Bible Study

You know I love to share with you when I find something that I really love, and for many months, I've been doing (and sharing with you!) Bible study books from The Daily Grace Company. I still love them and still recommend them, but a few weeks ago, I felt personally led to go a different direction in my own study. So today, I want to share with you what I found, why I love it, and why one of the versions of it might be a great fit for you!

The company is called Precept Ministries, and it was founded years ago by Kay Arthur. You might recognize her name, which is synonymous with inductive Bible study. (That's a whole method of Bible study, if you're not familiar with it.) Kay has written many books, but what caught my eye was the in-depth Bible study series that takes you slowly and carefully through almost all of the Bible. (I don't know if every single book and chapter's study is complete, but if not, they've sure done most of them!)

I decided to start in Genesis, and I decided to do the most in-depth study possible. This actually brings me to my first point of what I love about recommending them. You can look here to see how they explain the different depths of their studies. If you don't have hours and hours a week to pour into studying, you can choose one that doesn't require as much work, but you can still learn! Some of the series don't have any homework and others keep you busy for quite a while.

These books are not flashy. They don't have the glossy pages and gorgeous photography you're used to if you've been using Daily Grace books. But they take you straight into the pages of Scripture and that is what I love most. It's what I need most right now. The study pages push you to read the Bible and then ask questions to help you navigate what you've read. There aren't any answer keys, and only as a final option are you encouraged to consult a commentary. The main objective is for you to learn for yourself...from the Bible.

The study on Genesis is actually broken up over FIVE books, and I just finished the first one. It was a four week study (five days each) on the first two chapters of Genesis, or the story of Creation. I absolutely adored this study. Makes me want to go back to the Creation Museum and re-see all it has to offer.

For the record, I used the ESV workbook, but they do also have an NASB workbook. Those are the two versions of the Bible they recommend. My newest Bible is ESV, so it made the most sense to go with that. The workbooks are not downloadable PDFS; they are hard copy workbooks that arrive in the mail. They are hole punched and while they do come with a glue binding, it's very light, so you can separate the pages and keep them in a 3-ring binder if you prefer. 

The outside cover is a thicker cardstock and is very simple. 

Inductive Bible study has several components to it, and one of the more awkward pieces for me in this first study was the (ahem) invitation to create some artwork. I am a terrible artist, but I will say that this did help me learn and retain more about the order of creation than I would have thought! I'm not sure if the artwork part is in some of the "lighter" versions of this study, and it wasn't part of every day in the full version. But here's a sampling of my work. I know, I know. "Tell me what this is." (Ha!) Also, just ignore the shadow. Terrible lighting in our office when I took that. 

Another piece of inductive study is creatively marking the Scripture passage to help your eyes see themes throughout. Each workbook comes with the chapters written out in larger font and extra space to make this possible without cluttering up your everyday Bible.

Some of the markings are suggest and others you can make up to fit what you will best recognize and remember. It's so pretty when it's done! 

I've now moved on to the second book in the Genesis series, which covers chapters 3-11, or the introduction of sin to the world...through the flood. I am excited to learn more from this second book, and then I plan to move through and finish Genesis!

If you're interested in a full dive into Scripture, I recommend this one! If you're looking for flashy, pretty, or easy, this is probably not the one for you. But if you are looking in simple and meaty, I say check it out! And if you want to look at some of the lighter versions, you can see samples online!