MODULAR NOTES

in Theo 105 Hermeneutics &

Inductive Bible Study (IBS)

by

Raul M. Enriquez, ThM

Instructor

Kurios Christian College Foundation

(KCCF)

School Year: 1st Semester

2021-2022

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page……………………………………………………………………………….1

Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………….....2

Syllabus……………………………………………………………………...………….3-5a

Introduction of Hermeneutic & Inductive Bible Study (IBS) for Biblical Teachings …5b-7a

Book Charting ………………………………………………………………………….7b-8

Sample Book Chart …………………………………………………………………….9

Step 1: Direction Discussion & Worksheet ………….……………….……………….10-13

Step 2: Observation Discussion, Worksheet & Process……………………………….14-19a

Step 3: Interpretation Discussion, Worksheet & Process ……………………………..19b-27a

Step 4: Transformation discussion & Worksheet …………………………………….27b-30

Inductive Bible Study (IBS) for Biblical Stories …..…….............................................31a

Step 1: Direction Discussion & Worksheet ………….…………….………………….31b-33

Step 2: Observation Discussion, Worksheet & Process……………………………….34-37a

Step 3: Interpretation Discussion, Worksheet & Process ……………………………..37b-40a

Step 4: Transformation discussion & Worksheet ……………………………………..40b-41

Summary of Inductive Bible Study for Biblical Teachings & Biblical Stories ……….42-43

Inductive Bible Study (IBS) of Other Biblical Texts. ………………………………….44-48

Worksheet for Biblical Teaching & Narrative Passages & Book Chart ……………….49-54

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 KURIOS CHRISTIAN COLLEGES FOUNDATION, INC.
Bendita I, Magallanes, Cavite
[email protected]

COURSE TITLE: THEO 5 HERMENEUTICS & INDUCTIVE

BIBLE STUDY (IBS)

1st SEMESTER SY 2021-22

FACULTY: Ptr. Raul M. Enriquez, ThM

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The science and art of interpreting the Scriptures. The student
will study the principles for explicit interpretation of Biblical meaning and proper application
of the Bible to daily affairs.

OBJECTIVES
Primary Objectives
1. To foster your love in proper understanding and studying of the Scripture and
ultimately for the One who gave it.
2. To increase your desire in proper study and understanding of the Word of God
after the class is over.
3. To encourage you to live more in line with the injunctions found in this
material.
Performance Objectives
By the end of this class, you should be able to:
1. To know how to study the background of the particular book or passage in the
Scripture in a book chart form.
2. To know how to do a passage chart based on contextualization.
3. To know the method and process of interpretation using “DO IT”.
4. To know how to use interpretive question in understanding a particular
passage.
5. To know the other approaches in interpreting other genre of the Scripture.
6. To make a reasonable application of the passage in our daily life.

TEXTBOOK
Fee, Gordon D. and Stuart, Douglas, How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth 2 nd
Edition, OMF Literature Inc., 776 Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila,
1993.

Recommended books:
1. Osborne, Grant R., The Hermeneutical Spiral, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove,
Illinois, 1991.
2. Hendricks, Howard G., and Hendricks, William D., Living by the Book, Moody
Press, Chicago, 1991.
3. Carson, D. A., Exegetical Fallacies 2nd Edition, Baker Books, A Division of Baker
Book House Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49516, 1996.
4. Virkler, Henry A., Hermeneutics, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan
49506, 1981.

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 Notes:
Mastering the Scripture, 1988, by James M. Cecy
ISOT-ASIA notes, by Ron Gaff & FCL Material

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

A. Book of Colossians Assignments (NT) (50%)

These assignments will prepare the students to study the New Testaments
(NT) biblical teachings and apply the skills they learned from the modular notes.
The students need to do the Book Charting, Direction Worksheet, Observation
Worksheet, Interpretation Worksheet & Transformation Worksheet of the Book of
Colossians. The focus of the study will be on Colossians 3:1-11.

B. Book of Jonah Assignments (OT) (50%)

These assignments will prepare the students to study the Old Testaments (OT)
or any biblical narratives and apply the skills they learned from the modular notes.
The students need to do the Book Charting, Direction Worksheet, Observation
Worksheet, Interpretation Worksheet & Transformation Worksheet of the Book of
Jonah. The focus of the study will be on Jonah 4:1-11.

C. Final Grade
The final grade will be determined on the following basis:
Book of Colossians Assignments (NT) 50%
Book of Jonah Assignments (OT) 50%
TOTAL 100%

CLASS SCHEDULE
DAY TOPIC DUE DATES
Course Cruise Read the Book of
Introduction to Hermeneutics & Colossians (3-5 times) &
1&2
Inductive Bible Study (IBS) Finished Book Chart of
Book Charting of Colossians Colossians
Finished Direction &
3&4 Direction & Observation
Observation Worksheet for
Colossians
Finished Interpretation &
5&6 Interpretation & Transformation Transformation Worksheet
for Colossians
Book Charting of Jonah Read the Book of Jonah (3-
IBS for Biblical Stories 5 times) Finished Book
7&8
Book Chart & Direction of the Book Chart of the Book of Jonah
of Jonah & Direction Worksheet
Interpretation &Transformation Finished Interpretation &
9 & 10 IBS Summary & IBS for Other Transformation Worksheet
Biblical Texts for the Book of Jonah

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COURSE METHODOLOGY
In order to facilitate the global objectives of the program
1. Preparation Assignment (PA) (Reading the Module & Doing the Exercises),
2. Practice & Applying the Principles of DO-IT Method Inductive Bible Study (IBS)
learned from the Module.
3. Then, Do the Applicational Assignments (Book of Colossians & Book of Jonah) (AA)

THE PROFESSOR
Raul M. Enriquez holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communication
Engineering (BSECE) at Central Colleges of the Philippines (CCP), Master of Divinity
(MDiv.), Major is Exposition & Teaching at International Graduate School of Leadership
(IGSL) formerly International School of Theology – Asia (ISOT-Asia) and Master of
Theology (ThM) Major in Theological Studies at Asia Graduate School of Theology
(AGST). At present, he is the Head Pastor of Tanglaw Christian Bible Church (TCBC) in
Plaridel, Bulacan. He is married to Gemma Cruz Enriquez with twin daughters namely
Jemimah Ruth & Keren Rachel. His thesis entitled “An Evangelical Theological Response to
the Filipino Attitude of Bahala na in the Face of Suffering.”
How to Contact:

CP: 09088955112 (Smart)

FB Account: Raul Enriquez
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

INTRODUCTION TO HERMENEUTICS &

INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY (IBS) FOR BIBLICAL TEACHINGS

By the end of this class session, you should:

1. Know why personal study of the Bible is foundational for your personal life.
2. Be more confident in your Spirit-led ability to understand the true meaning of the Bible,
and less dependent on other authorities.
3. Know a simple, four-step process of understanding and applying the Bible for your life and
ministry.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped
for every good work.
II Tim. 3:16-17

INTRODUCTION
Have you ever wondered how great teachers can take a passage that you have read many
times before and somehow make it come alive again? Things that you had never noticed, or
things that you had seen before but never related to your own life and situation, just seem to
jump out at you when taught by a gifted teacher. What is their secret?

If the truth were known, the secret is often more perspiration than inspiration: the time and
effort they take at studying and understanding the passage makes it possible for the Holy
Spirit to speak to them...and through them to us as well.

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Yet with a few practical guidelines, I believe your study of the Bible can be enhanced, and
some of the difficulty reduced. That is what this class is all about: how can I study the Bible
profitably for my own life and to help me to explain it to others?

For most of us, we have little time in our schedules for our personal Bible study. We would
like to study the Bible more, but often do not know how to get started. We don’t know how to
study the Bible so that we experience both deeper knowledge of the Word and growth in our
personal lives. In this class I will present a practical process that I hope will allow you to
discover more in a shorter time as you study God’s Word.

I. Why DO IT?
My own testimony: the impact of the Word of God in my life.

The admonition of Scripture: Acts 17:11 “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character
than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined
the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

Ps. 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

II Tim. 3:16 &17 “16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.”

II Tim. 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does
not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
PERSONAL APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
In line with 2 Tim. 2:15, do I feel confident that I accurately handle the Bible? Am I sure
when I preach or teach that what I say about the Bible is correct? Why or why not? What
makes it difficult to know for sure if I am are getting it right? How do I know if my
interpretation is correct?

II. How to DO-IT: Overview

We will learn a method of studying the Bible which will help you to be certain you are
getting it right. First, we will show you the whole process. In the following sessions we will
help you to learn how to do each of the steps. By the end of this module, you will be able to
study the Bible more accurately, and teach others to do the same.

The following gives a condensed version of the DO-IT method of personal Bible study.
Using this outline, you can have a profitable time of Bible study in an hour or two. You can
have the confidence that what you learn is true to the Bible and healthy for your life.

Direction
Before you begin, pray and ask God to speak to you. If you have yet to choose a passage, ask
Him to remind you of an area of your life He would like to develop. Then look in the Bible

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for an appropriate passage. If you are already in the process of studying a book or larger
section, ask Him for wisdom and for the will to apply what He teaches you.

Observation
Read the passage several times. Then write down the following:
Situation. Who, how, what, where and when? Pay special attention to the needs of
the readers and their situation.
Stress. What are the main points of the section (you may notice repetition, special
emphasis, finite verbs, etc.)? What are a few of the most important ideas?
Significance. Why are these points significant for the hearers in light of the situation?
Interpretation
Ask key Interpretative Questions: What does ________ mean? Why is _________
important? How are _____________ and _____________ related?

