This course teaches you to open the Bible, read it carefully, understand what it meant to its first readers, see what it teaches for all time, and obey it. No Bible-school background is needed.
Course Information
How to Study the Bible is a 12-week online course for everyday believers, taught in English and Telugu and hosted by Gospel Heritage Ministries through Logos Learning Center.
| Instructor | Dr. Joel Madasu |
| First class | November 2, 2026 |
| Length | 12 weeks (Nov 2, 2026 to Feb 14, 2027), plus an open bonus chapter. Breaks: Thanksgiving, Nov 24 to 29; Christmas, Dec 19 to Jan 3. |
| Languages | English and Telugu |
| Cost | $7 per month for three months, plus a one-time $16 administrative fee |
| Weekly workload | About 4 to 5 hours (videos, reading, and writing) |
| Live Q&A | Optional Zoom Q&A on 12 Fridays, starting November 6, 2026 (none during the breaks) |
| Class notes | Weekly class notes for every student |
| Certificate | Awarded by Logos Learning Center to students who complete the course |
Course Description and Goals
This course teaches you to open the Bible, read it carefully, understand what it meant to its first readers, see what it teaches for all time, and obey it. No Bible-school background is needed. You will learn one simple method (Look, Learn, Live) and practice it every week on real passages. The course ends with a final project: a full study, a five-minute teaching, and a six-month reading plan.
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Know. Explain why the Bible is God speaking, and why we study it with humility.
- Do. Use Look, Learn, Live on a passage from the Pentateuch, the Historical Books, the Prophets, the Gospels, and the Letters.
- Obey. Turn one passage into one real act of obedience, and write down what happened.
- Share. Teach a short passage to another believer.
The Method: Look, Learn, Live
The method consists of four questions, asked in this order. Every assignment in the course uses them.
| Step | Question | Chapters |
|---|---|---|
| Look | 1. What does it say? | 4 to 6 |
| Learn | 2. What did it mean to them? | 7 |
| Learn | 3. What does it teach for all time? | 8 |
| Live | 4. What should I do? | 9 |
Chapters 1 to 3 prepare you. Chapters 10 to 14 apply the method to each kind of book in the Bible. Chapter 15 sends you out to keep studying for life.
Texts
Required. A Bible. Scripture in the class notes is quoted from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB). In Week 2, you will choose one main translation to use and a second to compare it with.
Supporting books (optional). These books go deeper into the same work. You do not need to buy them to finish the course. Each title links to its page on Logos.com.
- How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 4th ed., by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas StuartView on logos.com/product/50318
- Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible, 4th ed., by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel HaysView on logos.com/product/190904
- Savoring Scripture: A Six-Step Guide to Studying the Bible (IVP Academic, 2022), by Andrew T. AbernethyView on logos.com/product/225903
How Each Week Works
Every week has three videos and three assignments.
- Videos. Each video is about 20 minutes. Two teach the week’s chapters. The third is a worked example on our running passage, Philippians, or a walkthrough of the assignments.
- Assignments. (A) A short practice in your Study Notebook. (B) The main chapter assignment. (C) A forum post with one reply to a classmate, and the quiz.
- Time. Plan on about 4 to 5 hours a week, counting video, reading, and writing. Weeks 1, 9, and 11 carry two chapters each and are the heaviest.
- Study Notebook. Every assignment becomes a page in one notebook. By Week 12, you will have a set of finished studies.
- Running passage. Philippians is the shared passage in Weeks 3 to 8 and Week 11, so you can compare your work with your classmates’ in the forum.
Schedule at a Glance
| Week | Starts | Topic | Chapters | Method step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nov 2 | Coming to the Bible | 1 and 2 | Preparation |
| 2 | Nov 9 | Finding Your Way and Choosing a Bible | 3 | Preparation |
| 3 | Nov 16 (work due Nov 23) | Read Slowly and Look Closely | 4 | Look |
| Break | Nov 24 to 29 | Thanksgiving break: no class | None | None |
| 4 | Nov 30 | Context, Part 1: The Verses Around It | 5 | Look |
| 5 | Dec 7 | Context, Part 2: The World Behind It | 6 | Look |
| 6 | Dec 14 (ends Dec 18) | What Did It Mean to Them? | 7 | Learn |
| Break | Dec 19 to Jan 3 | Christmas break: no class | None | None |
| 7 | Jan 4 | Checking It with the Rest of the Bible | 8 | Learn |
| 8 | Jan 11 | From Then to Now | 9 | Live |
| 9 | Jan 18 | Law and Story: Pentateuch and Historical Books | 10 and 11 | Look, Learn, Live |
| 10 | Jan 25 | God’s Messengers: The Prophets | 12 | Look, Learn, Live |
| 11 | Feb 1 | The Gospels and the Letters | 13 and 14 | Look, Learn, Live |
| 12 | Feb 8 | Obey It, Share It, Keep Going | 15 | Final Project due Feb 14 |
| Bonus | Open all 12 weeks | Songs and Wisdom: Psalms and Proverbs | B | Not graded |
Week-by-Week Details
Chapters: 1. The Bible Is God Speaking. 2. Coming to the Bible Humbly.
