There is a huge difference between reading scripture, understanding what it means and actually putting it to use in one’s life. Hopefully, you have been encouraging your Bible students to read scripture independently. Unfortunately, if they only read it, the verses will have minimal impact on how they live their lives.
There are some skill sets to teach them to use when reading the Bible independently that can help both with comprehension and application of what they are reading. The skill set I want to address today is making connections.
If your students read every book or chapter in the Bible as if they were disconnected from the rest, the Bible loses some of the big picture of who God is and what He wants from them and for them. It can still provide bits of help and guidance, but it loses much of its richness and fullness. They need to think about how what they are reading connects to everything else in the Bible.
If your students read scripture without considering how it might apply to their lives, they may have no idea what to do with what they are reading in the Bible – even if they understand it. They need to think about how what they are reading connects to their lives today.
The best way to remind them to think about these connections as they read is to constantly remind them of the need to CONNECT scripture. Encourage them to ask themselves…
- What connections does this passage in scripture have with other passages and stories in the Bible? Encourage them to think about themes, principles, commands and what it teaches them about God or themselves when connected with these other passages and stories.
- What connections might this scripture have to my every day life? Is there a command or principle in it that they need to obey? Is there an attitude or belief it communicates that God expects from them? Is there something they need to do or change in order to reflect what they learned from that scripture?
If you can teach your students to think about the connections in what they read in the Bible independently to other scriptures and their lives, you will increase the likelihood they will understand and use scripture better. Don’t just cover these questions once, but remind them of the questions regularly, discuss what they mean and ask them to give concrete examples from the scriptures in your lesson and in their independent scripture readings. It’s a crucial skill set every Bible student should master.