Answer the Interpretative questions by looking at the content (the text you are
studying), context (the whole book) and comparisons (cross-references) and by
confirming your answers by consulting other sources. Then determine:

Reader’s Need. What problems, challenges and concerns did the readers have?
Author’s Message. What was the author’s message to address those needs?
Main Idea. What is the central idea in the passage?
Transformation
Relate the needs of the original audience (Scripture) to your needs (Self) and apply. Make
your application Achievable, Individualized, Measurable, and Significant.

PERSONAL ACTIVITY:
Now as you can see, you can have profitable Bible study! Plan and apply these simple steps
and you will be glad doing it. As for the preparation, read the entire book of Colossians try to
understand the book for the preparation of the Book Charting.

BOOK CHARTING

OVERVIEW GOAL:
The goal of this session is to be able to make a chart of a book of the Bible to help understand
the message of an entire book.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this session, you should:

1. Know how to find the main points of a chapter or passage of a book.

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2. Know how to organize the main points into a memorable outline and key message of a
book.
3. Better understand how the parts of a book relate to the whole.

INTRODUCTION:
The DO - IT method is very helpful to discover and apply the meaning of a small section
of the Bible. But it may seem difficult, if not impossible, to do a detailed study of every verse
in the Bible in this way. Is there any other way to study the Bible which helps us see the
whole, or at least see the message of a whole book?

This is what charting a book will help you to do. Charting is the process of organizing the
main points of a larger section of the Bible (a chapter or book) so that you can see
immediately the big idea of what the author was trying to tell his readers. The best way to
describe it is to show several examples:

HOW TO MAKE A BOOK CHART

1. Read the book several times

2. Divide the book into sections

3. Find a theme for each section

4. Make a title from each theme

5. Group titles into minor then major headings

6. Make summary of the theme of book from major headings, and other key information
about the book.

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 BOOK CHART OF PHILEMON

Step 1: Read the Book at least 3-5 Times

Step 2: Step 3:
vv.1-3 Greetings
vv.4-7 Paul thankfully prays for Philemon’s exemplary faith and love to God and
believers.
vv.8-11 Paul lovingly appeals for Philemon to accept his disciple Onesimus.
vv.12-16 Paul lovingly requests for Philemon to accept his servant Onesimus.
vv.17-22 Paul personally asks for Philemon to accept his brother Philemon.
vv.23-25 Final greetings

Step 4 & 5:

TITLE PAUL’S LOVING CONCERN

FOCUS PAUL’S LOVING PRAYER (1-7) PAUL’S LOVING REQUEST (8-25)

Greetings (1-3) Accept my useful disciple Onesimus

(8-11)

Philemon’s lifestyle is exemplary (4-6) Accept your run-away servant

DIVISIONS Onesimus (12-16)

Accept your imperfect brother

Philemon’s lifestyle is exciting (7) Onesimus (17-22)

Final Greetings (23-25)

TOPICS PRAYER PETITION
PLACE: ROME KEY VERSES: v. 12-14 AUTHOR: Paul
TIME: 61-62 AD RECIPIENT: Philemon
PURPOSE: To lovingly request Christ-like Philemon to THEME: Love willingly forgives
accept his run-away slave Onesimus as a brother in Christ. unconditionally

Step 6:
Place: Rome
Date: 61-62 AD
Author: Paul
Recipient: Philemon
Purpose: To lovingly request Christ-like Philemon to accept his run-away slave
Onesimus as a brother in Christ.
Theme: Love willingly forgives unconditionally
Key verses: vv.12-14

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STEP 1: DIRECTION

OVERVIEW GOAL:
The goal of this session is to equip you to seek the Holy Spirit’s direction as you prepare to
study the Bible.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this session, you should:

1. Understand the role of the Holy Spirit in interpreting and applying Scripture to your
personal life.
2. Prayerfully determine a personal goal for your own study of Scripture.
3. Have a sense of anticipation of what the Lord will do in your life as you begin to study
His Word.

INTRODUCTION:
Imagine that you, like so many others, are convinced that there is a great treasure of buried
gold left behind by the Japanese at the end of World War II. What would be necessary to take
advantage of these tremendous hidden riches?

Well, if you wanted to be a treasure hunter, the key to discovering the treasure is a map, some
sort of directions for finding the hidden treasure. Knowing that it was there somewhere, it
would not have much importance without some sort of directions for finding it. But the best
solution would be not only to have the map, but also to be accompanied by the person who
drew the map in the first place. Together you would be certain to reach the hidden treasure.

In a very real way, this is exactly what we have as searchers. No, we don’t have a map of
where the Japanese gold is ... we have something infinitely better. We have been given the
map for the Christian life, the Bible. And we have a living relationship with the author: the
Holy Spirit. With these two resources, we can have assurance of reaching the abundance God
intends for us to experience.

But one hindrance we have is knowing God’s purpose for giving us the Scripture. For many
people, the Bible is just a source of information, something that we study to learn about God
from a distance. But it is far more than that. It is our guide for life.

PERSONAL APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. In what tangible ways did God’s Word can change my life?

2. What do I think about this statement: “I want information, but I need transformation”?
3. How would a goal of transformation increase my motivation for Bible study?
4. How would a goal of transformation give direction to my Bible study?

ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN STUDYING THE WORD

Perhaps the greatest resource we have for studying the Bible is the Holy Spirit. Look at Jn
16:13-15.

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Note the situation: They were concerned because Jesus was leaving them; they were very sad.
Jesus reassures them that it was really to their advantage that He go. Jesus then tells them the
role the Holy Spirit would take:

v. 13 Guide them into all truth. Will disclose what is to come

v. 14 Glorify Christ ... take of Christ’s and reveal it to us

v. 15 Takes what the Father has given to Jesus, and passes it on to them

Note that His primary job is not to tell us something new, but to take what has already been
revealed in Christ, and disclose it, or make it clear. Something that needs to be disclosed is
dark, shrouded, not clear, not out in the open. When it is disclosed, it becomes obvious, open
for us to understand.

A picture of this is when Jesus walked with the three disciples after resurrection (Lk.
24:13ff). They had heard and studied all that Christ explained to them, but it took Jesus to
open it to them, to reveal the meaning of all they had seen and heard. In the same way, the
Holy Spirit takes the Bible and reveals to us the significance of what has been there all along.

ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

INSPIRATION ILLUMINATION EMPOWERING
The Holy Spirit is involved It is the work of the Holy This was the work of the
in all aspects of God’s Spirit to help us Holy Spirit to take the truth
revelation to us. He was the understand the Scriptures, of God’s Word and make it
One who “inspired” what we call shine forth so that it is
Scripture when He guided “illumination” clear for all of us to
the biblical authors to write John 16:13-15. understand. Finally, He
down what He wanted to be empowers the believer to
in the Bible. obey the teaching of the
II Tim. 3:16-17 Scriptures, which is the
real goal of God’s
revelation to us.
Eph. 5:18

STEP 1: SEEKING GOD’S DIRECTION IN BIBLE STUDY

THE DIRECTION STEP

Before beginning to study the Bible, we should recognize that we all are looking for
something when we study the Bible. We would never read the Bible if we didn’t expect to
learn something which we want to know (this may be the reason we sometimes don’t study
the Bible!). Actually, the Bible was written to meet specific needs or to provide important
information to the recipients. God intends to speak to us through His Word in the same way --
to meet certain needs or provide important information for our lives.

What do you try to get out of studying the Bible?

The “Direction” step is important so that we get God’s direction in studying the Bible. The
question we should ask the Lord in this step is, “What do you want to say to me, Lord?”

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How to find God’s direction before studying the Bible

Pray.
Ask God for His wisdom, and that the Spirit would speak to you as you
start. Take some time to let God speak to you even as you are praying. Ask Him to
lead you as you determine what you are going to study in His Word.
Analyze.
Ask yourself some questions about what the Lord may have you learn
in your time of Bible study.

What areas of my life has the Lord been working in, or what areas do I need His help
in? Do an inventory.

How are the following areas of my life can be improved?

• Relationship with God
• Relationship with family, others
• Fruit of the Spirit
• Struggles with sin
How do I need to develop in order to be the best in helping others?
• Attitudes
• Knowledge
• Skills

What are the needs of those who I am working with, and what do I need to impart to
help them grow?
• Friends and family
These questions should all lead you to answer the most basic question, “What is the
Lord leading me to study?”

Choose.
First, choose one area or a cluster of related issues you believe the Lord wants you to grow in.

I believe the Lord would have me to grow in the area of _________________.

Second, select a passage, chapter or book of the Bible which you believe will discuss that
which you need to hear. You may look in a concordance or topical Bible to find passages
related to your needs, or the Holy Spirit may bring to remembrance a particular chapter or
book which seems to be best fitted for your needs. In general, it is best to study a whole book,
or at least several related chapters, so that you study the Bible in context.

In order to grow in this area, I will begin to study __________________.

Establish. When, where and for how long you will study the passage. Decide before the
Lord that you will DO IT!
Be as specific as possible. Name the place you will study, what days, how

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 long each day, and when you will finish studying the passage, chapter or book.

“I will spend _________ hours each __________ for the next

____________ (days, weeks, months) studying __________ (passage to be
studied), beginning on __________________. I will do my study
______________ (at home, in the office, etc.) from ________ to _________
each ___________________ (days to study).”

DIRECTION WORKSHEET

PRAY
Ask God for His wisdom, and that the Spirit would speak to you as you start. Take
some time to let God speak to you even as you are praying. Ask Him to lead you as you
determine what you are going to study in His Word.

ANALYZE
• What areas of my life has the Lord been working with, or what areas do I need His
help in?

• How do I need to develop in order to help others?

• What are the needs of those who I am helping, and what do I need to impart to
help them grow?

