Rubbish At Bible Study Track: Tasks: 1: Pre-course survey 2: Week 1 outline Advert: The 'Rubbish At Bible Study' Track

(RABS) is for YOU! Why? Because this track is for anyone who feels useless or guilty about their Bible Study. We all know that we are invited to know God (John 17:3) and hear His voice (John 10:27) and we all know that the best way to hear Him speak and learn to think Biblically is to study the Bible regularly. We know it helps in lots of ways (2Timothy 3:16). We know that the Bible is the fixed point in our experience of Him, the plumbline against which all our other experiences of God must be measured. Yes we all know that ............................................... but doing it - that's another story. Well, you aren't alone. Most Christians find Bible Study difficult some or most of the time. The goal of this track is to support each other as we learn different ways of bringing Bible Study to life, and experiment with different methods. This way, you might find which approach suits you best, and learn to improve where you have found Bible Study difficult. Hopefully, this will help improve your Bible knowledge, develop your Biblical thinking, and help you to know and hear God better. So this Track is for you if you enjoy Bible Study and want to do more, but especially if you feel daunted, or guilty about your inability to study the Bible, or just don't know how to start. ----------------------------NB: A lot of this will be based on this helpful and cheap book: 'Bible Study Methods' Rick Warren: 6.89 on Amazon at the moment. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rick-Warrens-Bible-Study-Methods/dp/0310273005/ref=sr_1_3? ie=UTF8&qid=1301654678&sr=8-3

Track Dates: May 11, May 25, June 8, June 22, July 6, July 20. Bible Study Jez Bayes Keith Raven Sarah Raven Amy Shaw Lucy Booth Penny Younger John Younger Mark Harvey Alun Allford Amanda Best

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Bible Study Track Week 1 Need: Paper, Pens, Laptop, Bibles, Projector, Whiteboard?

Pray! 1: a) Why Bible Study? (in pairs over a coffee - feedback on to whiteboard) (5 minutes)

e.g. 2 Timothy 3:16; Romans 12:1-2; Phil 4:8; John 8:32; Mark 12:30; Jer 31:31-34: a. teaching b. rebuking c. correcting - mutual accountability and discipleship d. training in righteousness e. knowing and hearing God f. understanding Gods purposes g. understanding Gods character h. thinking Biblically i. guidance in decisions j. guidance in lifestyle, Holiness, Biblical Ethics k. understanding the full work of God in history l. understanding the full work of God in your life m. fuel for prayer n. fuel for worship o. depth of relationship with God b) Can you define Bible Study in one short sentence? c) Feedback on whiteboard/screen (5 minutes) (10 minutes)

2: Start where you are questions: a) How things are now, be honest! Spread out round the house, pray, and thoughtfully answer these questions: (10 minutes)

i. On a scale of 1 (rubbish) to 5 (brilliant) how highly do you rate your own Bible Study? ii. Why? iii. How often do you study your Bible? iv. How long do you spend each time you study your Bible? v. What time of day do you do it? vi. What problems or hindrances do you find? vii. What has helped most over the years? viii.What helpful resources have you found? ix. What would you like from this Bible Study Track? x. Would you describe yourself as spontaneous or disciplined? b) Compare notes in the group (5 minutes) (e.g. close eyes, hands up who scored 1, etc and work out average for whole group) c) What will you try for this Track? As youre trying out this Track, you must want to try to improve, so (10 minutes)

xi: How long/how often will you aim to spend in Bible Study for this Track? I suggest not being over ambitious or unrealistic to start with: 1 hour per week in two hour sessions. 1 hour per week in four hour sessions. 1 hour per week in six 10 minute sessions. If you already give more time than this, carry on! As the Track lasts 6 fortnightly sessions, theres plenty of time to build up as it goes on, but its important to be realistic and get started and into good habits at this stage. xii: When is the best time of day for you, in terms of household routine, distractions, and your own alertness? Theres nothing especially Holy about 5.30AM! xiii: Where is the best place to focus and avoid distractions? xiv: Do you need to communicate clearly with family or anyone else about your routine, so that they can give you space? Feedback - any questions, comments or suggestions? 3: Different methods: (10 minutes)

e.g. 'Bible Study Methods' Rick Warren: 7.56 on Amazon at the moment. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rick-Warrens-Bible-Study-Methods/dp/0310273005/ref=sr_1_3? ie=UTF8&qid=1301654678&sr=8-3

