How to study the Bible part 3

We continued our series this past Sunday "40 Days in the Word" with part 4" Why it is important to read & study the Bible on your own." You can listen to the podcast at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/listen.html or you can download it from iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wyandotte-family-church/id478735158  

The last two days we have been studying Philippians 2:19-30 by practicing the first two steps of Bible Study. Now we go to the third step of Bible Study which is Correlation.

Correlation is when we ask, is there anything else in the Bible that will help me understand this passage?  Is there any other verses, chapters or books that will help shed more light?

The first question to ask is, is there anything else in the Bible about these guys named Timothy and Epaphroditus?  And the answer is oh yeah.  In fact, there are two complete books in the Bible about Timothy.  They’re called 1 and 2 Timothy.  So I could go on and I could read 1 and 2 Timothy and find out a whole lot more about why this guy Paul says there’s nobody else like him. 

Then what about Epaphroditus?  He’s mentioned one other time.  Later on in this book, two chapters later in Philippians 4, it tells us why they sent him. 

 Another thing you might ask is, does the Bible have anything to say about these qualities – about caring, about consistency, cooperating and consideration and courage.  So I would go and find what does the Bible says about these things?

To do this kind of study you can go to www.biblegateway.com, www.blueletterbible.com or www.youversion.com . All three of these sites have many translations and can do word searches. You can also do a topic search on these websites as well. So you could type in these words and see what comes up. You could also click on topic search and type in these words. It is good when doing this type of study to search the NLT & NIV to get better results.

If I want to say, What does the Bible say about debt?  I’m in debt right now.  I’d look up the word “debt” and it would give me every single verse in the Bible on debt, that uses the word “debt.”  If I said, what about “business.”  Are there any business principles in the Bible?  What does the Bible say about business?  And I’d say, let’s look up the word “business.”  I’d find the word “business” and it gives me every verse in the Bible on business.  If I say, What about success?  I want to be successful in life.  What does the Bible say about success?  And I would look up the word “success” and it would give me every verse in the Bible on success.

This is also helpful to find verses that you kind of know but can’t remember where to find them. For instance, “For God so loved the world…” I don’t know where that one is.  Let’s look up the word “world.”  And it would tell you the main verses that use the word “world.”  Then you’d know where that verse is in the Bible.  We are blessed to have such great tools at our fingertips. I use them all of the time.

Let’s say I want to study Timothy.  What else is there about Timothy?  I’m going to study Timothy in every translation and it’s going to tell me all the verses on Timothy in the Bible.  He’s first mentioned in Acts 16:1 and Acts 16:2 and Acts 16:3 and Acts 17; and I just go through the Bible and find every verse on Timothy.

Or let’s say I want to study the word “considerate” because I need to be more considerate of my husband… I need to be more considerate of my wife.  So I put that word “considerate” in there and I hit all.  The word “considerate” is used eighteen times in the Bible.  I would just start going down and looking at them.  And it’s highlighted. 

Like, “We must bear the burden of being considerate of the doubts and fears of others.”  I need that one.  Or “I try my best to be considerate of everyone’s feelings in these matters.” Or “Be courageous and considerate in everything….  He was most considerate of how we felt…”   Then Philippians 4:5 “Let everyone know how considerate you are.”  See how cool that is?

That’s how you would do correlation. As I mentioned before in previous blogs, Bible study takes time. You may be studying Timothy, Epaphroditus and the 5 characteristics for an entire month. However, can you imagine how much you will grow? Can you imagine what you will learn? Can you imagine what God will speak to you and illuminate (show) to you? What could happen if you spent time every day studying God’s word.

As the pastor of Wyandotte Family Church, I pray and dream of everyone in our congregation to love the word, learn the word and live the word every day. I pray that you not only listen to my sermons but then study the Bible on your own, check it out, make sure I’m speaking truth. I pray that couples will read the Bible together, even if it’s 5 minutes before bed. I pray the families will read the Bible together. God’s Word is our foundation and I pray that when Jesus returns, we all will be standing strong.

adapted from thoughts from Rick Warren and 40 Days in the Word Campaign

PS. Our next 3rd Friday event is Friday, February 21st "Fire & Ice." Ice Sculpture festival downtown Wyandotte. We'll have our own ice sculpture, have a warming tent, hot chocolate, and children's activities. Sign up to be a part on Sunday or email timeialee@yahoo.com