CHOOSE
I believe that the Lord will help me to grow in the area of __________________.

In order to grow in this area, I will begin to study ________________________.

ESTABLISH
I will spend _________ hours each __________ for the next ____________
(days, weeks, months) studying __________ (passage to be studied), beginning on
__________________. I will do my study ______________ (at home, in the
office, etc.) from ________ to _________ each ____________________ (days to
study).

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STEP 2: OBSERVATION

OVERVIEW GOAL:
The goal of this session is to equip you to observe a passage in the Bible accurately and
systematically in preparation for interpreting it properly.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this session, you should:

1. Be surprised at how many things you can discover in a familiar passage, and be motivated
to study the Bible more carefully.
2. Be able to ask and answer basic observational questions about a passage.
3. Be able to identify several keys, which point to the most significant parts of a passage in
Paul’s letters.
4. Be able to see the significance of various aspects of the passage in preparation for the
interpretation step.

INTRODUCTION:

A word about Bibles

Before we continue in the observation stage, some people might have questions about what
Bible to use when studying. To help you understand the discussion, please take a look at the
following chart of different English translations:

NASB/KJV NIV Good News Living Bible

NKJV

More literal Less literal

There are different ways that Bibles are translated. In general, the three ways are literal,
dynamic equivalence, and paraphrased. Among English translations, there are a wide variety
of different types of translations. NASB and King James are literal translations. This means
that they try to follow the Hebrew and Greek word orders and meanings as literally as
possible. The advantage is that they are generally very accurate. The disadvantage is that they
can be hard to understand, especially without knowing the original languages.
The NIV and Good News are translated by what is called “dynamic equivalence.” This means
they try to use the equivalent terms in English which express the meaning of the words in the
original language, not the literal words. The advantage is that they are more understandable,
but the disadvantage is that there are not the same clues about how the text read in the
original languages.
The Living and New Living Bibles are good examples of paraphrases. Paraphrases try to
represent in contemporary language the basic meaning of the Bible without necessarily
getting the exact meanings of individual words correct. The advantage is that paraphrases are
much easier to understand, and often bring out new ways of looking at the message of the

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Bible. The disadvantage is that they often miss the mark and give a slanted view of what the
text really says in the original language.
The best Bibles for study are either “literal” or “dynamic equivalence.” Many people prefer
studying the NASB because it reflects consistently the verb tenses of the Greek in the English
verbs. The NKJV is also a very good translation. For those who like dynamic equivalence,
the NIV is by far the best available.
In some countries there are not many available Bible translations. The best translations to
study are those which are closest to the original language. If you study in a language which
has more than one translation, it is good to try to do most of your study in the Bible which is
the most literal. If you use other translations, use them to compare, not to study.

TWO EXERCISES IN OBSERVATION

First, look at John 3:16, on a piece of paper, write down as many observations about this
familiar verse as you can in five minutes.

Second, find a place, a room or any place you can see in your house. Take five minutes to
observe everything you can about that place. At the end of five minutes, look away. What do
you notice about your observation?

In the first exercise, being too familiar sometimes makes it hard to see. We need to step back
a little to see things that are there, but are sometimes overlooked. In the second exercise, if
you had known what you were looking for, undoubtedly you would have had no trouble
determining the right answer. Unfortunately, you didn’t know exactly what you were looking
for. One key to observation is knowing what you are looking for.

Now take out another piece of paper. Read John 3:16 again, this time emphasizing each word
of the verse in sequence. Now try writing out as many observations as you can in five
minutes.

Here we see that another key is knowing how to look. The first time it seemed harder, you
already knew the verse too well. But the second time it was easier because you had a
procedure to follow that helped you start noticing things you hadn’t seen before. That is the
process of good observation.

Observation is basically finding out the facts so that you can interpret and apply a passage
accurately. Think of yourself as a detective discovering everything you can about the passage
you are studying, or a newspaper reporter scouting for facts.

How to do Observation

Situation. Who, how, what, where and when? Write down everything, but pay special
attention to the needs of the readers and their situation.
• Who? -- Who was the author? Who were the readers? Who were the characters
involved?

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 • What? -- What are the subjects addressed? What was the situation of author and
readers? What are key words and ideas? What is happening?
• Where? -- Where is this happening? What areas of life are involved (home, church,
work, etc.)? Where are the author and readers?
• When? -- When was the book written? When does the action take place (notice the
tense of the verbs used—are they past, present or future)?
• How? – How is the action in the passage taking place? How did the author express
himself (strong, gentle, active, personal, etc.)? How were the recipients to respond?
This step is where you will probably spend the most time. But limit yourself to the time that
will help you in achieving your objective: to know the author’s intended message for his
audience, and to relate that message to your own life.

Stress. What are the main points of the section? When doing the observation step, you
should be asking yourself the question, “What are a few of the most important ideas in this
passage?” There are several clues that will help you to identify the main points.

1. Finite verbs - finite verbs are verbs that stand alone in sentences, not infinitives or
participles. Finite verbs are verbs in independent clauses. In the New Testament especially
finite verbs indicate the key action that is involved, and are therefore very important. Look at
Matt. 28:18-20
What are the verbs involved? Do you know which of these is really the active verb?
Try Rom. 12:1-2. Which verbs here are finite?
2. Relationships - look for important relationships between words, clauses and paragraphs.
Look for these markers:
• Reason (because, for, since)
• Result (so, then, therefore)
• Purpose (in order that, so that)
• Contrast (although, but, much more, never the less)
• Comparison (also, like, as, just as)
• Emphatic (indeed, only, truly)

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 OBSERVATION WORKSHEET
(Working Passage: 2 Tim. 3:16-17)

Situation
• Who?

• What?

• Where?

• When?

• How?

Stress
• Finite verbs

• Relationships

• Repetition

Significance
What are the main ideas that the author seems to be presenting in this passage?

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 SAMPLE OBSERVATION PROCESS
(Passage: Ephesians 5:15-20)

Situation
1. Who?

Author: Paul (1:1a; 3:1)

Readers: saints in Ephesus (1:1b)
Characters:
- Paul, apostle (1:1), servant of God (3:7), preacher to the Gentiles (3:8)
- Ephesian Christians, Gentiles (2:11; 3:1; 4:17)

2. What?

Situation of the Author

- prisoner (3:1; 4:1; 6:19-20)

Situation of the Readers:

- faithful (1:1), faith in Jesus known (1:15), loving to other saints (1:15)

What’s happening:
- Paul is warning the Ephesian Christians against bitterness (4:26-27), stealing
(4:28), unwholesome talk (4:29), sexual immorality, impurity (5:3-7) and
drunkenness (5:18).
- Paul instructs the Ephesian Christians on family relationships (5:22-6:4), work
ethics (6:5-9), spiritual warfare (6:10-19)

3. Where?

Where is this happening?

- Sinful Gentile society (4:17-19, 22)
- In midst of a struggle against spiritual forces of evil (6:10-20)

Where’s the author?

- prison

Where are the readers?

- Ephesus

4. When?

Book written:
- not written
- Look for clues (i.e., Which part of Paul’s life? - Paul’s imprisonment)

5. How?

Action taken place:

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 - Sinful Gentile society is influencing the church to sin

Author’s expression:
- Strong (“I urge you”, “insist on it”, “must”)

How were the recipients to respond?

- Live a life worthy of the calling they have received (4:1)

Stress
Key words / ideas:
- Live (4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15) or the way they live their lives (watch out)
- Light and darkness (4:18; 5:8-14)
- Truth and falsehood (4:21, 25)
- Old and new self (4:22, 24)

Action taken place:

- Present tense (verbs) – the way they should live
- Perfect tense (verbs) – the way the non-Christian Gentiles are living
- Past tense (verbs) – the way they formerly lived

Significance
Subjects Addressed:
- Be imitators of God by living a pure life (5:1-7)
- Live as children of light by pleasing God in everything and exposing sins (5:8-14)
- Live wisely by being filled with the Spirit (5:15-20)
- Holy Living for wives and husbands (5:20-33)

Areas of life involved:

- Church (5:19-20)
- Home (5:22-6:4)
- Work (6:5-9)

STEP 3: INTERPRETATION (A)

OVERVIEW GOAL:
The goal of this session is to equip you to begin to interpret a passage in the Bible accurately
through answering key interpretive questions.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this session, you should:

1. Understand the importance of answering key interpretive questions in order to understand

the meaning of a passage.
2. Be able to determine the primary message of Paul to his readers in Col. 3:1-4 without
needing to rely on secondary sources.

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INTRODUCTION
There are many good and inspiring thoughts that we can get by reading the Bible without
really studying it carefully. But accurate interpretation based on proper observation will
ensure that what you learn from the text is the main message the author intended, and the
main message God inspired the authors to write.

Interpretation is the process of determining what the author meant to say to his readers in the
passage you are studying. This is where you put together the results of your observations and
ask several key interpretative questions. Proper Interpretation will guide you in accurately
applying the passage to your own life in the “Transformation” step.

There are a number of dangers in interpreting a passage. The most common problem is that
we do not understand why the author of the passage we are studying wrote to his audience. If
we understand that, we will have a much better understanding of what the passage means,
and we will be less likely to make a mistake in applying the passage to our own lives.
Understanding the author’s intended message for his audience is the goal of interpretation.

HOW TO DO INTERPRETATION
To discover the author’s intended meaning, you will look at the results of the observation step
and seek to clarify what you found there.

First, review the results of the “Significance” in the Observation step.

