I have the privilege of serving a terrific campus ministry organization, DiscipleMakers. This blog and my book arose from the training we offer college students in Bible study, which I wanted to make available to a wider audience. But I’m not the only one who can show you how to do this.
For one example, I am delighted by Ryan’s help with this blog. He’s an old friend who learned this stuff at the same time I did, and I’ve learned a lot from his insights into the OIA method.
And for another example, I am happy to commend to you the models found in the videos below. These videos were recorded at the recent DiscipleMakers Women’s Conference, which had the theme of worshiping together as pilgrims (the Psalms of Ascent). Each main session talk from one of my colleagues masterfully models a different aspect of the OIA method.
Now these talks did not have a stated purpose to teach the skills in bold type. They were just normal talks given to explain a psalm to the women who attended the conference. But I share these talks with you to show you how important OIA skills are for effective ministry of the word.
Heather Smartt (Psalm 121) excels at observing the text carefully and making specific and concrete application, directly connected to the text:
Faith Thomas (Psalm 124) models how to observe and interpret the themes of a passage and make satisfying connections to the gospel:
Beth Dripps (Psalm 126) demonstrates the importance of relevant historical context to illuminate interpretive answers that are assumed in the text:
Megan Royes (Psalm 131) is an expert in illustration both to make the text pop and to speak application compellingly to the heart:
It is my privilege to serve the Lord with these ladies, and with many more men and women like them. I am happy to commend them to you as model Bible students worth imitating. If one my descriptions covers a skill you could develop further yourself, I recommend you watch the corresponding video to see how it can be done well.
For more teaching like this, check out our recordings archive here.
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