Here - Eliot Baptist Church

Teachers Edition
The Word
Understanding and Teaching the Bible
By Nathan Rockafellow
Outline:
1. Getting ready- page 2
2. God must speak, we must listen- page 3-4
3. The Bible from a birds eye view
a. The center of the story- page 5
b. The Triune God- page 6-7
c. Bible mam- page 8-19
d. Dispensations & Timelines- page 20-21
4. Work in the trenches
a. Translation selection- page 22
b. Hermeneutics- page 23-27
c. Tools- page 28
i. Concordance
ii. Commentary
5. Understanding by Illustrating- page 29-30
1
Getting Ready- "Listen! Make a highway for the Lord through the
wilderness. Make a strait, smooth road through the desert for our God.
Fill the valleys and level the hills. Straighten out the curves and smooth
off the rough spots. THEN the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all
people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!" Isaiah 40:3-5
Just as a road crew removes obstacles, clearing a way for the paver, we’ve got
to clear the way for the Bible to come alive in our lives.
Surrender opens the way for God’s Word to work. When we are open, a road is made;
truckloads of God's love and guidance will make its way to us!!!
Step One- Cry out and confess to the Lord.
"If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and
refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him,
He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from every
wrong. If we claim that we have not sinned, we are calling God a
liar and showing that His Word has no place in our hearts." 1
John 1:8-10
Step Two- Choose who you’ll serve.
"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love
the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other…"
Matthew 6:24
Step Three- Stay Confident!
The Apostle Paul reminded early Christians of that when he said,
"I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will
continue His work until it is finally finished on that day when
Christ Jesus comes back again." Philippians 1:6
“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.”
John 16:13.
2
Between a burning bush And a shining face.
Exodus 3
“Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and
he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2
There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.
Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3So Moses thought, "I will
go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up."
4
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the
bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." 5 "Do not come any closer," God
said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6Then
he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God
of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
Exodus 34:28-29 “Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord
forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And
the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant- the Ten Commandments- on the stone tablets.
When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the
terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he
had spoken to the Lord.”
Just like it was with Moses, allot happens to a believer
between the time they hear God’s voice and are given
the call to share His word with others.
Moses EXPERIENCED- he climbed the mountain, felt the holy ground under his feet!
(Ex 3)
Moses QUESTIONED- “How will the people believe? How could God use me?”
(Ex 4&6:6-7)
Moses OBEYED- he challenged Pharaoh with plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, death
of livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and ultimately the death of each firstborn child!
(Ex 7-11)
We must do the same! Take time to EXPERIENCE God. Question Him
with reverence. Don’t settle for the Sunday school answer. Obedience is the
very best way to show that you believe…
3
Class Question:
 What experiences have brought you close to God?
 What questions did you ask when you were young?
 What questions do you still ask today?
4
The Center of the Story
God's Word; 40 authors, with 66 books containing
774,746 words with ONE story to tell!
 In the beginning- Genesis 1:3-5, 26-31 & Genesis 3:8-24
Eternal God creates by Word, light appears, and
darkness is divided. Unashamed, man enjoys the
light; sin drives man to darkness and shame.
 Throughout the story-John 1:1-5
History repeats, God intervenes:
Christ enters the world- God’s light to men!
 In the end- Revelation 20-21:4
Darkness is dealt with!
The old story is complete, the new story begins!
"Yes, I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all."
Revelation 22:21
5
The Triune God
Who is God? What’s His name? How does He work?
Ephesians1:3-14 “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blesses us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms
because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world, God
loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.
God decided in advance to adopt us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is
what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. So we praise God for
the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. He
is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the
blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us,
along with all wisdom and understanding. God has now revealed to us His
mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill His own good pleasure.
And this is the plan: At the right time He will bring everything together
under the authority of Christ- everything in heaven and on earth.
Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received and
inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything
work out according to His plan. God’s purpose was that we Jews who were
the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now
you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you.
And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving
you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s
guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has
purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and
glorify Him.”
The Bible describes God as three-in-one. Not three different
gods, one God with three different persons. God is the Trinity,
the union of three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) in one
Godhead of one Divine Being.
To understand the Triune God, it’s helpful to identify each
member of the Godhead by their attributes and work.
6
 God, the Father
o Father, Creator, Owner, the center of it all.
God is a Father in the sense of producing new life: He is Jesus’ father (Authority), but not
His Creator (Jesus Himself is eternal and was active in the creation of the world). God is
spiritual father to His children. Jesus taught His followers to address God as “Abba,” a
Hebrew word for “Dad” — intimate and personal, not someone distant.
God is also ‘Almighty,’ meaning ruler of all. And rightfully so — being Creator of all.
 Lord Jesus Christ
o Son of God the Father, Saviour to separated man,
Authority.
Jesus is God in flesh. As the son of Mary, a teenage virgin, He was born into the Jewish
tribe of Judah and adopted by Joseph, a carpenter. Joseph, Jesus’ legal father was a
descendant of the King of promise, Israel’s King David. Having both human and divine
origin, Jesus is both fully human and fully God. He came to earth as Saviour. He was
sinless, but died for humanities sin on the cross. As Lord, He rose from the grave and is
alive today, making intercession, a connection between perfect God and sinful man.
“Jesus’ life ended in his early 30s when He was tortured and nailed to a cross, giving up
His life to pay for the sins of all people and to open the door to eternal life for everyone
who chooses to walk through it. Three days later He walked out of the grave alive,
proving that everything He had said about God was true.” *Worldpress.com
 Holy Spirit
o The evidence of God at work, God’s guarantee of work to
come, the fingerprint of God.
The Spirit works in creation. He worked at the creation of the world, and He works
inside the lives of people the Bible calls ‘believers’. As the Helper, He guides people
into God’s wisdom and truth and consistently points the focus onto Jesus and to God.
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And
so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God
who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of
ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is
to come.” 2 Corinthians 1:20-22
7
The Bible Map
Like a large grocery store, the Bible is diverse. Each book of the Bible, like
each aisle of the store offers diverse information and teaching. Within
each book are separate chapters, just as each isle has many different
shelves. With great diversity, it's amazing to know that each book and
chapter compliments the next. There are no contradictory teachings in
God's Word.
Each book, and each chapter is important, but not all books or chapters
are particularly relevant for every teaching. The better we know the
layout of our Bible, the better we will be able to find and use relevant
teaching. What we need is a Bible Map…
Let's start with the two divisions in the Scripture-
The Old and New Testament.
 What is the central teaching of the Old Testament?
Major eventso Creation
o Fall (flood, Babel, Abraham, Egypt, Moses)
o 10 commandments
o Temple worship
o Exile

