LEARN & READ

It is so important that we understand what we are reading. If we don't know the setting (time, place, author, reason) AKA THE CONTEXT, then what we read will not make sense to us. Before starting to read any book, learn the background information so you can fully understand what you are reading.

If you have a study Bible, there is a good chance that before each book, it will give you some information that will help you. If you don't, you can go to http://www.biblica.com/niv/studybible and click on whatever book you want to learn about.

After learning the background information on the book, then read the whole book in one sitting. Also, you can go to www.esv.org to have the entire book read to you and you can follow along. This is helpful because you are both reading and listening to it. Recommended book: Reading the Bible for All it's Worth by Fee & Stuart.

TOPICAL STUDY

A topical study is a method used when you want to glean as much information from the Bible as you can about one subject. You will pull from a bunch of different verses to learn about the subject. Here is a good way to do it.

o Get the dictionary definition of the word forgiveness and write it down.
o Important verses regarding the subject of forgiveness: (write them out)

Ephesians 4:32:

Ephesians 1:7:

Read the parable in Matthew 18:21-35

o What did you take from these verses about forgiveness?

o What does forgiveness show about your relationship with God?

o Summarize how God is calling us to forgive:

o Who do you need to forgive?:

o Website: www.biblegateway.com - to find the verses about each subject, go to Bible Gateway and type in your subject/topic. Hit "Search" and all the verses containing that word or phrase will come up.

PROVERBS STUDY

The book of Proverbs is a great book to teach young adults some basic ways to live out their Christian faith. There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs, so you should do one every day (the day of the month will match up with the chapter in Proverbs). This is a great way to study the book of Proverbs.
1. • Read the whole chapter once and underline any word or sentence that sticks out to you.
2. •Go back through and summarize the parts that you underlined
3. •Ask yourself, "Does anything in my life need to change based on what I just read?" If so, write it down.

10-10-10

In this method, there will be three 10 minutes periods where you will do different things. See below:

•For the first 10 minutes, you will read and underline any word or phrase that sticks out to you

•For the second 10 minutes, you will go back and re-read all the words or phrases that you underlined. You should meditate or think about how they relate to your life. Why did you underline it? What does it mean? How does it apply to your life?

•For the last 10 minutes, you should journal your thoughts and write down anything that is running through your head based on your reading and meditation of the Scripture. Ask yourself: What about my life needs to change based on what I just read? What did I learn about God? What did this say about Jesus?

For example, instead of doing the 10/10/10 approach, try the 1/1/1 approach with the following passage of Scripture:

Ephesians 2:8-10 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

INDUCTIVE METHOD

The inductive Bible study method is very simply and is based around three questions. This is one of the best ways to read the Bible because it allow us to read exactly what the Bible says and what it means to our lives. After reading Scripture, you ask yourself these questions:

1.

•What does it say? (figure out what the text is actually saying)
2.

•What does it mean? (figure out what the text actually means)
3.

•What does it mean to my life? (figure out how this text applies to your life... this is the most important part of the inductive method)

Now, practice this method by using Romans 5:8 which says, "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

What does Romans 5:8 say?

What does it mean?

What does it mean to me?

The goal is to figure out how your life should be different based on what the Bible says.

READ & JOURNAL

This is a very simply, yet effective, method to studying the Bible. All you do is read a chapter and then write down your thoughts. You can summarize what it said or just write down anything that comes to mind...

PODCASTS

(This is more of a teaching on Scripture as opposed to you actually reading it for yourself.)
A Podcast is a FREE resource that is available to anyone who uses iTunes and has an Internet connection. Listening to Podcasts allows you to hear from some of the most gifted communicators in the world with the click of a mouse.

o Here's how you do it:
•Open iTunes on your computer

•Click on iTunes Store

•Click "Podcasts" on black menu bar

o In the search box (upper right-hand corner) type in the following:

· Andy Stanley (North Point Ministries: Andy Stanley)
· Adam Hamilton (Resurrection UMC)
· our very own Chris Thore (Clemmons UMC)
· Ravi Zacharias

•Click on the button that says,"Subscribe

•All sermons will download automatically and will update when a new one is available.
o Podcasts will also update on your iPod so you can listen to them anywhere.

Note: A good practice would be to take notes as you listen and then read back over them.