Four Bible Study Methods

Hey Gems,

Hope your Monday morning is going great. As you know, last week we talked about how to study the Bible and I gave you six basic tips. Today I'll be sharing four Bible study methods that I have used and still use. These methods are effective and pretty easy to follow.

SOAP or SOAK Method

This is by far the most popular method that many people use. I've used a few times. SOAP or SOAK stands for:

Scripture.
Observation.
Application.
Prayer or Kneel

With this method you would read through the passage or chapter and pick a scripture that stand out to you. This is the S. You would re-write the verse(s). Writing helps you to memorize things better. Then comes the O. You would really examine the verse(s). Ask yourself questions such as: what is God teaching me? Jot down any truths or promises within the verse(s). Are there things you're feeling convicted about? Any warnings to heed to? Commands to listen to? Next is the A. How would you apply this scripture to your life? How does it make you better in your walk? Make this personal to you. Finally comes the P or the K. Once you've broken down the scripture pray it over your life.

This method doesn't take long so it's easy for those who are fresh at studying the Bible or just pressed for time. It's great to do this when you're reading a devotional!!

FOCUSed15 Method

Just like the method above, this is an acronym. It stands for:

Foundation
Observation
Clarification
Utilization
Summation
15 minutes a day

This method is somewhat similar to the SOAP method, but goes a bit deeper. This method was created by Katie Orr. I found this method when I was on YouTube searching for different methods and her video explanation popped up:

The F is all about reading and rewriting the scripture. You would summarize, draw pictures, sentence-diagram, verse map or paraphrase. O is all about taking note of what you see from the passage. Truths about God, His character, promises to cling to or commands given. C is about uncovering the original meaning on some of the words. Look up words that stand out. Discover the Hebrew word and definition to help you grasp what you observed and pulled out. U is about discovering the connections and cross referencing by looking up other verses or themes throughout the Bible. Finally, S is about responding to what you read. Identity the main idea, jot down ways to apply what you read and write a quick prayer based on what you read.

This is another great one for those pressed for time or are just getting into Bible study. It only takes 15 minutes a day to do and it allows you to go deep into the Word without taking several hours.

Topical/Word Study Method

Though they are, in essence, two different study methods, both topical and word study have similar steps to them which is why I put them together as one.

Topical study method is the study of a topic in the Bible. You can limit the topic to a single book, such as a study of the teaching in the Book of James about the use of the tongue. You can also trace a topic throughout Scripture, such as a marriage, depression or even parenting. Once you've selected a topic think of related words so that you can then search them in a concordance and find the right scriptures concerning your topic.

Example: if you pick marriage, look up words such as wife, husband, love, family, wedding, celibacy, becoming one and etc.

Once you've gone through the scriptures and picked the ones that truly relate to your topic you can begin to pull out things you observe from them, any definition or even questions you may have. After this you would group the verses together by subtopic.

Example: If you're doing marriage subtopics can be: the purpose, wife's role, husband role, communication, parenting and etc.

Once it's all together write a summary, if needed, and ways you can apply this to your life. Final step would be to pray what you studied over yourself.

Word study method is similar to the topical, but instead of a topic you would choose a specific word to study and breakdown. You would look up the word in the English dictionary to understand it and then dive deeper by looking up the original meaning in Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic. You would look up the word in a concordance and find scriptures pertaining to that word and break those down. You would observe the scriptures and really try to understand that word in a Biblical sense and relate to the secular world.

Word studies are just so profound. I think if you're interested in starting out with this method, definitely start with the word LOVE as it has about four different meanings in the Bible.

Book Method

The final method I have to share with you is one that I use myself on a daily basis and that's doing a book study. You would pick a book of the Bible and read it through. My suggestion with this method is that you read a chapter or two a day and go verse-by-verse breaking them down and pulling things out. I think this method is absolutely amazing! I personally swear by this method and it's been a blessing for me.

If you're just starting out dive into the gospel of John first ... you won't be disappointed -- it's jammed back with goodness about Jesus, His ministry, death and His Resurrection.

Though I only shared four methods today there are several others out there such as FEAST, CASE and many others. You need to try a few out and find a method that works for you or just create your own.

The main point of all of these methods can be summed up to just opening your Bible and truly learning something that you can apply to your daily life and praying it over yourself.

I pray that this was helpful to those of you out there who are looking for a way to deepen your Bible study or even those who are looking to begin. I pray that your heart's desire to read the Word grows and that you quench your thirst with the living Word. Amen.

Which method do you use?