Bible Study with Attention to English Grammer

BIBLE STUDY WITH ATTENTION TO ENGLISH GRAMMER

A. HOW TO USE THIS METHOD 1. Choose some portion/passage/chapter/paragraph. Any portion will do, from either the Old Testament or the New Testament. The Gospel of Mark or the letter to the Philippians might be good starters. 2. Learn what you can about the historical context of the passage you wish to study. 3. Read some verses before and after the ones you want to study to get the immediate context. 4. Select a specific number of verses to study, usually from a couple of paragraphs up to a chapter at a time. Pray.

B. HOW TO STUDY TAKING NOTE OF ENGLISH GRAMMER 1. Use a notebook to record your thoughts. 2. Use the following list of the eight parts of speech in English grammar as you read each Bible verse to be studied. 3. THE LIST: (As you study, write down what you discover, especially the “aha” moments.) Note: Not all verses will contain every item on the following list. a. The noun and/or subject (who, what) (name, item, event) b. The pronoun – referring to the noun c. The adjective. It describes the noun or pronoun. (size, importance, priority, etc.) d. The verb (what action the subject does/did/will do), the tense: past, present, future. Is the verb an active verb or a passive verb. Is the subject doing the action or receiving the action? e. The adverb. It describes the verb. –often ending in “…ly”. f. The preposition. It is the connection or coupler between the words, to give meaning and relationships. g. Conjunction. A word for inclusions, additions. h. Interjection. An exclamation. (“Wow!”) --get attention, reactions, intensity; used with a “!” point. Note the prepositional and conjunctional (f. & g., above) words and phrases, and their uses as follows: 1) Conjunction: “…and…”, …”also…”, “…too…” 2) Cause and effect: “…because……therefore…”, “…since……then…”, “…thus…”, “…so…”. (looking to the past: why refers to cause, reason for) 3) Means to an end: “in order to”, “in order that”, “so that”, “by”, “through” WHO (looking to the future: why refers to purpose, aim, intention) WHAT 4) Comparison/Similarity: “like”, “as”, “than”, “besides” WHERE

5) Contrast: “but”, “nevertheless”, “notwithstanding”, “even though” WHEN 6) Repetition: parallels, “again”, “and”, “or” HOW 7) Source/Origin: “of”, “from” WHY 8) Destination: “for”, “to” 4. Note: Prepositions are often the smallest words in a sentence, but they are perhaps the most important since, as mentioned above, they tie the “big” words together and give meaning.

C. THE BENEFITS OF “GOING SLOW” IN BIBLE STUDY 1. This method will take time. There is no reason you have to finish in one sitting a section you chose to study. 2. Words are chosen for very specific reasons. How they are connected to each other gives the meaning. 3. Not all passages are easily adaptable to this method. But many are. We need not force “picture language” such as parables or poetic symbolisms (e.g., “The Lord is my Shepherd”). 4. You could invite a neighbor to study with you. You could say, “Hi, I’ve just run across a different approach to studying the Bible, and I’m going to give it a go. Would you like to join me and we can work through some part of it together?” (Then you both use an outline like this and discuss.)

D. WHAT NOT TO DO: The task is to learn what the Bible is saying and teaching us. The goal is not to successfully identify if a phrase or sentence is “cause and effect”, or “means to an end”, or “comparison”, etc. and think you have completed your study/assignment. This is not an exercise in order to learn English grammar. Grammar is only a tool to help us understand the Bible’s message. Pray. Go slow. Enjoy.