On Monday night we’ll be beginning our study through the first letter of the apostle Peter. There are some distinctive things about both Peter’s writing and subject matter, and I’m looking forwards to exploring them as we move towards another winter. And in the spirit of Pastor Joe, who regularly exhorts us to read ahead, I wanted to list some ways you might study 1 Peter on your own to enhance what we discuss on Monday nights.
It’s a great thing to make a habit: studying yourself what we are studying together in church. So as we get started, here are some ideas to help you do your own self-study, either to get prepared before we begin or to study along as we go.
1. Visit a Bible website like biblegateway.com and use it to copy, paste, and print out the the letter for yourself. Make wide margins on the page, put your print-outs into a binder, and then grab a pencil and start studying along by making notes in the margins, circling (squaring, starring, etc…) things and drawing lines to connect ideas, blocking or underlining main ideas, making visual outline notes, and anything else that helps you see things in the letter. The idea is to be able to mark it up without worrying about having trouble reading that page in your Bible later. You can get the whole letter in the New King James Version here.
2. Get a journal to take notes in, and as you read give yourself questions to answer. For instance, you could read the letter all the way through and write out the main message of the letter in one sentence. Then try to rewrite the letter into one paragraph in your own words.
3. Look for any quotations from the Old Testament or from Jesus. Where are they from? Why does Peters use them? You could use this document to work off of…
Here’s the list of places Peter quotes the Old Testament:
| 1Pe 1:16 | Lev 11:44 |
| 1Pe 1:24, 25 | Isa 40:6 |
| 1Pe 2:3 | Psa 34:8, 9 |
| 1Pe 2:4 | Psa 118:22 |
| 1Pe 2:6 | Isa 28:16 |
| 1Pe 2:7 | Psa 118:22, 23 |
| 1Pe 2:9 | Exd 19:6 |
| 1Pe 2:9 | Deu 10:15 |
| 1Pe 2:9 | Hsa 1:10 |
| 1Pe 2:10 | Hsa 2:23 |
| 1Pe 2:17 | Pro 24:21 |
| 1Pe 2:22 | Isa 53:9 |
| 1Pe 2:24 | Isa 53:4, 5 |
| 1Pe 3:6 | Gen 18:12 |
| 1Pe 3:7 | Pro 17:13 |
| 1Pe 3:10, 11, 12 | Psa 34:12-16 |
| 1Pe 3:14, 15 | Isa 8:12, 13 |
| 1Pe 3:20 | Gen 6:3, 12 |
| 1Pe 4:8 | Pro 10:12 |
| 1Pe 4:18 | Pro 11:31 |
| 1Pe 5:5 | Pro 3:34 |
| 1Pe 5:7 | Psa 55:23 |
4. Create your own outline of the letter. Making an outline is always a good way to help yourself understand a book of the Bible as a whole.
5. If you never have before, check out one of these free online Bible websites: Blue Letter Bible or Great Treasures. They both take a little practice to use well, but they are both pretty powerfule study tools. And they’re both free.
6. If you’ve never used a commentary before, maybe you’ll want to go to the bookstore and see what we have in stock. You could follow along and read it straight through.
6. Pick key passages and memorize them. This is one of the most fruitful ways for you to study and meditate on scripture. And, while you’re at it, why not consider something that you may think is impossible, but isn’t? Why not try memorizing the whole letter? If you think you can’t, check out our resources pages for ideas on how you might do it, and if you really want to try it, come talk to us for help.
Have you got any other ideas? Let me know and I can share helpful here.
Peter’s letter is intensely practical and challenging. Let’s take this Autumn to seriously seek God in His word together and let Him shape our lives on Monday nights.