{"id":706,"date":"2020-07-02T10:51:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T10:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegateway.jetfuel.cloud\/?p=706"},"modified":"2020-07-02T10:51:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T10:51:00","slug":"teaching-deep-bible-study-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/teaching-deep-bible-study-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching “Deep” Bible Study – Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sometimes Bible teachers confuse their own deep Bible study with deep Bible study for their group members. It is true that you cannot lead learners to deep Bible study if you have not dug deeply into the passage yourself. (It\u2019s hard to lead someone to a place you haven\u2019t been to.) But, your deep study doesn\u2019t necessarily translate into deep study for your group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we make Bible study deep for our learners? It begins by seeing ourselves less as the provider of expert information and more as being the guides into the truths of the Bible. Have you ever listened to a missionary sharing about their work in some international setting? If you are like me, you leave thinking, \u201cI am so glad God placed her in Sokovia. It is great to know that God is working in that place.\u201d But, it is a different experience when you get off the plane in Sokovia and begin walking side-by-side with the missionary, participating in their ministry personally. You leave truly knowing the ministry in that place. Deep Bible study is less about people hearing deep truths that you have studied; it is more about them getting their hands into the Word up to their elbows, being guided by you into the most important words in the passage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some guidelines that will help you to be the trail guide into Bible study instead of the expert lecturing from the stage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t tell people things about the passage they can discover for themselves. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everything in a passage is self-evident. Learners need you to explain words that may not be clear, situations that may be confusing, or historical situations that bring clarity to the passage. They don\u2019t need you to explain that when John wrote, \u201cFor God so loved the world . . .\u201d that he meant us to understand that God actually loves people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask questions that drive learners deeper into a passage.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good questions are not answered by simply looking at verse 3. They actually require learners to think, to analyze, to discuss. Asking, \u201cHow did God demonstrate his love in John 3:16?\u201d is not nearly as deep as asking, \u201cWhy did God sending his son indicate God\u2019s love for us?\u201d Good questions seldom occur to you on the spot (unless you are crazy intelligent). Most of the time, asking good questions means you have thought carefully about how to get your learners to think deeply about a passage before you get into the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lead learners to explain the truth of the passage to you instead of merely explaining it to them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putting truth into their own words actually requires them to think more deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your goal is to teach deep Bible study, you will need to study the passage deeply. What you teach is essential. But, how you teach is also important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\n \n Theology\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n Posted by: Philip O. Hopkins<\/span>\n |<\/span>\n April 7, 2026<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n Iran: Further Reading<\/a>\n <\/h3>\n

Read through this helpful bibliography of resources on Iran gathered by Dr. Phil Hopkins.<\/p>\n

\n Read Article<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n
\n Philip O. Hopkins<\/a>\n
Professor of Missions<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
Philip O. Hopkins is a professor of missions and chair of the Missions and Intercultural Studies Department at Gateway Seminary. He earned Ph.D. in applied theology from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a second Ph.D. in Iranian history from the University of St. Andrews (Scotland). He is also the associate editor of the IRAN: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies.<\/div>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/a><\/div>\n \n
\n \n Read more by Philip O.\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>
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\n \n Theology\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n Posted by: Daniel M. Gurtner, Ph.D.<\/span>\n |<\/span>\n March 26, 2026<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n Protected: Book Excerpt – Engaging the First Christian Historian<\/a>\n <\/h3>\n

Read an excerpt from Daniel M. Gurtner’s article in this festschrift in honor of Dr. Steve Walton<\/p>\n

\n Read Article<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n
\n Daniel M. Gurtner, Ph.D.<\/a>\n
Professor of New Testament Studies<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
Dr. Gurtner has a passion for making Christ known through careful, deliberate, and worshipful study of the Bible, and training students to do the same.<\/div>\n
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\n \n Read more by Daniel\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n
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Listen<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\n The Study Podcast<\/a>\n
April 28, 2026<\/div>\n

\n Prophets | Obadiah<\/a>\n <\/h3>\n
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Obadiah, one chapter, 21 verses. This book tells the ongoing tale of conflict between Esau and Jacob, transferred to the land. It’s a book of future judgement for Edom who did not help his brother.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n Start Listening<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>
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\n The Study Podcast<\/a>\n
April 14, 2026<\/div>\n

\n Prophets | Joel<\/a>\n <\/h3>\n
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In this prophetic book, about 50% is focused on judgement and 50% on restoration. Overall, Joel is a pretty positive book, letting Israel know there will be blessings along with punishment.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n Start Listening<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes Bible teachers confuse their own deep Bible study with deep Bible study for their group members. It is true that you cannot lead learners to deep Bible study if you have not dug deeply into the passage yourself. (It\u2019s hard to lead someone to a place you haven\u2019t been to.) But, your deep study […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":6161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[14,20,21,19],"class_list":["post-706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministry","tag-bible","tag-church","tag-gospel","tag-teaching"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}