Hey everyone!
Recently on the community I was asked for advice on studying to advance in the NBBC. I wrote a bit of a long, rambling reply, so I thought it might be nice to share those study tips with you all. This is my best attempt at general advice on preparing for the National Bible Bee Competition. This applies to both those seeking to advance, and those not necessarily aiming that high.
Usually I have such a hard time giving people advice because whenever anyone asks me a MILLION things come to mind AT ONCE. So . . . I'll do my best to give you a few tips here.
1. WORK HARD: More of a general tip rather than something specific to study, but the first thing that comes to mind is HARD WORK. You have to know no stopping points, and you have to always be pushing for the next step or phase in your studying. You have to put in dedicated time on a consistent and regular basis. There is literally no limit to what or how much you can or should study, so always be pressing forward to the next level.
2. PRIORITIZE: Like I said, there's no limit to what or how much you can or should study, so start with the basics and give yourself a good foundation before moving on to more obscure and advanced studying. You're going to run out of time each day to study EVERYTHING you wanted to or thought you should have, so you have to work on the more important things first. A general order of priority would be something like this: (1) Study passage content and context, (2) memory passage content and context, (3) original language from the study passage, (4) study passage cross-references, (5) memory passage cross-references. I'm not the greatest at prioritizing categories, but I think most Bible Bee-ers would agree on that general outline.
3. BE SOLID: Learn as many memory passages as you can and perfect them to your very best ability. Have as strong a knowledge as you can of the study passage content, context, cross-references, and original language. In terms of the study passage and its related components, my advice is not WHAT or HOW MUCH you should necessarily study, because that honestly depends on how committed you are and how much you can learn in the amount of time you have. But my advice with the study passage and everything that goes with it that I listed above is this: whatever you learn, learn it WELL. It is true that those who advance generally learn many, many cross-references, original language terms, and background facts, so learn AS MUCH as you can, but also be sure that it's not going in one ear and out the other. Learn AS MUCH as you can and learn it WELL.
Also know that what you're able to learn may differ significantly from what other Bible Bee-ers may be able to learn or may be trying to learn. I don't like to give a lot of numbers and specifics for the reason that not everyone studies the same way. I've competed for many years and I've never met anyone who studies exactly the way I do or learns the same amount of material. The people in my division each year have always studied very differently from me and prepared very different amounts of material. This applies to everyone in every division. The key is to learn as much as you can, as effectively as you can, as well as you can, and trust the results to the Lord!
Ultimately, I can tell you whatever I want about how I study or, but it's up to you to determine what is best for you to learn and how it's most effective for you to learn it. What I really want to emphasize is that the important part here is not what or how much you're studying or how you compare to other Bible Bee-ers (because all Bible Bee-ers are very different), but really how you're approaching it and what your attitude is. Working your hardest and giving your best is more important than learning hundreds of cross-references and original language terms, or memorizing thousands of verses. Rely on God's strength and trust Him with the results! He honors those who honor Him by giving Him their best, and whether you learned 100 or 500 original language words, 100 or 1000 cross-references, 10 or 100 memory passages, 100 or 1000 verses, He's the one who's determining the results, and who's causing those to succeed or fail to do so--all for His glory and His perfect eternal purpose.
I can give you as much advice or as many study tips as I want, but at the end of the day, the point of this NBB is to know God's Word and make Him known, in order to glorify Him. Whatever you do, give it your best effort, work your hardest, and give all the glory to God, because His glory is the focus of everything we do. May God use you for His glory at this year's competition. I'm excited to see how you do, but I'm more excited that God is working in your life to proclaim His Word and manifest His glory to the world.
I hope what I've been able to give you advice on has been a help and an encouragement to you. I'm thankful God has put it on your heart to study for His glory and I'm excited that you're working so hard to hide His Word in your heart!
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