* Pray for the Holy Spirit¡¯s help (Lk 11:13; Jn 16:13; Eph 1:17,18; Jas 1:5)

1. Attitude: Read the text with a fresh outlook.
a. Try to learn from the text without prejudice or preconceived ideas (Isa 55:8).
b. Try to put aside my past knowledge and experience in studying the passage.
c. Be an explorer of the text. Be a miner looking for diamonds (Mt 13:44–46).

2. Observation: Examine the text carefully based on certain criteria:

* In studying the Bible, people have a tendency to jump into talking about its meaning and application before observing what it actually says. So try to spend the majority of your study time in observation.

What to look for (basic facts)?
a. Person: characters; Place: geography, country; Period: era, historical setting, specific time(s) in the passage.
b. Repetition: word(s), phrase(s); idea(s)
c. Contrasts and Parallels.
d. Continuity: how the passage fits in with the previous and following paragraphs.
e. Natural divisions & proportions of the text: how many verses/paragraphs/chapters devoted to persons, topics, dialogues, genealogies, etc.

3. Interpretation: the basic question is ¡°Why?¡± (Mk 4:24)
a. Identify the type of Bible passage.
b. Think about the correlation(s) of your observations (people, place, period, repetition, contrasts, etc.)
c. Based on these correlations, ask the questions, ¡°Why?¡± and, ¡°What does it mean?¡±
d. Try to discover the principles, themes, and the main point.
e. Study how the theme or main point is developed throughout the rest of the Bible. Search for the theme in both Old and New Testaments; for example: Ge 3:15; 12:7; 13:15; 22:18; Gal 3:16
f. Turning point(s), climax.

4. Application (2Ti 2:15): think about how the passage applies to my:
a. personal life (inner attitudes, worldview, values, behavior, relationships)
b. family relationships
c. campus, society, country and the world
d. ministry

* Take special note of a passage¡¯s teachings about the love of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit
* Take special note of any commands in the passage that we are to obey.