Free Online Bible Study Lessons

I. THEMES OF THE BIBLE

The Bible has been divided into FIVE THEMES for your study. These themes are chronological and describe what is happening governmentally in the Bible as God governs and man responds to His government:

CONTENT: THEMES OF THE BIBLE

THEME 1. CREATION God creates man to bless.
Creation, fall, flood
Genesis 1-11

THEME 2. THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION BEGINS God prepares a people for Godly self-government and liberty.
Abraham, Moses, Joshua
Genesis 12-Ruth

THEME 3. THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL The people want an earthly king and slavery.
Saul, David, Solomon
I Samuel - Malachi

THEME 4. THE KINGDOM OF GOD God’s New Covenant, an internal kingdom.
Jesus, 12 Disciples
Matthew - John

THEME 5. THE EARLY CHURCH The increase of His government and peace will have no end. (Is. 9:6)
Pentecost, Apostles, Paul
Acts - Revelation

For each of these themes, we have isolated what we will call Bible Keys. In each time period you will study a few of the:
¨key individuals,
¨key events,
¨key institutions,
¨and key documents for each Theme. This will be done using the Key Sheets as described below under METHODS. Each key is studied with a view towards identifying the hand of God, the character of God, and the place of that key in His purpose for history. The study is then expanded using various resources and methods.

You will be studying ONE Weekly Theme Focus each week, beginning with the Scriptures, and then expanding the study with commentaries, concordance, Bible handbooks, and other reference material. The Weekly Theme Focus Guide gives a week by week listing of theme focuses, corresponding concepts, and memory verses for your study.

We are using the "seed" principle. The seed contains everything that is needed to grow a great tree, adding only time, water, and nourishment. You will be learning the seed ideas and principles through the whole Bible, adding to your understanding as your study continues.

Scripture memory is an important part of Bible study. It is best to have the memory verses reinforce or clarify the context being studied. The scripture suggested each week with the Weekly Theme Guide is generally intended to be a statement of the weekly theme. It can be used as a memory verse, or another passage can be used.

One of the main METHODS we will use is called the Notebook Approach. You will create and develop your own Bible Notebook through the study.

NOTE: The purpose of the notebook is not just for storing notes. The purpose of the notebook is to produce something of value and develop character qualities of creativity, productivity, excellence and organization, to be a producer not a consumer. The purpose is production, not paper storage.

You will need an 8 1/2" x 11" 3-ring notebook (2" rings minimum). Into this notebook will go daily and weekly research in such a form that the notebook will be of lasting value.

You will be building your Bible Notebook over time. This will become your Bible course. We suggest a 3" ring binder as it will fill up surprisingly quickly. You will put in it resources, insights, research, and materials you find that would be valuable for the future.

It is suggested that you obtain or create 5 notebook dividers and label them according to the 5 Themes of the Bible. This notebook will be your personal Bible Notebook that you can build in such a way that you take pride in it and can use it in the future. Think of it as writing a book of your Bible research. You will be able to teach others from this notebook.

Weekly, you will put one or two items (or more) into this notebook, describing the Weekly Theme Focus. These can be title pages, time lines, maps, illustrations from commentaries, writing exercises, essays, and especially key sheets. Each item should be a neat, completed product that communicates some aspect of your study about the Weekly Theme.

You will study the Weekly Theme Focus by writing Key Sheets on the key individuals, key events, key institutions, or key documents involved.

The purpose of doing the Key Sheets is to learn to extract pertinent material from the text, analyze it, categorize it properly, and produce a reference sheet that can be used for future study. They are to aid research. We want to gain a thorough understanding of each key and each Theme Focus, understanding what it is and how it fits into God’s purpose and His overall picture.