http://www.find-book.co.uk/book/Rick-Warren-s-Bible-Study-Methods-Twelve-Ways-You-CanUnlock-God-s-Word/0310273005.htm He lists 12 methods: i. Devotional ii. Chapter Summary iii. Character Quality iv. Thematic v. Biographical vi. Topical vii. Word Study viii.Book Background ix. Book Survey x. Chapter Analysis xi. Book Synthesis xii. Verse-by-verse and helpfully creates outline forms for us to follow his methods. To which I would add: xiii: Paraphrase xiv: Big Picture Summary In other words, it doesnt have to be totally spontaneous and unstructured on the one hand, or completely studious using commentaries on the other. All styles and methods can be Spirit led. Warren recommends his Devotional method first, but Ill cover that in the next session. For the first 2 weeks, until session 2, the goal is to get into a helpful routine, rather than get too technical about methods.

4: Resources:

(20 minutes)

a) Books, commentaries, study bibles, bible handbook, concordances, notes, etc. As recommended in the introduction to the book ... but the book was first written in 1981, and a lot is now freely available online:

b) Web tools: http://www.biblestudytools.com/ interlinear, parallel, dictionary, commentaries, etc http://biblelexicon.org/ original word meanings http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library mp3 talks, articles, searches http://www.biblegateway.com/ versions, commentaries, searches http://www.monergism.com/ articles, searches, mp3s http://www.bethinking.org/ current culture addressed Biblically, articles, reviews, mp3s http://www.veritas.org/ US equivalent, a bit more academic http://thegospelcoalition.org/ articles, mp3s http://www.licc.org.uk/about-licc/resources culture, application, mp3s http://www.theologicalstudies.org.uk/index.html study aids, not easy to navigate http://www.bible-researcher.com/ as above! http://www.youversion.com/ reading plans, versions, online community http://about.esvbible.org/ online study bible http://www.rejesus.co.uk/ modules, course and resources, creative thoughtful study http://www.christianessentialssbc.com/messages/ Wayne Grudem Systematic Theology talks http://www.audiotreasure.com/ Bible in mp3 http://net.bible.org/#!bible/Matthew+1 all in one?! etc!!! You can contribute your ideas and suggestions through the Blaze Bible Study Track Googlegroup. Please do! Web Address: http://groups.google.com/group/blaze-bible-study-track?hl=en Email: [email protected]

5: Word Study: a) Ask The Holy Spirit to bring life and insight as you explore the Bible. b) Lovingkindness or Steadfast Love e.g. Psalm 63:3 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+63&version=ESV

(30 minutes)

Why study it? To appreciate Gods character more, and deepen worship. Biblical useage: http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=steadfast+love&qs_version=ESV Look through as many examples as possible, and compile your own list of what this word means.

c) After you have developed your own thoughts, then look at reference resources: Definition: http://eastonsbibledictionary.com/ http://bible.cc/searchtopical.php?q=lovingkindness http://topicalbible.org/l/lovingkindness.htm Origins/Lexicon: http://bible.cc/searchstrongs.php?q=lovingkindness&Bible.x=28&Bible.y=11&Bible=Lookup http://strongsnumbers.com/hebrew/2617a.htm

6: Pray and Apply: Does this lead to further questions? What can I read or listen to to help? Who can I ask for advice or pointers? (Try the group!) Does this lead to actions? Does this lead to prayer? Does this lead to Worship? Summarise what you have gained from this study. 7: Week 1: a) Get used to the resources, especially webtools. b) Order the Warren book if you can. c) Word or Theme Study, as done in the session:

Using a concordance or online search like Biblegateway, study one or more of these words: Eternal Life; Lovingkindness; Heaven; Gospel; etc? If youve ordered the Rick Warren book, look at the Word Study chapter for ideas, and try some of his if you feel inclined. Give as much time as you committed to earlier, and see if its achievable. Reflect on your study/studies with these questions: Does this lead to further questions? What can I read or listen to to help? Who can I ask for advice or pointers? (Try the group!) Does this lead to actions? Does this lead to prayer? Does this lead to Worship? Summarise what you have gained from this study. 8: Week 2: The Big Picture Bible Study: Try to summarise the Biblical story from start to finish on one side of A4. Back up key points with references. Start with Creation, end with Eternity! This is impossible, but will help to get a complete Biblical worldview into place!