Second, ask interpretive questions which were not asked in the Observation step:

1. What does ________ mean?

2. Why is _________ important?
3. How does _________ relate to _____________?

There may be a number of such interpretive questions you should ask about the significance
you found in observation. For example, look at II Tim. 3:16, 17. If you decided that the most
significant point from the verses was that all Scripture is inspired by God, you could ask,

• What does “inspired” mean?

• What does it mean that all Scripture is profitable?
• What is the relationship between “inspired” and “profitable”?
• How does the fact it is inspired relate to Timothy’s situation?
• Why is inspiration important to Paul and to Timothy at this particular point in
their lives?

Third, answer the interpretive questions. There are two main ways to answer these
questions:

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CONTENT AND CONTEXT
The first and most important source of answers is the text itself and the immediate context.

CONTENT: Read the passage again and see if the passage itself answers the question.

CONTEXT: Then expand your search to include the immediate context (the verses around
your passage), then the larger context of the book.

You will find many of the answers to your questions right in the text itself. For instance, in
answering the question, “What does it mean that all Scripture is profitable?” the description
of the four ways it is profitable will help you to understand. Paul meant that it was
profitable in four ways: for teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness.
He also tells us that the result is that we are equipped, and adequate for every good
work.

What if your passage does not answer the question? For instance, there is not much
clarification about what “inspired” might mean. In this case, we must move away from the
immediate context, and even out of the book, and look elsewhere in the Bible, and in other
sources outside the Bible.

COMPARE, CONSULT AND CONFIRM

After examining the text and context, look at cross-references and additional resources (to be
discussed next session).

STEP 3: INTERPRETATION (B)

OVERVIEW GOAL:
The goal of this session is to equip the students to use cross-references, concordances and
other tools to help to answer key interpretive questions in the interpretation step.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this session, the students should:

3. Know how to use cross-references and concordances to help better understand the
passage being studied.
4. Be able to selectively use other types of reference materials to properly interpret a biblical
passage.
5. Determine the primary message of Paul to his readers in Col. 3:1-4 with the help of
several reference tools.

INTRODUCTION:
As we saw last session, interpretation is the process of determining the intended meaning of
the author for the passage we are studying. The main way to do this is by answering some
key interpretive questions, and then to integrate your observations by determining the readers
needs, author’s message, and main idea of the passage.
To answer the interpretive questions, we are often tempted to look to sources outside of the
Bible rather than the text itself, especially if the text is difficult to understand. While there are

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some good secondary sources to help us, it is important to make the Bible the primary
source of our studies.
What happens if there are questions which are difficult to answer from the immediate text
and context? Then we turn to the next step:

COMPARE, CONSULT & CONFIRM

When you encounter questions, which are not answered in the immediate context, we can
expand our search to other passages in the Bible, which speak of the same things, or other
sources which can shed light on the meaning from history.

COMPARE
One of the best ways to gain understanding of a difficult passage is to look at other passages
of Scripture that talk about the same things, or even use the same words. How does one locate
these other passages? There are several resources that can help us.

1. CROSS REFERENCES. These are the small letters above certain words in the text
that point to other verses in the Bible with similar words or phrases. Usually (but not
always) the words cross-referenced are the same as the word in your text.
Looking up the cross reference often helps you to understand how the words are used
or translated in other passages. However, remember that the context of your verse
and the context of the cross reference are not always the same.

2. CONCORDANCES. Concordances help you find cross references by allowing you

to look up a word in our language and see what verses in the Bible use that word. For
instance, if you are looking for a verse about “Scripture,” looking up “Scripture” in a
concordance will probably lead you to II Tim. 3:16, 17. Each reference also lists the
phrase in which the word you are looking for occurs, but does not write out the whole
verse or context.

There are different kinds of concordances. The one in back of your Bible (if you have
one) is limited to those words and verses that the publisher of your Bible thought were
most important. It does not list all the words and verses.

There are several very good concordances called “exhaustive” concordances. They
list all the words and references in the Bible (except “the,” “and” etc.). In English
there are two classics, Strong’s and Young’s, which are both based on the King James
version of the Bible. They both list every word that occurs in the King James Bible.

Strong’s is perhaps the best known because each word has a number which tells you
what Greek or Hebrew word is used. The NASB Exhaustive Concordance is similar to
Strong’s. NIV also has an exhaustive concordance based on the same format. Both
have a Greek/ Hebrew dictionary at the back to identify the words.

Young’s is even better. Rather than just listing the verses according to the English
word used, the verses are listed according to the Greek word used. If you look up
“love” in Strong’s, every verse with the word “love” is listed, and the number of the
Greek word is given at the far right. But if you look up “love” in Young’s, there will
be a list of all the verses with “agapeo,” then a list with “eros,” then a list with
“phileo.” It helps you see more quickly what Greek word is used.

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 3. TOPICAL BIBLES/CHAIN REFERENCES. Other types of tools which can help
locate verses are topical Bibles and chain references. Topical Bibles are classified by
topics, like “love,” “discipline,” “law” etc. They have the full verses written out, and
although they are not as complete as concordances, they are often easier to use.

Similar to Topical Bibles are Chain References. The most popular in English by far is
Thompson’s Chain Reference Bible which has many topics with a list of verses
related to the topic in a “chain” cross reference system. You can either follow the
chain when you are reading your passage by looking up the next verse in the marginal
reference, or you can look up a topic in the back of the Bible and select from the
topical references listed there. Again, while there are benefits of the chain references,
they are not exhaustive, and sometimes ignore certain verses which the author didn’t
think notice, or didn’t think were important.

CONSULT
If there is still a need for further clarification, especially about the historical situation or
historical details not given in the text, there are several other resources which can give useful
information. These include:

1. BIBLE HANDBOOKS. These are general references which give information about the
Bible, including summaries of each of the books, historical background about the authors
and dates when they were written and other information. They are brief and easy to use,
but often are not as complete or accurate as you might want.
2. BIBLE DICTIONARIES. These define many of the main words, names and places of
the Bible, and give short historical summaries of the information available. They are
actually more like shortened encyclopedias than dictionaries. They have all the
information Bible Handbooks have and much more. These can be very helpful. A
popular one in English is the New Bible Dictionary.
3. BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIAS. These are just more detailed than Bible Dictionaries, but
contain the same type of information. A popular one in English is the Zondervan
Pictorial Bible Encyclopedia. These have a great deal of information, and can be very
helpful.
4. BIBLE ATLASES. A very good resource tool is a Bible atlas. A good atlas has more
than just maps, but geographical and historical information that will help you understand
many of the details of the Bible, especially the area around the Holy Land.

WHAT ABOUT COMMENTARIES?

Do not consult a commentary until you are finished with your own study of the Bible. A
commentary is a last resort, one that should only be consulted at the end of the interpretive
process. If you consult a commentary, do not consult a devotional commentary, but look for
“exegetical” commentaries.

Devotional commentaries, like Matthew Henry’s in English, are really just someone else’s
thought while they are reading through the Bible. They are like reading someone’s quiet time
journal. They may have some nice thoughts and ideas, but they are not always accurate in
their interpretation of what the Bible is really saying.

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Exegetical commentaries try to examine the text carefully, and clarify some of the more
difficult passages. Good sources in English include Wycliff Bible Commentary Series; Word
Commentary Series; Expositor’s Commentary Series. For a good one or two-volume
commentary, try the Bible Knowledge Commentary or New International Bible Commentary.

Some English resources to be very careful about using:

VINES EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY—Rev. Vine has some good thoughts, but many
times his definitions of the words are inaccurate or misleading. Do not rely on Vines.

MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARY—Matthew Henry’s commentary is also very

often mistaken in its interpretation of passages. His theological perspective is very different
from what most Christians believing today.

SCOFIELD REFERENCE BIBLE—Often people who own Scofield Reference Bibles

begin to believe the notes as much as the Bible. Be careful not to be convinced that the
reference notes are also inspired by God!

What Do We Eat?

Paul and Peter used the image of eating to help us understand the relationship of believers
with the Bible. When we were babies, we only could handle milk. Someone had to feed us,
and we were totally dependent on whatever someone else said. While that is fine for babies, it
is not fine for older people. This is what happened as new-born Christians. We relied on
people teaching us.

Later, we start eating stuff like Gerbers, baby food, food that is cooked and strained and put it
in little jars so babies with no teeth can eat it. Gerbers is real food, but it is basically
predigested. Babies actually like the stuff. Personally, I am no longer excited about eating a
jar of strained squash.

The same is true of devotional Bibles, Daily Bread type devotionals, etc. Just like we may
still like milk on occasion, there is a certain benefit from these resources. But it isn’t the
balanced diet an adult should have. If I were to bring my lunch to class and I pulled out a
couple jars of baby food, you would wonder about me. And if you, as a Christian of many
years, were to still be relying on Matthew Henry or Daily Bread, I might wonder about you!

CONFIRM
The main benefit of consulting with other sources is not to discover meaning, but to check to
make sure you are on the right track. Once you have answered the questions as best you can,
at that point it is valuable to make sure that other sources confirm that what you have learned
is actually in the text.

It is important not to short-circuit the process, however. Do not begin the interpretation step
with validation, but do your validation after you have come to some initial conclusions.

What happens if all the sources you check say your interpretation is wrong? The best thing to
do is to go back and reassess your previous work. See where you might have taken a wrong

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turn. We need to be humble as we look at the Bible, and realize we may not always get it
right the first time.

FINISHING THE INTERPRETATION STEP

The final take-away from the Interpretation Step is an understanding of the primary
message of the author to the intended reader. In order to find this, we must synthesize the
results of all that we have done so far by determining three things:

1. THE READER’S NEED.

What problems, challenges and concerns did the readers have? Review the things you learned
in the observation step to determine the situation of the readers.
2. AUTHOR’S MESSAGE.
What was the author’s message to address those needs? The author usually was telling the
readers something that he thought would meet the needs of the readers. What was his
solution?
4. MAIN IDEA.

