How to study the Bible

How to Study the Bible :: The HOW

Mini Series: The Bible & YOU

Intro

How many of us have ever made a New Years resolution? Better question- how many of us have really kept a New Year’s resolution? This semester in Ozone we’re basically asking you to make a resolution to read your bible more, and then KEEP it. Don’t worry- we don’t want you to go at it alone, but do want you to understand that this resolution won’t just happen. You don’t just decide one day that you want to consistently read your bible and then BAM you’re whole daily routine changes overnight. You’re going to have to be deliberate – you’re going to have to make time, not just find it. That means you’ll have to prioritize! But it’s worth it!

2 Timothy 3:16-17

“’All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that every man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

And, I don’t know about you, but being equipped for what the Lord has planned for me sounds pretty awesome!

But HOW? If it won’t just happen, how will you make it happen? How will you make reading your bible a priority when there are so many other things that fill your schedule? HOW?

If it were Easy- There’d be no Reason to Talk about it!

Now let’s make one thing perfectly clear – in reading your bible consistently had a one-size-fits all method that was easy to master, there would be NO reason for us to stand up here and talk about it today.  It’s not easy, but it is important. Crucial. 

Your Time, Your Place, Your Plan

Okay, back to answering the question of HOW. Like I said earlier, it takes deliberate planning. You don’t want to turn reading your bible into an obligation like homework or chores, but you do want to make a plan!

Your Time

Start by picking out an exact time and an exact duration and then honor that time every day. Obviously, you can spend all the time you want talking to God – in fact, scripture says that we’re supposed to be communicating with God all throughout our day.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus

But you also need focused time with God! It must be time that’s prioritized and set apart for one thing alone – reading your bible and learning more about the Lord. If you don’t schedule a regular time, more often than not you’ll get to the end of your day and realize that even though you wanted to spend time with Jesus, you just... lost track of time! The world gets busy, so make a time and honor that time.

Your Place

Even if you have a consistent time of day and duration, staying focused on reading scripture while you’re in the stands at a high school football game would be difficult! Day after day, you need to find a private place to read your bible where you won’t be distracted. The bible tells us to do it in secret --

Matthew 6:6

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Have you noticed that a lot of times when your parents are in heavy traffic, they turn down the volume on the radio? As humans, when we need to focus, we have to turn down the volume on the things that distract us. Reading your bible is no different! Turn down the volume on the world by finding a private place – away from the world. To pray to a God that is not of this world, you’re going to have to remove yourself from worldly distractions, so find a place and make it your own!

            Your Plan

The last thing you need to do is have a pre-determined plan. This is where things get more difficult to dictate because the truth is, every person is different. There is not one perfect method and one perfect plan. But, one thing we know is that if you go into your time with the Lord day-after-day with no plan, there’s a strong chance you’ll lose steam – you’ll get bored! Instead of learning and digging deep into the word, you’ll spend your time thumbing mindlessly through pages.

Need some ideas for direction? Here are a few...

• Pick a book and study it start to finish. That is what we’ll be doing later this semester when we study Philippians...
• Find a supplemental book that walks you through a book or the bible or a certain topic. These books offer great thought-provoking questions that will help you interpret the text and apply it to your life.
• Find a Podcast series on iTunes that unpacks a certain book of the bible or topic.
• ((this is where you can share your ideas or have other kids share what has worked for them! Lord knows there are many other ways...))

Importance of Accountability

Hopefully it’s clear that there isn’t a perfect method or “right” plan to spending time with the Lord and reading the bible. One thing to keep in mind is that you DON’T have to do it alone! We were built for community. Built to keep each other accountable. In this New Year’s resolution you will need help- so my recommendation is to grab a friend! Choose a plan and tackle it separately... together.

            Acts 2:42-47

            Galatians 6:2

            Psalm 55:14