Topical Bible Study Printable

We have already taken a look at making observations about a Bible verse, studying a word using Strong's Concordance, and mapping a Bible verse. Now let's look at how to study a topic in the Bible. Print out this Topical Bible Study template. You can also print out the instructions or you can just follow the directions here. 

The first thing to do in a topical Bible study is to choose a topic. One of my favorite ways to find a topic to study is from your thoughts during another Bible study or sermon. I keep a list of topics I want to study that I add to during private Bible studies and church meetings. Some of the topics on my current list are the following topics: Jesus as the Light, voices from heaven, boldness, and things we should lay aside.

Next, make a list of words that are related to your topic. These are words you can look up in a concordance that may help you find Bible passages on your topic. Be sure to write down all forms of a word, including all the verb tenses, the noun forms of verbs, .... You can add to this list as you work through the Bible study. For example, if I am studying what the Bible says about boldness, I would write bold, boldness, boldly, confidence, confident, and confidently. After I started the study, I added courage, courageous, and courageously. 

After you have your list of related words, look up each of the words in a concordance or search for them in an online Bible or Bible app. Choose verses that are most relevant to your topic and write down the reference and summarize what it says about your topic. Keep an eye out for verses that have definitions, warnings, commands, conditions, and promises about your topic. 

Then, summarize what you have learned about your topic. Which points stood out? How do the points relate to each other? Do they fit together or do some verses clarify other ones? Did you learn anything surprising?

Finally and most importantly, how can you apply the principles that you learned? How will what you have learned change what you do? Try to set specific, actionable goals. Instead of writing "read the Bible more," write "read the Bible for 10 minutes daily." Instead of writing "help the poor," plan a specific person to help or charity to support. You should be able to easily state whether or not you completed that goal. Also, if you have a specific goal, examine what you can do to accomplish it. Put reminders on your phone. Have a partner check in with you on your progress. 

If you need help getting started, practice this Bible study method with the topic of confidence and boldness. Here is my version of that topical Bible study. I'm not sharing this as the correct answer for that Bible study, but as an example so that you can see a completed study. Any Bible study that helps you learn more about God's Word is a profitable study.