20 Ways to Engage with Scripture: 16-20

Welcome to our fourth and final week in the series, 20 Ways to Engage with Scripture.  If you missed the previous posts, you can read them here:

• 20 Ways to Engage with Scripture: #1-5
• 20 Ways to Engage with Scripture: #6-10
• 20 Ways to Engage with Scripture: #11-15

Five More Ways to Engage with Scripture

#16  Rephrase and summarize.

Two of the most effective ways to check your understanding of a passage and help with retention are rephrasing (paraphrasing) and summarizing.

Rephrasing – Information from the passage is put into one’s own words.   It is a detailed restatement which requires understanding of the meaning of the original passage.  To rephrase a passage, you simply need to say the same thing in a different way.

Summarizing – Is also a retelling or rewriting of a passage.  In summarizing, you focus on the main points and key details in a succinct manner.

#17  Organize what you have learned.

No matter your method (neat-as-a-pin or topsy-turvy), organization of your notes is important.  Your time spent in the process affords an additional review of the passage, provides insight into your understanding of the passage, and informs you of areas where you still lack clarity.  The time spend going through your notes also presents opportunity for connections to be made.

#18  Make application.

Don’t read and walk away.  Before you leave any passage, spend some time applying it to your daily life.  Thank God for what that specific Scripture teaches you about His character.  Journal what you feel God impressing upon you from the text.  Ask yourself how your life should be different because of the Scripture.  Sing a song of praise for what is in the passage.

#19  Review the text and your notes.

Research shows that we remember information best right after it’s been acquired.  As time passes, we remember less and less.  To move what we are learning from our short-term memory to our long-term memory, we must review it.  Schedule periodic times of review.  Look back over your journals, notes, time lines, sketch notes, rephrasings, and any other “Scripture Engagements” you may have.

#20  Share what you have learned.

The best way to understand what we’ve learned is to explain it to someone else – in an organized Bible study, in a small group, one-on-one, over coffee, around the kitchen table.

Download the 20 Ways to Engage with Scripture PDF HERE.