David Helm subtitles his little book “a simple guide for every Christian”—and does he ever deliver on that promise. Helm has crafted a helpful guide that could be picked up and understood by virtually anyone, from the person first encountering the Christian faith to seasoned believers.
There are two sections in One to One Bible Reading: A Simple Guide for Every Christian. The first exhorts readers to study the Scriptures with someone else. Helm believes that people are changed when they read the Bible together. Studying the Bible with someone else will strengthen your relationship with that other person, give you fresh insight into the Scripture, and hold you accountable to be in the Word.
The second section is Hermeneutics 101. Helm helps guide Bible readers with a basic explanation of how to engage the various genres and what sorts of questions to ask about the text. He starts with a simple method, encouraging beginning readers to mark the passage with light bulbs, question marks, and arrows. He then presents another simple method that forms the basic framework for in-depth studies, encouraging readers to engage the context, make observations, comprehend the text’s meaning, and then apply the text to one’s life.
One to One Bible Reading: A Simple Guide for Every Christian
David Helm
Imagine if there was a way that people could grow in their knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christa way that returned gospel growth to the everyday fabric of personal relationship, rather than relying on church-run programs. That guided people in a deeper, more meaningful way than an event, program or class could possibly doguided on an individual basis by someone who cared for them personally. What is this way? What is this activity that is so simple and so universal that it meets the discipleship needs of very different people at very different stages of discipleship, even non-Christians? We call it reading the Bible one-to-one.
Finally, Helm provides some nice direction about biblical books that might be particularly beneficial to study, an example of a study, and then more specific recommendations for how to interpret different genres of Scripture.
It’s not difficult to imagine how local churches could use this resource. They could offer a four-week Sunday school class on how to begin one-to-one studies with a friend. The book can just as easily be placed into the hands of congregants with little to no coaching before sending them off to start studies. Our own church is hoping to do a combination of the two with a Saturday morning training class that will equip and send out a couple dozen Christians with the vision to have them each commit to do one 12-week one-to-one study with a nonbeliever or young believer.
I pray that my church would be a place where “one to one” Bible study spreads like wildfire. We’ve already begun to see some movement, and I intend to put this helpful little book in front of anyone who trusts the power of the Word.