What is the central teaching of the New Testament?
Major eventso Jesus birth, teachings, death & resurrection
o Church
o Coming again
8
The Relationship between the Testaments
Jesus connects it all.
"Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith…" 1 Timothy 3:16
New Testament
Old Testament
The “Word” (a name for Jesus) was with God
John 1:1-2, 14
“Word”/Jesus lives with us
God's Law through Moses
John 1:17
God's Love through Christ
Temporary Manna
John 6:49-51
Eternal Bread
Exodus 16
Condemnation- we fail, we die
John 6:35
2 Cor 3:7-18
Exodus 20:1-21
Confidence- we fail, God saves
1 John 1:9
Slaves to perfection
Gal 4:4-12
Free in the Family
God spoke through the prophets
Heb 1:1-4
God speaks through the Son
Heb 7:16-28
Limitless Eternal High Priest
Heb 9:13-15
22,27-28
Sacrifice of Sin Secure
Limited human Priest of Levi
Book of Leviticus
Sacrifice of Sin Repeated
Leviticus 16
John 1:29
2 Peter 3:1-15
People Forgot what God said
God Fulfilled His promise
The Relationship between the Testaments
9
The Old Testament
The OT is the first 2/3rds of the Bible. It covers over 4000 years of
history. With 39 books, it shows that sin brings pain and seporates
humanity from God. Try as they may, in the Old Testament, people
can’t stay right with God. God's Laws of stone, the 10
commandments instruct people on how to live the perfect life, but no
one is able, and as a result, all are guilty of sin. Pre-incarnate Jesus
is seen in over 300 prophecies. From the Garden of Eden, the flood,
the exile, the 10 Commandments, the Tabernacle, the Temple and
the Passover Lamb, Jesus is woven into the Old Testament tapestry.
The Old Testament Scriptures are written in four
styles. Some books contain more than one style.
It's important to remember when reading the Bible
that the books are not always listed in
Chronological order:
 Law (nearly all O.T. books contain some part of God's Laws)
 History (Genesis - Esther)
 Poetry (Job - Song of Solomon)
 Prophecy (Isaiah - Malachi)
10
Genesis- "In the Beginning"


