WELCOME
Welcome to 30 Days to Understanding the Bible! This is the first step on a journey that can revolutionize your understanding not only of Scripture, but also yourself and the world around you. The Bible is the bestselling, most-loved, and most-impactful book ever written. Actually, the Bible isnāt a single bookāit is a collection of sixty-six books written by more than forty individuals over a period of more than 2,000 years. Itās an enormous volume that contains a huge amount of information on a wide range of topicsāincluding history, poetry, prophecy, geography, instructions, epistles, commandments, promises, and more.
For these reasons, the Bible can often seem intimidating . . . and even overwhelming. Maybe you have tried to learn about the Bible in the past and found it difficult to understand. Maybe you have been reading the Bible for years, yet you still lack confidence when it comes to expressing what it is and what it says. Or, maybe this is the first time you have opened its pages.
Regardless of your level of experience, what you will encounter with your group over the course of the next six weeks will provide a key to unlocking what the Bible says, what it teaches, and how to apply it to your everyday life. Through the videos that accompany each session, and the daily interactions in this study guide, you will build a solid foundation for engaging and understanding the most important book ever written.
WATCH
Play the video segment for session one. As you watch, follow along with the main points listed in the outline below and record any key thoughts or concepts that stand out to you.
I. The Promise: If you commit to spending fifteen minutes a day in this study for the next six weeks, you will receive an understanding of the entire Bible.
A. It possible to understand each of the major people, major places, and major events of the Bible.
1. The problem many people have with the Bible is that they start out by studying the details without ever getting the big picture.
2. This study will focus on the big picture first and save the details for later.
B. When gaining an understanding of the Bible as a whole, it is important to focus on the broad strokes.
1. There are thousands of mountain peaks in Colorado, but there are only fifty-three that rise over 14,000 feet.
2. This study will focus on the āfourteenersā of Godās Word, which is a manageable amount of information to process.
II. Structure: A key to mastering the Old Testament is understanding that it contains only three types of books.
A. These three types of books are:
1. Historical books
2. Poetical books
3. Prophetical books
B. There are seventeen historical books in the Old Testament.
1. Only eleven of those books are primary. The other six are secondary.
2. So, if you want to get your mind around the story of the Old Testament, you need to read Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah.
3. These eleven books create a timeline into which you can fit the secondary historical books, the poetic books, and the prophetic books.
III. Geography: In addition to understanding the structure of the Bible, it is important to also understand the broad strokes of biblical geography.
A. The entire area described in the Old Testament is about the same size as the state of Texas.
B. Israel, the promised land for Godās people in the Old Testament, is roughly the same size as New Hampshire.
