PhD | Southport Baptist Church

PhD is a home group for those about to finish or who have finished high school. It has the goal of discipling young adults and building a sense of community and family.

We meet on Sunday lunchtimes. We start with dinner and share informally around a meal. This meal is usually catered for by everyone bringing something to share. Following this we do a Bible study and spend some time praying before desert, tea and coffee.

The information below was taken from 7 Ways to get Excited by the Bible by Rick Warren (Sydney: Aquila Press, 1997), 4-6.

To Start:

Why do we need to read the Bible?
Why do you find it hard to read the Bible?
What is the goal of Bible study?

How to:

Preparation is key whenever and however you study the Bible

Plan to study the Bible regularly at a time when you’re at your best physically, emotionally, intellectually, undistracted, unhurried and alert.
Use resources – Bible with study notes, bible dictionary, concordance, commentary, etc.
Pray

Idea #1: Summarising a chapter of the Bible

Steps

Pray – ask God to help you to understand his word, to remember what you are reading and to have the will to put into practice what you learn.
Choose a chapter – this is up to you. James 1 could be a good start as it is quite practical.
Read it at least 3 times – the more times the better. If you have trouble concentrating read it aloud and slowly.
Contents – Describe, summarise, paraphrase, or make a list of the major points in the chapter. You may find it easier to divide the chapter into sections. Don’t try to interpret the chapter; just record what the writer said.
Key people – List the major important people in the chapter. Why are they included? What is significant about them?
Main verse – choose a verse which may summarise the whole chapter or seems the most important. Try to memorise it. You may find it hard to pick just one.
Key words – Write down the key words of the chapter. What is their significance to the chapter?
Title - Give the chapter a short descriptive title. The shorter the title the more likely it is that you will remember it. Try to fit key words into your title.
Challenges or problems - List any difficulties you have, any words or ideas that you don’t understand. Do you need to look for further information about some areas?
Major lessons from the chapter – Write down major principles, insights and lessons from the chapter. Why does God want this passage in the Bible? What does he want to teach you from it? What is the central thought the writer is trying to develop? Does the passage teach you something about Jesus Christ?
Application – 2 Questions: How doe these truths apply to me personally? What specifically am I going to do as a result?
Pray – Thank God for his word and ask him to help you put what you have learned into practice.

Some tools of the trade – by looking at these tools used by authors we can start to understand God’s and the author’s intended meaning and therefore be more able to apply it to our current situation.

Observe/Look for	Explanation/Examples	Significance/Notes
Genre	Narrative, letter, poetry, apocalyptic	Each genre teaches truth differently. Example: Details are significant in narrative (Esau is hairy, Ehud left-handed)
The Obvious	Who (people) Where (places) When (time) What (topic) How (method, manner) Why (reasons) So (outcomes, results)
Words	Notice the unusual words and common words. What don’t you know?	How are the common words being used in this case? (eg. ‘faith’ can be used in various ways)
Repetition	Some words or idea (synonyms and related words) over and over	Emphasis
Connectives	However, therefore, although, then, so then, that, since, like, because, but, yet, and, if, when, as, while, for, or, in order etc.	These words link subphrases of sentences or sentences in a paragraph and indicate movement of thought/argument. Often they indicate contrasts, illustrations, timing etc.
Progressions	General statements to details, logical relationships, cause and effect, means to an end etc. Questions posed, answers given Movement of ideas or actions: crisis – climax – resolution; changes in ideas or scenes etc.	These give clues to the writer’s thought patterns
Literary ‘highlighting’	Contrasts Comparisons Illustrations Quotes from and illusions to the OT	If you notice these things, something is usually being highlighted as important
The ‘Vibe’	‘see’ the situation described ‘feel’ the pastoral problem being addressed identify with the characters involved etc.	As long as the imagining is actually based on the content of the passage, it can be a very useful catalyst to more and more questions – hence interaction with the text. Use in conjunction with other ‘skills’.
Description vs Prescription	This relates to the genre. Is the text describing actions taking place or is it laying down ‘rules’ or ‘guides’ for how one should act?

Try this one…

Major points	25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 27 He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’" 28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' 36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" 37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."	Genre
Main verse		The Obvious – who, when, where, why…
Title		Words
Challenges/problems		Repetition
Major lesson		Connectives
The ‘Vibe’		Progressions – plot/events
Description vs Prescription		OT ideas

		Application

Observe/Look for