Hey everyone! I'm 15, and I've been a Christian for about a year. I decided to start a Christian Youth Group on a website and so far it's been a success. The members and I decided to do a Bible study (that I'm leading.) I've been to a few, but now it comes to actually MAKING one up! Anyhow, I have to keep it pretty interesting (for kids 14-18) and I was wondering if any of you have any tips for me while I'm making the first one up, anything will do!! We've decided to startfrom the Resurrection (since it's Easter and all) using the Book of Matthew. Anyhow I'm babbling, but any tips and advice would do a world of good! Thanks and God bless!
Sure. Here are some points or effective study:
1. Have a reliable version. There are three types:
a. literal (this is word-for-word, but sometimes the Greek grammar differs from our own and can be confusing, but a good version will still pout it in literal, and then offer a footnote explaining what it means.)
b. Dynamic equivalent. This kind keeps most of the words the same, but in cases where the figure of speech is unfamiliar to us, or the grammar is different, it will replace it with an English equivalent. The problem is, this means someone is "translating" the work for you and still presenting it as the Bible. This can be a problem if there's something about the actual text that the translater didn't pick up on, and it gets left out in the translation as he picks an "equivalent" based on limited understanding of the text. It also allows a certain amount of room for bias (his own opinions).
c. Free: these are the worst. They are paraphrasings, and are not the word of God. In one version, the word "Rome" was replaced with "Washington" to make it "accessible to the reader. THese aren't God's word, but just some guy's opinion of what scripture means. This is a dangerous option.
To get the most out of the text, it is important to understand that scripture is usually occasional. This means there is a certain occasion God's writer was addressing. It's important to know what in history was happening that Paul was addressing, or else we impose our own issues onto the text and make it answer questions that were never asked. So, to get it right we need two things:
a. exegesis (find out what the text meant to the people for whom it was originally written)
b. hermeneutics (find out what implications or meaning it has for us today, based on what it was originally addressing.) It can't mean something that the original writer was never addressing.
Besides the historical context of the scripture, there's literary context. That is, what is the scripture surrounding it addressing? It's important not to pull a verse out of context.
There are more, but these are the basics.
As for the actual meetings themselves, the groups tend to last longer if they are on topic and everyone is permitted but not forced to share. Sometimes one person might do most of the talking, so it's important to lead in a way that gives everyone fair time to speak. Food often helps make it fun. A comfortable environment helps, and often dittos or Bible study workbooks help keep things focused so the meetings end on time.
I hope this helps! Enjoy!
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