Big questions: Why should I study the Bible at all? How do I prepare my heart to read?
- The Bible Is God Speaking
- Coming to the Bible Humbly
- Your First Look: Philippians 1:1-11, and How This Course Works
- A. Try It. Finish the sentence “I want to study the Bible because...” and write a short prayer to say before you read.
- B. “My Reasons.” Write a one-page letter to yourself. You will read it again in Week 12. Start your “Reading Rhythm” plan (seven days of reading).
- C. Forum and quizzes. Post in the forum and reply to one classmate. Take both five-question quizzes.
Look at the Bible: 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Matthew 4:4; Psalm 119:18, 105; John 5:39-40; Ezra 7:10; Nehemiah 8:1-8; Acts 17:10-12; Isaiah 66:2; James 1:21-25; Philippians 1:1-11.
Optional reading: Fee and Stuart, Ch. 1, “The Nature of Scripture.” Abernethy, Prologue and Step 1, “Posture.” Duvall and Hays, Ch. 12, “The Role of the Holy Spirit.”
Chapter: 3.
Big question: How is the Bible arranged, and which translation should I use?
- How the Bible Is Arranged
- Why Translations Differ
- Using a Dictionary and Other Tools
- A. Try It. Find three books in your Bible in under a minute.
- B. “Map and Compare.” Fill in a chart of the 66 books by kind. Read one passage in two translations and list three differences. Look up one word in a Bible dictionary. Write two sentences on which translation you will use.
- C. Forum and quiz. Post in the forum and reply to one classmate. Take the quiz.
Optional reading: Duvall and Hays, Ch. 1, “Bible Translations.”
Chapter: 4. Method step: Look. Running passage: Philippians 1:1-11.
Big question: What is actually on the page?
- Seeing Before Explaining
- Looking at Philippians 1:1-11 Together
- How to Make a List of Observations
- A. Try It. Read the passage aloud and underline one repeated word.
- B. “Fifteen Things I Saw.” Read the passage three times and list 15 observations without explaining them. Circle two repeated words and one connecting word. Mark one thing you do not understand.
- C. Forum and quiz. Post in the forum and reply to one classmate. Take the quiz.
Optional reading: Abernethy, Step 2, “Flow.” Duvall and Hays, Chs. 3 to 5, on sentences, paragraphs, and larger units.
No class this week. Enjoy the time with your family and church.
Chapter: 5. Method step: Look.
Big question: What is happening before and after this verse?
- A Verse Lives in a Paragraph
- Zooming Out from Philippians 1:1-11
- Pulling Out a Passage’s Point
- A. Try It. Write the writer’s point in one sentence.
- B. “Zoom Out.” Read the full chapter and the chapters before and after it. Then write where the passage sits in the book and how its point changes.
- C. Forum and quiz. Post in the forum and reply to one classmate. Take the quiz.
Optional reading: Abernethy, Step 3B, “Context: Book.” Duvall and Hays, Ch. 8, “The Literary Context.”
Chapter: 6. Method step: Look.
Big question: Who wrote this, to whom, and what was their world like?
- The Time, Place, and Culture
- Philippians and Philippi
- Using a Bible Dictionary Wisely
- A. Try It. List three things you do not know about their world.
- B. “Their Town.” Use a Bible dictionary and the book itself to describe the writer, the readers, and the occasion. Then say how that changes one verse.
- C. Forum and quiz. Post in the forum and reply to one classmate. Take the quiz.
Optional reading: Abernethy, Step 3A, “Context: Historical.” Duvall and Hays, Ch. 6, “The Historical-Cultural Context.”
Chapter: 7. Method step: Learn.
Big question: What was the message for the first readers?
- The Meaning Is in the Passage
- The River to Cross
- Writing the Message in One Sentence
- A. Try It. Restate your Week 3 observations as a short paragraph.
- B. “One Sentence.” Write what the passage meant to its first readers in one or two sentences, using past-tense verbs.
- C. Forum, quiz, and review. Post in the forum and reply to one classmate. Take the quiz and the first review check for Weeks 3 to 6.
