The best way to understand the STOP method of Bible studying is to physically participate in a study using it. Remember that you have your essentials all ready and you have your “GO!” questions written somewhere on your page where you can easily recall them (link to the whole method here). Let’s begin with 1 Samuel 17 because everyone thinks they know the story of David and Goliath.
We’ve covered “Why we need to study the Word” and “What we need to start studying the Word” now we’re going to go into a general overview of the STOP study method. It’s ridiculously simple but it aims at big results. Take the last post’s essentials and move forward.
It’s kind of scary and overwhelming when you first decide to start studying the Bible. What exactly do you need? Do you need one of those yellow / red Bible dry highlighters you always see in CBD? Do you just need the Holy Spirit and thus have to pray for Him? Do you need a degree in Bible? What exactly do you need for starting your personal Bible studies?
Although Christians may read their Bible, I don’t think very many study it. It may sit from a Sunday to Sunday on a bookshelf or it may be opened every day with a little devotional from The Daily Bread. Some of us may use it to proof-texts some sermons and others may not even know where our Bibles are. But as Christians we’re still constantly told to study it—why?
“Study the Word!” is the oft-heard cry on the lips of elders, teachers, pastors and seminarians. The brows furrowed, the finger precariously raised while the glare of the projector turns said teachers horned-rimmed glasses into fiendish horns. In the quest towards anti-intellectualism, proper theology and practically applied Christianity, these pillars in our lives seek to motivate us with these serious admonishments yet they don’t often tell us how.