What is the central message of the passage? Knowing the reader’s need and the author’s
message to meet that need, you can then determine with greater certainty what the main point
of the passage is.

INTERPRETATION WORKSHEET

Interpretive Questions:

Finding Answers:

Content and Context

Compare, Consult and Confirm

Integration and Summary:

What were the readers’ needs?

What was the author’s message to meet those needs?

What was the author’s Main Idea in this passage?

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 SAMPLE INTERPRETATION PROCESS

PASSAGE STUDY: Heb 12:1-2

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our
faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God.

Interpretative Questions:
• Who are these such a great cloud of witnesses?
• Why we need to throw the sins that hinder us and run the race with perseverance?
• Why we need to fix our eye on Jesus the perfecter of our faith?

Finding Answers:

Content and Context:

• These such a great cloud of witnesses are given in chapter 11 with their testimonies
given. Like Abraham as he obeyed the Lord to go the place, he will be given without
raising any question. He followed and it was credit to him as righteousness.
• We need to throw the sins that hinder us because we have already an example that we
can follow these are the people who run the race with perseverance and resulted with
their testimonies in chapter 11.
• We need to fix our eyes on Jesus because he is the best example amongst all the
testimonies given in chapter 11. He is the author and perfecter of our faith.

Compare, Consult and Confirm:

• According to NIV Application Commentary, the reference to the “great cloud of

witnesses” is based on the exhortation given from the example in chapter 11. So by
the content of the passage, it is affirmed that it is referring to the heroes of faith in
chapter 11 of the Book of Hebrews.

• According to Bible Knowledge Commentary, we need to set aside whatever struggles

that we can encounter. We just need to focus to the author and perfecter of our faith
which is Christ Jesus.

• NIV Application Commentary speaks of an important word as it is use also as

“author” (other translation use “perfecter”). It has a in-depth definition that
communicates as supreme or on-top of all. He initiates to us the faith that we need in
this life that is why the example in the Book of Hebrews focus on Jesus Christ.

Integration and Summary:

• What were the reader’s need?

The reader’s need is to look on the author and perfecter of our faith as it is modeled
by the people in chapter 11.

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 • What was the author’s message to meet this need?

The author gives an example to which the readers will follow as a model of faith
which Jesus Christ the perfecter of faith.

• What was the author’s main idea in this passage?

The encourage the listener to focus on the author and perfecter of faith so that they
can leave the sins that hinders them to grow in faith in Christ.

STEP 4: TRANSFORMATION

OVERVIEW GOAL:

The goal of this session is to be able to apply the main message of a passage to your personal
life and ministry.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this session, you should:

6. Know how to relate the readers’ situation in the Interpretation Step to your own personal
situation so that you can apply the passage appropriately.
7. Be able to make a transformation goal that is achievable, individualized, measurable and
significant.
8. Prayerfully determine a personal application of one of the main points in Colossians 3:1-4
to your life.

INTRODUCTION:

People have many reasons for reading and studying the Bible. Some want to prepare for a
Bible study or a sermon, and need to have something they can teach their members. Others
are discouraged and simply want to have a moment of encouragement from the Lord. Still
others are looking to expand their knowledge of the Bible. Others don’t really know why they
are studying the Bible, but know it is something they are supposed to do if they want to be a
good Christian.

As we have stated many times in the class, the Bible was written for our instruction, so any of
these reasons can be good. But we have also noticed that every author of the Bible had a
reason they were writing, and it had to do with meeting the needs of the audience they were
writing to.

Moses wrote the Pentateuch to give the nation of Israel a sense of its miraculous history, and
a religious and legal system to follow. The Psalms were recorded to give Israel songs of
worship. Jeremiah was written to warn Israel, and especially its leaders, of the terrible
consequences of rebelling against God, and the future hope that God would still redeem His
people in spite of their failings.

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John wrote the Gospel of John to convince unbelievers to put their faith in Christ. In Titus
Paul was giving a disciple clear instruction about how to build leaders in the church he was
sent to lead. Peter in I Peter was encouraging a suffering church to endure hardships and to be
faithful to the Lord through them.

In each of these cases (and many others) there was a clear problem or need being addressed.
Knowing the need of the readers helps us understand what the passage meant.

But understanding is not the final goal of studying the Bible. If we are to get the most out of
studying the Bible, we must also ask God how His word addresses our needs today.

TRANSFORMATION
“Transformation” simply means applying what the Bible says in a way that allows God to
transform (change) our lives. The goal of our personal study of Scripture is no less than to see
our lives molded into what God wants us to be. In order for our application to be
transforming, it needs to meet two criterions:

• It needs to flow from the main message of the passage.

• It needs to be practical and relate to our own situation and needs.
In order to determine an application, first review the results of the Interpretation step. What
were the readers’ needs? What was the author’s message to them? What was the main point
of the passage? Then answer the following questions:

What needs, problems or situations do I have now that are similar to the situation the
readers faced when the author first wrote? How could I apply the main point of this
passage to my life?

AIMS
After answering these questions, determine what you will do personally to apply the passage
to your life. To do this, make your application according to AIMS:

• Achievable -- Something that is “do-able.” If you say, “from now on I will never get
angry,” or “I will always be loving to my wife and family,” you may be being unrealistic.

What if I decide my application is to study the Bible three hours a day for the rest of
my life? Or, I will visit every person who gets sick in my congregation? Or, I will
share my faith in Christ with everyone I meet? While all of these are admirable goals,
none of them is likely to be achievable.

When making an achievable goal, avoid words like “always,” “every,” and “all.” Also
avoid, “from now on.” Be specific and realistic. Make a limited time frame
Some examples of achievable goals:

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 • I will pray every day this week for my friend _______ to become a believer.
• I will seek to witness to my cousin _________ on Thursday when he comes to our
house for dinner.
• I will study the book of Colossians for thirty minutes each day for the month of June
so I can learn more about Christ’s sufficiency for my life.

• Individualized -- This is not an application for people in general. Do not say, “we should
be kind to one another,” or “Christians should pray regularly.” Instead make it personal:
“I will be kind to ________ even when he is rude to me,” or “I will pray from 6:00 to
6:30 AM this week.”

This also means that it is personalized for me, not for someone else. Have you ever
listened to a message in church and all the time you were thinking, “my wife really needs
to hear this message?” Or as you have your quiet time, you may be thinking how perfect
this message is for one of your cell group members or a deacon at church. The Holy Spirit
can deal with other people in His own way and in His own time. An individualized
application is for you, not for someone else.

• Measurable -- You must have some gauge whether you have achieved it or not. (Not “I
will have more faith,” but “I will trust God for money for my children’s tuition next
semester.”). Look again at the examples of achievable goals above. You can check to see
if you prayed daily for _______. Or whether you actually witnessed to your cousin on
Thursday. Or whether you have spent 30 minutes per day in the month of June studying
Colossians.

• Significant -- Address real situations which you are struggling with, not trivial issues
which are not important to you. Instead of saying, “I will say hello to the postman
today,” decide “I will seek to develop a more personal friendship with the town councilor
by inviting him to my house for lunch on Friday so I can understand him better.”\

Practice:
Using the main points of 2 Tim. 2:16-17, determine the three possible applications for
your life that would fit the “AIMS” pattern.

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 TRANSFORMATION WORKSHEET

Do your TRANSFORMATION according to AIMS:

• Achievable -- Something that is “do-able.” If you say, “from now on I will never get
angry,” or “I will always be loving to my wife and family,” you may be being unrealistic.

• I will pray every day this week for my friend _______ to become a believer.
• I will seek to witness to my cousin _________ on Thursday when he comes to our
house for dinner.
• I will study the book of Colossians for thirty minutes each day for the month of June
so I can learn more about Christ’s sufficiency for my life.

• Individualized

“I will be kind to ________ even when he is rude to me,” or “I will pray from 6:00 to 6:30
AM this week.”

• Measurable -- You must have some gauge whether you have achieved it or not. (Not “I
will have more faith,” but “I will trust God for money for my children’s tuition next
semester.”). Look again at the examples of achievable goals above. You can check to see
if you prayed daily for _______. Or whether you actually witnessed to your cousin on
Thursday. Or whether you have spent 30 minutes per day in the month of June studying
Colossians.

• Significant

“I will seek to develop a more personal friendship with the town councilor by inviting him
to my house for lunch on Friday so I can understand him better.”

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 INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY (IBS) FOR BIBLICAL STORIES

OVERVIEW GOAL:

The goal of this session is to help the students be able to correctly interpret narrative biblical
passages.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this session, the students should be able to:

4. Know how to choose a narrative biblical passage for personal study based on an area you
desire for growth.
5. Be exposed on how to accurately observe narrative biblical passage.
6. Understand how to accurately interpret narrative biblical passage.
7. Learn how to apply the principles gained from studying narrative biblical passage.

INTRODUCTION:

A large part of the Bible is made up of stories about what happened to ancient Israel, and to
Jesus and His disciples. Much of the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, I and II Samuel, I and II
Kings, I and II Chronicles, Esther, Nehemiah, Ezra, and sections of the Prophets are told as
stories. In the New Testament, the Gospels and Acts are related as stories as well.

Why did God choose to use stories? Stories communicate well because people love to hear
stories. One mistake we can make as teachers of the Bible is to forget that telling stories is a
powerful way to get our message across. But we should be careful how to teach using stories.
We need to clearly explain what biblical stories are all about.

