Where can I go to Bible Study lessons?

I am a Baptist Christian and live in Woodland Hills, CA and would like to start learning....could anyone recommend a good church or anywhere else...Thank you

Where can I go to Bible Study lessons?
Lectio Divina (pronounced "Lec-tsee-oh Di-vee-nah") means "Divine Reading" and refers specifically to a method of Scripture reading practiced by monastics since the beginning of the Church.





The early centrality of reading of Sacred Scripture, and then meditating and praying over its meaning, is evident in the 48th chapter of the Rule of St. Benedict (A.D. 480-453), a book written by the Great Saint to guide monastic life.





But it was an 11th c. Carthusian prior named Guigo 1 who formalized Lectio Divina, describing the method in a letter written to a fellow religious. This letter, which has become known as Scala Paradisi -- the Stairway to Heaven -- describes a 4-runged ladder to Heaven, each rung being one of the four steps in his method of Bible reading. Those steps, and Guigo's brief descriptions of them, are:








lectio (reading): "looking on Holy Scripture with all one's will and wit"





meditatio (meditation): "a studious insearching with the mind to know what was before concealed through desiring proper skill"





oratio (prayer): "a devout desiring of the heart to get what is good and avoid what is evil"





contemplatio (contemplation): "the lifting up of the heart to God tasting somewhat of the heavenly sweetness and savour"





Through the practice of Lectio Divina by monastics in group settings, three other steps are sometimes added to the four above such that the steps become:








statio (position)





lectio (reading)





meditatio (meditation)





oratio (prayer)





contemplatio (contemplation)





collatio (discussion)





actio (action)








The Steps in Detail


Statio


First, we arrange a place so it is restful, warm, and non-distracting. This may involve the lighting of candles, the burning of incense, the shutting of doors and drawing of curtains -- whatever makes one feel calm and at peace. Then we assume a bodily posture that is conducive to prayer and reading. We breathe slowly, focusing on the Holy Name of Jesus and nothing else, until we are relaxed and able to focus our attention solely on Scripture. If our minds wander, we gently bring our attention back to the Holy Name of Our Lord, breathing in and out rhythmically. Note that, unlike in Eastern prayer which seeks to empty oneself to be open to some great "Nothing", we are ever mindful of the One Almighty Triune and Transcendent God, and are trying to calm ourselves so that what He might reveal to us through His Word may more easily be perceived.





It is good if the place chosen for Lectio Divina is a comfortable area chosen just for this and other prayerful activities. The presence of relevant icons and other visual aids to meditation can be of great benefit. Now pray a prayer to the Holy Ghost, such as this one:





A Prayer Before the Reading of Any Part of the Holy Scripture





Come Holy Ghost, fill the hearts and minds of the faithful servants, and inflame them with the fire of Thy divine love.





Let us pray: O God, who by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, didst instruct the hearts of thy faithful servants; grant us in the same Spirit, to discern what is right, and enjoy His comfort forever, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who liveth and reigneth, one God, with Thee and the same Spirit, world without end. Amen.








Lectio


When we are relaxed and in a contemplative mode, we trace the Sign of the Cross on the book of Scripture, kiss the Cross we traced, and then open it to read. Some may want to focus on Scripture from that day's Propers. Others may want to read the Bible straight through, starting with Genesis. Others may want to focus only on the New Testament or the Psalms. We aren't trying to "accomplish a goal" of reading X amount; we read what is easily digested at that time. Whichever selection we choose, we read it with our minds, slowly, gently, coming to an understanding of the words themselves.





Having a solid orthodox Catholic commentary (pre-Vatican II commentary with Imprimatur or the rare, well-chosen post-Vatican II commentary), a nice Concordance, etc., in order to get a good grasp of the meaning of the actual words -- their historical cultural context, their etymologies, the Fathers' thoughts on the relevant Scripture, etc. -- is imperative. We should always approach Scripture with the mind of the Church, in the spirit of the Ethopian eunuch who asked Philip to guide him:





Acts 8:30-31


And Philip running thither, heard him reading the prophet Isaias. And he said: Thinkest thou that thou understandest what thou readest? Who said: And how can I, unless some man shew me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.





