Resources
What is Inductive Bible Study?
Inductive Bible Study is a basic way to take a passage of scripture and break it down through a three step process in order to better understand what it means so that we can apply it to our life.
Those three steps are:
Observation - answers the question, "What do I see?" This step gives an overview of the passage.
Interpretation - answers the question, "What does it mean?" This step
helps dig deeper into the purpose of the passage.
Application - answers the question,"How do I respond?" (It's not always "What do I do?" because sometimes it's just "believe!") This crucial step gives an opportunity to incorporate what we have learned into our life.
How do I study a passage using the Inductive Bible Study method?
Step 1 - Read the passage until you feel comfortable with it. (Several times if necessary) (Try reading it aloud!)
Step 2 - Using a prep sheet provided on this website, or in your own
journal, make observations from the passage. Begin by looking at the
passage and asking the 5W's and an H type questions (Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?) Who is talking? Who are they speaking or writing too? Where are they? What is happening? When is or when will things take place? These are all questions that you can ask yourself to help gain understanding of what this passage is saying. Don't get bogged down with the things you don't fully understand. Look for the obvious (i.e. people, places, events) When you find it circle it, underline it, or highlight it every time it occurs in this passage. (A sheet explaining the different types of observations is included on this website.)
Step 3 - Take the same prep sheet you made your observations on and reread what you listed out. Take a moment to pray and ask God to help you understand what it is He wants us to know, do, and believe. With God and His Word there is only one interpretation, meaning that what was true for the believers in the Bible is true for us today. God does want to hide His truth from you and has given each of us His Spirit to reveal His truth, so we may apply to our lives in many different ways. To begin to make some interpretations we need to evaluate our list of observations from the passage. Simply ask yourself the question "What do I learn" and "What is it saying". This is initiated by looking for words, phrases, and sentences, in which you don't have a clear understanding. You can "interpret" these unclear ideas by asking the question, "What does this mean?" (A sheet
discussing interpretation is provided on this website.) Wrestle with the things you don't understand, but don't get frustrated if it is still unclear - write your question down and bring it to your small group leader.
Step 4 - In the bottom right corner of your prep sheet, there is a box set aside for you to write down an application for what you have learned during your study of the passage. (Of course there is a sheet addressing "application" included on this website!)