First Missionary Baptist Church Handsboro

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Wednesday Evening Bible Study

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Jeremie Turner, Sr. – Pastor

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Bible Study Method

Chapter 5: The Biographical Method

 

Material taken from the Book:
Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods: Twelve Ways You Can Unlock God’s Word

 

  

The Biographical Method of Bible Study: How to Find Out What Make Bible People Tick

 

The Bible is composed of numerous stories of men and women and their relationships with the loving God who created them. To study the lives of these individuals is meaningful and uplifting. We can learn both what to do and what to be by looking at the positive attributes of hundreds of people who fill the pages of Scripture. We can also gain vast knowledge and wisdom by observing and avoiding the tremendous failures and negative aspects in the lives of people mentioned in God’s Word

 

DEFINITION

With the Biographical Method of Bible Study you select a Biblical person and research the Scriptures to study his or her life and character. You try to become thoroughly acquainted with that person’s inner life and find out what made it a spiritual success or failure. Ask God to help you think and feel with him or her so that your study becomes a life-changing experience.

The application of this study comes when you examine your own life in light of the study and ask God to help you make positive character changes in your weak areas. This will result in Christian growth and maturity.

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF BIBLE PEOPLE

People are important to God. We are made in his image and likeness, and the Bible is a record of his dealings with men and women. It is also a revelation of God himself, both to people and through people. To understand the Bible fully, you must get to know the prominent people of the Scriptures.

 

 

 

STEPS

Step One – Select the Bible person you want to study

Step Two – Make a list of all the references about that person

Step Three – Write down first impressions (first reading)

Step Four – Make a Chronological outline (second reading)

Step Five – Get some insights into the person (third reading)

Step Six – Identify some character qualities (fourth reading)

Step Seven – Show how other Bible truths are illustrated in the person’s life

Step Eight – Summarize the main lesson(s)

Step Nine – Write out a personal application

Step Ten – Make your study transferable

 

Much of the Old Testament is in narrative form, describing the lives of many people. The book of Genesis, for example, revolves around six great names: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. The apostle Paul said that God gave us stories in the Old Testament to be examples to us, from which we should learn valuable lessons for living for him in this world. Paul wrote, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). He also said, “These things happened to [the people of the Old Testament] as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Cor. 10:11).

 

The New Testament is a book of instructions; the Old Testament is a book of illustrations, though both Testaments contain instructions and illustrations. New Testament truths are illustrated in the Old Testament. One of the best ways to study the Old Testament is to study its people. This makes the older Scriptures really come alive.

 

The Bible mentions in greater or lesser detail more than 3,000 people. When you have learned this method of study, you will have opened the door to a lifetime of exciting, fulfilling Bible study. Biographical studies are enjoyable and are also one of the easiest methods from which to find personal applications.

 

TOOLS YOU WILL NEED

• Study Bible

• Exhaustive concordance

• Topical Bible

• Bible dictionary or encyclopedia

 

SOME TIPS FOR A GOOD BIOGRAPHICAL STUDY

To do a meaningful biographical study, keep the following pointers in mind.

1. Start with a person on whom you can do a simple study. Begin with one about whom there is a small number of references. Some biblical people can be studied in a few hours; others take weeks to study, and some major persons can take a lifetime. Do not start doing this study on a person such as Jesus, Moses, or Abraham. Begin with some minor but important people such as Andrew, Barnabas, or Mary of Bethany.

 

2. The secret of a good biographical study is to live with that person during the study. Walk in his or her sandals. Try to get inside their mind and see how they think, feel, and respond to circumstances. Attempt to see things from their point of view, hear with their ears, mingle with their friends, and fight with their enemies. Become that person while you are studying them. This is only possible if you spend much time with that person, reading, and rereading all the Bible references about them.

A friend of mine, Wayne Watts, has spent a lifetime studying Abraham. He has studied this biblical person so long that he has taken on many characteristics of Abraham. He is a great man of faith, as Abraham was.

 

3. Be careful not to confuse different people who have the same name when you look up the references about them. You will have to be sure that the verse is speaking about the person you have chosen to study. You would not want to confuse John the Baptist with John the Apostle or John Mark.

 

For example, the Bible shows us that the following names were popular and refer to different people:

• Zechariah — 30 different men

• Nathan — 20 men

• Jonathan — 15 men

• Judas — 8 men

• Mary — 7 women

• James — 5 men

• John — 5 men The context of the verses will usually tell you which person is in view.

 

4. Be careful to find the various names that may apply to just one person. Since the Bible came out of a Hebrew-Aramaic-Greek context, some people’s names changed in the different languages, in both the Old Testament and the New. The apostle Peter, for example, is known as Peter, Simon, Simeon, and Cephas. Daniel’s three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, are better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Sometimes a name change came because of a character change, which was the case of Jacob becoming Israel. So be careful and find all the names used for the same person in your Bible study.

 

5. Stay away from books written about biblical people until after you have exhausted every Bible reference about that person and have drawn every possible insight out of those texts. Don’t let a Bible commentary rob you of the task of personal discovery or prejudice your views of a person. Do your own work first, then check other sources.

