Hey friends,
Are you guys still studying your one word for 2019? We are already into the fifth month of the year! So I know that it may be difficult for y’all to stay persistent with it, at least that’s true for me. Maybe some of you haven’t even picked a word for 2019. Guess what though that is fine. It is never too late to get into studying the Bible and learning new ways to mature as a Christian. And let me remind you, our Heavenly Father forgives when we fall behind!
Since I have been studying my one word, the thought crossed my mind that some of you may be struggling to find Bible studies that help with your word (or any theme or word you may be studying). Therefore, I have put together a little how-to guide on creating your own Bible studies.
Let’s see how to create your own Bible study!
How to create your own Bible study
Tools:
- Word, theme, character, etc. (This is the word or topic that you want to learn more about in the Bible ex. prayer).
- Bible (I like to have a variety so that I can compare translations etc.) I also recommend a Life Applications Bible for help when there are tricky passages.
- Dictionary
- Thesaraus
- Concordance (biblestudytools.com has some great concordances that you can use, your bible should have one in the back also).
- Notebook (for recording verses)
- Pens, pencils, highlighters
- Patience
- Desire to study the Bible in depth
I say patience and desire to study the Bible in depth because this does take time to do especially when you’re just getting into it. It is so much more rewarding, so I encourage you to pray for strength and help when starting your Bible studies.
Process:
1. Collect all of your supplies
This is the time you ask yourself what it is that you’d like to learn from the Bible. Maybe you have a question on prayer, or you want to learn what freedom looks like in God’s eyes. Ask God for guidance and write your word down. Be sure to have all the tools listed above close by to make the process easier!
2. Look up the definition of the word
This is important because you want to make sure that your idea of the word is correct. You may be thinking of the wrong association with the word. This can cause the Bible study to be confusing because none of the verses is relevant to what you want to learn. Write the definition down close to the word you are studying so you can refer back to it throughout the study.
3. Look up synonyms and antonyms of the word
This is where the fun starts! Grab your thesaurus and look up the word you are studying. Write down all of the synonyms (words that are similar in meaning) and the antonyms (words that mean the opposite). This step allows you to get more out of your study. Instead of just looking up the word diligence, I would use the words care, perseverance, laziness, and idleness. This way I will find more verses to help me understand what God is telling me about diligence. Also, since the Bible was written a long time ago, the authors may not have used your word that often or at all. They probably had something to say about it but just not in those exact words.
4. Look up words in a concordance
Yes! We are doing a lot of research to study one word. Trust me though, it is a fun process, and you will be so excited and happy about what you learn through it! Grab your notebook, list of your word and its synonyms and antonyms and your concordance. You will now start to look up those individual words to find out which verses they are in. After recording all the verses, you should have tons of them to go through.
5. Arrange verses and discard irrelevant verses
Once you collect that long list of verses, you have to go through all of them to discard the ones that are irrelevant to your Bible study. There may be verses that use the word but not in the same context or the verse maybe entirely out of line with what you’re hoping to learn. Arrange the verses you’ll like to keep once you’ve decided which ones are appropriate.
I like to arrange my verses in the order that the books of the Bible are placed. So I will read a verse from Deuteronomy before I read a verse from Proverbs. It just works better for me this way.
6. Start studying your verses
Finally, you’ve gotten to the studying part! Now that you have collected all of the relevant verses, you need to come up with a Bible study schedule. You need to decide how long your study will be (ex. a year or a month). You’ll also want to determine how long you’ll study for in a day and how many verses you’ll study a day.
Some helpful tips on studying verses for yourself:
- Read the verse several times and compare it to different Bible translations (ex. New International version vs. King James version)
- Ask yourself what is the verse telling you. What was the author trying to convey to the reader? Consider the time frame, who was the audience etc.
- Read the passages before and after the verses. This gives you a better understanding of the context of the verse. You can do this in different translations also.
- Record your thoughts on the verse.
- What is the verse telling you about God?
- What is the verse telling you about yourself?
- Is it giving you any insight into what God wants from you?
- Do the different translations spread light on hard to understand areas?
- How should you respond with this new information?
- Look up the cross-references for each verse. Apply the same process to each additional verse, looking for more insight and guidance.
- Refer to the Life Application Bible references and application notes for help in necessary areas. It is also good to compare your thoughts with that of scholars to make sure you are on the right path.
- Pray that God gives you the wisdom to discern His scriptures and apply them appropriately to your life.
Final thoughts
I pray that this guide helps you with deepening your knowledge of the Bible and strengthening your relationship with God. I also hope that you will find it useful and learn to create your own Bible studies more often than using other Bible studies. They are great resources, but it is important that we all have our own individual time in the word where we can learn to listen to God’s answers and guidance in our personal lives.
If you have any more tips on creating your own Bible studies, please leave them in the comments below!
Until next time,
yasmin rose xoxo
