How do you choose your Bible study topic? The go-to move for many Bible students is to close their eyes and randomly pick a chapter. Whatever chapter you blindly choose becomes the topic for the day. Nailed it! Or not?
I get it. The Bible contains 66 books divided into 1,189 chapters and 31,102 verses. It makes sense that anyone can get lost finding the right topic when almost every verse or chapter can be a topic or even more than one topic. Nonetheless, the truth is, you cannot get the most out of your study time if you constantly rely on random selection.
Bible study is more than reading/reciting a couple of verses. A good Bible study entails digesting the word. Like your regular mean, you ought to be digesting a balanced diet.
Outlined below is a simple guide to help you the right topic each time.
- Get a devotional or guide
The best advice is to get a ‘good’ devotional or Bible study book. Topics in such guides are not randomly selected. Instead, they are carefully curated by Bible scholars to cover topics necessary for your spiritual growth. You will get a topic for each day as well as relating Bible verses. This way you always have the right topic for your next Bible study. That said, it is important to pick the right devotion book because they are not the same. To ensure you are indeed getting a balanced diet, you need to be careful of the guide you use. I recommend finding a devotional that follows the inductive Bible study approach, talks about God, and has a clear study plan. If it doesn’t help you grow then there is no need using it no matter who the author is. This is your personal walk with God. What works for others may not work for you at this level. Don’t force it.
- Pick from the church
The church is a good place to get Bible study topics. Every week, we are treated to rich topics from the Scripture. It could be during the week services or the usual Sunday sermon or Sunday school. After listening to your pastor or teacher, it is always fulfilling to learn more about the topic. You will be surprised at the new understanding you gain by conducting your personal study. This is why I always advise people to jot down during teachings. Try it!
- Use Bible themes
For those who can create their own study plan, I recommend using Bible themes. First, you need to get a good study Bible with themes. These themes are basically topics on different teachings of the Bible. It is up to you to pick a theme and you can find relating Bible verses and teachings on that particular theme. This might be somewhat difficult for a beginner so it is okay if you don’t get it yet.
- Be your inspiration
The goal of Bible study is to build a deeper relationship with God by spending time talking to him and learning about him. Therefore, it makes sense if you choose your Bible study topics based on your life experience, personal needs, or questions about God. There is no need to wait until your devotion gets to the Faith theme next month if you really need to learn how to strengthen your faith right now based on whatever is going on in your life. Simply pick your Bible and do a little research on chapters that talk about faith. It is still Bible study
- Study by books/authors
Lastly, if you have no pressing questions or issues, you can take your time and study by books/authors. It is okay to start with Genesis, complete it and continue to Exodus. It is also okay to start with Matthew and proceed to the next author once you complete that epistle.
Conclusion
Choosing a Bible study topic is easy if you know where to look. Whether you use devotional, church topics, or Bible themes, don’t forget that the goal is to develop a deeper relationship with God.
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