Bible Log

You've probably figured out that I want the course to make reading the Bible more fruitful for you and those around you, and for the Bible to make the doctrines you encounter more fruitful too. Here's an exercise to encourage that further.

Practice reading scripture critically (as your OT and/or NT course taught you), theologically (as this course is teaching you), and devotionally (as the Word of God whose divine power is available to you personally, which DBS stresses). I don't mean that you'd be reading a passage once in each way, though at first you may need to do that to reintegrate these distinct aspects in your imagination. They need not pull against each other; in fact, they hang together.

Before you begin, create the file in which all of your work will go, if possible on the cloud. Make sure it's regularly backed up! Then, in that file:

Keep a journal of what you (a) learn, (b) obey, and (c) share from the Bible as you engage it both through discovery Bible studies and elsewhere (other assigned passages, personal reading, chapel, church, other discovery groups, and so on).

To keep you from overlooking elements of these, I suggest something like a table:

date	Bible passage(s)	I learned ...	I did ...	I shared ...	what resulted was ...

As you consider secondary sources such as the readings and online lectures, also report key discoveries and insights.

Strive for at least seven entries. The primary format of these is reporting, but you can make further observations, draw conclusions, preach, rant, exposit ... the church's servants do all of these, often well.

Conclude your journal with a brief summative reflection of some kind, and share it with your duckling and any others you like.

Remember, I always want to see proper style, clear writing, a thorough answer to the question, and explicit citations of course materials. I hope this assignment extends the power of your interactions with scripture in ways that encourage you to continue those interactions after the course and multiply them with others.