a continuation of the previous line.

                           Such is a parenthetical statement

                           and could be easily left out and not affect the meaning of the above.

          If a phrase or statement ends a definite paragraph

                skip a line before starting the next paragraph.

     Then sometimes I make the studies better Bible study tools or even courses

           by doing the following:

                I will bold or/and underline important verses or phrase

                or/and I will insert thought provoking questions.

For producing subject studies: 

     After I sense a need (from the Holy Spirit, a sermon, a TV program, a conversation, etc.),

          I use a Bible software to download verses using a key word to search with.

               I usually have to sort such several times using

                   different tense forms of a key word

                   and synonyms of that key word. 

     Two other good sources for subject study verse references are

           The Naves Topical Bible and The Thompson Chain Bible References.

     Then for each verse that you want to use

           choose enough of its context before doing the logical formatting.

                 Proper context is so important for most verses.

                      After looking at a verse’s context,

                           you may realize that it isn’t appropriate for the study and should be deleted.

     As I am doing such a study, groupings seem to develop.

            And the Holy Spirit gives me names for these groupings.

            So I start sorting the formatted verses and passages.

                  I split the MS Word document to save time in doing such.

                        And sometimes in large studies, I make a separate list of the group titles

                               for the lower work-in progress part,

                                    so that I know how to search the top section on a key word of a group title

                                         to find the right group to put in the recently formatted verse or verses.

     If a Bible verse or passage is identical or almost the same as you have previously done in the study,

           do a search in the top part of split document to find the just mentioned.

                 If the unformatted Bible verse or passage is identical or not as good as the search result,

                      then put the reference of the Bible verse or passage in the working section

                            in parentheses just after the last line of the search result and italicize the addition.

                                 Then delete the unformatted Bible verse or passage.

                 If the unformatted Bible verse or passage is better than the search result,

                      then format it and put it in the proper location in the above section

                          followed by the reference of the Bible verse or passage to be deleted

                               in parentheses just after the last line and italicized.

     Then sometimes I make the studies better Bible study tools or even courses

           by doing the following:

                I will bold or/and underline important verses or phrase

                or/and I will insert thought provoking questions.

I have learned much every time I have done the logical formatting. 

     Isaiah 28:9-10 

         “Whom shall He teach knowledge?

                  And whom shall He make to understand doctrine?

                        They who are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts.

                              For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept;

                                   line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.”

     2 Timothy 2:15

          “Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God,

                   a workman [or workwoman] who does not need to be ashamed,

                        rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”

Hope that you will too learn from doing ETRSF

      and will share the results with others via the Internet or/and Bible study groups.