Titus Study Overview
Sisters and Seekers,
So excited to announce that I will be writing a bible study for you on the book of Titus. I recently read a book by Jen Wilken called Women of the Word and was inspired to study using her method and create a study out of what I'm learning for you! Please check out her book as a resource if you want to dig a little deeper.
Before we get started, I want to highlights some concepts from her book that I think are important to cover because they give a framework to keep in mind as we go. The bible is a library, a collection of books with one big message. It is the message of God and His story, it's not a book about us. It has an overarching theme of creation-fall-redemption-restoration and every book in the Bible tells part of this one big story that God is telling through His word. You may have heard this referred to as the metanarrative. Knowing how what we are learning fits into this big story will help us make connections throughout what we are reading throughout the whole bible.
Another thing to remember as you approach study is that it's effectiveness does not have much to do with how we emotionally connect to the text. Ladies, let us not fall into the trap of thinking that our feelings are the only measure of our closeness with God. In fact, the walk of faith is often a matter of will and trust, moving toward God and what He wants for us in the face of fear or discouragement. We build up knowledge, not to become arrogant, but to love better (1 Corinthians 8:1). We need to hear from God and know what He's like and the primary way to learn that is studying His word. Much like a miner chips away day-by-day at a mountainside, he does it to get to gold-we too will chip away using our intellect to discover valuable truth and encouragement. And make no mistake, our heart will be involved for you cannot spend time in God's word without His beauty and love for you being uncovered--and how can your heart not respond! So press into your intellect and know that you are doing the hard work each day to allow your mind to help God transform your heart.
Your first assignment will be about getting a broad overview of the book. Bible study is a way to interact with God and to be transformed by what you are learning in a cycle that starts with observing the text (what does it say), inferring (what does it mean) and applying (what do I do with what I'm learning). I will have more reflection prompts in our next study but this first one is to get the context as a whole so you can observe and infer smaller sections and stay true to the message.
Now lets get into the study. Here are your materials:
Can't wait to study with you more!
-Rayna
So excited to announce that I will be writing a bible study for you on the book of Titus. I recently read a book by Jen Wilken called Women of the Word and was inspired to study using her method and create a study out of what I'm learning for you! Please check out her book as a resource if you want to dig a little deeper.
Before we get started, I want to highlights some concepts from her book that I think are important to cover because they give a framework to keep in mind as we go. The bible is a library, a collection of books with one big message. It is the message of God and His story, it's not a book about us. It has an overarching theme of creation-fall-redemption-restoration and every book in the Bible tells part of this one big story that God is telling through His word. You may have heard this referred to as the metanarrative. Knowing how what we are learning fits into this big story will help us make connections throughout what we are reading throughout the whole bible.
Another thing to remember as you approach study is that it's effectiveness does not have much to do with how we emotionally connect to the text. Ladies, let us not fall into the trap of thinking that our feelings are the only measure of our closeness with God. In fact, the walk of faith is often a matter of will and trust, moving toward God and what He wants for us in the face of fear or discouragement. We build up knowledge, not to become arrogant, but to love better (1 Corinthians 8:1). We need to hear from God and know what He's like and the primary way to learn that is studying His word. Much like a miner chips away day-by-day at a mountainside, he does it to get to gold-we too will chip away using our intellect to discover valuable truth and encouragement. And make no mistake, our heart will be involved for you cannot spend time in God's word without His beauty and love for you being uncovered--and how can your heart not respond! So press into your intellect and know that you are doing the hard work each day to allow your mind to help God transform your heart.
Your first assignment will be about getting a broad overview of the book. Bible study is a way to interact with God and to be transformed by what you are learning in a cycle that starts with observing the text (what does it say), inferring (what does it mean) and applying (what do I do with what I'm learning). I will have more reflection prompts in our next study but this first one is to get the context as a whole so you can observe and infer smaller sections and stay true to the message.
Now lets get into the study. Here are your materials:
- *a double spaced copy of Titus (print it off a website like biblegateway.org in a word-by-word translation like the NIV, NASB, or ESV)
- a pen to take notes on your copy of Titus and some color one's for marking or highlighting
- a notebook...I love working online with Evernote so I can edit easily and have thing accessible wherever I am but a plain 'ole spiral will do
Step 1-Get an overview of the book.
This would be a good place to consult a study bible or commentary if you have one. As you study, note who wrote the book, what kind of writing (genre) it is (historical, letter, poetic, law etc.), the historical context, and why it was written. Look at the themes of the book and it's outline so you can become familiar with the whole before getting into sections. Take notes on anything you want to remember as it's helpful to keep this context in mind to observe the text correctly. If you don't have a study bible or commentary, consider using the online resource for an overview: https://www.gty.org/library/bible-introductions/MSB56.
Step 2-Read the entire book
As you read, mark it up! Here are some things you can do as you read:
This would be a good place to consult a study bible or commentary if you have one. As you study, note who wrote the book, what kind of writing (genre) it is (historical, letter, poetic, law etc.), the historical context, and why it was written. Look at the themes of the book and it's outline so you can become familiar with the whole before getting into sections. Take notes on anything you want to remember as it's helpful to keep this context in mind to observe the text correctly. If you don't have a study bible or commentary, consider using the online resource for an overview: https://www.gty.org/library/bible-introductions/MSB56.
Step 2-Read the entire book
As you read, mark it up! Here are some things you can do as you read:
- write questions on the side
- circle words you don't understand to look up later
- notice repeated words and phrases, mark them in the same color/symbol
Step 3-Read in another translation
Use a **word-by-word translation and read the book in a different version. See the materials section for recommendations. After reading this time, write down the gist of the book. What it's mostly about. How would you summarize it in a few sentences?
Step 4-Reread and Outline
Read the entire book again, in the version you have printed out to study, this time trying to find out how the book is organized. When you think you are starting to notice sections and themes, write an outline of the book in your notebook.
Step 5-Reflection
What are you most excited about after this overview of the book? What parts already spoke to you? What do you have questions about? Is there anything God is wanting you to do in response to what you learned?
Step 5-Reflection
What are you most excited about after this overview of the book? What parts already spoke to you? What do you have questions about? Is there anything God is wanting you to do in response to what you learned?
That's it for the introduction. By now you should have a good idea the context of the book and be ready to dive into each section for a closer look.
Can't wait to study with you more!
-Rayna
*Why the copy of Titus and not just having your bible handy? Because you are going to be annotating and writing all over this thing and it's good to have the space to do so. Feel free to write in your bible if you'd like. For years I've used the New Inductive Study Bible to have room for my notes and marking up as it has great margins and no commentary--just scripture. Alas, I don't have much room to write in it now so find that printing out the pages works great for me.
**We want to wait and observe the text on our own before bringing in someone else's thoughts. A paraphrase translation can be considered commentary for that reason. Popular version of this type of translation are The Message and NLT and can be consulted during the interpretation phase of studying.
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