Adult Education: Bible Study Methods

Bible Lite

To begin a discipline of prayer and bible study in a busy day, commit to reading scripture just five minutes a day. First pray that the Holy Spirit will awaken your heart to hear his voice. Then read from one of the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke or John. We recommend you begin with these books because they are narratives that consist of short episodes that tell stories of encounters with Jesus. After reading the Gospels you may want to move to the book of Genesis, Exodus and the histories: Joshua, Judges, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings. The Psalms and the Book of Proverbs are also a good place to go for Bible Lite reading.

Jewish Midrash

Midrash is a Jewish term based on the Hebrew word for "interpretation." The rabbis of old divided into two major schools of thought regarding the biblical text. One school of thought believed the biblical text is something like one side of a conversation that meanders and wonders through nuance and suggestive speech, elastic and imprecise but rich in allusion and metaphor. A second school believed the biblical text itself is the Word of God eternal in its expression. Every word is rich with meaning. Nothing is to be overlooked; the richness of God's Word is to be discerned through careful devotion.

For both schools, the important thing is to engage the text in a personal way, to even wrestle with God, as Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord at the River Jabok. The Eternal One addresses you through text. Listen and respond. The focus is not on "the right meaning of the text." The focus is on God's personal and direct address to the one who prays with scripture.

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