Optional reading: Duvall and Hays, Ch. 2, “The Interpretive Journey,” and Ch. 10, “Who Controls the Meaning?”
No class for two weeks. Rest, worship, and celebrate the birth of our Savior.
Chapter: 8. Method step: Learn.
Big question: What does this passage teach for all time, and does the rest of the Bible agree?
- From Their Message to a Lasting Truth
- The Cross-Check
- Old and New Covenant Differences
- A. Try It. Name one difference between the first readers and you.
- B. “The Cross-Check.” Write a lasting truth. Find two other passages that agree, and note any that add to it or change it.
- C. Forum and quiz. Post in the forum and reply to one classmate. Take the quiz.
Optional reading: Abernethy, Step 4, “Whole Bible.”
Chapter: 9. Method step: Live.
Big question: What should I do?
- Crossing the River
- Savoring God in the Passage
- Obeying This Week
- A. Try It. Write one way the truth shows up in your week.
- B. “My Lasting Truth.” Write what was different, the lasting truth, and one thing you will do this week. Do it, then write two sentences about what happened.
- C. Forum, quiz, and review. Post in the forum and reply to one classmate. Take the quiz and the review check for Weeks 7 and 8.
Optional reading: Abernethy, Step 5, “Savor God,” and Step 6, “Faithful Response.”
Chapters: 10. Law and Story: The Pentateuch. 11. The Story Continues: The Historical Books.
Big questions: How do I read the law and the stories of the Old Testament? How do I read history that is still teaching me?
- The Pentateuch
- The Historical Books
- Reading Old Testament Stories with Look, Learn, Live
- A. “Pentateuch Study.” Take a passage from Genesis to Deuteronomy through the four questions.
- B. “Story Study.” Take a story from the Historical Books through the four questions.
- C. Forum and quizzes. Post in the forum and reply to one classmate. Take both quizzes.
Chapter: 12.
Big question: What were the prophets saying to their own people, and what does it mean for me?
- Who the Prophets Were
- Reading a Prophecy in Its Setting
- The Final Project: What You Will Hand In
- A. Try It. Read one prophecy and name who was speaking, to whom, and when.
- B. “Prophet Study.” Take a prophetic passage through the four questions.
- C. Forum, quiz, and review. Post in the forum and reply to one classmate. Take the quiz and the review check for Weeks 9 and 10.
The Final Project is handed out this week.
Chapters: 13. Good News: The Gospels. 14. Letters to the Churches.
Big questions: How do I read the life of Jesus? How do I read the letters of the New Testament?
- The Gospels and the Parables
- The Letters
- Philippians as a Whole Letter
- A. “Gospel and Parable Study.” Take one Gospel story and one parable through the four questions. Add one paragraph comparing a second Gospel if the event appears there.
- B. “Letter Study.” Outline Philippians by paragraph. Decide whether two commands are for every believer or tied to the first readers’ situation. Write the four questions on one paragraph.
- C. Forum and quizzes. Post in the forum and reply to one classmate. Take both quizzes.
Optional reading: Duvall and Hays, Ch. 14, “New Testament: Letters,” and Ch. 15, “New Testament: Gospels.”
Chapter: 15.
Big question: How do I keep studying for life and help others do the same?
- Obeying What You Have Learned
- Sharing a Passage with Another Believer
- A Six-Month Reading Plan
- A. The full study. Study a passage of your choice with Look, Learn, Live.
- B. A five-minute teaching. Teach that passage, recorded or written.
- C. A six-month reading plan. Write the plan, and add a short reflection that includes your Week 1 letter.
The Final Project is due this week.
Bonus: Songs and Wisdom
This bonus chapter is open all 12 weeks and is not graded. Take it whenever you like.
Chapter: B. Songs and Wisdom: Psalms and Proverbs.
Big question: How do I read poetry and wise sayings without turning them into promises or commands the writer never meant?
- How Hebrew Poetry Works
- Reading a Psalm
- Reading a Proverb
- “Psalm and Proverb Study.”
Grading and Course Expectations
All work is graded Complete, Complete with help, or Redo. Each assignment has a short checklist so you know what “done” looks like.
To pass and receive your certificate, you must have all weekly assignments marked Complete or Complete with help, and you must hand in the Final Project.
- Study with your church. The Bible is read and studied with the church. Bring hard questions to a pastor or teacher.
- Do the work. The videos teach the method. The assignments are how it sticks.
- Obey what you learn. Every study ends with one act of obedience.
- Where faithful Christians differ, the course says so briefly and does not pick a side without comment.
Download the Syllabus
Get the full syllabus as a PDF to read offline or print.
English PDFతెలుగు PDF (Telugu)Look. Learn. Live.