How to Read the Bible for All it’s Worth

Theme

Programme

Background

The Occasional Preachers and Leaders in Uplyme Church wanted a series that would enable people to engage with the Bible.  We live in a culture and society that is Bible-starved.  People know very little about the Bible and how to approach it.  Few, even in the church, read the Bible every day, and if they do, they may never have been taught how to read it.  The Bible is not just one book, nor is it a novel, nor is it an instruction manual.  In fact, the approach we use depends sometimes on which book in the Bible we are reading!  Well, more of that later…   The purpose of this course it to equip people to read the Bible – to give them the tools of reading, reflection and application that will last a life-time.

Resources

The book we are basing the teaching on is called How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth (third edition) by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart.  It is published by Zondervan.  We have copies of the book available for both loan or purchase in the church office.  Call or email Carol to obtain a copy.

This book is on the reading list of just about every Bible training course I have ever come across.  It is recommended by seminaries, Bible colleges, local preaching courses, and churches.  It is an academic book but it is aimed at non-professional readers too.

There are resources for this book available on the Internet if you would like to look up what other people are doing!

http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Product/ProductDetail.htm?ProdID=com.zondervan.9780310246046&QueryStringSite=Zondervan (The book page on Zondervan)

http://www.anchormb.com/resources_read.htm (Notes from a Baptist Church that may or may not be of some use!)

Tips for Teachers

You might think that this series would be better placed in one of our extra-curricular courses such as Lent or Gro-Church, and to some extent you would be right, however, we know that these courses are attended by a small number of the congregation.  It is our job not only to try and make the Bible accessible for our listeners, but to equip them and encourage them to dive into the Bible themselves.  We are going to assume that people know nothing, and we are going to cover some pretty difficult and deep topics.  This will present a challenge to the teachers.  It will take some time, some thought and some serious preparation if we are to communicate complex things in a simple manner.  Let’s rise to the challenge and make this series a series to remember!

You cannot preach the ideas and themes in the book without reading the book.  So, you cannot preach Chapter 2 until you have read Chapter 1!  Those teachers covering Week’s 1 and 2 might think they’re thrown in at the deep end, but if you’re not preaching for the rest of the series, you can sit back and relax (the preacher on week 13 has to read the whole book – or at least sit through the other lessons paying attention!)

This series differs to other series in that we are not preaching sermons.  We are not taking a text, doing some exegesis and then applying it to our lives – well, not exactly.  For example, in Week 3, we are going to do exegesis as a whole congregation, and in Week 4 we are going to do hermeneutics (application) as a whole congregation.  In some ways, we are going to lift the lid on some of the preparation we do as teachers.  The plan is to equip our listeners.

We will need to think about the teaching methods we employ.  Remember that most people learn, not by listening, but by doing.  Be prepared to let people chat in twos, do occasional group-work, hand out sheets, use the screen or whiteboard, play a video clip, etc.  Be creative in your presentations.

I suggest (or rather Ian Bevington suggested) that each week we get someone other than the preacher to share the resources they use in reading the Bible.  For example, if it is a Family Worship, then get one of the children to share their Bible notes.  For example, both my children have current and fun Bible notes they have recently been bought – I’m sure they would be happy to bring them along and wave them!

Notes

Week 1: What’s it all about then? PDF

Aims: At the end of this lesson the congregation will be able to:

• explain why we need to interpret the Bible
• explain the difference between the words exegesis and hermeneutics
• identify the different biblical tools – dictionary, handbook and commentary
• remember the rule “a text can never mean what it never meant”

RESOURCES: We have Bible dictionaries, handbooks and different commentaries in the church library.

Week 2: Lost in Translation PDF

Aims: At the end of this lesson the congregation will be able to:

• explain (in principle) how and why translators make choices
• explain the difference between literal, dynamic equivalence and free versions of the Bible
• be able to select an appropriate Bible for home-reading, devotion and/or study

RESOURCES: I suggest you make available a range of Bibles on a table for people to peruse – our Bibles are on the table in the gallery library!

Week 3: Love letters straight from the heart PDF

Aims: At the end of this lesson the congregation will be able to:

• explain what an epistle is
• be familiar with the format of an ancient letter
• approach a biblical letter to get an overview
• perform a simple exegesis on a passage from an epistle

Week 4: Herman who? PDF

Aims: At the end of this lesson the congregation will be able to:

• explain the difference between eternal and cultural relevance
• appreciate that Christians interpret the Bible differently and why
• determine whether a text can be applied to our situation or whether a principle can be derived

Week 5: Time for a story…  PDF

At the end of this lesson the congregation will be able to:

• Look out for memory markers in Old Testament narrative.
• Ask the right questions of the Old Testment narrative text.
• Explain how the individual narratives fit the wider narrative(s) of The Bible.
• Avoid pitfalls in reading Old Testament narrative text.

Resources:

Video:

Week 6: Get your act together  PDF

At the end of this lesson the congregation will be able to:

• Explain Luke’s intention in writing the book of Acts.
• Discern what is normative practice and what is possible practice.

Resources:

Week 7: Good News (one story, many dimensions) PDF

At the end of this session the congregation will be able to:

• Explain (with examples) why there are differences in the four gospels.
• Be able to perform some simple exegesis (putting the gospel into context) before applying it.

Bible Passage Comparison

Recommended Reading:

Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 2d edition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), pp. 373-546

Joachim Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1969)

Robert H. Stein, The Method and Message of Jesus’ Teaching (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 1994)

Kurt Aland, Synopsis of the Four Gospels (New York: United Bible Societies, 1975)

Week 8: I don’t get it? (The Parables: Do you get the point?) PDF

At the end of this session the congregation will be able to:

• Explain (with examples) the different types of parable
• Explain the purpose of a parable
• Apply a (3-point) methodology to understanding a parable
• Explain why the Kingdom of God is NOT like a mustard seed

Week 9: Doing the Deal (The Laws) PDF