Inductive Bible Studies

This post will be about PRECEPT MINISTRIES and how to do an INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY.

Precept Ministry was established in 1970 and is operating in 165 different countries today.

THEIR MISSION:
To establish people in God`s word

THEIR VISION:
People living as exemplary followers of Jesus Christ

• studying the word inductively
• viewing the world Biblically
• making disciples intentionally
• serving the church faithfully in the power of the Holy Spirit

THEIR PROCESS:
DISCOVER the Inductive Bible study method and transform the way you study the Bible.
GO DEEPER WITH OTHERS through small group inductive Bible study living as the body of Christ.
DISCIPLE toward spiritual maturity and multiplication using the inductive Bible study method as the tool to know God and his word.

WHAT IS INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY? http://www.precept.org/about_inductive_bible_study
This is when you study the Bible in depth, using the Bible as your primary source to study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book. This is what it means to study the Bible inductively, learning truth for yourself, step by step.
You discover Truth Himself by using these three skills:

1. OBSERVATION:
Observing the text, looking closely at key words will help you to slow down and pay more careful attention to individual words used. This includes skills like marking words, making lists and asking questions using the 5 W`s and an H (who, why, what, when, where and how)

2. INTERPRETATION:
Careful observation will help you to discover what the text means in its context. Paying attention to repeated key words will help with interpretation and avoiding taking scripture out of context. The more accurate your observations is, the greater your understanding of God`s word.

3. APPLICATION:
Applying what you learn from what you have studied. It is no good just studying the word without thinking seroiusly about what you have learnt regarding what you can practically apply in your own life and for future change in your life.

Ephesians 1:15-23 "God the Father, Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, get to know Him and grow in Knowing Him." 

Here is a PDF on How it all works!
http://www.precept.org/data/sites/1/PDFs/PMI_IBStudyOverview_v2%20(1).pdf

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO REALLY KNOW THE WORD OF GOD?

• so that you will really know who God is, his character and understand His ways 
• so that you will stand firm in the truth and not be decieved or led astray 
• so that you can give an answer for the hope that you have
• so that you can grow as a Christian to bear fruit that will last and extend the kingdom for the glory of God

NOT Studying God`s word is NOT an option for Christians. We need to BE IN THE WORD so that we can be firmly established in the truth (2 Peter 1:12).

How do I begin an inductive Bible study?
You can either study on your own, join a Bible study group or join an on-line Bible study group if you are not able to get to a Bible study.
So, there is no excuse!

1.Decide if you will study on your own, join a Bible study or an on-line Bible study. If you would like to join an online ladies bible study click this link  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TruthHimself/

2. Choose material:
- take a look at www.precept.org as to how to choose the right material
- If you would like something light to start, I would suggest the 40 minute Bible studies. They are topical and easy to follow. You can also use these for family study time together or study together with your teens but I would suggest studying along with them and not just giving them the book to do. We need to come alongside our children when we study God`s word.
- if you would like an indepth Bible study, then you would choose the precept upon precept studies
- there are also Bible studies written just for ladies - Sweeter than chocolate (Ps 119 and Heb 11) and Mindset (Romans 8)
- Studies for Teen weekends include the TRANSFORM series (In the Last days - 2Peter, Resolve - Daniel, Dirty Jobs, Problem with evil - Job)
- Studies for little children include the Discover for Yourself series.

3. Order material from:
www.precept.org (international)
www.precept.org.za (for South Africa)
http://www.precept.org/international_overview (select your country)
http://www.christianbook.com/

4. Support:
If you would prefer not to mark in your Bible, you can download the chapter/book from the internet, save to a word document and then change it according to exactly how you like it (font, size, spacing).
You can use the following links:
http://www.biblestudytools.com/site-map/ (download your preferred version)
http://www.blueletterbible.org/ (for word studies, commentaries, Hebrew/Greek meanings)

If you would like to become more involved or go to a Leader workshop or other workshops, check the website for your country. If you would like to get more involved in Zimbabwe, please drop me a line in the comments box.

If you have any questions regarding what to study or about Inductive Bible studies, please drop me a line.

Psalm 119:102 "I have not departed from your laws for you yourself have taught me."

