Really want to understand the Bible? You’ve got to learn about how it’s organized.
Talking Points:
- The Bible is divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament came first and it was the Bible Jesus had to read. The New Testament was written by the apostles and those who worked with them.
- The Bible is organized by genre- based on the type of literature they reflect.
- Law: Genesis – Deuteronomy
- History: Joshua – Esther
- Poetry: Job – Song of Solomon
- Major Prophets: Isaiah – Daniel
- Minor Prophets: Hosea – Malachi
- Gospels: Matthew – John
- History of the Church: Acts
- Epistles: Romans – Jude
- Apocalypse: Revelation
Discussion:
- Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- Which part of the Bible are you most familiar with? Why?
- Try to summarize the story of the Old Testament. Summarize the story of the New Testament.
- Which part of the Bible do you know the least?
- Why are the genres of the Bible important to understand? Why would you interpret a book of poetry different than one of the Epistles?
- What are the Gospel books about?
- Which part of the Bible are you most interested in studying? Why?
- Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?
