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Building up the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:12)

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Mastery

Reading your Bible

 

In General

  1. Assume inspiration
    1. Inerrancy
    2. Authority
  2. Realize you are reading a translation
  3. Ignore man made markings.
    1. Chapter and verse divisions
    2. Titles, subject lines, notes, etc.
  4. Apply normal reading skills.
  5. Look for personal application
    1. How does God deal with man?
    2. How does man respond to God?
    3. How does man deal with man?
    4. How does man respond within himself?
    5. How does Satan temp man?

Normal reading skills

For all types of material

S—Q—3R

  1. Survey the selection.
  2. Questions: Read those assigned or form your own.
  3. Read the selection
  4. Recite it to another person answering the questions.
  5. Review it in your own mind and with others.

Finding the Main Idea

  1. As you read, ask yourself "What is this mainly about?"
    1. What would be a good title for this?
    2. What is the central purpose? (See if the author has included a purpose statement. It will generally be near the front or end of the work. Exposition often has such statements.)
    3. What is this mainly about?
    4. If someone asked you what this is about, what would you say?
  2. Summarize your answer in a single sentence.
  3. The first few sentences are often a summary.
  4. The last sentence or paragraph is often a summary statement.

Unknown Words

  1. Skip it.
    1. The meaning will often become obvious within a few sentences.
    2. If not use the following
  2. Look for the definition in the context
  3. Break the word apart
    1. Remove and decode prefixes and suffixes
    2. Isolate the root word
    3. Make an sentence out of the parts
  4. Look it up
    1. Consider all dictionary definitions as possible.
    2. Allow the author to define it his own way.

For exposition (epistles, discourses, sermons, etc.)

  1. Review what you already know about the passage from its context (not your notes or other things external to the passage).
  2. Scan the passage mark the logical connecting words (and, but, therefore, since, etc.)
  3. Develop questions or preview assigned questions for this passage.
  4. Start reading
  5. Pause and ask, "Do I understand?"
    1. If yes, then keep on reading
    2. If no then
      1. Determine what is unclear and reread.
      2. If the same area is still unclear after several readings then get help from a Subject Matter Expert.
  6. Go Back and take notes
    1. Main idea
    2. Details
  7. Make charts and diagrams
  8. Write it in your own works
  9. Summarize each section to another person so they clearly understand it.
  10. Answer the questions from step 2.

For Narrative

  1. Review what you already know about the passage from its context (not your notes or other things external to the passage.
  2. Scan the passage mark the temporal connecting words (calendar items, later, when, then, immediately, etc.)
  3. Develop questions or preview assigned questions for this passage.
  4. Start reading
  5. Treat long speeches as exposition (see above)
  6. Pause and ask, "Do I understand what is happening?"
    1. If yes then keep on reading
    2. If no then
      1. Determine what is unclear and reread.
      2. If the same area is still unclear after several readings then get help from a Subject Matter Expert.
  7. Go Back and take notes
    1. Main events
    2. Details
  8. Make a time line, charts and other diagrams
  9. Write a summary in your own works
  10. Summarize each section to another person so they clearly understand it.
  11. Answer the questions from step 2.

Story Setting and Mood

  1. Setting
    1. Where does the story take place? If not directly stated look for clues.
    2. When does it take place? If not directly stated look for clues.
    3. How long a period of time do the events cover?
  2. Mood
    1. What adjectives and description does the author use to help set the mood
    2. What clues about the mood can you get from how the story is told.
    3. Summarize the mood.

Story Grammar

  1. Title
    1. Optional
    2. Generally found in an introductory summary statement
  2. Author
    1. Use only if directly known.
    2. His ministry purpose and background give clues to the event he is relating.
  3. Characters
    1. Who are they?
    2. What do they do?
    3. How are they evaluated in the text?
  4. Setting
  5. Problem/Plot
  6. Event sequence
  7. Climax
  8. Resolution

Sequence

  1. Look for key words:
    1. Before – After
    2. First – Last
    3. At that moment
    4. Then – Next
    5. At last – Finally
    6. Suddenly
    7. Immediately
    8. Meanwhile
    9. Thereafter
  2. Most narratives move forward in time, but watch for flashbacks.
  3. Note shifts in verb tenses.

Characters

  1. List all the person named in the story
  2. What words are used to describe person
  3. What does this person do?
  4. How does this person change in the story?
  5. How does this character of this person compare to others?

Distinguishing Narration and Evaluation

  1. Narration
    1. External, visible, verifiable
    2. Who, what, when, where
    3. Size, location, time, color, composition
  2. Evaluation
    1. Use of adjectives and adjectival phrases such as: did right in the sight of the Lord, did evil in the sight of the sight of the Lord,
    2. The selection of events recorded may be evaluative
 

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Updated: December 10, 2003 00:50 -0500
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