Creation/ The fall of man (sin)
Early years of Israel
Exodus- "Redemption- God saves"


By God's power, Moses leads the people of Israel out of Egypt
God gives His people His law (10 commandments) at Mt Sinai
Leviticus- "Worship"


God gives the priests and people rules to live by
"You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy" (19:2)
Numbers- "The record of Wanderings- life in circles"


40 years in the wilderness
Life just outside the Promise Land
Deuteronomy- "Covenant Renewal"



Remember God's promise
Personal responsibility
What God has done, what God expects, what God will do
Joshua- "Victory and Responsibility"


Israel takes the Promise Land
Faith in action
Judges- "Up's and Down's"


Backsliding and gracious deliverance
Faith in one generation, rejection in the next
Ruth- "Preservation for God's faithful"

Many worship false Gods, one worships the True God
1 Samuel- "Times of Change"


God's chosen leader rejected, a king is appointed
God's people want to be like the "other" people
2 Samuel- "King David, a man after God's own heart"



Good times in Israel
Humanity of man; the sin of David
The grace of God to those who love Him
11
1 & 2 Kings- "Rise and Fall"




Solomon is King
A Temple for God
Obedience and blessing (1 Kings 9:4-5)
Apostasy and judgment (1 Kings 11:11)
1 Chronicles- "God's editorial on history"

A look back at the royal line and reign of David
2 Chronicles- "Unity under God"


The temple is central to life
A closer look at Judah and it's righteous kings
Ezra- "Restore and Reform"


The temple of God is restored
The faithful remnant struggle to reform their lives
Nehemiah- "Security and hard work"


Jerusalem's city walls are rebuilt
The Jews resettle
Esther- "God at work behind the scenes"


The Jew Ester is used to save her nation and lead Persia as queen
Haman conspires against the Jews and is hung in his gallows
Job- "Triumph through trial"




Job loses family, friends and his health
Job questions and cries out to God
Job keeps a God perspective and submits to authority
Job is blessed again
Psalms- "Songs from the heart"


Prayers to God
Prophecy of God's future provision
Proverbs- "Wisdom of man"

Advice for daily living
Ecclesiastes "A life without God is no life at all"

Life spent away from God is meaningless
12
Song of Solomon- "Love"

Love and sexuality between a man and woman
Isaiah- "Prophecy of the coming Savior- a call to come back"
Jeremiah- "God's rebellious people"



Deserving of God's anger
Disaster ahead
God still loves His people
Lamentations- "God suffers when we suffer"

Consequence and mercy
Ezekiel- "Announcing Judgment"

Israel needs a new heart and a new spirit
Daniel- "God's Devine control"


True worship is personal worship
God never abandons those who worship Him
Hosea- "God loves the prostitute"

Guilty, yet God still loves
Joel- "Plagues we bring upon ourselves"

Promise of the Holy Spirit
Amos- "Punishment for God's people"

Complacency and worthless religion
Obadiah- "Punishment for those who oppose God's people"
Jonah- "All can be saved"


Missionary journey- Jonah resists God's plan
God loves the lost when the lost love Him
Micah- "Judgment and pardon"

The Lord will be King
13
Nahum- "Vengeance belongs to God"
Habakkuk- "Evil is on top today, but God will triumph"
Zephaniah- "Wake up and come back"

