After our study and discussion of the Apostles’ Creed, I wanted to return to the format we had used for the Gospel according to John and the letters of John:  simple, straightforward inductive Bible study, rigorously staying in the text to see how much we could glean from the single passage.

This study (and the blog resulting from our discussion group) will be different in a few ways.  The common thread through these changes is to encourage more independent study and less dependence on a leader’s preparation.

• A chapter at a time: In previous studies, I divided the text into shorter passages, looking for what appeared to be logical break points in the writer’s flow of thinking.  We will study Peter’s letters a chapter at a time, understanding that the chapter divisions (as well as the verse numbers) were added centuries after the Biblical documents were written.  Rather than depending on my (sometimes arbitrary) selection of passages, we will use the chapter divisions we all have as a starting point.
• Few, if any, prepared questions: Guided questions can help stimulate discussion, and our group often asks even more interesting questions as we go through a passage.  In order to make the study more authentically inductive, we will start with just the text.  The questions on the back of the handouts are still helpful starting points for the methodical approach of Observation, Interpretation, and Application.
• Different translations: In previous studies, we used the New American Standard Version most of the time.  In order to benefit from the abundance of translations available, each week the handout will use a different version.  I encourage the group to use their own Bible translations as well in order to gain even more breadth of the richness of a passage.  We will continue using handouts for the convenience of marking the passage.
• Short blogs: Past blog entries may have been a bit (!) lengthy because of the rich discussions in our group.  Trying to include all the treasures from our time together resulted in some blog entries of five-thousand words (which pushed the limit between blog and dissertation!).  My goal for this study is to pick one theme from our discussion.  Hopefully, others from the group will comment in the blog to add more jewels from our discussion.

I hope the blog will be helpful in your own study of Scripture.  If you have the opportunity, please join us at 10:45 on Sunday mornings in the Conference Room at South Fellowship.