Study Guidelines

(Contributed by Gary Heagy of LaGrande, Oregon)

Studying the book of Matthew:

1. Pray before studying. Ask the Holy Spirit to be present and to teach you and open your mind, giving you wisdom and understanding. Ask God to help you remember what you learn.
2. Study to find spiritual applications to your life today.
3. Carefully read a chapter or 2 of Matthew each day and memorize 3-4 important verses each week.
4. Act out the stories and parables with family and friends.
5. Watch the “Matthew” video if you are able (it is done from the NIV, so don’t memorize exactly the way it says, but it gives a great mental picture of the whole story)
6. Listen to NKJV recordings of Matthew if you have access to them and/or record yourself reading the book of Matthew and then listen to it.
7. Play the “Read-along” game with your family or friends. Directions: Have everyone have their Bibles open to Matthew 1. One person chooses a verse somewhere in Matthew and begins reading aloud. Everyone else tries to find where they’re reading and the first person continues to read until another person finds where they’re reading and jumps in and takes over reading. This person continues to read until a third person finds the place and takes over reading. It is announced to all where they were reading and then everyone goes back to the beginning of Matthew. The person who first found the text being read gets to start the next round.
8. Play “Who Said That?” game. Directions: Have one person read a quote that someone spoke in the book of Matthew. Everyone else guesses the person who said it.
9. Read Desire of Ages, Christ’s Object Lessons, and/or Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing as background to the book of Matthew.
10. Study the questions provided and possibly write some of your own. Have someone read through your questions so you can answer them (or record someone reading the questions and then listen to them, answering the questions as you go). After you are fairly familiar with them, have the person mix up the questions, asking them out of order or reversing the questions.
11. Study the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary about the book of Matthew
12. Look up Bible Achievement websites on the internet about the book of Matthew and use them to aid in practice and study.