Hopefully, most of the ideas and subjects you wish to explore will be covered in one of our 27 subjects in this guide. However, spiritual interests and questions are sure to surface that are not addressed by this resource. This is inevitable. The Thrive 316 Guide is not intended to be exhaustive. Our goal is to provide resources for foundation areas of spiritual growth.
Do not fear if you have a question or interest beyond the scope of this guide. Hopefully, through the Thrive 316 process you have learned basic inductive Bible study skills. To refresh your memory, please see the introduction on Inductive Bible Study in Appendix 10 on page 342. This section will help you with general questions you can use to explore the meaning and application of any Bible text. Here is a reminder of the questions we suggest:
Five basic Inductive Bible Study questions:
- What is the primary point of this passage?
- How does this passage challenge me?
- How does this passage comfort or encourage me?
- What spiritual insights are found in this passage?
- What does this passage ask or require of me?
Optional questions for deeper exploration:
- What is the context of this passage?
- How does this passage fit within the larger context of scripture?
- What does this passage teach us about God?
- What does this passage teach about people… and our relationship with God?
- What are the personal and spiritual implications of this passage?
- How do I need to change to comply with the principles in this passage?
- How do I sum up the primary thrust of this passage in my own words in one sentence?
These questions can be used to explore the truth and application of any Bible passage. The key is finding the right Bible passage that addresses your interests and questions. Here are a few suggestions on finding Bible passages on various subjects.
- Use a concordance. A concordance identifies where words are found in the Bible. Many concordances are found online. Simply search for your subject by key word or related words to find a variety of passages on your subject.
- Use a topical Bible. A topical Bible is a Bible resource that lists passages by subject.
- Use a Thompson Chain Reference Bible. A Thompson Chain Reference Bible is a Bible indexed and cross referenced by subject. It contains approximately 4500 subject headings.
- Use a Bible Dictionary, Theological Dictionary or Bible Guide. These are all arranged by subject with indexes to assist in locating various subjects and scriptures.