The texts of the biblical stories are called “historical narrative.” “Narrative” simply means
stories that are told by a narrator. “Historical” means it is an actual event that happened.
Therefore, “Historical Narrative” means that the events that are narrated in the stories
actually happened the way the narrator said that they did.

Historical narratives combine two aspects:

1. The sequence of the historical event.
2. The viewpoint of the author who recounts the event.

In historical narrative we are given not only the “facts,” but also the inspired author’s
evaluation of the meaning and significance of the event. The stories that are included in the
Bible are there to instruct God’s people, not simply to tell us what happened. As Paul
recounted one of the stories in I Corinthians, he said: “Now these things happened to them as
an example, and they were written for our instruction…”

STEP 1: DIRECTION FOR NARRATIVES PASSAGES

How to find God’s direction before studying narrative biblical passages?

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Pray. Ask God for His wisdom, and that the Spirit would speak to you as you start. Take
some time to let God speak to you even as you are praying. Ask Him to lead you as you
determine what you are going to study in His Word.

Analyze. Ask yourself some questions about what the Lord wanted you to learn in your
time of Bible study.

• What areas of my life has the Lord been working with, or what areas do I need His
help? Do an inventory. How are the following areas of your life?
Relationship with God
Relationship with family, others
Fruit of the Spirit
Struggles with sin

• How do I need to develop in order to best minister to others?

Attitudes
Knowledge
Skills

• What are the needs of those who I am ministering to, and what do I need to impart to
help them grow?
My study group members
Non-born-again friends and family
Other areas of my life
These questions should all lead you to answer the most basic question, “What is the Lord
leading me to study?”

Choose.
Brainstorm: Think of a biblical character or story which deals with the following issues:
• Fear
• Obedience

• First, choose one area or a cluster of related issues you believe the Lord wants you to
grow in.
I believe the Lord would have me to grow in the area of _______________________
• Second, select a passage, chapter or book of the Bible which you believe will discuss
that which you need to hear. You may look in a concordance or topical Bible to
narrative passages related to your needs, or the Holy Spirit may bring to remembrance

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 a particular biblical character or book which seems to be best fitted for your needs. In
general, it is best to study a whole book, or at least several related chapters, so that
you study the Bible in context.
In order to grow in this area, I will begin to study _____________________________.

Establish. When, where and for how long you will study the passage. Decide before the
Lord that you will DO IT!

Be as specific as possible. Name the place you will study, what days, how long each day, and
when you will finish studying the passage, chapter or book.
I will spend _________ hours each __________ for the next ____________ (days, weeks,
months) studying __________ (passage to be studied), beginning on __________________. I
will do my study ______________ (at home, in the office, etc.) from ________ to _________
each ____________________ (days to study).

DIRECTION WORKSHEET

Pray
Ask God for His wisdom, and that the Spirit would speak to you as you start. Take some
time to let God speak to you even as you are praying. Ask Him to lead you as you
determine what you are going to study in His Word.

Analyze

What areas of my life has the Lord been working with, or what areas do I need His help?
How do I need to develop in order to help others?
What are the needs of those who I am helping with, and what do I need to impart to
help them grow?

Choose
I believe the Lord would have me to grow in the area of __________.

In order to grow in this area, I will begin to study ________________.

Establish

I will spend _________ hours each __________ for the next ____________ (days,
weeks, months) studying __________ (passage to be studied), beginning on _____________.
I will do my study ________________ (at home, in the office, etc.) from ________ to ____
each ____________________ (days to study).

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STEP 2: OBSERVATION OF NARRATIVES PASSAGES

Situation
Determine the setting:
• Physical – history, geography & atmosphere
• Temporal – Time period
• Cultural – Beliefs, attitudes & customs

Determine the characters

Who are the main characters in the story? What do you know about them?

Determine the Plot

The plot shows a set of conflicts or disharmony among the characters and/or events, and
how the events move toward resolution of the conflict. The interpreter needs to identify
the plot and how it is resolved. Note that at times there is no resolution, especially in the
New Testament. The plot simply concludes (e.g., the stoning of Stephen. The story ends,
but tragically, without a resolution).

Typical Biblical plot:

Plot Luke 8:22-25

Conflict intense Conflict starts to resolve

Climax

Action Begins Conflict starts Conflict resolved Action ends

Setting Preliminary Occasioning Outcome Conclusion

Action incident

(From Longman, Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation, p. 102)

Different types of conflicts include:

• Physical danger (wars, battles, & etc.)
• Character issues (Jacob stealing birthright, later being changed by God)
• Moral issues (Joseph and Potiphar’s wife; Peter before Sanhedrin choosing to
obey God rather than man.)
• Spiritual (Coming of the Holy Spirit; Paul’s conversion)

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 OBSERVATION WORKSHEET

SITUATION

Determine the setting

• Physical – history, geography, atmosphere

• Temporal – Time period

• Cultural – Beliefs, attitudes, customs

Determine the characters

• Who are the main characters in the story?

• What do you know about them?

Determine the Plot

Biblical Plot

Conflict intense Conflict starts to resolve

Climax

Action Begins Conflict starts Conflict resolved Action ends

Setting Preliminary Occasioning Outcome Conclusion

Action incident

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 SAMPLE OBSERVATION FOR BIBLICAL NARRATIVES
(Luke 8:22-25)
OBSERVATION:
Situation
1. Determine the Setting

* Physical:
- Boat (13 persons) (8:22)
- Windstorm, boat was filling with water (8:23)
- Jesus felt asleep (8:23)
- Lake (8:22)

* Temporal:
- Jesus taught the crowd (8:1ff)
> Parable of the Sower – different responses
to Christ’s words
- Jesus taught the importance of putting His words
into practice (8:21)
- Jesus chose 12 disciples (6:12-16)
- Jesus taught the crowd God’s Word (6:17)
- Jesus healed great multitude (6:17-19)
- Jesus healed the person about to die (7:1-10)
- Brought a dead child back to life (7:11-17)

* QUESTION TO ASK? “What stage were the disciples in

Christ’s ministry?” (Time Frame)

* Cultural:
- Called Jesus “Master” (8:24)
- Believed that it is impossible for anyone to control wind and waves
(8:25)
- Disciples were afraid to die (8:24)

2. Determine the Character:

a. 12 Disciples
- Obedient to Christ “immediately”
- Afraid to die (8:24)
- Don’t know Christ deeply (8:25)
- Lack of faith in Christ (8:25)
- Respect Christ (8:24)

b. Jesus Christ
- Jesus rescues the disciple from trouble (8:24)
- Has authority over wind and waves (8:24)

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 - Direct disciples where to go (8:22)
- Slept (got tired) (8:23)
- Knows the attitude / heart of the disciples (8:25)

Determine the Plot

Conflict Conflict Start
Intense To Resolve
Action
Begin (22b)
Conflict (24a) (24b) Conflict Action
Start Resolved Ends (25b)
(23a) (25a)
Setting Occasioning Outcome Conclusion
(22a) Incident

STEP 3: INTERPRETATION OF NARRATIVES PASSAGES

Stress
The Narration of the Story
• Commentary by the author. Sometimes the author will fill in details that he
thought were important (e.g., Gen. 2:24; Gen. 15:6; 2 Sam 11:27)
• Statements by characters. God speaks through Moses directly in the
Pentateuch, and at other times His clear message is evident in the statements
of His faithful servants.
• Main point of a dialogue. Often the important points come out in the flow of
dialogue. This is especially true in Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels.
The Literary Features
• Repetition of words (wickedness or calamity in Jonah); phrases (“be strong
and courageous” in Joshua); or themes (lack of faith vs. believing in Numbers)
• Proportion. When an author takes a lot of effort and many verses to describe a
specific detail or event, it must have been seen as important.

The Broader Context

Determine the significance of the passage by evaluating how it fits with the
overall story of the book. How does this passage relate to passages before and
after?

Significance
The Story’s Central Conflict:
Evaluate the real problem that the main character(s) in the passage faced.
Relate this with the plot and type of conflict that the character(s) encountered in the
story.

The Resolution of the Story’s Central Conflict:

Find out God’s resolution to the central conflict that the character(s) faced. Is
He dealing with the knowledge, attitude or behavior of the character(s)? This could

37
 be a revelation of God’s character to the main character(s) or a confrontation of their
wrong attitude or a motivation to a godly behavior.

The Story’s Message:

Synthesize the story’s conflict and resolution into what the message that the
God wants to impart to the story’s main character(s). Summarize this in one sentence.

Main Idea:
From the story’s message, find the main idea that this story is giving to
Christians. This is a general principle that could be applicable to all Christians.

INTERPRETATION WORKSHEET
Stress
• What is Stated in the Story

a. Commentary of the Author

b. Character

c. Main point of a dialogue

• Literary Features:

a. Repetition of words

b. Proportion

• Through the Broader Context:

Significance

• Story’s Central Conflict:

• Resolution of the Story’s Central Conflict:

• Story’s Message:

• Main Idea:

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 SAMPLE INTERPRETATION FOR NARRATIVE PASSAGES
(Luke 8:22-25)

Stress
1. What is Stated in the Story

a. Commentary of the Author

(22b) One day Jesus said …

(25b) “They (disciples) were afraid and marveled”
b. Character

1) Jesus
a) (22b) “Let us go over to the other side
of the lake”
b) (25a) “Where is your faith?”

2) Disciple
a) (24a) “Master, Master! We are perishing!”
b) (25c) “Who can this be? For …”

c. Main point of a dialogue

2. Literary Features:

a. Repetition of words
“Master! Master! (24) – anxious, respect
Windstorm, wind, water

b. Proportion
(23b) detailed description of the storm (their situation)
(24b) detailed description of how Jesus calmed the storm
(25b) detailed response of the disciples over what Jesus did

3. Through the Broader Context:

8:4-5 Parable of the Sower

Significance
• Story’s Central Conflict:
The disciples felt intense fear and hopelessness in spite of Jesus’ presence in midst of
a mighty storm.