 

 

 

SIMPLE STEPS ON DOING A BIOGRAPHICAL STUDY

The Biographical Study Form has 10 sections, which are the 10 steps for doing this study.

 

Step One: Select the Bible Person you want to study

You might start out by selecting someone who either has a weakness that you have or strength that you would like to develop. Choose a person whose life will give you some valuable insights into how you can conform more to God’s standard for living and become more like Jesus Christ.

 

Step Two: Make a list of all the references about that person

Using your reference tools, find all the Scripture passages you can about that person and things related to her life. This might include such things as her birth, major events of her life, her accomplishments, what others said about her, and her death. You will not be able to get all the necessary “vital statistics” about every person you study, but find out as much about them as you can.

Also look up any references that deal with the historical background of her life. If you were studying Esther, you would need to study the background of her day: the Persian Empire. If you were studying the apostle Paul, you would have to study his missionary journeys.

 

Step Three: Write down first impressions (first reading)

Read through the Scripture references you have listed and make some notes. Write out the first impression you have of this person. Then write down some basic observations and important information you discover about him or her. Finally, list and problems, questions, or difficulties you wonder about as you read these references.

 

 

 

Step Four: Make a Chronological Outline (second reading)

For a major biblical person, read all the references again and make a chronological outline of the person’s life. This will help you gain a good perspective on his life, and you will see how different events relate to one another. Later, when you study the events associated with his life, you will know in what part of his life they occurred.

 

For minor biblical people or those about whose lives few details are given, read the references and make an outline on the basis of the information you have.

 

Try to read all the references in one sitting and in a modern translation. This will help you feel the flow of the person’s life. As you read, look for any natural, major divisions in his or her life. Then look for and write down any progressions and changes of attitude in that person’s life as times goes by. For example, a well-known division of Moses’ life is

• Forty years in Pharaoh’s court — learning to be a somebody

• Forty years in the Midian desert — learning to be a nobody

• Forty years in the Sinai desert — learning that God is Somebody

This is a real key to studying the characters of the people involved. See how God slowly molded and changed the people or how Satan brought them down.

 

Step Five: Get some Insights into the person (third reading)

Go back over the references again, and look for possible answers to the questions suggested in appendix B. By answering some of these questions, you should get some helpful insights into the character of the person you are studying.

Appendix B contains a list of 70 questions. Theis will be provided as an attachment.

 

Step Six: Identify some Character Qualities (fourth reading)

As you review the references once again, use the suggested list of positive and negative characteristics in appendix C as a checklist. Write on your form or paper each quality, good and bad, that shows up in the person’s life. Give a verse reference that shows each characteristic you have observed.

Appendix C contains a list of positive and negative character qualities. This will provided as an attachment.

 

Step Seven: Show how other Bible truths are illustrated in the person’s life

Examine the person’s life to see how it illustrates other truths taught in the Bible. For example, does his or her life show the principle of “you will reap what you sow”? Look in that life for illustrations of the Proverbs or the principles taught in the Psalms. For instance, you might ask, “Does his life illustrate the promise, ‘Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart’” (Psalm 37:4)? Find cross-references that illustrate what the Bible says about some of the characteristics you found in this person’s life.

 

Step Eight: Summarize the Main lesson(s)

In a few sentences write out what you think is the main lesson that is taught or illustrated by this person’s life. Is there any word that could describe that life? What was his or her outstanding characteristic?

 

Step Nine: Write out a Personal Application

Refer to the Devotional Method of study (chapter 1) for the specifics of writing an application. In addition to the principles there, you might ask yourself these questions:

1. Did I see anything of myself in this person’s life?

2. Did he show some of my weaknesses?

3. Did he reveal to me some of my strengths?

 

1. What impressed me most about this person’s life?

2. Where do I fall short in this area?

3. What do I intend to do about it?

 

Step Ten: Make your Study Transferrable

Condense what you have learned into a simple outline that will help you remember it and enable you to share your conclusions with others. Make it “pass-on-able.” Ask yourself, “What can this person’s life mean to others? What can I share that I have learned that would help someone else?”

 

Divide the information into natural sequences of time and/or events and lessons learned. Use the progressions that you have found and recorded. Then think of some easily remembered ways to title each section.

 

Keep these titles true to the major content of each section, making use of rhymes, alliterations, and other memory devices. Use your imagination in this last step! An illustration of a transferable outline of the life of Barnabas might look like this:

• He was an investor of money in the lives of church members (Acts 4:36 – 37). • He was the introducer of Saul (later Paul) to the apostles (Acts 9:26 – 28).
• He was the inspector of the new church at Antioch (Acts 11:22 – 24).
• He was an instructor of new Christians, including Paul and Mark (Acts 11:22 – 26; 15:39).
• He was the initiator on the first missionary journey, which he began as the team leader but ended as a team member (Acts 13 – 14).
• He was an interpreter of the doctrine of salvation and God’s plan for the Gentiles (Acts 13 – 14).
• He was insistent in giving Mark another chance to be trained in the gospel ministry (Acts 15:36 – 39).

