Pantano Christian Church

A Guide on How to Read

and Study the Entire Bible

For Individuals or Life Groups

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PDF BOOKLET

A. What is Book of the Month?

“Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 8:3, NIV). The Bible is one of the primary places where we find spiritual food to feed others and ourselves. Many of us don’t have a way or a plan to read the Bible. It can be overwhelming. Here’s an effective way to get a handle on the entire Bible by reading and studying a different book of the Bible each month.

The “Book of the Month” idea is for individuals or life groups who decide to read and apply insights from God through a different book of the Bible each month. So in just over 5 years, you could read every book of the Bible and not be overwhelmed with the task.

This is a great way for folks new to following Jesus and new to the church to get into God’s Word, the Bible. It is also invaluable to folks who have followed Jesus a long time. Christians, who know Jesus and the Bible well, sometimes think the church is no feeding them through the weekend messages. In a sense, they are right. The weekend message can’t spiritually nourish a person throughout the whole week, not matter how good it is. It is not the church’s responsibility to spiritually feed everyone all they need. On the contrary it is very fair to say; “The church has not taught me to read, study, meditate, memorize, apply and obey the Bible.” It is the church’s responsibility to help you feed yourself. That’s what the Book of the Month project is about.

We prepared a Teaching series: A la Carte – Learn how to spiritually feed yourself from the Bible. God’s words are nourishment for our souls. You can get the printed notes or MP3 messages from http://pccwired.org/weekend/series/a-la-carte/

The beauty of this kind of idea is that it promotes self-study and self-discovery of God’s Word. Even better is to do this with a partner or group where you can belong and grow together.

B. How do I study a book of the Bible?

1. The first week of the month read through the entire book. Try not to get lost in the details but get a feel for the big picture. Make notes in the margins of your Bible, noting key events, persons or points. It is really important to be able to write in your Bible, so get a Bible you are “okay” writing in. Also keep a notebook or notepad handy to write down questions the first time through. It’s also good to keep a list of things you want to “study later.” Again, at this point, you are not trying to answer every question, but trying to get a feel for what the book is about.

2. During week two take some time to write out what you are discovering. Writing helps you focus your thoughts. Don’t see this as homework, but as a tool to help you discover the meaning of the book.

Here are some things to write about:

• The THEME of the book

• The AUTHOR of the book

• The SETTING of the book (what was happening during the writing or the stories)

• The PURPOSE of the book

• Major CHARACTERS or EVENTS in the book

• Key VERSES in the book

• Key IDEAS in the book

At the end of this document is a list of web sites and resources that can help you if you need help with a particular book of the Bible. But try to resist going to read what others have discovered about the Bible and find the joy of discovering the rich spiritual food of the Bible for yourself. Do a first attempt and then go to the resources.

3. Look for a verse, or story or paragraph or character that seems to really address something for you that you can meditate on, apply or obey.

4. At the end of the month, write a summary of the principles you gained from your study. Call this “Principles from the book of ______”

Some folks like to do this writing on the computer while others like to use a notebook that will become a collection of several book studies. Others see the writing as a kind of journaling.

C. How does a LIFE GROUP study a Book of the Month?

A group is two or more. You could do this with a spouse, a friend, an accountability partner or a larger group of no more than 12 people. Meeting with others provides accountability to help you be consistent. You will gain a great deal of understanding from what others have discovered.

You could meet every week or every other week. We do not recommend you meet only once a month.

Choose a leader of the week. Anyone can be the leader of the week as that person is not the expert or the answer person. The leader simply asks EACH PERSON of the group to answer one of the following questions (other questions can and should be added):

• What insights did you gain from Judges (or whatever book you are studying) this week?

• What impacted you about Abraham or The Exodus (choose a character or major event from the book)?

• What has God been saying to you personally through your study?

• What do you want to apply from your study?

• What surprised you in your study of Philippians?

D. Where can I get help if I’m stuck or clueless about something?

Books:

• NIV Study Bible / Zondervan. We recommend a good study Bible. There are many good ones available. Many people all time favorite is the NIV Study Bible. It is fair & balanced – often giving two or three common interpretations of a text.
• How to Read the Bible Book by Book: A Guided Tour By: Gordon D. Fee, Douglas Stuart / Zondervan / 2002
• Living by the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible, Revised and Updated By: Howard G. Hendricks, William D. Hendricks / Moody Publishers / 2007

Websites:

• The NET Bible is a very good online study Bible. We have found it to be very accurate and helpful. It gives notes on particular verses and gives overviews of books of the Bible. You can even download a free version onto your computer. http://net.bible.org/bible.php
• You can also read or compare from different versions of the Bible or do a word study by using Bible Gateway. http://www.biblegateway.com
• One of the best and free resources is E-Sword. It has multiple versions of the Bible, search features, maps, commentaries, and more. Download it free at http://www.e-sword.net

E. A Suggested Study Plan

This plan has been developed with an intentional sequence, even though at first glance it might appear haphazard. There are four months in which you do more than one book, as they are smaller and related. Psalms was broken into its natural books. Also notice one month was kept open for the group to take a break or do a specific topical study. You are free to change the order of the books listed.

Book of the Month Suggested Study Plan