Bible Study: Genesis

So it's been almost a year since my last post. Wow! I'd like to be more consistent about posting here, but I have a life outside of blogging that takes up quite a bit of time ;)

Anyways, I thought I'd share with you some of my personal Bible study practices. I recently started a new Bible reading plan and I'm really enjoying it. Here's how it works: I read through one book at a time. Each morning, I (usually) wake up before my children and read for about a half hour. During that half hour I read a chapter, and then give that chapter a title and write a one paragraph summary. After that I move onto the next chapter. So here's a typical morning: Wake up, get woken up (splash cold water on my face, put contacts in, etc.), short prayer, read Genesis 1, title and summarize Genesis 1, read Genesis 2, title summarize Genesis 2, read Genesi STOP - babies woke up. Pick up Genesis 3 tomorrow or later today if there's time/desire.

After I finish the book, I reread all the summaries and write a "Plot Synopsis" attempting to summarize the main flow of the book in a concise manner. I identify key themes, characters, verses, settings, etc. From there I distill "Timeless Truths" from the text. These are Biblical truths about God, us or the world that are true no matter when or where you are (example: God always keeps his promises). They are taught either explicitly or implicitly in the text. From the timeless truths, I try to find personal application and takeaways: how does the fact that God keeps his promises affect me right now? How should I respond to that truth?

Here's my work on Genesis. 

I recently started Matthew and will be working through that, hopefully finishing before the summer camp season starts. I hope you find it helpful and encouraging. Feedback is always welcome.

PS - I plan to write a personal position paper soon regarding the issue of whether or not Christians should use firearms for self defense (specifically, whether or not I should use a firearm for self defense). I'll probably share those thoughts here, stay tuned.