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

In this 10-step procedure just given, it is suggested all your references through four times. Actually, this a minimum number. The more times you review the passages about the person you are studying, the more you are going to observe.

 

 

ASSIGNMENT

Appendix D provides a list of the major and minor men and prominent women of the Bible. Select from those lists any people who particularly interest you. If you are just beginning this method of study, you might want to consider the following people first:

1. Mary of Bethany

2. Andrew

3. Caleb

4. Ruth

5. Daniel

   

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STUDY FORM

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Bible Character Name

 

 

Scripture References

 

 

 

 

 

First Impressions and Observations

 

 

 

Outline of His or Her Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General Insights

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Character Qualities Identified

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bible Truths Illustrated in His or her Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary of Lessons Learned from His or Her Life

 

 

 

 

Personal Application

 

 

 

 

Transferable Concepts

 

 

 

 

 

Someone With Whom I Intend to Share this Study

 

 

 

 

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What is This Thing Called Prayer – Praying Prayers that God Will Answer

 

 

 

 

Matthew 6:13b

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

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This last part, a closing doxology, is not found in the earliest manuscripts; however, it is wise to include it when reciting the Lord’s Prayer. [1] One commentary wrote, “It is surprising that this clause, which agrees so well with the rest of the prayer, has been left out by some. For it was not added merely for the purpose of kindling our hearts to seek the glory of God, and of reminding us of what ought to be the subject of our prayers; but to teach us, that our prayers, which are here dictated to us, are founded on God alone, that we may not rely on our own merits.

 

This doxology expresses the certain hope that our prayers shall be heard [Amen] and that God will bring to pass the highest good in our lives. It gives us a confidence with which we pray. The ground of our confidence is God’s own character. When we ground our prayers in Him, we can stand firm in assurance. Knowing that our prayers will be heard [according to His will] should give us a different confidence when we go into our prayer closet.

 

Jewish prayers ended often with a statement of praise, and in this verse, Christ teaches us to praise God even in and through our prayers. Too many times, our prayers have too many petitions of ourselves, and not enough praise to Him within it. John Butler says, “Cut the petitions if you have to but do not cut the praise part of your prayers. The praise here is excellent. It acknowledges: The sovereignty of God (“thine is the kingdom), the power of God (“the power”), the magnificence of God (“the glory”), and the eternality of God (“forever”). There is a lot of good theology in the last part of this prayer.”

The blueprint for the prayer began with praise for God and closes with praise for God on the lips of the one offering the prayer. The glory of God should be a dominate theme in our prayers.

 

We must remember that God does not need praise – He has the praise of multitudes of angels, but He deserves our praise; furthermore, He allows us to praise Him. Matthew Henry lets us know that praise is appropriate in our prayers for “Praise is the work and happiness of heaven; and all that would go to heaven hereafter, must being their heaven now.” He goes on to later say, “A true saint cannot praise God enough.”

 

→ Think through the words of this prayer with this in mind…how many petitions can you identify in this prayer, that should make us willingly praise Him?

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This portion of the prayer tells us that all of our prayers have no other foundation than God alone.

This portion of the prayer closes with great respect for God as the last words are acknowledgement of the glory of God.

 

This doxology stresses that everything belongs to God:

1. He is the Source of the kingdom, and the power, and the glory

2. He is the Possessor of the kingdom, and the power, and the glory

 

Knowing that He is the Source and Possessor of these, how does that affect your prayers as a Believer?

 

Because it is His kingdom, He has the right to rule and reign. This right belongs to no one else but God. This world belongs solely to God; He is not remote from it. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

Because His is the kingdom it means that He has reign or dominion and can order and answer these petitions. Because His is the power, He has the power to accomplish what we ask. Because His is the glory, all praise belongs to Him. As the kingdom is His, He is able to do all things which please Him.

 

The power is His, not merely authority but power. Remember He said in Matthew that “all power in heaven and earth is in His hand.”  We should stand in awe that we serve a God who has all power! He has power to make our prayers come to pass. We must stand in faith believing this. Let us not pray this part of the prayer out of habit but let us believe with our hearts what we say with our lips. Christ showed us His power through His miracles; we must believe that He still has power today.

 

He alone deserves all the honor and praise and glory. When He answers our prayer, however He answers or prayers, He deserves the glory. As Believers, we must give Him glory in all things, however He answers. Too many times, we dump all of our prayers and concerns on Him but never take time to fully thank Him.

 

Jesus closes the prayer with the word, “Amen” which is a verb signifying to be firm, secure, to be true and faithful. It means “let it be so” or “it is so.” By saying, “Amen” we petition God and yet have a holy confidence in the prayer. Furthermore, “amen” means so will it be! It is the expression of assured expectancy and confidence. How much of our prayers flies off into empty air because there is no expectation in it! We have a right to be confident that we shall be heard. We should live in calm expectations that all the petitions will be accomplished.

 

[1] Earle, Ralph. Word Meanings in the New Testament. Hendrickson Publishing. 2002.