How To Read the Bible Session 3: The Seven Healthy Habits of Bible Reading

The Seven Healthy Habits of Bible Reading
In this session, we focus on the seven healthy habits for effective Bible study. We emphasize the importance of recognizing the fallibility of our interpretations and checking our biases. We talk about reading in community and the value of discerning quality sources to avoid misunderstandings and enrich our understanding. We discuss the practice of mass reading to grasp the broader context and themes of the Bible and the benefits of reading based on curiosity to enhance retention and understanding. Finally, we emphasize the crucial role of prayer in developing a deep love for the scriptures. Practical considerations and examples are provided to help integrate these habits into your study routine.
If you want to follow along with the same class handout that the people in the session have, follow along below:
* INTRO
* HABIT #1: ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND THAT YOUR INTERPRETATIONS ARE FALLIBLE
* Never ever say “The Holy Spirit told me this is what the Bible means”
* The Bible is our authoritative standard by which we judge revelation.
* Making personal revelation your interpretive method opens you up to “doctrines taught by demons”.
* HABIT #2: CHECK YOUR BIASES
* Everybody has biases, you’re not an exception :)
* Biases are strong pulls on your intellect toward certain conclusions that confirm your worldview.
* The key to reading as unbiased as possible is NOT to pretend that you’re unbiased, but rather to recognize your bias so that you’re free to consider other viewpoints.
* Practical considerations
* Go through your biases sometime and take a personal inventory of your biases.
* Occasionally monitor how your life experiences have changed you
* HABIT #3: READ IN COMMUNITY
* Why read in community
* Remember week one
* Communities are built by God to build each other up and cover for each other’s weaknesses.
* People who read within a strong community are not just corrected, but they learn things about the Bible they may have never found on their own.
* You can’t escape community anyways
* Types of communities
* Local church communities
* Scholarship
* Denominations
* The interdenominational Church
* Church History
* Practical considerations:
* Find a few consistent sources that are quality research sources (see last week)
* Be theologically involved in a house church
* Find some friends who are part of different denominations
* If you have time, study some church history
* HABIT #4: CHECK YOUR SOURCES
* See session 2
* Practical considerations:
* Listen to last week’s teaching again to help you understand good vs. bad sources
* Find a few consistent quality sources that you can rely on
* HABIT #5: MASS READING
* Public reading of scripture
* Make a paradigm shift about reading the Bible
* Practical considerations
* Practice reading NOT for retention or understanding; practice for getting a general feel of whole books of the Bible
* Find creative ways to get large quantities of scripture into your mind
* If you want to spend time in one book of the Bible, treat the book as a unified whole
* HABIT #6: READ BASED ON CURIOSITY
* The Bible you read is better than the Bible you don’t read
* The Old Testament becomes so much easier to read when you realize the New Testament is wholly dependent on the Old to make any sense
* There are numerous benefits of reading based on curiosity
* Practical considerations:
* When deciding, first ask the Holy Spirit what you should read, then if nothing comes to mind, pick a book of the Bible you’re interested in
* Think about what other books of the Bible you could read to make the books you already read make more sense to you
* HABIT #7: ROLE OF PRAYER
* Ask God for zeal for the scriptures
* You can’t force love, you need to be wooed by God
* Prayer is the key to every spiritual discipline
* Don’t feel the need to read every day; instead, feel the need to fall in love with the Bible
* Ask and you shall receive; believe and you shall receive
* Practical considerations:
* THE GOLDEN HABIT ABOVE ALL OTHER HABITS: EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU FEEL THAT YOUR LOVE FOR THE BIBLE HAS FALLEN, ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO HELP YOU FALL IN LOVE AGAIN
* Give yourself grace during seasons when the Bible isn’t as exciting as it used to be, just keep praying and let the Holy Spirit draw you in again
* Don’t be passive, spend time with the scriptures until the spark lights again
* CONCLUSION
For more information on Roots Church, check out: rootsag.org

[@stephenpaul2777]

It’s amazing how genius the bible is, and if we read it and in context and apply the principles how much our lives would continue to be changed thanks for encouraging us to read the Bible many thanks Pastor/teacher Alex.