Judgment for some, joy for others
Haggai- "Finish what you start- rebuilding the Temple"

priorities
Zechariah- "Hope will come with Messiah"

visions of the coming Saviour
Malachi- "All must Honor His name"
14
The New TestamentIt’s the rest of the story!
God's evidence of Grace
Introduction to the NT:
The New Testament is God's beautiful revelation, giving
perspective and complete understanding to the Old.
It is not a contradiction to the Old, but a further explanation
of Gods heart. In the words of Paul Harvey, “it’s the rest of
the story!”
In many ways, studying the Bible is like solving an equation,
"a complex of variable factors."- Webster's Dictionary.
Ask any math teacher and they'll tell you, before an equation
can be solved, the natural laws of mathematics must be
followed, and assumptions must be put aside.
5x+2= isn't an equation, it's incomplete.
In the
same way, the Old Testament is incomplete, an unknowable
because it lacks a part essential to the equation.
5x+2=12
is an equation. See the difference?
In this analogy, 12 represents the New Testament. Without
the Old Testament, "12" seems random, inapplicable. But
when the Old and New Testaments of the Bible come
together, it's no longer isolated expressions, but an equation
just asking to be solved!
15
Understanding the NT:
The NT begins with the four Gospels, also called the Books of
'Good News'. They are Good News because they tell of the
birth, life, death and resurrection of our much needed SaviorJesus Christ!
The book of Acts follows the Gospels and gives details about
the Church. Reading Acts is like watching scenes from a play.
Each 'act' tells more about this true life story of early
Christians; how their faith changed the word!
The books known as the Epistles written by the apostle Paul,
Peter, James and John come next. These books are follow-up
letters that teach, correct and encourage Christians on how to
live out faith in Jesus.
The last book of the New Testament is Revelation.
Revelation literally means the "unveiling". This book offers a
"special blessing" to anyone who reads and keeps its words.
What kind of blessing? Confidence! Revelation is a book of
prophecy. The dictionary defines prophecy as: "prediction
with assurance on the basis of supernatural knowledge." A
prophecy is only as good as the one giving it. When God
gives a prophecy, its way more than a prediction, its
assurance! When God says something, He means it. If He
says it will happen, it will. Prophecy is God's way of putting
His Word to the test.
16
Since the prophecies of Revelation were given, believers have
looked to see how God was working in their time, and to see
how He would work in the future. Believers know, in the
struggle between good and evil, our good God wins!
Revelation shows what the end of earth’s story will look like,
and it encourages believers to keep putting their trust in God.
As time passes, each and every prophecy in Revelation will
come true. Many already have! When Biblical prophecy is
fulfilled, believers are encouraged! God gives us prophecy not
as a secret code, or some mystical drama to watch unfold, but
so that believers keep focused on the big picture- God's at
work; He loves His creation and will do whatever it takes to
work all things together for good. How should we study
Revelation? Some think studying Revelation means decoding
things that God's has left cryptic. Not only is that approach
incorrect, is misguided and dangerously wrong; wrong
because it hijacks the point of prophecy. Trying to "decode"
is as wrong as reading into Jesus parables. Just as parables
were given to teach a lesson, not to tell us every detail of the
story, prophecy is given to give us a big picture understanding
of God's ways. When studying Revelation, keep the emphasis
where it belongs- on the "deeper things" of the faith, our sin
and Jesus sacrifice to make us right! Revelation 2:24-25 says,
"I will ask noting more of you except that you hold tightly to
what you have until I come." God doesn't expect us to
understand every detail in Revelation, but to trust that He is
in control!
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Matthew- "The life of Christ from a Jewish perspective"
Mark- "The life of Christ- in person, work and teaching"

Written to Christians in Rome and to believers everywhere
Luke- "The life of Christ- a portrait of Jesus work"

Written by a Gentile physician
John-"The life of Christ- God became man"
Acts- "Christian Roots- the beginning of the Church Age"

The sequel to the book of Luke
Romans- "The big picture of Christian faith"



Fundamentals of Human Life
Fundamentals of the Faith
Fundamentals of New Life
1 & 2 Corinthians- "Christians in a corrupt society"

The old life is gone, a new life has begun
Galatians- "Freedom in Christ fulfils the Law"
Ephesians- "Growing strong in Christ- Spiritual Body Building"


Believers working together
Parallels Colossians
Philippians- "The source of True Joy"
Colossians- "Believers have all they need in Jesus"

Parallels Ephesians
1&2 Thessalonians- "Christ will return"

A detailed explanation of Christ's second coming
1&2 Timothy- "Encouragement and Instruction for a young
Christian Leader"
18
Titus- "Instructions for a Healthy Church"
Philemon- "Forgiveness- imitate Christ Jesus"
Hebrews- "The Old Testament explained"

