What is the first thing you do at the outset of studying a biblical text? In this video, Dr. Alistair Begg explains the first thing he does when he sits down to study a text.
In sitting down to study the Bible in preparation for preaching, the place that I start and the place that I think everybody must start is by beseeching God to give us insight into the text of Scripture. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to illumine the printed page to us to enable us to both understand and believe and obey and apply. And so, when I come to a text like that, that’s the very first thing. The second thing that I do is that I try and immediately jot down anything at all that comes to my mind. And sometimes nothing comes to my mind, so it’s a very easy exercise. But I have a basic pattern that goes: pray, think yourself empty, read yourself full, write yourself clear, pray yourself hot, be yourself, and forget yourself.