Dig In

by Cru Staff

LEARN TO READ THE BIBLE TO DISCOVER GOD’S TRUTH

Launch

In today’s passage Paul, the writer of this book in the Bible, found himself in a situation similar to the family above. He was chained up in a dungeon waiting to be killed. He wrote a letter to a younger friend whom he loved and left instructions for living a godly life. One evening the Mabrey family – Dad, Mom, and three older children – were hanging out in their den. Suddenly two men broke in and tied everyone up. The dad worked in a bank and they wanted money from the safe which automatically opened at 7:00 AM. All night they waited, fearing for their lives. Not sure they would live to see the next day, their thoughts wandered to what they wished they could say to their friends and family members left behind.

Explore

1. Read 2 Timothy 3:14-17. What seems to be the thing Paul most wants Timothy to do (verse 14)?

2. Where do you see the Bible mentioned in this passage?

3. According to this passage, what are three or four things the Bible can do in your life?

4. Read Hebrews 4:12. What does it mean that the Word of God is alive and powerful? How is that different than any other book?

Apply

5. The Bible has helped people for hundreds of years. How could reading the Bible help you personally?

6. Does reading the Bible seem hard, scary or boring to you? Why? What keeps you from reading it more often?

READ: Reading the Bible can be hard, but it is worth it. All day long we are being bombarded by false messages about what life is really all about. The world tells us that life is about personal fulfillment, success, pleasure, friends, money, and being happy, but that is not what life is about at all. To find out what life is really about, we need to regularly listen to messages from the One who created us. God made us and knows our purpose and what will truly bring us lasting satisfaction. The Bible is God’s main way of communicating those truths to us. It is where we can find real truth about life, not just the fluff that the world offers.7. Often, we don’t read the Bible because we don’t know where to start and we don’t really know how to study it. Today we are going to talk about one simple way to read the Bible called “3 Symbol Bible Reading”.3 Symbol Bible Reading

1. Pray for God to speak to you through His Word.

2. Read the next chapter in your Bible. The book of John is a good place to start. If the whole chapter is too long for you, just read a part of the chapter.

3. Stop reading when something stands out to you. Pay attention to the word or thought that pops out to you and how you feel about it.

4. Mark it up! It’s ok to write in the Bible, in fact, it’s really helpful!

Draw a light bulb beside whatever stands out to you as important. Write your thoughts about it in the margin of your Bible.
Write a question mark (?) by anything you don’t understand or have a question about. Write the question in the margins of your Bible.
Write an arrow beside anything that you should apply personally to your life.
If you are using your phone and can’t mark it up, use your notes app to write down your thoughts and any questions that you have.

5. Talk about it – When you’re done reading, talk to God through prayer or write in a journal to God about what pops out to you on the page and the questions you had. Ask God to give you the power to do what the passage says. If you’re in a group, talk with each other about what God taught you as you read.

If you weren’t able to find answers to your question marks, text a leader, pastor, or a Christian friend that might know a little more than you. Talking about our questions helps us all grow and learn more about God’s word together.

8. Let’s try this right now with a passage of the Bible. Open your Bible to Matthew 6:25-34 and study it with the Stop and Pop method.

9. How can you see "Stop and Pop" making a difference in your life as you do it regularly?

30-DAY CHALLENGE: Take the 30-day challenge and read the Bible every day for 30 days. Start in the book of John and see how a month in God’s word can impact your life!To learn more ideas on how to read the Bible, check out the book “One to One Bible Reading” by David HelmFind more resources and ideas for teaching this study online at thrivestudies.com/digin or cru.org/highschool

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Since 1951, Cru has helped individuals who grapple with integrating faith into daily life by offering practical steps and community support. As a result, countless people in over 190 countries have been empowered to move from passive belief to active faith.

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