I usually keep a book next to my bed on the window sill, which I read for fifteen minutes before I sleep every night. Currently, it's J.I. Packer's "A Quest for Godliness"--a systematic analysis of Puritanism and the way they dealt with different aspects of Christianity (i.e. reading Scripture, the conscience, soteriology, etc.). At the conclusion of his section on Puritan expository methods, Packer lays out a series of questions that sum up their thought process. I've found it helpful, and have been trying to use it as I work through Hebrews in my quiet time.
- What do these words actually mean?
- What light do other Scriptures throw on this text? Where and how does it fit into the total biblical revelation?
- What truths does it teach about god, and about man in relation to God?
- How are these truths related to the saving work of Christ, and what light does the gospel of Christ throw upon them?
- What experiences do these truths delineate, or explain, or seek to create or cure? For what practical purpose do they stand in Scripture?
- How do they apply to myself and others in our own actual situations? To what present human condition do they speak, and what are they telling us to believe and do?
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