The Just shall live by faith
James- "Faith, Love, Wisdom and Wealth"

A more practical than doctrinal guide to life
1&2 Peter- "Crave, Cry and Come to Christ- continue to grow"
1,2,3 John- "Love as a litmus test"



True faith
Beware of false teachers
Do not imitate what is evil, but what is good
Jude- "Stay Alert"


Remember what you were taught
Rescue those who have fallen
Revelation- "A revealing from God to creation"

Visions of the end of this age
19
Dispensationalism: A dispensation is a way of ordering things, a system, or a management. In
theology, a dispensation is the divine administration of a period of time. Dispensationalism is a
theological system that recognizes distinct ages ordained by God to order the affairs of the
world.
Opinions vary when it comes to the details of Dispensational theology; that’s not the subject I’m
trying to address here. I’m hijacking the term. I’m placing more emphasis on the simple fact that
God has worked in different ways for one purpose since the beginning of time.
Normally, a discussion on Dispensationalism would lead to lengthy talks about Israel and the
Church, dissecting and applying Scriptures to fit a theology. That is not my intension. I believe
the value of Dispensational study of the Word is that it helps show a unified story with different
chapters all leading to one conclusion. I understand this is not the normal definition of
Dispensationalism, but then I’ve never really been normal.
“Dispensations are not isolated and unrelated stories of salvation, but
manners in which God relates to man. Each dispensation includes a
recognizable pattern of how God worked with people living in the
dispensation. That pattern is:
1) a responsibility,
2) a failure,
3) a judgment, and
4) grace to move on.”
http://www.gotquestions.org/dispensationalism.html
Confused? Think Star Wars. New comers to the saga are entertained by
each isolated episode, but diehards see more, experience more because
they know more! They know Darth Vader was once cute little Anakin
Skywalker. They know He had kids, Luke and Leia. They see the big picture
and eagerly await the next chapter of the story!
20
In each Dispensation ask,
What’s the condition of Man and what’s the response of God?
The answers tells a story about the character of both God and man.
Traditional Bible Dispensations:
1. Innocence (Genesis 1:1—3:7)
2. Conscience (Genesis 3:8—8:22)
3. Human Government (Genesis 9:1—11:32)
4. Promise (Genesis 12:1—Exodus 19:25)
5. Law (Exodus 20:1—Acts 2:4)
6. Grace (Acts 2:4—Revelation 20:3)
7. and the Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:4–6).
Simplified:
 Class suggestions1. Perfection! (Genesis 1:1—3:7)
2. Problem! (Genesis 3:8—8:22) (Genesis 9:1—11:32)
3. Promise! (Genesis 12:1—Exodus 19:25)
4. Law (Exodus 20:1—Acts 2:4)
5. Grace (Acts 2:4—Revelation 20:3)
6. and the Eternal Kingdom (Revelation 20:4–6).
Timelines are a valuable tool in explaining the Bibles universal
story. I recommend “The New Panorama Bible study course” by
Alfred Thompson Eade because it cites Scripture throughout and
is beautify illustrated.
21
Bible translations
 Literal translation. Attempts to keep the exact words and
phrases of the original. It is faithful to the original text, but
without cultural understanding, it can sometimes be hard to
understand. Examples: King James Version (KJV), New
American Standard Bible (NASB).

