Inductive Bible Study for Women

There are many types of women’s Bible studies. Some are online women’s Bible studies and there are also Bible studies for women that are in book form. When deciding which women’s Bible study is for you, make sure the Bible study is geared towards inductively studying the Scriptures.

​What is a women’s inductive Bible study? Great question! Bible studies that are inductive focus on prayer prior to studying the Scriptures so that women rely on the Holy Spirit for receptive hearts and spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear what will be studied. After prayer, there are three crucial Bible study concepts, which are: observation, interpretation, and application.

First, observation involves reading the text and asking, “What do I see?” As you observe, you will read the text and ask, “Who?”, “What?”, “When?”, and “Where?”.  You are simply making notes of what you see as you read.  This involves asking: who is speaking or being spoken to, what is being said or what action is being done, when does an event or action take place, and where is the event or action taking place?
 
Secondly, interpretation is gaining an understanding of the text and asking, “What does this mean? As you seek to interpret the text, ask “What?”, “How?” and “Why?”.  Interpretive questions are purposeful in answering, “What does this passage tell me about God?”, “What is the context and meaning of this passage?” “Why did a certain event or action occur?” “How does this verse relate to the surrounding text?”
 
After observation and interpretation, the third concept in inductive Bible study is application.  Application is putting into action what you have learned by asking yourself, "How am I to apply what I just learned to my life?"  With application of the Scriptures, you are consistently renewing your mind by changing your thoughts and behavior to align with the Word of God.  By applying what you have learned in Bible study, you are being a doer of the Word while conforming to the image of Christ (James 1:22).

So how can you find inductive Bible studies for women? Kathleen Nielson and Keri Folmar are authors of women’s inductive Bible studies.  Both of these women of God write their Bible studies to engage women to dig deeply into the Scripture to draw from what Scripture says.  The Bible study questions encourage women to let Scripture interpret Scripture.  In these Bible studies you will answer questions by searching through the text, finding the background of the passage, the author’s intent and purpose, as well as how passages connect to the book of the Bible that is being studied and the Bible as a whole. 
 
To learn more about inductive studies by Kathleen Nielson and Keri Folmar, visit ChristianBook.com 

Keri Folmar, speaker and author of several inductive Bible studies for women, lives in the Middle East where her husband, John, pastors the United Christian Church of Dubai.  Keri has also written: The Good Portion: The Doctrine of Scripture for Every Woman and also periodically blogs at: The Good Portion.

Kathleen Nielson, author and speaker, has written various women's Bible studies, taught literature, as well as directed women's Bible studies.  Kathleen and her husband, Niel, reside in Illinois where Niel leads a network of Christian schools and universities.  More information about Kathleen can be found at her website: KathleenNielson.com.