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Study The Scriptures Bible Study

Now that you have finished the Encounter Outlines you can strengthen your grip on the Scriptures by doing STS chapter studies. STS stands for Study The Scriptures.

The STS Bible study is a suggested outline to follow for individual preparation of a Bible study--chapter by chapter and week by week. Start these after the completion of the Encounter Outlines.

We suggest doing these studies in small groups with several of your disciples if possible. Meeting time should be about an hour to an hour and half. Give the leadership of the study to a different person each time you meet. Many have found that beginning this type of study in a the short pastoral epistle such as Second Timothy is good because a short book with short chapters provides comfortable "bite size" portions for getting started. With concentration the preparation can be done in about one hour. The instructions are simple.

  1. OUTLINE or SUMMARY (of the assigned chapter for the week). Some prefer to outline the chapter and others are more at home writing a summary. The summary should be limited to an average of 5 words per verse. In both cases write the verse numbers in the left-hand margin for easy referencing later in the group study.

  2. The back page provides extra space. TITLE. By the time you have finished outlining or summarizing the chapter you will be able to write your own original title for it.

  3. PARALLEL or CONTRASTING PASSAGES. In this section you are stretched. The object is to find as many cross-references (parallel of contrasting passages) as possible without using margin notes or any kind of study help. Because this is difficult in the beginning it is best to start by limiting the time spent to 15 minutes. The process of turning the pages of your Bible and searching for something that you barely remember is a great learning process.

  4. PROBLEMS. State either real problems (things you do not understand) or potential problems (things that a new Christian might not understand). Write the verse numbers in the left-hand margin. The person without any problems will answer the others' questions in the study.

  5. PERSONAL APPLICATION. This is the single most important part of the STS study and should reflect how the Lord speaks to you personally as you search His Word. It reflects you, your life, your needs, your context and God's encouragement, direction, comfort, and call to follow Him.

The STS form is available in PDF file. You can print it.

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