Boys comments

The boys have written up their thoughts on their travels to America. You can read what they have to say about their adventure. (I have not edited their letters - it is all their own work)


MURRAY:

The trip to America was fun and very different to zim. Skiing at Bristle Mountain was one of the really fun experiences. It was hard at first but after about two hours I could go down the slopes. At the end of the day I had gotten pretty good at it and the day after we went again. After that day I thought that I could do the harder slopes so the third day I went down a red slope. At first I thought I was going to die. Then after a few goes on the red, I moved onto the black. Pretty hard but I lived.

Another highlight was six flags America, a theme park. I first tried THE WILD ONE, a roller coaster. It was a small one but it was scarier that I thought it would be but it was so much fun. I then did a stupid thing. THE SUPERMAN RIDE OF STEAL. It was so high that it took about one and a half minutes to get to the top. That’s high! It was the highest one at the park. You go almost vertical and you ride down that for about five seconds, sounds short but it took a life time. Scary, but fun. Then there was THE ROAR. I would rate it about 8.5 out of 10. There were too many bumps. Then..... THE TOWER OF DOOM! Scary, scary, scary.... but fun. You go to a height where you can see the whole park and more and then they just drop you! Free fall. You can’t even scream it’s so scary.

Going to a base ball stadium and watching a game was a really fun experience and one in a life time. Seeing NYC at night was a beautiful sight and also seeing the place where 9 11 happened. The world trade center and the empire state building are the highest buildings in America. The statue of liberty is smaller than I expected but still beautiful. America was a once in a life time holiday!


DUNCAN:

When my family and I went to America, I thought it would be a bit different than it was because some parts were like South Africa, for example the shops seemed the same. When we went to six flags (theme park) I went on the tower of doom, it takes you up then it just dropped me it was really fun. We went to Canada and we met friends that we haven’t seen for a while, it was quite fun.

  I didn’t enjoy Boston that much, it was to big. New York was very dirty and there was a lot of pollution. When we went to Rochester we met some nice friends that my mom had met over the internet, called the Millers.

I wouldn’t like to live there because there is no place like home. When we went to ski on Bristol Mountain, I thought it would be harder than it was. In the beginning, I could not get how you turn but after a while I could do it. We went on all the ski slopes and all of my family fell a few times. America was fun!

LUKE:

 One of the best parts of my trip was meeting and making new friends. Like the Millers who lived just outside of Rochester, were nice people. The rollercoaster’s at a six flag theme park were also fun and also the travelling part of our trip. The skiing at Bristol Mountain was very fun as well except for the second last day which on the last slope, which was a double black diamond, (the hardest kind of slope), I fell and bruised my knee and wasn’t able to ski any more so I missed a day.

I enjoyed Boston and all its history, especially that only a few original Boston buildings are still standing because all the buildings were made of wood and Boston had so many fires in those days and almost all of them were burnt down. Washington DC and New York City were also fun except New York was too crowded. Washington was also quite crowded although not as much as New York. When we were in Washington we saw the White House, the Lincon memorial and the Washington monument.   

 My brothers and I went to a baseball game with my dad’s friend who lived just outside of New York and that was an amazing experience. I think our whole trip to America was fun, exiting and new and I already miss all my new friends that I made.  


MANDI:

America was all that I hoped it would be and more! It was an amazing experince and I really feel that, as a family, we learnt a great deal about life and people, we came away inspired and had a once in a life time experience that will be treasured for all our days. We will hold many memories, especially memories of the special people whom we met and the friendships we made.

One of the treasures of having our children at home, is that we can experience life with them, without having a restrictive time limit. We can provide them with opportunities to experience life and other cultures under our guidance and discipleship. Phil and I can teach them about life from a biblical perspective, helping them to accept different ways or cultures of other people, accepting that other cultures "DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY," having an understanding that we are all individuals, created by God, having different gifts and talents but God has the same purpose for all of us. And that is to give Him the glory in everything that we do! This is not always easy to live out as we so often fail (we all fall short) but through God`s grace, we persevere and try to live out His principles in our lives as best we can, trying to bless people along the way.

So, as we settle back into African life, we thank God for an amazing adventure, for protecting us along the way, for providing places to stay and new friends to meet, for inspiring us to pursue the things of God, for reminding us that life is about blessing others and for his constant love, care and guidance in our lives.           


