HSB3

Continuation from last class…

“Bible Outline”

(6) The theme of every book of the Bible (most important!)

Purpose: Figuring out the theme of the Bible by figuring out the theme of each Bible book. Without the theme(s) you will not be able to properly
interpret the Bible (God’s intention, purpose, reason for the books).

*One can become a good Bible teacher when they know and understand each Bible book theme.

Understanding the BIG PICTURE will help you understand the small pictures.
i.e. imagine a puzzle with thousands of pieces. In order to really understand what each individual picture represents you must see the
big/complete picture.

RIGHT INTERPRETATION = RIGHT UNDERSTANDING = RIGHT APPLICATION = CORRECT LIFESTYLE

One must always compare each picture to the big picture. Does the Bible sometimes feel like a thousand scattered puzzle pictures you don’t
know how to fit together?
Parable: 5 blind man with an elephant at the zoo. Nose (fire hose), ear (blanket), side (wall), leg (tree trunk), tail (snake).

Theme: word or sentence that describes each book

When you hear the name of a Bible book (ex: Hebrews, Timothy) it should bring a word to your mind. You should know the theme of every
book. And your theme must be based on the correct study method. There are 3 aspects to a Bible Outline;

(1) Major Theme (2) Minor or Supporting Themes (3) Supporting Details

For this Class we will be studying the Book of Ephesians. You will nee to write up the following; theme, outline, historical background, author’s
bio, and more! 

If you can thoroughly study one book, you can study them all.

What is the theme of Ephesians?

#1 Reach Ephesians many times (but in different ways)

a. out loud d. very fast

b. silently e. skip and hop (scanning, jumping around)
c. slowly f. read min. 7 times, but 10 is better

#2 Observe
What are you looking for? The theme. How? By observing the big picture. How? By seeing the repetition of a topic.
- After reading it (for first few times) write down what you think the topic might be.
- After a few readings you can also observe each chapter individually.
- Look at your notes. What is the trend? Is anything being repeated? The theme should be supported by most chapters.

*Get… (1) The theme of Ephesians

(2) The themes of each chapter(s)
(3) The supporting details.

#3 Read carefully each chapter to determine its theme and compare all the sub themes to each other and to the main theme (the sub
themes are true if they are supported by the supporting details).

Homework: Read Ephesians and get the theme & supporting themes.