Bible Study & Teaching Worksheet

Someone said we should treat our Bibles like our cell phones. Just think, we'd carry them around with us everywhere. We'd flip them open throughout the day. We'd use them to receive important messages. We'd feel incomplete without them.

The Bible is a precious gift from God, more valuable than the latest generation smart phone. It is sweeter than honey and more desirable than gold (Psalm 19:10). Yet sadly, many Christians spend little or no time reading their Bibles. How can this be?

Perhaps it's a lack of self-discipline (if that's the case, then try turning off the TV or setting your alarm 15 minutes earlier). But for others, perhaps it's a lack of direction.

I believe there are a lot of Christians (and even teachers) who simply do not know what to study or how to study the Bible. They're intimidated by such a big book written long ago, so they just rely on the Sunday preacher to feed them and get them through the week. They're like grown adults who have a fully stocked kitchen, but since they never learned to cook, they just go out to eat whenever they're hungry.

Let's break this cycle! If you'd like to learn how to study the Bible for yourself, or how to prepare a Bible study to lead others, here is a simple Bible Study & Teaching Worksheet. It explains the Bible Study process in four steps:

• Supplication - humbly ask God for guidance
• Observation- carefully examine the text
• Interpretation - use your own investigative skills plus a few good commentaries
• Application - use the SPECK method to become a doer of the Word

Plus, here are two more steps for those preparing to teach or preach:

• Preparation - craft your lesson with good questions and a clear outline
• Proclamation - engage your audience and speak God's Word with authority

The worksheet spells out all the steps and provides a suggested schedule if you had only four hours to prepare a lesson from start to finish. You can download it here. Hope you find it helpful.

Photo credit: RafeB