The Ultimate Bible Study Guide for Message Prep

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LANE SEBRING

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Early in my ministry, I was enamored by a particular preacher who seemed to be able to make
the Scriptures come alive when he spoke. I sat under his teaching at a large weekly Bible study
in my area for a couple years.

Eventually I was able to meet him, and I asked him for advice on how to prepare messages like
he did. He told me, ​“Before you can prepare great messages, you need to learn how to study
the Bible.”

He told me to get a copy of a book by Howard Hendricks and William Hendricks: ​Living By The
Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible​ and do exactly what it teaches.

I did, and the book changed everything about the way I studied the Bible for a sermon and gave
me a framework to more holistically study the text for maximum understanding and impact.

I synthesized the main parts of the book and added some additional elements along the
way and built a study guide that I have used for years. Now I want to share it with you.

In this guide you’ll find the three steps the book teaches for Bible study - Observation,
Interpretation, and Application - with thorough instructions on how to complete each step.

Additionally, you’ll find an additional step I have added along the way - Resistance - which will
teach you to plan in advance for ways people might resist the truths in the passage.

It is my hope that this guide will help you study the Bible more effectively and efficiently for each
sermon you preach!

For more thorough exploration into this method, I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of
Living By The Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible

Let’s dive into the Ultimate Bible Study Guide for Message Prep, shall we?

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 Step 1: Observation: What do I see?1
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Read your main passage text multiple times making note of everything you observe in it.

As you read the text ask this question: ​What do I SEE?

Spend the most time on this step drawing every possible observation you can out of the
text.

Do not rush or skip this step! ​It can be tempting to jump straight to question two
before you have thoroughly observed what the text says from every possible angle. But
take the time and really observe the passage before moving to step two.

Let the Holy Spirit speak to YOU in in this step as you observe and pray through the text.
This one thing will change everything about the way you prepare.

Observation Tools

To help you as you observe the text I’ve provided exercises including five questions to
ask the passage and specific things to look for in it.2

Complete these steps ​without​ referring to commentaries or study helps. Really dig into
the passage itself to try to find answers. This discipline alone will sharpen your ability to
study and teach a passage compellingly.

Ask the passage five questions.

1. Who?
● Who are the people in the text?
● What is said about the person or people?
● What does the person say?

2. What?
● What is happening in the text?
● What are the events, in what order?
● What happens to the characters?
● Or if it’s a passage that argues a point:
○ What are the arguments?

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This three-step study method is adapted from Howard Hendricks and William Hendricks’ book, ​Living by the Book:
The Art and Science of Reading the Bible (​ Moody Publishers, 1991, 2007)
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These observations tools have been adapted from Howard Hendricks and William Hendricks’ book, ​Living by the
Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible ​(Moody Publishers, 1991, 2007)

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 ○ What is the point?

3. Where?
● Where is the narrative taking place?
● Where are the people in the story?
● Where are they coming from?
● Where are they going?
● Where is the writer?
● Where were the original readers?

4. When?
● When did the events take place?
● When did they occur in relation to other events in Scripture?
● When was the writer writing?

5. Why?
● Why is this included?
● Why is it placed here?
● Why does it follow that?
● Why does it precede that?
● Why does this person say that?
● Why does something say nothing?

Make note of grammar. ​Look for the following and make notes about where and how they
appear in the text:

Verbs: ​Make note of verbs both passive and active. Verbs will show where the action in
the text is taking place.

Modifiers: ​Modifiers are descriptive words such as adjectives and adverbs. These will
add color to your reading of the text.

Connectives: ​Don’t overlook any connecting word such as ​and, but, therefore, for,
​ hese are going to tell you a great deal about the passage.
then, so that, etc. T

Specific things to look for:

Things that are emphasized: ​Look for four ways ways things are emphasized:
1. Amount of space;
2. Stated purpose; order;
3. Movement from the lesser to the greater, and vice versa.
4. Repetition.

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 Things that are related: ​Things that have some connection or interaction with each
other. Look for three kinds of relationships:
1. Movement from the general to the specific;
2. Questions and answers;
3. Cause and effect.

Things that are true to life:​ The issue here is authenticity: What does this passage tell
you about reality? What aspects of the text resonate with your experience? In light of
the passage, ask:
● What were this person’s ambitions?
● What were his/her goals?
● What problems was he/she facing?
● How did he/she feel?
● What was his/her response? What would be my response?

Step 2: Interpretation: What does it mean?

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Consult with commentaries and other study tools to pin down the meaning of the text.

As you read the text ask this question: ​What does it MEAN?

As you use commentaries, bible dictionaries, concordances and other study tools, it gives you
an opportunity to discover what the text means.

Here are three things to do in this step:

1. Read the full context - what comes before and what goes after the passage.
2. Look at the cultural and historical settings of the text.
3. Watch sermons on the text to see how others have dealt with it. Be sure to give credit if
you use other people’s ideas.
4. Dig into your commentaries and bible helps to see what others have written about it.
There are many free resources online that provide commentaries. One of the best is
https://biblegateway.com

Overall, in this step it’s important to check your conclusions against the wealth of
writing on the text from multiple, reliable commentaries to ensure that you are not
off base with your conclusions.

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 Step 3: Application: How does it work?
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Make note of all the ways the text can apply to real life.

As you read the text ask this question: ​How does it work?

Make note of all the ways the text can apply to real life. This step is placed at this point in the
process because application should come as a ​result ​of observing and understanding the text
fully.

There are three primary ways to find application in the text:

1. Look for commands to obey.

2. Look for promises to claim.
3. Look for examples to follow.

As you begin to build out your sermon in light of how the text could be applied:
1. Look for what tension the passage could begin to resolve.
2. Look for a problem for which it could provide a solution.
3. Look for what question could it answer for people.

And in general, ​write down everything that comes to mind ​about how a person could live out
the truths from the passage.

Read more about how to study a passage using these three steps (with an example passage) in
this article​.

Bonus Step: Resistance: How or why do we resist it?

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As you study the text, predict the way there will be resistance and prepare answers.

As you read the text ask this question: ​How or why do we resist it?

As you preach, you’ll discover that just because something is true and found in God’s word,
does not mean that all people readily accept it and live by it.

In fact, in Romans 1, Paul argues that we tend to ​suppress the truth​ so that we might continue
in the unrighteousness of our deeds.

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Because of this, I assume that I and others who hear the truth of God’s word may not gladly,
initially receive it, but we become closed off to the truth of God.
Therefore, you want to be ready for that resistance and provide answers.

Ask this main question:

In what ways will people have objections/dismissals?

The goal is to predict the way there will be resistance and be ready to provide an answer.

Assume that resistance is coming and try to disarm that resistance so that the listener is left to
deal with the reality of God’s word and what it’s teaching.

Putting it all together.

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In three steps you have walked through a process studying the Bible so that you have an
accurate understanding of what a given passage teaches.

Go back through each step and draw out the one or two tactics that helped you the most. How
can you make them work for you even better?

What tactic in this guide do you need to revisit and make sure you are grasping it? ​Take a
couple principles each week and build on them as you strive for continual improvement as a
preacher.

I hope this guide has given you the tools you need to begin preparing even more compelling
and life-changing messages.

I can’t wait to see what you’ll do with it! It’s an honor to journey with you!

Lane Sebring
PreachingDonkey.com