• Resolution of the Story’s Central Conflict:

Jesus is sovereign and trustworthy to save the disciples from the mighty storm at the
lake.

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 • Story’s Message:
Jesus’ sovereignty and trustworthy character is able to provide for the needs of
Christians.

• Main Idea:
Jesus’ sovereignty and trustworthy character is able to provide for the needs of
Christians.

STEP 4: TRANSFORMATION IN NARRATIVES PASSAGES

What needs, problems or situations do I have now that are similar to the situation the main
character faced in the narrative passage? How could I apply the main point of the this passage
to my life?

AIMS
After answering these questions, determine what you will do personally to apply the passage
to your life. To do this, make your application according to AIMS:
• Achievable -- Something that is “do-able.” Be specific and realistic. Make a limited time
frame.
• Individualized -- This is not an application for people in general.
Make it personal: “I
will be kind to ________ even when he is rude to me,” or “I will pray from 6:00 to 6:30
AM this week.”
• Measurable -- You must have some gauge whether you have achieved it or not.
• Significant -- Address real situations which you are struggling with, not trivial issues
which are not important to you.

Practice:
Using the principles gained form Lk. 8:22-25, determine three possible applications
for your life that would fir the “AIMS” pattern.

CAUTIONS
• Beware of looking for hidden meaning in every detail of the text.
• Beware of taking passages out of context.
• Beware of making the passage say what you want it to say.
• Beware of imposing modern science on the text.

GOAL OF STUDYING NARRATIVES:

“Get the story right so you can get the moral right!

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 TRANSFORMATION WORKSHEET

Do your TRANSFORMATION according to AIMS:

• Achievable -- Something that is “do-able.” If you say, “from now on I will never get
angry,” or “I will always be loving to my wife and family,” you may be being unrealistic.

• I will pray every day this week for my friend _______ to become a believer.
• I will seek to witness to my cousin _________ on Thursday when he comes to our
house for dinner.
• I will study the book of Colossians for thirty minutes each day for the month of June
so I can learn more about Christ’s sufficiency for my life.

• Individualized

“I will be kind to ________ even when he is rude to me,” or “I will pray from 6:00 to 6:30
AM this week.”

• Measurable -- You must have some gauge whether you have achieved it or not. (Not “I
will have more faith,” but “I will trust God for money for my children’s tuition next
semester.”). Look again at the examples of achievable goals above. You can check to see
if you prayed daily for _______. Or whether you actually witnessed to your cousin on
Thursday. Or whether you have spent 30 minutes per day in the month of June studying
Colossians.

• Significant

“I will seek to develop a more personal friendship with the town councilor by inviting him
to my house for lunch on Friday so I can understand him better.”

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 INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY (IBS)
SUMMARY

OVERVIEW GOAL:

The goal of this session is to be able to apply the whole DO-IT method to a passage of the
Bible.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this session, you should:

1. Know how the parts of the DO-IT method work together to gain a better understanding of
the Bible.

2. Have more confidence that you can interpret and apply the Bible properly in your life and
ministry.

INTRODUCTION:

So far, we have looked at the individual parts of the DO-IT method of inductive Bible Study.
Sometimes it is possible to get lost in the details, and feel frustrated that it might be too
difficult to actually DO-IT! In this session we will go through the whole process together so
that you will see how the process works.

On the following page you will see a two-page comparison chart of all that we have discussed
so far.

INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY GUIDE FOR BIBLICAL TEACHINGS

Direction
Pray. Ask God’s wisdom, and the Holy Spirit’s direction and empowering.
Analyze. What is God teaching you, and what do you believe He is leading you to
focus on? What needs do you have in your spiritual life right now?
Choose. Select a book or passage which you believe addresses your needs.
Establish. Set objectives to study the passage, and make a commitment to do it.
Observation
Read the passage several times. Then write down the following:
Situation. Who, how, what, where and when? Pay special attention to the needs of the
readers and their situation.
Stress. What are the main points of the section? What are a few of the most important
ideas?
Significance. Why are these points significant for the hearers in light of their
situation?

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Interpretation
Ask key Interpretative Questions: What does ________ mean? Why is _________
important? How are _____________ and _____________ related?
Answer the Interpretative questions by comparing (context and cross-references) and
consulting (other sources), then confirming your answers. Then determine:
Reader’s Need. What problems, challenges and concerns did the readers have?
Author’s Message. What was the author’s message to address those needs?
Main Idea. What is the central idea in the passage?
Transformation
Relate the needs of the original audience (Scripture) to your needs (Self) and apply.
Make your application Achievable, Individualized, Measurable, and Significant.

INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY GUIDE FOR BIBLICAL STORIES

Direction.
Pray. Ask God’s wisdom, and the Holy Spirit’s direction and empowering.
Analyze. What is God teaching you, and what do you believe He is leading you to
focus on? What needs do you have in your spiritual life right now?
Choose. Select a book or biblical character you believe addresses your needs.
Establish. Set objectives to study the passage, and make a commitment to do it.
Observation.
Read the passage several times. Then write down the following:
Situation. Determine the Setting, Determine the Characters and Determine the
Plot.

Interpretation.
Stress. Determine the stress of the story through: the Narration of the Story, the
Literary Features and the Broader Context

Significance. Determine the significance of the story through: the story’s central
Conflict, the resolution of the story’s central conflict and the story’s message.
Finally, find the Main Idea of the narrative passage.

Transformation.
Relate the needs of the main character (Scripture) to your needs (Self) and apply.
Make your application Achievable, Individualized, Measurable, and Significant.

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 INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY (IBS) OF OTHER BIBLICAL TEXTS

OVERVIEW GOAL:

The goal of this session is to help the students be able to correctly interpret different types of
biblical literature.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this session, students should:

8. Know several different kinds of biblical literature, and what makes them unique.
9. Understand how the way a passage is written influences the principles of how it is
interpreted.
10. Know how to recognize the main message in poetic, prophetic, parable, and apocalyptic
literature in the Bible.

INTRODUCTION:

How are we to interpret other kinds of literature in the Bible.

Interpretation is the art of what God said in the Scriptures so that we can know what He is
saying to us today. It helps to bridge the gap between the world of readers today and the
world of the writers many centuries ago.

The Bridge:
Biblical Today’s
INTERPRETATION
World World

There are many different types of literature in the Bible, and it is important to interpret each
type of literature according to its type. In this session, we will introduce you to a several of
the types of text that are found in the bible, and how you are to interpret them.

INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY (IBS) OF BIBLICAL TEACHINGS

Direct teachings of Jesus, letters of apostles to believers, parts of the Pentateuch and other
parts of the Bible are what can be considered “Teaching Passages”. The basic nature of this
type of literature is seen in the author’s direct and explicit way of communicating biblical
truth to a specific reader.

God used different people to teach important truths He wanted His people to know. For
instance, in the New Testament, some of the apostles used letters to speak words of
encouragement to persecuted Christians, words of rebuke to erring churches, words of
warning to compromising Christians, words of direction for faithful pastors, and words of
nurturing to new believers and even those older in the faith. By understanding the situation
of the readers and the intention of the authors, the message of the passage can usually be
clearly understood.

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 INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY (IBS) OF BIBLICAL STORIES

Another type of biblical literature we have dealt with was “Narratives”, which are biblical
stories told by a narrator. This type of literature is “historical” in nature since the events
narrated in the stories actually happened the way the narrator said that they did.

The distinctive of biblical stories from teaching passages is that the truth is indirectly written.
The main principle of the biblical stories could be discovered through finding the main
problem or conflict, which the key biblical characters are facing and finding the resolution to
the conflict.

Aside from the epistles and narratives, there are other types of biblical literature.
Understanding the basic nature of these literatures would provide us a proper perspective on
how to accurately handle God’s Word. Let us take a look at an overview on the
interpretation of other types of biblical texts.

HOW TO INTERPRET PARABLES

A special type of narrative is the parable. Parables are different than historical narrative
because they are stories about events that did not take place. In a way they are like stories we
make up when we want to teach a point.

Just like a good joke, parables are powerful because they end unexpectedly. The point of a
parable is usually found when we see how the ending was not expected by the hearers.

Jesus used parables for two reasons: to teach those who believed in Him, and to hide truth
from those who did not. We should not be surprised when parables are sometimes difficult to
understand. Jesus intended them to be difficult! But there are some basic principles to help
us.

1. Parables have one main point.

Do not look for significance in every detail of the parable. Each parable is an illustration
which has a purpose for teaching. For instance, many people use Luke 16:19-30, the
parable of the rich man and Lazarus, to teach many doctrines about heaven and hell. But
what it teaches is that the Pharisees would not believe in Jesus even if someone came
back from the dead to tell them…which is exactly what Jesus planned to do.

2. The power of a parable is in its unexpected twist.

The twist in the parable of Lazarus is that the Pharisees, who were teachers of the Law,
and knew the Bible better than anyone, would not believe it even if a great miracle took
place – and Jesus would perform the greatest miracle. It is the unexpected turn at the end
that tells you the main point of the parable.

3. Consider the context to discover the main point

The main point is usually related to what Jesus is trying to communicate to the people
involved in the historical narrative. To discover the main point, it is best to look at the

45
 characters and circumstances before and after the parable. It also helps to know the point
of other parables in the immediate context. Often there will be several parables with the
same or similar points in the same passage.

GOAL OF STUDYING PARABLES:

It is to understand the “punch line” so that we can apply the message to the present situation.

