© 2019 Katy Kauffman
Running. Fighting. Breaking chains. House renovation.
These are just some of the “slants” or metaphors I’ve used when writing Bible studies. The Word of God is alive and powerful on its own, yet it matters how we present it. Bible studies should be anything but boring. When they are infused with personality, vibrancy, and relevance, we can better capture our readers’ attention and inspire them to live out God’s truths.
Jesus taught that a wise teacher knows how to use a variety of resources to share the truth. He said that a scribe who understands the kingdom of God is like a “householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old” (Matthew 13:52 NKJV). What “new” and “old” methods can we use to illustrate heaven’s truths? Using a slant is one of our resources.
So how do we do that? Here are three tips for using a slant in your Bible study writing.
Start with a story or illustration.
Grab your readers’ attention with a story or word picture. In the compilation Heart Renovation, author Connie Wohlford started her article on being peacemakers by talking about a “trap stick.” Just as a trap stick acts like a trigger to bait an unsuspecting animal into a trap, Satan tries to use conflict to trap us into being anything but peacemakers.
Use your story or illustration throughout your writing to drive home the takeaway.
Our slant can become our theme for developing the main point. In Breaking the Chains, I used the metaphor of music to illustrate the story of the woman with the alabaster flask (Luke 7:36-50). I urged readers to drown out the haunting melody of guilt in their lives with Jesus’ song of love and forgiveness.
Use Scripture’s own metaphors in your writing.
God’s Word is alive with word pictures of its own. In my first Bible study, I used Paul’s themes of fighting the good fight and running the race to give application to readers. I found Olympic stories to illustrate endurance, and I used a funny story about my own attempt to run a mile. We can use Scripture’s slants not only to understand the truth but to present it in an engaging way.
What slants are you including in your Bible studies? The slants that God uses to teach us can turn into meaningful lessons for our readers. Don’t forget the slant!
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Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies. She is a graduate of Luther Rice College & Seminary and the editor of the award-winning compilations, Breaking the Chains and Heart Renovation. Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.com, thoughts-about-God.com, the Arise Daily blog, PursueMagazine.net, and two blogs on writing, or visit her blog, “The Scrapbooked Bible Study.”
