Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

sis."
verses"
words"
Lesson Helps for the Week of March 13, 1955
C. Y. P. U. TOPIC
March 6, 1955
Paul Robb
METHODS OF BIBLE STUDY
VERSE ANALYSIS
There is one great object in our lives
and that is to bring honor to our God
by doing His will. However, to DO what
God requires, we must first determine
what it is He wants of us, and how He
would have us do it. This is the reason
that you and I as children of God, anx
ious to please Him, should be active
and consistent in studying our Bibles.
It is for this purpose that this series
of topics are being written and we are
confident that if you will incorporate
some of the suggestions into your Bible
study, that this purpose will be ful
filled in you.
God has not promised an easy path
to walk in order to find Him in His
Word. That is, knowing the truth about
God and obeying that truth requires
some effort on our part. This knowledge
does not brush off onto our souls as
easily as the dust from our Bibles clings
to our fingers. In Proverbs the second
chapter we find . . . "If thou seekest
her as silver, and searchest for her as
for hid treasures; then shalt thou un
derstand the fear of the Lord, and find
the knowledge of
God."
This series of topics on Bible study
will present some suggestions for dif
ferent methods of study and how to do
them. The one we shall take-up first is
called "Verse Study," or "Verse Analy
There are several good reasons for
this kind of study and there are also
many rich rewards. Let's take a brief
look at three.
L
Because certain passages in the Bible
are familiar to many of us we often as
sume the meaning of particular verses,
or perhaps miss much of the significant
truth in them. When we stop and ana
lyze some of those key verses we dis
cover amazing things that we have been
passing by for years.
n.
Knowing certain "key and
their meanings will bring to mind the
entire passage in which the verse is
set. For instance; if we were to analyze
or study ACTS 27:25, we would likely
remember the whole record of Paul's
shipwreck on the way to Rome and the
marvellous things God did through him
on that voyage.
122
III.
You will also be surprised how study
ing and analyzing certain verses will
facilitate your use of God's Word in
answering the problems and questions
of unbelievers, not to mention our own.
In the type of verse study
we are
going to consider, there are seven steps,
none of which are very difficult but
which will help
from different perspectives.
us to see the verse
1. Select the verse for study. Perhaps
it will be one which has always seemed
hard to you; or one of your favorites,
or perhaps one which throws a lot of
light on some great truth of the Bible.
Write down this verse on a piece of
paper you will use for the study.
2. Study
the context. Search for and
write down the thoughts in the preced
ing verses, and the verses immediately
following. Try and discover what this
particular verse adds to the thought
of the whole passage.
3. Pick out the important words.
Which ones are "key
Be sure
to write down any words you do not
understand and look up their meanings.
4. Write the verse in your own words.
Now that you have a good idea of the
thought of the verse, try and express
it in your OWN words without losing
any of the thought of the verse.
5. Write an application to yourself.
See how this verse applies to you either
in what you should believe or do as a
Christian. Write down ways that you
can make this verse part of your life.
6. Write an application to others.
What does the verse say about your
family
.
. . your schoolmates . . . your
church . . . the nation What can you
do to help others see the message of
this verse
7. Memorise the verse. Write it on
the tables of your heart! Lay it up
in your memory where the Holy Spirit
can bring it to your "re-memberance."
It won't be hard to do if you have
done the rest of the study faithfully.
Don't forget to memorize the reference
with it!
If you put a verse through these dif
ferent processes of study, it is probable
that you will never lose the meaning
of this verse for the rest of your life
and it's impression upon your life will
continue to grow and bring forth fruit.
Remember that the real fruit of Bible
study may not appear as we are do
ing it, but when we have completed
the mechanics of the study and look
back on what we have done, then we
often see the great value of having
applied ourselves to seeking God's Word.
The lasting joy is seeing the Word at
work in our lives through the years,
changing us into the likeness of Jesus
Christ.
(Suggestion for the leader:)
1. Determine if all present have had
opportunity to read the comments on
this study. If they have not, give a
brief summary of some of the reasons
for this study, and what you think
will be gained from it.
2. See that all are provided with
paper, pencil, and Bible. Choose a verse,
let each one put it through these seven
steps, then spend the rest of the time
in discussion of what they have dis
covered in the verse.
3. Some possible verses which may be
used to profit are listed below . . . how
ever, feel free to choose others.
1 Peter 5:10; Acts 4:12; John 15:16;
Psalm 37:7.
C. Y. P. U. TOPIC
March 13, 1955
Robert McCracken
METHODS OF BIBLE STUDY
CHAPTER ANALYSIS
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you
. .
richly Col. 3:16.
Psalms 119 vs. 1,5,6, Page 300
Psalms 19 vs. 5,6, Page 42
Psalms 139 vs. 1-3, Page 341
Tonight we are going to discuss and
do another type of Bible Study. This
week we expand from the Verse Analy
sis to a Chapter Analysis, and although
this method is a little tougher, it is
again an effective means of partaking
of the riches of the Word of Christ.
There are many, many ways of doing
a Chapter Analysis, but rather than
trying to give a hint as to the nature
of a number of different ways, I thought
it would be more profitable for us to
night to take one simple method and
work it out right in the meeting. So,
if everyone is equipped with pencil and
paper, we're ready to start.
The method we're going to try to
night is called the A.B.C.D. Method,
and the passage we will be studying is
II Timothy I.
A. A-Title
The first step in our study of II Tim
othy I will be to select a title which
summarizes the contents of this first
chapter. This can only be done after
you read carefully and
thoughfully what
Paul says. A suggestion which has prov
ed helpful to me in this step of the
study is,
as you read, jot down the
COVENANTER WITNESS