Thought translation, sometimes called Dynamic equivalent.
These update the writing style and grammar from the original
language into the language of its time. Examples: New
International Version (NIV), New Living Translation (NLT).
Which translation should you use? I believe that depends on what
you’re trying to do! For a word study, a word translation is required.
But most times many benefit from the reading style of a thought
translation. Here’s a good example of why both exist:
Suppose the Bible, in its original language contained the verse, “It’s
raining cats and dogs.” What’s a translator to do?
Option 1- Translate the phrase word for word from the
original language to the target language. BEWARETranslating the words may not guarantee that the
ideology behind the phrase is understood by the
modern or foreign reader!
Option 2- Translate the idea of the phrase. “Cats” and
“Dogs” would be translated into the target verbiage,
but more important would be conveying the original
intent idea- It’s raining hard! BEWARE- Sometimes
the exact words are of upmost importance when
understanding God’s word!
22
her·me·neu·tics.
pronunciation: [hur-muh-noo-tiks]
1. the science and art of interpretation, especially of the Scriptures.
2. the branch of theology that deals with the principles of Biblical exegesis
Hermeneutics is a science. It’s an orderly method, a learned process through
sound principals, but hermeneutics is also an art.
Sounds serious huh. It is!
Wanna understand Hermeneutics? Think cake.
Hermeneutics is like a recipe that exegesis
bakes. Interpretation is the finished product.
Hungry?
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Inductive Bible Study
method
Step 1- Observation asks ‘What does it say?’
 Observation is taking notice of what is and is not present in the biblical
text.
 The purpose of observation is to saturate yourself with the content of a
passage so that you are thoroughly familiar with all that the text is
saying; aware of what is clear and of what may need further
explanation.
Step 2- Interpretation asks ‘What does it mean?’
 BEWARE! People can make the Bible mean anything they wish if they
skip observation and start with interpretation.
Step 3- Correlation asks ‘How does the study passage fit the rest of the book?’
 The process of studying an individual passage isn’t finished until it’s
determined how the individual passage fits into the book as a whole.
 By correlating an individual passage within the book as a whole, we
avoid the danger of taking the passage out of its context.
 The goal of correlation is to produce a synthesis of the book, that is, to
summarize the theme of the book as a whole.
Step 4- Application asks ‘How does it apply to me?’
The goal of Bible study isn’t just understanding
what the Bible says, it’s applying it to life.
Don’t skip the steps!
Skipping one or more of the
steps is like leaving out an ingredients from the perfect
recipe; it makes a difference in the end result!
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Follow the steps in the correct order!
Following an incorrect order is like using the right ingredients to bake
a cake, but putting them in at the wrong time. Yuck! The order of
the steps is crucial. It cannot be reversed or changed.
Starting with a question like, “what does this
passage mean to me?” is skipping steps of
observation and interpretation!
Application must be based on
correlation; correlation
must be based on
interpretation; and
interpretation must be
based on observation.
Observation- Rely prayerfully upon the Holy
Spirit! The Bible is a spiritual
it is the Holy Spirit who is our teacher.
book.
Ultimately
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In his book “How to Study the Bible for Yourself”,
youth edition, author Tim Lahaye suggests these methods:
Read it by books- “The books of the Bible were
written either to individuals or to groups of people, and so for
that reason they should be read in their entirety.”
Read it repeatedly- “One of the best ways to get to
know a book is to read the entire book every day for 30 days.”
Not easy for many books, but totally doable for many of the
epistles!
Read it by need- “Your personal spiritual needs often
determine what you should read.” Remember, the Bible is like
a grocery store, there’s TONS of choices, all helpful in their
own unique way! Check out Pastor Nathan’s ‘Good Book
Book’ for a helpful breakdown of the topics in each of the
books of the Bible.
Read it entirely- “Every Christian should strive to
read the Bible all the way though, beginning with the New
Testament.” Tim Lahay outlines a great three year suggested
reading program in his book!
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Follow the formula
Ok, I’ll admit it. I don’t have a clue what that formula means.
I found the picture while searching for cool clipart for this
section.
Every formula seems overwhelming until you understand
the parts and how to put them together.
 Pray for conviction- Ask the Bible’s Author, God
Almighty Himself to make you hungry for His word. Ask
Him to convict you when laziness and apathy set in. Do
it! I dare you! God WANT’S you to know Him. He won’t
let you wander without paying a price!
 “in all your ways acknowledge Him”- that means,
reading His word when you feel like it, and when you
don’t.
 Make a sacred vow to God- “Ordinarily I do not challenge
Christians to make vows to God, because Scripture says, “it is
