Baking Bread from the Bible

Know the Bible

Bible Reading Plans and General Knowledge

Follow a Bible reading plan. Your teaching will be transformed as you are transformed, and you will be transformed as you look more deeply and consistently into the glory of God in the face of Christ mediated through the Scriptures.

At least do a yearly Bible reading plan. (biblereadingplangenerator.com to set up your own plan!)

Mark your Bible, if you are so inclined! But use a system.

Best system I’ve found: Pigma Micron 005 colored pens and gel highlighters (advantage: they don’t bleed through!), and a 6” ruler (because I like orderly, straight lines)

I mark Sin/Judgment; Mercy/Salvation; Providence/Compatibilism; Commands; Intertextuality; Glory/Nature of God; Promises/Presence of God; Grief/Sorrow/Affliction; Christ Present/Patterned/Prophesied; Prayers/Requests/Desires

Keep lists and take notes: start to record your observations in a notebook or notetaking app (if you use Logos Bible Software, use their notes app and anchor the note to the Bible verses referenced. Then it will put a little tag in the text of the Bible you’re reading in Logos that will let you find the note again).

Invest in a Bible you can use for the rest of your life.

A premium Bible is an investment, running in the $150-$250 range. But it won’t fall apart, and as you use that Bible over the decades you will become so familiar with it that you will remember sections of the Bible based on where they are on the page, even if you can’t remember the reference. (Recommendation: evangelicalbible.com has a great selection of the best premium Bibles in each major translation). A journaling Bible or interleaved edition can be a great way to study; I use a wide-margin Bible for my sermon preparationand daily reading.

Digging into a text or topic

Pre-packaged lessons can be useful! But don’t depend on them.

Do your own preparation through the week: read through the passage and note the main points; consider applications; use the teacher’s manual as a teacher’s aid rather than a teacher’s law.

Preparing a topical lesson

Know the topic well; don’t shoot from the hip and make it up as you go along

Discuss the topic with your pastor to see if there are some aspects of the topic you have missed or if your presentation of the topic needs to be adjusted to be more orthodox or useful

Preparing a textual/expositional lesson

Examples from Ruth

Axes of study:

1) Grammatical-Historical Context (bread and butter of a Bible lesson; we have to know what the author of the text means by what he wrote; pay attention to the context!)

In Ruth: why does Elimelech leave Bethlehem? what is a kinsman redeemer? What time period did this occur in (hint: same period as the last two vignettes in Judges)? Who are the main characters? What is the point of the story? What does the author think is significant? Who were the Moabites? Who are Boaz’s parents? What is the purpose of Boaz’s kindness?

Here, a good commentary is a great help.

2) Redemptive-Historical Context (like the jam of a Bible lesson; how does this text relate to the progress of God’s revelation and plan for history that culminates in Jesus?)

In Ruth: whose family line is being rescued? why does the family line need to be rescued? why does a Moabite play such a pivotal role in this story? What tribe and family is Boaz from? Who is his descendant?

3) Personal-Historical Context (the plate that brings the meal to the student; how does the author’s intended meaning come to us who are thousands of years removed from that context?)

In Ruth: how does this apply to romantic relationships? what does this teach us about God’s providence in our lives? how does this help us understand our responsibility to widows and the poor/needy?

Ask about Jesus: Patterned? Prophesied? Present?

Patterned in Boaz’s kindness to Ruth

Patterned in Ruth’s reception into the people of God

Patterned in Boaz’s redemption of Ruth, covering of her

Present! Remember that we don’t start being Trinitarians only in the New Testament; Jesus is at work in Ruth

Elements of excellent Bible lesson organization: exposition (even in a topical subject; includes observation and interpretation); bridging contexts (how the theme and implications of the text connect to today); application (how the theme and implications affect how we ought to live); connection (transforming the heart of the student, rather than just informing the head)

The elements of an excellent Bible lesson presentation:

Picking a Bible translation: aim for readability/intelligibility. Generally, you should avoid the KJV unless you know for certain that every student you are teaching is familiar with Early Modern English.

In other words, if they are not competent enough with the language to pick up a book by an English Puritan from the 16th century, or if they would struggle with the unabridged version of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, don’t make them try to wrap their minds around the KJV.

Two optional criteria: use the same translation your pastor preaches from (at my church, the ESV; at FBC Soap Lake, the NKJV; this gives consistency to the students between what they hear in Sunday School and in the sermon); or, use a variety of translations in different settings (e.g. the NIV or CSB for young students and children; the ESV or NKJV for Adults.

BASIC PRINCIPLE: Edification REQUIRES Intelligibility (1 Cor. 14:8-12 “And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.”)

Remember, the goal is edification in King Jesus, not education about King James.

Leadership (speaking/praying well: avoid verbal tics; speak with a measured pace; don’t be afraid of the drama in the text [example: read Matthew 13:45-46 woodenly, then re-read dramatically; read the passage well, not woodenly; don’t be afraid of using different voices where there is dialogue, or at least of reading the dialogue in a lively manner; etc.)

Discussion (prepare good, insightful questions that prompt consideration and thought in the students; don’t be afraid of silence after you ask a question, give the students time to think; know how to read your students, if after a few questions no one is answering then ask fewer questions; guide discussion, know how to gently, respectfully refute wrong answers/assertions)

Activities (more useful the younger your students are; but activities can be very useful in certain settings: e.g. putting youth into small groups to come up with three ways they can bless their neighbors this week; distributing sheets with the Bible passage so the students can mark it up in a certain way [inductive study, for example]; etc.)

Landing the Plane (learning how to guage the time so you don’t go over; don’t be afraid of being done when you’re done if you’re early; discussion and prayer can be an excellent way to fill time if you end too early)

General Resources: Commentaries, Systematic Theologies, Church History, Biographies

Best commentaries will vary from book to book. Check out Tim Challies “Best Commentaries” blog series for recommendations for each book of the Bible.

Best Systematic Theology: Rolland McCune, A Systematic Theology of Biblical Christianity, 3 Volumes

Best Church History: Bruce Shelley’s Church History in Plain Language; multivolume, 2,000 Years of Christ’s Power by Nick Needham.

Biographies: read Piper’s 21 Servants of Sovereign Joy

What about Word Studies?

If you know Greek or Hebrew, feel free! If you don’t, be careful. These are different languages, and if we don’t know how the language works we may make a substantial interpretive error (e.g. misreading John 21 as Jesus rebuking Peter for his lack of love because he uses different words for love).

Usually the literal meaning of a word isn’t as significant as we think, because words take their meaning and significance from the context rather than from the etymology. Comparing multiple English translations of a text is usually more profitable than a word study unless you actually know Greek or Hebrew.

Know Your Dependence

Prayer and Teaching the Bible (Parable of the persistent neighbor: “my friend has come and I have no bread!”)