Why study the Bible?

Studying God’s word should be a priority for us, yet a lot of the time:

1. We do not prioritize consistent Bible reading
2. Do little to nothing with what we read even when we read

As a result, we can find ourselves discouraged, and even feel like God is out of reach or just difficult to find. The process outlined here is not meant to be a "recipe for growing close to God". The intent is to provide some framework for our hearts and minds which will help us to ask questions that guide us in interacting with the Scripture passage.

As we study smaller sections of Scripture, this process seeks to help us slow down and truly meditate on God’s word as we read it. Study of each passage will progress through four stages:

1. Observation
2. Interpretation
3. Concentration
4. Application 

Keep in mind that we should re-read the passage we are studying at least once per stage, if not more.

We will get as much out of this study as we put in; no one is forcing us to read the Bible. The emphasis here is to take time out of our day to actually study what the Bible says, take something away from it, and live it out, not to simply check “Bible reading” off our to-do list for the day. On the right hand side of this page you can find the steps for study, and the next post will be an example of how to follow the steps.