Dive Deeper Together

Welcome to No-Teacher Bible Study, a space for weekly assignments for our collaborative exploration of Scripture with friends. 

We use a combination of personal inductive study, trusted sermons, reference materials, and commentary from a reformed perspective.

The new assignments are  posted at the top of the page on Mondays, Lord willing. 

1 John Study

January 12 – Overview, Main Themes, Keywords

Hi Ladies,

This week, keep reading 1 John in overview mode. Please try to read or listen to the whole thing three times again this week.

We’ll be looking for  key words in the text. You can find them by these identifiers:

  • They might be repeated often in the book
  • They may only be mentioned a few times but directly relate to your key verse or list of themes.

Remember to add synonyms – if we were talking about “works”, we might add “deeds” or “labors”, depending on the context, for example.

Also, look for words that contrast - light/dark. good/evil, etc.

Let’s plan on sharing these words on Friday so that we have an opportunity to see any word we might have missed.

 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

  1. Choose Your Keywords
  • Pick 10 key words that stand out in the book of 1 John.
  • Write them on the first page of your text in your study folder.
  • You can do more or fewer—just do what you can with the time the Lord gives you, and we’ll call it a win!
  • Remember that this process will be spread over two weeks, so pace yourself accordingly. I am planning to identify and mark my key words this week, and create my lists one keyword a day next week. You might find it easier to do it a different way, and that’s totally acceptable.
  1. Create a Legend (Symbols or Colors)
  • Choose a color or symbol for each keyword.
    • Example: For “knowledge,” you might highlight it in yellow or draw a small pair of glasses next to the word.
  • Add these symbols/colors next to your word list to create your legend—like a map key that explains your markings.
  1. Mark the Keywords in the Text
  • Using your legend, begin marking your keywords in the text in your folder.
  • You can highlight all the words in one pass, or—like me—you may want to do one keyword per read-through to avoid missing any.
  • The more you read, the more you’ll start noticing them!

If it helps, here’s my plan for the week:

  • Monday – read through once, making a list of potential key words.
  • Tuesday - read through once, add words that contrast to my list of key words, like good/evil
  • Wednesday – whittle down my list to a manageable number of key words, begin marking them
  • Thursday – continue reading and marking
  • Friday – continue reading and marking, share key words as a group.
  • Saturday/Sunday – continue reading and marking, catch up listening to any overviews I missed last week

January 5 - Overview

Ladies,

Welcome to our study of 1 John! It’s always exciting to dig into a new book together, and I’m looking forward to hearing your insights.

This week’s assignment is to focus on the big picture.

  • Try to find time to read or listen to the entire book three times this week, and instead of thinking about the details, see if you can pick up some major themes. If you write a few of those themes down, it will help you with the keyword study next week.
  • Try to identify a key verse, one that sums up what the author is saying in the entire book. Write that key verse on the first page of your text.
  • Note information about the author and recipients on the notebook paper included in your folder.

Here’s how I plan to tackle this week, but you do what you can with the time the Lord allows you for study. Everything you do is good, and there’s no universal standard of “enough” or “not enough.”  We study as God allows us to do within the providential circumstances He has placed us in.

That being said, I offer this just as an example, a goal for me that may or may not work out – you do you!

 

If you have any questions or tips for the group, we all want to hear from you. Just hit “reply all” on this email or any other assignment and we’ll all help each other! Remember it is a group study – there’s no teacher or a bunch of teachers, depending on how you look at it!

 

Praying for you as we begin,

Susan