The 3 Column Bible Study
The 3 Column Bible study method is a fundamental part of the process of cpm. This method of Bible study is beneficial to an individual and it is foundational to a small group discovery Bible study which is the foundational unit of church planting. Let me take you through the basics of it and then try it yourself.
Take a regular 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper and turn it on its side. Then draw 2 vertical lines down the whole sheet so that you have created 3 approximately same sized columns.
Begin on the left column and write at the top of the sheet the word "SCRIPTURE".
Then at the top of the middle column write the words "MY WORDS".
Then at the top of the third column write the words "I WILL".
In the SCRIPTURE column you will write out the passage of scripture that you are studying word for word. Someone might ask, why must the passage be written, I can just read it. But if you are doing this for your own study, it is important that you write it. As you write the passage, you have to read it a number of times. So this process is causing you to read it and think about it as you are writing the passage. In your study you will focus on just a few verses...a logical unit of scripture, longer than 1 verse, but usually shorter than a chapter. Take a unit of scripture that contains a whole thought or unit of information...at least a paragraph.
Now, in the middle column, rewrite the passage in your own words. The question here is: what does this mean. How do you understand the passage? Don't bring in other knowledge that you have at this point from other scriptures or teachings. Focus! What does this passage SAY and MEAN on its own merit. Rephrase it in your own words. Write it in the way you would use to explain it to someone else. (If you can't explain it to another person, you probably don't understand it yourself). This is the step of understanding.
Finally in the 3rd column, ask yourself "What does this passage tell me about God? What (if anything) am I told to do in response to this passage?
Now try to put that into a sentence beginning with the words "I will..." Not I should, or I ought, but I will. Because this is the sentence that will move you from knowledge to obedience.
So go ahead and try it. In fact, let me suggest a passage to start. Try Joshua 1: 1-8. Process that passage that way. I will focus on that next week on the blog.
Take a regular 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper and turn it on its side. Then draw 2 vertical lines down the whole sheet so that you have created 3 approximately same sized columns.
Begin on the left column and write at the top of the sheet the word "SCRIPTURE".
Then at the top of the middle column write the words "MY WORDS".
Then at the top of the third column write the words "I WILL".
In the SCRIPTURE column you will write out the passage of scripture that you are studying word for word. Someone might ask, why must the passage be written, I can just read it. But if you are doing this for your own study, it is important that you write it. As you write the passage, you have to read it a number of times. So this process is causing you to read it and think about it as you are writing the passage. In your study you will focus on just a few verses...a logical unit of scripture, longer than 1 verse, but usually shorter than a chapter. Take a unit of scripture that contains a whole thought or unit of information...at least a paragraph.
Now, in the middle column, rewrite the passage in your own words. The question here is: what does this mean. How do you understand the passage? Don't bring in other knowledge that you have at this point from other scriptures or teachings. Focus! What does this passage SAY and MEAN on its own merit. Rephrase it in your own words. Write it in the way you would use to explain it to someone else. (If you can't explain it to another person, you probably don't understand it yourself). This is the step of understanding.
Finally in the 3rd column, ask yourself "What does this passage tell me about God? What (if anything) am I told to do in response to this passage?
Now try to put that into a sentence beginning with the words "I will..." Not I should, or I ought, but I will. Because this is the sentence that will move you from knowledge to obedience.
So go ahead and try it. In fact, let me suggest a passage to start. Try Joshua 1: 1-8. Process that passage that way. I will focus on that next week on the blog.
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