ABC Bible Study -- Here's How To Do It
The ABC Bible Study is a method, or approach, that has been around for a long, long time. I certainly do not make any claim to have originated this approach -- I have learned it from others, and it has proven to be so useful for me that I have decided to pass it along to you. This type of Bible study method is a good one to use on an occasional basis -- once or twice a month. It is also a very good approach to use when you are studying the Bible as a group --
Step 1: Analysis
The first step of the ABC Bible Study is ANALYSIS. By analysis, I mean a thorough study and analysis of the passage of the Bible that you have chosen to focus on. There are a number of ways to go about doing this: you can consult the notes of a good-quality study Bible, or read the material in an in-depth Bible commentary or just try to analyze the passage for yourself. One of the things that I like to do (as I mentioned in another article on this site) is outline the passage that is before me. I will break a Bible passage up into paragraph units and give each paragraph a title.
The title of your paragraph should be very succinct -- it should accurately express the content of the paragraph, in as few words as possible. I like to challenge myself to try and write very "tight" paragraph title -- it forces me to think about what is being said there. If your passage is composed of more than one paragraph, you may also wish to summarize the contents of the entire passage by giving it a title also. The point of this step is to come to an accurate understanding of the meaning and proper interpretation of the Bible passage that you have selected.
Step 2: Best Verse
Once you have completed your analysis of the passage, you are ready for the next step -- BEST VERSE. It is important to understand that by "best verse," we mean best for YOU. As a result of your study of a passage, a particular verse or section may have become very meaningful to you -- it will not only be important, but it will have seemed to "speak" to you on a personal level. This verse is your "best verse" -- and different people, studying the same passage of Scripture, may have come up with a different best verse. This is entirely acceptable, because the Bible has the capability of speaking to us on many levels, in many ways.
You may find it helpful to take your best verse and begin to think about it often -- in the Scriptures, this is called "meditation" -- it is not an Eastern concept of emptying yourself of thoughts, but rather a filling of yourself with the thoughts and teachings of the Bible. Some people will take their best verse and post it on a mirror so that they can see it while washing or shaving in the morning.
Others may put it on a little sticky note and keep it on their car dashboard or at their desk at work. Another method that works well is to put a little note inside your wallet or billfold, if that's where you go often (it could also be kept posted in a personal calendar or planner, or near your PC) -- the main thing is to be reminded of your verse on a regular basis. Some people will even take the time to memorize their best verse as a way of fixing its teachings in their mind.
Step 3: Contract
To further solidify a personal response to the truth that you have learned, the ABC Bible Study method also includes the writing out of a personal prayer -- that is the "contract" aspect, a contract between you and God. I find it most helpful to write out these prayers as a way of focusing my thinking, and as a way of giving me something to look back on for future reference. Your prayers should be as specific as you can possibly make them -- in them you should detail the specific ways that you will apply the truths that you have learned from this study in your own life.
Some of you might realize that the ABC Bible Study approach would not be a good method to use for a daily Bible study -- simply because, over time, you would accumulate too many "contracts" -- you would not be able to remember them all! But, as I mentioned previously, this approach works well if you use it once or twice a month -- and it is also ideally suited for a group Bible study environment, especially when your group does not meet very often, and when you can take the time to go through all of the steps with them (you will need to encourage your group participants to write out a personal prayer and keep it private).
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