Reading the Bible - some questions to ask

How do you read the Bible?  There is a danger that we read the Bible like we read a newspaper article or novel, skimming over it without stopping to interrogate the text or think about what it is teaching us.  Whilst reading the Bible like that will still do us good, there is a better way; ask questions of the Bible.  But what sort of questions?  Here are some we gave out at church the Sunday before last as we prepared to read the Bible together:

1. What surprises you or haven’t you spotted before?
2. What don't you understand?
3. What is the big story of the passage?
4. What does it tell us about God?
5. What does it tell us about his plan of salvation?
6. What has just happened and is about to happen (context)?
7. So what difference should this make to us?

Its also helpful to have a notebook where you can scribble down your answers.