Word Study - Create - Ben and Me

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The Word Study: Defining a Biblical Worldview — The word study involves more than going to a dictionary to define a word. It is the method of scholarship that puts the student on the pathway of developing the habits of reflective thinking and deductive reasoning from Scripture. The word study places the truths of God’s Word at the center of all learning, which illuminates the understanding and consecrates the mind.

Word Study:

Builds vocabulary

Increases reading comprehension and verbal scores

Establishes precise word usage in written and oral communication

Cultivates the habit of critical thinking

Produces deductive reasoning skills — cause (internal) to effect (external)

Sharpens discernment of truth from error

Inculcates lifetime habits of scholarship and aids in establishing a Biblical worldview

When doing a Word Study, there are 4 steps:

Research: The word is defined, using Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, key words are identified within the definition, and the key words are defined. Each word is then researched using a Bible concordance.
Reason: A definition of the word is written in your own words.
Relate: Application of the definition and the Biblical principles deduced are written, according to the intended purpose and your own life.
Record: The completed work is filed in your notebook

These 4 steps are commonly known as 4-R’ing in the world of the Principle Approach® and can and should be a tool used by both teacher and student. I will be teaching Ben this method of learning, and some weeks, I’ll blog his word studies as well. You don’t have to be a Principle Approach® homeschooler to do word studies. Obviously, it’s a great tool for everyone!This week, I introduced the word study concept to Ben. We worked on the word together, with me really doing most of it, although he did have input. My goal is to continue working with him until he is able to begin doing them independently. Our word for study is CREATE.

According to the Webster’s 1828:
Create: verb transitive: to bring into being from nothing. to cause to exist. to make or form. to generate. to bring forth. to form anew.

Key Word Definitions:

bring: to draw to; to attract or draw along; to cause to come.
nothing: non-existence; a state of annihilation; not any thing.
exist: to be; to have an essence or real being. to have life.
form: to shape or mold. to plan; to scheme; to modify.
generate: to produce a being similar to the parent; to produce; to cause to be; to bring into life.
anew: over again; another time; in a new form.

Create Defined in Our Own Words:

To create is to cause something that was once non-existent to have life. It is the act of shaping and molding something into being, that did not previously exist.

Biblical References:

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

God created man in his own image (Genesis 1:27)

The people which shall be created, shall praise the Lord. (Psalm 102:18)

Create in me a clean heart. (Psalm 51:10)

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:10)

My Thoughts:

Ben and I have been working on some homeschool ideas for art class. It’s obvious looking around us that God is a creative God. And because we are created in his image, we must be creative, too! Doing this word study, we both got the sense that more important than creating is realizing that we were created. We were created because God wanted us here to praise Him. He gave life to us, two people who did not exist and would not if it were not for Him. And He didn’t just create us and then leave us to fend for ourselves. We are His workmanship and just like an artist fine tunes his work, God is fine tuning us. He continues to create (shape, mold, plan, scheme, give us new form) daily, in our earthly lives and within our hearts.

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Word Study — Create