better not to vow that to vow and not pay” (Ecclesiasties 5:5). But
since it is so essential to maintain a daily reading of the Word, I
make this one exception, because it has a long history of producing
the consistency which I believe most Christians desire.” * Tim
Lahay. Couldn’t have said it better myself Tim!
 Stay Humble, stay vigilant- “…be clothed with
humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the
humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty
hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting
all your cares upon Him, he cares for you. Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist
him, steadfast in the faith…”
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The Tool Box
 Concordance- a concordance is an alphabetical list of
every word used in a certain Bible translation. It’s useful
not only for finding verses that contain particular words,
but also for finding the meaning behind each word!
Strongs Exhaustive Concordance is just about the perfect
Bible tool! Versions are available free of charge online, or
you can go old school serious and get a 20lb book for
your own!
 Commentary- A commentary should be considered a
teacher in a book; perhaps not always right, but almost
always more knowledgeable than the student. Choose
wisely who you’ll take your teaching from! People are
flawed, we each have our bias and limitations. ALWAYS
read and study a verse for yourself, BEFORE you check a
commentary; and use more than one commentary!!
When used properly, commentaries can be a huge help in
understanding the times surrounding a text! Two of my
favorite commentaries are “The Believers Bible Knowledge
Commentary” by William MacDonald and Ellicott’s Bible
Commentary.
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Understanding by Illustrating,
You're Testimony Tell & Show…
People comment on my messages, and by and large, the comments are
good! Most of the time, people don't say much about the depth of the
message, but they do comment on the delivery (what they see)!
Why? I think it's because the 'visual' (prop) helps reinforce the 'material'
(message). Were visual people!
Think about the implications... Not just for teaching or preaching, but
for living! Our faith testimony should be a show and tell!
The Laws of Gravitation
According to Newton's law of universal gravitation, the force between any two
bodies is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them. The constant of
proportionality in this law is known as the gravitational constant; it is usually
represented by the symbol G and has the value 6.670 × 10 -11 N-m 2 /kg 2
in the meter-kilogram-second (mks) system of units.
Did you read the technical explanation? Did you understand?
Would you have understood if you had no scientific or mathematical
background? Probably not!
Want to teach gravity? Drop an apple!
That’s understanding by illustrating!
Understanding by illustrating gives the opportunity to get into the
technical once interest in the subject has begun!
The same truth applies when it comes to Christians explaining Christ to the
world. Our visual testimony is crucial!
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RelevanceA student spends about 7 hours a day at school or work, 5 days a week. That's
35 hours per week. With school approximately 40 weeks a year, do the math
and you'll find students are in school about 1,400 hours each year!
That’s enough to discourage any kid (or teacher)! Yes, that means a lot of books,
tests and work, but it also means you tremendous opportunity to do something
great for God!
How? Get a bag of apples and start passing them out! Get it? Think of it this
way, “each apple has within it the seeds of future impact!!!”- Fred Sullivan
Acts 3-4:1-14
Average isolated guys Communicate & illustrate
the amazing Savior Jesus!
Technique- (I’d give credit to the originator of this, but for the life of me I have no idea
who thought of it first. Kind of like the wheel…)
 Hook- Use something relevant to the subject to draw the
student’s attention to the subject. Stories are good, so
are explosions!!
 Book- Take the student to the Bible text you want to
study. READ it, don’t just talk about it!!
 Look- The teacher should ask and answer this question:
“how should the “book” that’s been studied affect the
student?
 Took- Teachers should always give students a specific
measureable goal. Boil down your message to this one
single point, then pass it on to the student!
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Resources for Suggested Study:

Tim Lahaye. "How to Study the Bible for
Yourself"- Youth Edition. Harvest House Pub.

Robert L. Thomas & Stanley N. Gundry. "The NIV
Harmony of the Gospels." Harper Collins.

John F. Walvoord & Roy B. Zuck. "The Bible
Knowledge Commentary". Victor Books.

Philip Wesley Comfort. "The Origin of the
Bible." Tyndale House Pub.

Dr. Willian Klein, Dr. Craig Blomberg, Dr.
Robert Hubbard Jr. "Introduction to Biblical
Interpretation." Word Pub.

William Whiston.
Heddrickson Pub.

Josh McDowell. "Evidence that Demands a
Verdict." Here's Life Pub.

Paul E. Little.
Communications.

Alfred Thompson Eade. “The New Panorama Bible
Study Course.” Fleming H Revell.

James Strong. Strongs Exhaustive Concordance.
Crusade Bible Publishers Inc.

William MacDonald. Believers Bible Commentary.
Thomas Nelson Publishers.
"The Works of Josephus."
"Know What You Believe."
Cook
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