New Believer Resources

How To Read the Bible

Bible Reading Method

This method will help guide your Bible study and lead you to deeper understanding of Scripture

Observation: After reading the passage, observe what the passage is saying.

● Who? What? When? Where? Why?

Interpretation: What does the text mean? What is God/the book’s author seeking to communicate through this passage? (Context is important! Make sure that your interpretation makes sense within the context of the passage. See the next section

for resources that help with this!)

Application: What can I personally take from this? How can I apply the truth of this passage to my life? What action

steps can I take today to be transformed by these truths?

Helpful Resources

● The Bible Project (can be found at bibleproject.com or YouTube)

o Before starting a book of the Bible, first watch the Bible Project video overview for that book. These videos help with understanding the big picture of each book and the themes to look for throughout the book.

● Enduring Word Commentary (can be found at enduringword.com)

o This is a commentary that gives explanations and insights into each chapter of the Bible in a verse-by-verse format.

● Got Questions (can be found at gotquestions.org or you can download the app)

o This app gives answers to common questions that people have about Christianity and the Bible.

Quick Tips

● The Bible is meant to be read book by book and not by individual verses. In order to correctly understand and interpret what

the author is saying, it’s important to read a passage, chapter, or book in one sitting rather than a “verse of the day” method.

● Journal! Journaling is a great way to enrich your Bible-reading time. You can journal notes about what you read, thoughts or questions about the passage, action steps to take, or prayers.

● If you are new to the Bible, it would be beneficial to start with the New Testament! Specifically, Colossians, John, and James

are great books to begin with.

How To Pray

“Prayer is a means of grace as it allows believers to cultivate intimacy with God”

While prayer is a wonderful privilege that God has given to us to communicate with Him, it can also be difficult. Oftentimes

although we want to have deep, intimate prayer lives, we can struggle to connect with God and with the discipline of

prayer altogether. In the Bible, Jesus taught his disciples to pray by offering them the Lord’s Prayer. In doing this, Jesus

gave them (and us) a framework to guide our prayers. One simple and effective model is the ACTS model.

Adoration:

We always want to begin our prayers by fixing our eyes on God.When we acknowledge God for who he is, we are placing

ourselves in the appropriate posture of humble reverence. Starting our prayers with adoration appropriately shapes

the rest of our prayer. We set our eyes on eternity first, knowing that everything else will then fall into proper perspective.

We want to express our desire for the glory of God to be made known, which is the central goal of the Christian life,

before bringing forth our personal requests.

Verses that we can pray to adore God for who He is:

Psalm 145, Hebrews 13:8, Psalm 18:30, John 14:6, John 1:1, Hebrews 1:3, Psalm 90:2

Confession:

The more we know God, the more we see that we fall extremely short of his holiness. When we are faced with the reality of

our sin, this should lead us to confession and repentance. We acknowledge that forgiveness of our sins is required for

fellowship with God, and we look to Jesus for forgiveness. We specifically acknowledge our sins so that we can turn away

from them and turn toward God and the things of God.

Verses to meditate on in confession:

1 John 1:9, Romans 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Corinthians 10:13

Thanksgiving:

As we proclaim the truth of who he is and reflect on his love and forgiveness, it leads us to thankfulness.

We are thankful for our redemption and for his provision in our lives.

Verses of thanksgiving:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalm 28:7, Psalm 95:1-2, Psalm 34:1-3, Psalm 138:1-2

Supplication:

Supplication is bringing our needs and requests before God. He invites us to bring our worries, needs, and desires to him. He

wants us to bring our deep cries of lament and grief to Him in prayer, too. Just like a good father, God cares for us and wants

to be in it with us in the good times and bad. It glorifies God when we look to Him to meet all of our needs.

Verses encouraging us to bring our needs to God:

1 Peter 5:7, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 121:1-2, Romans 8:32, Hebrews 4:16, James 5:16

Prayer Prompts

Provided is a list to incorporate specific prompts into your prayer life each day. Some of these prompts may not be specific to you (ie. spouse, children, new baby, co-workers, boss, etc.). Use them as an opportunity to pray for someone else or to pray that God would fulfill the desires of your heart for them. Pray through these prompts alone or with someone else. Practice continually including some of these prompts in your prayer life by referencing this page from time to time.

● Someone you want God to save ● Sickness you want God to heal ● The preservation and faithfulness of the local church

● Your church family ● Someone you want God to comfort ● Your pastors and leaders ● The President

● A discipline you want God to strengthen you in ● Your job, co-workers, and boss ● A relationship you want God to restore

● Sin you want God to help you destroy ● An injustice you desire for God to overcome ● Spouse ● Children ● Parents

● Siblings ● Grandparents ● Neighbors ● Friends ● For sanctification and perseverance in the faith

● For hatred of sin and delight in obedience ● A new believer ● A non-Christian ● A missionary ● A specific ministry

● A deep love for God’s Word ● Boldness with the Gospel .

Spiritual Tips for Evangelism

➔ Be in the Word daily

➔ Have a clear understanding of the gospel

➔ Avoid gossip, and be of godly character in order not to taint your witness

➔ Be a part of a Bible-believing local church. If possible, invite another member into your relationships

with non-believers and partner to share the gospel together

➔ Be sensitive to the Spirit

➔ Persevere in prayer and evangelism

➔ Live a life of repentance, turning away from sin

➔ Be content with your role. You may be used to plant a seed, while someone else waters it or sees it grow.

Rejoice that you were used to share the gospel with another!

Relational Tips for Evangelism

➔ Ask good questions

➔ Observe body language

➔ Be a good listener. Focus on what they are saying, not what you want to say back

➔ Be friendly. People do not like to feel like an evangelistic project. Be kind, and genuinely care about

what they have to say

➔ Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” and come back to someone later

➔ Speak kindly

➔ Live godly lives. Your life and love will often trump what you say. Let it uphold your word and not disqualify it

➔ Use what people say online as an opportunity to follow-up privately, in person

➔ Be gracious, and do not assume you know what someone thinks or believes

➔ Stay focused on the gospel instead of other differences like politics or schooling decisions .