Choosing a Format:

I was in charge of the group, and I’ve never had a class or any training in hermeneutics.  Since it seemed silly to have me do any sort of lecture, we made the “class” a book club and ran it as a small group.  We decided to keep it relatively short and set the length at 8 weeks. 

Choosing a Text:

I spent several weeks looking at possible books, and ended up choosing the recommended How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, by Fee and Stuart.  It was billed as a college-freshmen-level text, and I would say that was accurate. 

Second place was Grasping God’s Word, which almost won because it had great homework assignments already built in (plus lame PowerPoints available online, but don’t get me started on lame PowerPoints).  I eventually decided not to go with Grasping because it was longer, more expensive, and more focused on the reading of the Bible itself, not the hermeneutics.

Group Dynamic:

Our group was advertised in our smallish church as a “How to Study the Bible Hermeneutics Class.”  This actually pulled in two kinds of people: those who have never been able to read the Bible and were hoping for help doing basic reading, and those who had studied the Bible a lot and were looking for an upper-level type class in hermeneutics itself. 

For several weeks before the first meeting, I tried to figure out a way to make both of these groups happy.  I couldn’t figure one out, and defaulted back to the upper-level hermeneutics class.  I would make this clearer if I offered this again.  

The group size was 10 people – perfect for a small group in our home.

Homework Format:

We asked the group to read a particular chapter of the book before each meeting, and occasionally a section of the Bible.  They were encouraged to write in their books in order to aid discussion when we met.

Before Week 1: Read Chapter 1, bring readable Bible, notebook and pen

Before Week 2: (two week break) Read Chapters 2 (A Good Translation)-3 (The Epistles), read ALL of Philippians, study Ch 1-2 of Philippians using a technique discussed here.

Before Week 3: Read Chapter 4 (The Epistles), look up Bible verses mentioned and mark them in the book’s margins.  Study Ch 3-4 of Philippians if you have time.

Before Week 4: Read the book of Ruth (first) in your chosen translation.  Then read Chapter 5 (Old Testament Narratives) of the book.

Before Week 5: Read Chapter 5 (the Gospels)

Before Week 6: Read Chapter 9 (the Law(s): Covenant Stipulations of Israel)

Before Week 7: Read Chapter 10 (the Prophets)

Before Week 8: Read Chapter 13 (Revelation)

Class Format:

As mentioned before, we met in a home as a “small group.”  We prayed, then discussed the chapter plus any relevant meetings.  I hooked up my tablet laptop to the TV and had simple summary slides on the screen to help people follow along.  This was also useful for the occasional diagram or notes.  I encouraged different group members to summarize different parts of the chapter, but nobody had to answer if they didn’t feel they understood the material.

We welcomed discussion about some of the more controversial topics (should Bible translations be gender neutral?  Does Old Testament law apply to us?  Do women still need to be quiet and cover their head?), but in general most people felt that the hermeneutical guidelines set forward in the book were sensible and God-honoring.

We spent about 60 minutes on the discussion.  We then ended each meeting with a time of prayer, and then one song I chose to listen to for silent worship.

Conclusion:

Considering I found NO other curriculum for a small group that focused on hermeneutics, I felt this format went very well.  The book required focused reading, but was in general follow-able by laypeople.

Those who joined the group looking for a thoughtful introduction to hermeneutics were very satisfied.  Those who joined looking for help reading the Bible in general were much less so.  These people tended to be less nimble readers in general and struggled with the book.  There is a strong need for a curriculum to help these people… that is on my list of projects.

For each week, attendees read a chapter of Long Obedience, the Psalm that went with the chapter, and thought about the 3-5 questions in the study sheets I made.  Almost all of the study sheets contained instructions for how to focus on the Psalm by circling or underlining a particular characteristic of it.

This ended up being a good short-term group.  The focus of the book is on the difficulties in life, and how God is with us during hard times.  The chapters were short enough that the non-scholarly types could keep up.  This is Peterson’s first book.  It’s a bit less deep and poetic than his recent stuff, but his focus on obedience to God is fabulous and challenging.  At least one member of our group of 10 liked the book enough to read the other chapters on his own.

Study Guides:

1. Week 1: Repentance (Can be assigned before the first meeting)
2. Week 2: Help
3. Week 3: Joy
4. Week 4: Perseverance
5. Week 5: Hope
6. Week 6: Obedience

This chapter was the final chapter of the book, and an excellent overview of the entire 8-week study.  We discussed:

• How Revelation is a form of literature called apocalyptic, common back in first century writing
• How Revelation is also prophecy and epistle (reminds us of Week 1 and 2!)
• The importance of understanding Old Testament imagery and prophecy, since it is reformed in Revelation
• The main theme is patience during suffering for God’s people under Rome
• The literary construction is orderly and focuses on suffering for God’s people, but the eventual wrath of God on those who do evil, and the final glorious world for those who follow Him

We found it very interesting that focusing on the historical setting of Revelation, and its original meaning to its audience, meant that:

• There was little focus on determining pre-trib or post-trib philosophy
• There was little focus on who the 144,000 would be
• There is little prophecy between the fall of Rome and the coming of Jesus

Once again, it seems as if the take home message is “it’s not all about us”  if the “us” is America during current events.  But it is “us” in that we can expect suffering while awaiting the final healing of Christ.

• always spoke God’s words
• reminded the people of God’s consequences of not following His covenant.
• were not oracles of mysterious future events.

The prophets of Israel had a particular purpose as God’s representatives.  They always spoke about a particular future consequence because of a current sin by the people of Israel.  Because of this, it is important exigetically to understand the history of Israel before reading the words of a particular prophet.  And it is also important not to assume a deeper “secret” meaning present for us (America) today.

The authors emphasize that the prophets can teach us about the general consequences of sin, and God’s desire for us to lead holy lives focused on Him.  But there are not specifics to be massaged out of the imagery of the text.

It turned out that our turnout on this night was quite low… But we focus on grace, not accusation 

It became clear in our reading of Fee and Stuart and in our discussion, that the gospels themselves are examples of hermeneutics.  Each author took the information about Jesus they had, and structured it in a new language in order to evangelize a new people group who had not met Jesus.  As a result, each gospel has different themes and emphases.  We learned:

1. It’s important to understand the Jewish world that Jesus ministered in
2. It’s important to study each gospel independently in order to determine the goals of the author, and what he is teaching about Jesus.
3. We should recognize that accounts vary and they are often not chronological, but thematic.

We pointed out that Jesus’ imperatives DO apply to us today, but are imperatives that come out of our salvation, not to merit our salvation.

We ended with a rather juicy discussion of eschatoloy — not a topic most of us were accustomed to.  But it was interesting to ponder the idea that Jesus brought the BEGINNING of the end of the old world, and that the New Testament is all about carrying out the “already but not yet” Kingdom of God.