We should always keep in mind Peter's admonition that "no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20) and that Scripture can be difficult to understand, something "which the unlearned and unstable wrest...to their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:16).





If you come to a verse you don't understand, or that you understand in a way that is contrary to Catholic teaching, seek traditional Catholic commentary on it. Any apparent contradiction between Scripture and Catholic teaching is just that: apparent, and not real. As an example, even a simple verse such as one that refers to Mary's "firstborn" will be misunderstood if one is ignorant of Jewish law, as are many Protestants who believe that reference to a "firstborn" means there must be a "secondborn," and who then go on to deny Mary's virginity. Seek a Catholic commentary which would refer you, in this case, to the Old Testament law of the "firstborn" and will teach you what that word really means (see Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:14-15, Numbers 18:15 and research the term "pidyon ha-ben").





At any rate, in Lectio, we are reading for the literal sense of the words, trying to understand the reality the writer of the text intended to convey.








Meditatio


Now we meditate on what we have read, perhaps even reading it again, visualizing it and listening for the aspect of it that reveals the Divine Mysteries. We want the deeper, spiritual meanings of the words now, and read for its anagogocal (or "eschatalogical") sense and its typical (or "allegorical") sense -- i.e., we consider types and anti-types, shadows and symbolism in order to understand the deeper reality the Holy Ghost intends to convey by arranging nature and history as He did, thereby inspiring the writer of the text to write as he did.








Oratio


We ask God to for the grace to be changed by what we have read, to come more fully into being what He wants us to be, and to help us apply the tropological (or "moral") sense of the Scripture to our lives.








Contemplatio


We rest in gratitude for God and His Word.








Collatio


If we are engaging in Lectio Divina with others, we discuss what we've learned.








Actio


We live what we have learned.
Reply:Dear Mya B,





First, you need to realize that the Bible is the Authority and not a church or teacher. Churches hold onto creeds that were written many years ago and have proven to have errors.





Second, there is a great resource called a Concordance that will let you see how a particular word is utilized throughout the Bible. How the Lord uses that word in the Bible is the true definition.





Finally, let me suggest this site which allows you to choose materials you want to study. You can read the material off your computer or download it to print. It is: www.FamilyRadio.com. Everything is free.
Reply:http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/in...
Reply:For a really good Bible teaching go to www.ttb.org it is the site for a radio program called "Thru the Bible", with a fellow named Dr. J. Vernon McGee. You can click on to the daily archives and listen to this daily teaching at your convenience. When I can't listen on the radio because of work then I can listen later at night. Dr. McGee, has gone home to be with the Lord, but he made arrangements for the program to continue even after his death. He died in 1988, while sitting quietly in a chair. He has a very folksy way of speaking and after you listen for a time you grow to love his speech and presentation. He believes in teaching the whole word of God and goes verse by verse through the Bible. Right now he is in the gospel of John. It takes 5 yrs to complete the Bible and then he starts all over again and they hope to continue this program until the Lord returns. Even if you find a local Church I would highly recommend this program because very few Churches teach the Bible from cover to cover in this way. God Bless and I hope you are blessed from this wonderful Bible study as much as I have been over the years.
Reply:I am doing a free Bible Study Course on-line. I surfed the web and I had many to choose from.
Reply:http://answering-christianity.com
Reply:How about teaching CD's?


Tapes worked for me (I'm an old far----guy!)





Kenneth Copeland


Very Good Christian Teacher of GOD.


DItto............
Reply:Get a life. There has to be more constructive things to do with your time.
Reply:There is a great church website (my home church here in Ohio) that has a free daily bible study on it. You sign up and then follow the link to the "TJ" (Transformation Journal). Each day there are bible versus, questions, a place to journal, a reflection about the versus and a place to post discussion comments to the other people doing the TJ. It is well done and it will cover the entire Bible in one year. The site is http://www.ginghamsburg.org
Reply:Garner Ted Armstrongs got some great Lesson Plans !!! :-)
Reply:We have a question for you. What is it you want to learn about the Bible? Do you want to explore the Great Commandment and all that it means regarding relationship with God, others and yourself? If that's the case, we just started a group called greatcommandmentkeepers, and you can reach us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/greatcomma...





If there is something else you want to study, we'll try to help.





Hope this helps.