PHIL:

We drove 20,000 km, on the wrong side of the road from the wrong side of the car and I didn`t even kill anyone (or not that I know of) with "Tom" giving me instructions, even through Manhatten, N.Y city, downtown Torronto and the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania! I was really pleased that I didnt have Mandi giving me directions from a map! The closest we got to dying was on the roller coaster! 
What I enjoyed most about America, were the friendly people and going to a baseball game. We all had a great time!

Homeward Bound

New York City

Our final stretch of our journey was visiting NYC. We stayed with friends whom I have not seen for about 20 years and they stayed in a place called Old Greenwich which is about 40 minutes from NYC.
It was great to see Sally and Bobby again and to meet their 2 girls.

The traffic was so bad and there was a long queue waiting at the toll road and we had not even enteres N.Y yet................

There were lots of bridges that we crossed.

Kent Island.

Getting closer to N.Y.

Just outside N.Y city, the traffic was unvbelievable!

The traffic brought us to a stop and even Tom Tom (G.P.S) was confused and lost us. Well, I panicked abut Phil kept his cool. He has done so well getting us around! Tom Tom has been such a help (except this time)

We arrived in old Greenwich and took a drive to the beach. It was across the way from N.Y city. It was a bit windy but beautiful all the same.

There were some really big houses in the area.

This is Bobby and Sally`s house.

Another huge house.

There were so many skyscrapers!

At the station. We toured the city on foot and then caught a water taxi to see the city from the water. It was spectacular!

The Intrepid is an aircraft carrier which served in World War 2 and Vietnam, making seven trips around the globe and surviving five kamikaze attacks and one torpedo strike. She then served as  a NASA astraunaut vessel before being retired in 1974. She is now docked on the Hudson River.

Can you see the aircrafts?

We were waiting for our water taxi. It was very windy that day and I hadn`t bought my jacket with me as the days had been so warm.

Here comes our taxi!!

The new Trade center being built. It is the tallest buidling in the photo and when it is complete, it will be the tallest building in the cirty after the Empire State building. It will have 104 floors.

The view from the water.

These peole were waiting for their water taxi`s but luckily, not ours! They were boarding the water city liners, which were HUGE boats.

Another stop at he harbour where we stopped to receive more passengers.

The Brooklyn Bridge which connected Manhatten to Brooklyn. It takes 40 minutes to walk across it.

The Brooklyn Bridge.

And finally, we came to the famous Green Lady. The staute of Liberty is on Liberty Island, near Ellis Island.

Murray has the statue in the palm of his hand!

Good Bye!

The 9/11 memorial. It had a North and South pool with the names of the deceased all around the walls. The oldest man to die was 85years old and the youngest to die was two years old. More than 400 were first responders who died performing their sworn duties. 2,977 people died in total. It was very sobering to be there.

At the South Pool.

Two very tierd boys after lots of walking and at the end of ther day!

More walking...................

China Town.

There were so many people! We have never been amongst so many people before. We all had to be alert and keep our wits about us - the boys had to make sure they stayed close all the time.

The train station - it was huge!

Murray had his photo taken especially for his friend Levi who loves anything to do with the military. Levi, this is for you - hope you see this!

And a tour of America is not complete without watching a baseball game! What a way to end our trip!Phil and the boys went to a baseball game with Bobby - what a high light for them! The NY Mets were playing against a team from Washinton D.C. It was such a highlight for the boys and Phil!

Hot chocolate from Duncan Doughnuts! That kept the chill out...........................

Wow - a night to be remembered!

What a great ending to our stay in New York! The boys LOVED the experience of going to their first baseball game, even though they didn`t know who the players were. We have done so much during our time in America - it has been such amazing fun, educational and inlightening! We will cherish the special people  and friends whom we met and the time we sepnt with friends from long ago. 

It has truely been even more than we ever had expected and we feel so inspired and enriched through all our experiences we have had.

We feel so blessed.

Thank you for travelling with us - we so appreciated all those who sent us comments and words of encouragement - it has mean`t a great deal to all of us!

The boys will write some final comments in the last post as we head off to Dubai in less than a few hours. Then we spend one night in Dubai and then we will be back in Zim on the 15th April.

Please pray for our safety and protection on our final leg of our journey - thanks so much!

God Bless!

All our Fondest Love

Phil, Mandi, Murray, Duncan and Luke

xxx