101 Bible Study Tips

Is Bible study frustrating? It doesn't have to be. It wasn't intended to be, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15).

We've compiled a list of 101 Bible study tips from members of the Redmond Rd. Church of Christ. These are some of the things that help us get the most out of our study. We hope they will benefit you too.

Attitudes in Study

1. Have a desire to understand.
2. Believe that you can understand.
3. Approach your study with the view that every word is inspired.
4. Always look for an application.
5. Study to discover-not to prove what you already think.
6. Don't make assumptions-be sure it says what you think it does.
7. Remember you are reading to learn, not evaluate-you can't pick and choose what is from God.
8. Don't bring your prejudices to your study-read as if you have never read it before.
9. Be convinced that your previous views can be wrong.
10. Don't twist the Bible text to conform to your beliefs.
11. Accept the New Testament as God's final instructions for Christian living.

Study Habits

12. Do a daily Bible reading.
13. Follow a schedule to read the Bible in a year ( for a calendar-style reading schedule).
14. Set a specific time of the day to have a personal devotional.
15. Develop a routine-if you plan to study you're more apt to do it.
16. Be consistent, but if you miss a day, keep on.
17. Find or make a quiet, yet not too comfortable place to study.
18. Study in a quiet place with no distractions.
19. Have a partner in study-arrive at understanding together.
20. Encourage all family members to participate.
21. Have paper and pen to make notes of what you study/read.
22. Only study-don't read while you listen to music, watch TV, have a conversation, etc.
23. Break it up-you'll get more from 3 half hour study sessions than one for an hour and a half.
24. Pick a topic and search for scriptures on that topic for a set time (e.g., study faith for a month).
25. Start your study with prayer for understanding.
26. Keep a notebook/journal to write down thoughts and notes for future study.
27. Write chain passages in Bible margins.
28. Mark up the margins of your Bible with notes.
29. Just Do It!

Reading the Text

30. Have orderly reading-don't skip book to book.
31. Read from Genesis to Revelation.
32. Study Gospels to learn about Christ.
33. Begin at Genesis and read regularly to become familiar with Biblical language.
34. Read from a version that you can understand.
35. Understand what you read as you go-as soon as something is confusing, stop and figure it out.
36. Spend as much time thinking about what you've read as you do reading.
37. Be sure you've considered the context of what you've read.
38. Keep in mind who is speaking in a passage and who they are speaking to.
39. Research titles of books and their definitions as an overall view of Bible components.
40. Read aloud with family members or others-good to hear and speak Bible language.
41. Write down statements or passages that are unclear to research.
42. Skim the entire book quickly in one setting.
43. Study a passage for all you can get out of it-look at it from different perspectives.
44. Look for recurring themes, keywords, and phrases.
45. Outline the whole book to determine a unified theme.
46. Divide the book into related paragraphs of text.
47. Notice the beginning or the changing of subjects in a chapter or a book.
48. Determine how each paragraph of text relates to those around it.
49. Highlight the most important verses in a book that relate to its message.
50. Read the entire chapter around a verse you are studying.
51. Read other translations of the passage.
52. Run cross-references to other passages.
53. Let the Bible explain itself.
54. Discover how a phrase is used in other passages to understand its use in
55. the one you are reading.
    Meditate and reflect quietly on what you have just read.
56. Resist the temptation to study the hard books first-begin with the easier books then move to the more difficult.
57. Study the Old Testament prophets before studying the book of Revelation.
58. Look for the simplest explanation to a passage.
59. Answer the basic questions about a passage-who, what, when, where, and why.
60. Don't read something into a passage that isn't there.
61. Take the sum of everything God said about a subject.

Keys to Profitable Study

62. Remember the Bible is divided into Old and New Testaments.
63. Consider Old Testament books in connection with the historical events of their times.
64. Try to study Old Testament books in chronological order.
65. View the New Testament as the fulfillment and interpreter of the Old Testament.
66. Study the gospels collectively for the full story of Jesus' life-harmonize the events.
67. Study the gospels individually to emphasize the unique purpose and style of each book.
68. Study the New Testament epistles in connection with the missionary journeys in the book of Acts.
69. Survey an entire book before concentrating on its individual parts.
70. Look for one verse which summarizes the whole book.
71. See how each part of a book relates to the book's intended emphasis.
72. See how each part of a book relates to the other parts.
73. Divide the book into segments or verses which represent a unit of thought.
74. Assign a title to each of these segments to summarize it.
75. Observe how all of the parts blend together into a unique pattern.
76. Try to state the book's theme in your own words.

Using Study Aids

77. Get a good concordance to help find Bible verses (such as Young's or Strong's).
78. Get a good Bible commentary to assist with some of the background material.
79. Use other versions and references.
80. Keep a file organized by topic of good articles, passages, notes, etc.
81. Seek out Christian internet sites.
82. Participate in the free online Bible study at Jordanpark.org.
83. Use a good Bible dictionary (such as Vine's).
84. Keep a good standard dictionary close by.
85. Use a Bible handbook (such as Halley's).

Miscellaneous

86. Give a Wednesday night Bible talk.
87. Teach a Bible class (you learn more when preparing to teach).
88. Write an article for the church bulletin.
89. Don't hesitate to ask for help in understanding a passage.
90. Attend all Bible studies or classes.
91. Pray about what you've studied.
92. Listen to the Bible on tape in the car (especially on long trips).
93. Share what you read with friends and family-they may have insight of the subject that you didn't discover in your reading.
94. Set your clock 15 minutes earlier to get up and read the Bible-start your day off right.
95. Join a Bible study group.
96. Memorize a new Bible verse each week.
97. Plan a Bible study for your children (it's amazing how much you will learn as well).
98. Put a framed Bible verse in every room of your house (change them out occasionally).
99. Take sermon notes.
100. Write down special subjects or verses to study.

101. Meditate on Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes often.

- Brothers and sisters of the Redmond Rd. Church of Christ