Types of study

I'm trying to catalogue a list of different types of study that can be undertaken either individually or in small groups. I shall then expand on them in later postings.

So far, I've decided to cover the following topics:

• Character study - reviewing the life of a specific individual in the Bible and seeing what Biblical principles apply to their story.
• Book study - reviewing the main themes of a specific book of the Bible, understanding its structure, purpose and message - in both its historical context and its application for today.
• Word study - looking at the meaning and usage of specific words in the Bible in order to understand how the Holy Spirit can communicate with us today by looking carefully at the original writer's intent.
• Thematic study - looking at a range of Bible verses dealing with a common theme in order to draw out a composite picture of God's attitude to a specific subject.
• Meditation - continual review of a specific passage in order to allow the Holy Spirit to communicate the answers to questions arising from the text.
• Memorization - Learning a specific passage of scripture by heart in order to be able to examine its flow and depth of meaning, while looking for specific application of the Biblical prinicles underlying the text.