HOW TO INTERPRET POETRY

Poetry is not mainly instructive material, but an expression of the emotions or thoughts of the
writers to God. Poetry can be found in Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes and
even in some of the Prophets. The Psalms are actually songs which were used in the worship
services of Israel.

SITUATION

Look for the historical background of the passage. Often the Psalms have a statement at the
beginning that tells who wrote it, on what occasion it was written, and how it was used in
Israel’s worship. If the heading does not give much information try to find it in other sources.

STRESS AND SIGNIFICANCE

Look for literary features that the author used to stress a point. Hebrew poetry uses repetition,
parallelism and figures of speech to emphasize the meaning.

1. Repetition. Ask, “Why did the author repeat these words or phrases?”

E.g., Psalm 3
• Enemies Ps. 3: 1, 6, 7
• Lord Ps. 3: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8
• Rescue Ps. 3:2, 7
1. Parallelism. This is the relationship of one line to another. Sometimes the second line
restates the first line. Sometimes it contrasts the first line. Sometimes it explains the first
line.

E.g., Restatement Ps. 6:10

E.g., Contrast Ps. 5:6, 7
E.g., Explanation Ps. 7:3, 4

2. Figures of Speech. “A figure of speech is a word or phrase that is used to communicate

something other than its literal, natural meaning.” (Sterrett, How to Understand Your
Bible, IVP 1974). Figures of speech are used to compare, contrast, and emphasize.

E.g., Comparison – metaphor Song of Songs 2:1

E.g., Comparison – simile Ecc. 7:6
E.g., Contrast – Pro. 20:3
E.g., Emphasis – hyperbole I Sam. 18:7

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E.g., Emphasis – anthropomorphism Ps. 78:65

Tips for analyzing figures of speech:

• Ask if the figure is comparing, contrasting or emphasizing.

• Ask what the common element is between the subject and the figure of speech
used.

E.g., Ps. 1:3

Subject: The man who meditates on the Word

Thing compared: A tree planted by streams of water
Common Element: Stability, ability to draw resource for living

GOAL OF STUDYING POETRY:

It is to understand the heart of the poet so we can be brought along with him as he communes
with God.

HOW TO INTERPRET PROPHECY

SOME PRINCIPLES:

1. Most prophecy is not predictive, but admonishing and rebuking people during the time of
the prophet.
2. Most future predictions have already been fulfilled, at least initially.
3. We do not know clearly what the future holds, so we should be careful not to be dogmatic
or very specific about what will happen in the future. While we can be confident
prophecy will be fulfilled, we need not be afraid to admit we don’t know exactly how.
4. Sometimes the prophet himself did not understand the different levels of future
fulfillment of his prophecy.

A PICTURE OF PROPHECY

What the Prophet Saw What would really take place

Many times, the prophet only saw one picture, when in fact the prophecy would be fulfilled
in several ways during the course of history. This is what happened in the prophecy of Joel in
Joel 2:28-32. He expected the prophecy to be fulfilled in the time of Israel, when God would
deliver and restore Judah. But Peter recognized the fulfillment of these verses at Pentecost, as
he said in Acts 2. Yet a future fulfillment still awaits us when Christ returns at the Day of the
Lord. Joel saw one prophecy, but it will be fulfilled at three separate times in God’s sovereign
plan.

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GOAL OF STUDYING PROPHECY:

It is to understand the various levels of the message, starting from the context of the prophet,
so we can follow his prescription properly.

HOW TO INTERPRET APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE

Apocalyptic literature, like that found in parts of Ezekiel, Daniel and most of Revelation, is
even more graphic than prophetic material. It is also more difficult to interpret. It is filled
with symbolic language, and much of the symbolism is not clearly defined.

The safest approach to apocalyptic material is to focus on the affect it has on us when we read
it, rather than the specific details of the prophecies. Many people have been led astray by
false teachers who used apocalyptic material to teach almost anything they wanted. The best
approach is to look at the impact of the whole, and live our lives in light of the warnings
given, rather than to try to identify each of the mysteries which it speaks of definitively.

GOAL OF STUDYING APOCALYPTIC:

It is to see the big picture and get a better understanding of the sovereignty of God and the
greatness of His future works.

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 WORKSHEET FOR BIBLICAL TEACHING PASSAGES

DIRECTION WORKSHEET

Pray
Ask God for His wisdom, and that the Spirit would speak to you as you start.
Take some time to let God speak to you even as you are praying. Ask Him to
lead you as you determine what you are going to study in His Word.

Analyze
• What areas of my life has the Lord been working in, or what areas do I need
His help in?
• How do I need to develop in order to help others?
• What are the needs of those who I am helping with and what do I need to
impart to help them grow?

Choose
I believe the Lord would like to help me to grow in the area of
__________.

In order to grow in this area, I will begin to study ________________.

Establish
I will spend _________ hours each __________ for the next ____________
(days, weeks, months) studying __________ (passage to be studied), beginning
on __________________. I will do my study ______________ (at home, in the
office, etc.) from ________ to _________ each ____________________ (days
to study).

OBSERVATION WORKSHEET
SITUATION
• Who?

• What?

• Where?

• When?

• How?

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STRESS
• Finite verbs

• Relationships

• Repetition

SIGNIFICANCE
What are the main ideas that the author seems to be presenting in this passage?

INTERPRETATION WORKSHEET
Interpretive Questions:

Finding Answers:

Content and Context

Compare, Consult and Confirm

Integration and Summary:

What were the readers’ needs?

What was the author’s message to meet those needs?

What was the author’s Main Idea in this passage?

TRANSFORMATION WORKSHEET
Do your TRANSFORMATION according to AIMS:

• Achievable -- Something that is “do-able.” If you say, “from now on I will never get
angry,” or “I will always be loving to my wife and family,” you may be being unrealistic.

• I will pray every day this week for my friend _______ to become a believer.

50
 • I will seek to witness to my cousin _________ on Thursday when he comes to our
house for dinner.
• I will study the book of Colossians for thirty minutes each day for the month of June
so I can learn more about Christ’s sufficiency for my life.

• Individualized

“I will be kind to ________ even when he is rude to me,” or “I will pray from 6:00 to 6:30
AM this week.”

• Measurable -- You must have some gauge whether you have achieved it or not. (Not “I
will have more faith,” but “I will trust God for money for my children’s tuition next
semester.”). Look again at the examples of achievable goals above. You can check to see
if you prayed daily for _______. Or whether you actually witnessed to your cousin on
Thursday. Or whether you have spent 30 minutes per day in the month of June studying
Colossians.

• Significant
“I will seek to develop a more personal friendship with the town councilor by inviting him
to my house for lunch on Friday so I can understand him better.”

WORKSHEET FOR NARRATIVE PASSAGES

DIRECTION WORKSHEET
Pray
Ask God for His wisdom, and that the Spirit would speak to you as you start. Take some
time to let God speak to you even as you are praying. Ask Him to lead you as you
determine what you are going to study in His Word.

Analyze

What areas of my life has the Lord been working with, or what areas do I need His help?
How do I need to develop in order to help others?
What are the needs of those who I am helping with, and what do I need to impart to
help them grow?

Choose
I believe the Lord would have me to grow in the area of __________.

In order to grow in this area, I will begin to study ________________.

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Establish

I will spend _________ hours each __________ for the next ____________ (days,
weeks, months) studying __________ (passage to be studied), beginning on _____________.
I will do my study ________________ (at home, in the office, etc.) from ________ to ____
each ____________________ (days to study).

OBSERVATION WORKSHEET
SITUATION

Determine the setting

• Physical – history, geography, atmosphere

• Temporal – Time period

• Cultural – Beliefs, attitudes, customs

Determine the characters

• Who are the main characters in the story?

• What do you know about them?

Determine the Plot

Biblical Plot

Conflict intense Conflict starts to resolve

Climax

Action Begins Conflict starts Conflict resolved Action ends

Setting Preliminary Occasioning Outcome Conclusion

Action incident

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 INTERPRETATION WORKSHEET
Stress
• What is Stated in the Story

a. Commentary of the Author

b. Character

c. Main point of a dialogue

• Literary Features:

a. Repetition of words

b. Proportion

• Through the Broader Context:

Significance

• Story’s Central Conflict:

• Resolution of the Story’s Central Conflict:

• Story’s Message:

• Main Idea:

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 TRANSFORMATION WORKSHEET

Do your TRANSFORMATION according to AIMS:

• Achievable -- Something that is “do-able.” If you say, “from now on I will never get
angry,” or “I will always be loving to my wife and family,” you may be being unrealistic.

• I will pray every day this week for my friend _______ to become a believer.
• I will seek to witness to my cousin _________ on Thursday when he comes to our
house for dinner.
• I will study the book of Colossians for thirty minutes each day for the month of June
so I can learn more about Christ’s sufficiency for my life.

• Individualized

“I will be kind to ________ even when he is rude to me,” or “I will pray from 6:00 to 6:30
AM this week.”

• Measurable -- You must have some gauge whether you have achieved it or not. (Not “I
will have more faith,” but “I will trust God for money for my children’s tuition next
semester.”). Look again at the examples of achievable goals above. You can check to see
if you prayed daily for _______. Or whether you actually witnessed to your cousin on
Thursday. Or whether you have spent 30 minutes per day in the month of June studying
Colossians.

• Significant

“I will seek to develop a more personal friendship with the town councilor by inviting him
to my house for lunch on Friday so I can understand him better.”

HOW TO MAKE A BOOK CHART

• Read the book several times

• Divide the book into sections

• Find a theme for each section

• Make a title from each theme

• Group titles into minor then major headings

• Make summary of the theme of book from major headings, and other key information
about the book.

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