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“Thoughts on Class Preparation”
This weekend is exciting for me as we begin our new study in the “Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon” class book in the auditorium adult class. I hope that the participants in this class have had the opportunity to read the book of Ephesians this week in preparation for our study.
We’ll be going over some basic introductory material on Ephesus, Paul, and the Ephesian church this morning. I look forward to this study with all of you! I just wanted to take a little time in this article to share with you a few thoughts about how to better prepare for our class studies together.
Daily Bible Reading– I would strongly encourage you to set aside some time each day to read your Bible – particularly the book of Ephesians as our study will focus on it for the next several weeks. Even if all you have time to read is the designated few verses for our Sunday and Wednesday studies, doing so will increase your memory and understanding, and it may even tend to become a habit after some time! If you can manage even 20 or 30 minutes a day of regular Bible reading, it will help you tremendously in a very short time!
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16)
The Class Workbook– Love them or hate them, class workbooks are available for the study we’ll begin this morning, and we will be referring to them occasionally in class. I hope that you will take advantage of the questions and research given in the class book, but I realize that everyone learns differently and has different tastes – I won’t be giving out homework or putting people on the spot for answers. The books are simply an aid for you to use if you will benefit from them.
Having said that, brother Harkrider has put together a valuable book that will be helpful in our study, so I plan to follow the outline to some degree in my own preparation as I suspect many in the class will be referring to it as well in their home study time.
On the Use of Commentaries– I always appreciate someone who has done their homework and looked to various sources to learn about the given text or topic we are studying in Bible class. It is refreshing to hear various class members quote other scriptures and refer to examples that illustrate well the concepts we are discussing. I hope, however, that we are all careful about how we use commentaries for study, and that we put them in their proper place and perspective.
Remember that commentaries are simply someone else’s thoughts on the Bible text. They come from uninspired people who are simply sharing their understanding of the writings of scripture. Because of that fact, we are to read them with discretion and only accept what is taught if it harmonizes with scripture.
I realize the difficulty that is presented when one commentator says something about a particular scripture, and another commentator says the exact opposite, and then another commentator disagrees with both of the previous commentators. It can be a dangerous game trying to believe or harmonize everything that you read in commentaries. There is certainly value in reading and analyzing the thoughts and studies of other people, but we must never equate their thoughts with the inspired word of God!
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15)
I hope that you will study in your own time the lessons and scriptures that we focus on in the class room. There is no substitute for personal Bible study, and I hope that each of us will take the time to read, study, meditate, and pray about the time we spend here together!
