When homicide detectives are called to a crime scene, they receive some preliminary information provided from the initial 911 call and from the police officers on scene who requested the detectives.  The detectives know this is preliminary, sketchy and unverified information, so they record the information in their notes until later in their investigation when they can verify the accuracy and evaluate the relevance of this information.

1. When the detectives arrive, they look over the crime scene and take notes about what they see.
2. Next, they investigate by interviewing witnesses, interrogating suspects, and examining every piece of evidence related to the crime.
3. Finally, when they have finished their investigation, they check all their notes, review the evidence, then summarize and report on their findings, taking appropriate action to complete their assignment.

Studying the Bible can be a bit like investigating a homicide.  They both follow a process to learn something that leads to an appropriate response.

No, R₃-V₃ is not a Star Wars droid. It is a simple, scalable Bible study process¹ that can help people grow in their knowledge of, relationship in and service with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is:

• Simple, meaning it’s not complicated to learn or use.
• Scalable, meaning it can be used with various size passages, various types of studies, and various depths of study.

The basic concept of the R₃-V₃ process comes from the book of Nehemiah, chapter 8:

• Read (verses 2-3, 8a, 9–12): “They read from the book, the Law of God.” (Requires Visceral Observation)
• Relate (verses 8b, 13-14): “They translated and explained it so that the people understood the reading.” (Requires Visual Investigation)
• Respond (verses 15-18): “The people responded according to the reading.” (Requires Volitional Cooperation)

The three phases in the R₃-V₃ Study Process summarized:

R3 Phases:	Read	Relate	Respond
Common Terms:	Observe	Interpret	Apply
V 3 Actions:	Visceral Observation	Visual Investigation	Volitional Cooperation
This Phase:	Inspires us	Informs us	Influences us
* Watches for:	Wow!, Woe!, Huh?, How?	Who, What, When, Where	Why, How, So What, Now What
To Answer:	What does the passage say?	What did the passage mean to the people in its day?	What is the message of the passage for people today?

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* Legend:

Visceral Observation:

These are your thoughts about parts of the text that point out areas you need to look into more.

WOW! (Impression) What caught my attention, surprised or impressed me, or looked important or significant?

WOE! (Conviction) What do I need to start doing, stop doing or change in ight of God’s Word?

HUH? (Question) What do I not understand, have a question about or need to study further?

HOW? (Cooperation) How can/should/will I respond to, obey or cooperate with God and His Word?

Visual Investigation:

These are things you look for and find while studying the passage.

Who? (Questions/Statements of Identity)

• Who is mentioned or referred to in this passage?
• Participants (Who’s involved with the action of the passage? What was their role? Primary or Secondary role? Protagonist or Antagonist?)
• Persons Quoted (Who and what did they say?)
• Persons mentioned (Who and why were they mentioned?)
• Are they an example of someone I should follow or avoid? Why? How?

What? (Questions/Statements of Definition or Description)

• What did each person say or do?
• Other things, Actions, or Events mentioned, defined or described.

When? (Questions/Statements of Time and Timing)

• When did this happen?
• What other time periods are mentioned (precise or relative)?
• In what order did events occure?

Where? (Questions/Statements of Location)

• Where did this happen?
• What other locations are mentioned or referred to?

Volitional Cooperation:

These are observations to consider (principles) and steps you must take in response to God and His word.

Why? (Questions/Statements of Reason or Cause)

• Why did God/people say or do what they said or did? (expressed or implied)
• Why did God want or not want them to know, feel, think, say or do what He told them?

How? (Questions/Statements of Manner or Measure)

• How did it start (causes)?
• How did it happen (process)?
• How did it End (results)?

So What? (Questions/Statements of Relevance – making it personal) Examples:

• What do we have in common with them?
• What can we can learn from them?

Now What? (Questions/Statements of Cooperation – making it applicable to various situations in my life)

• What does God want or not want me to know, feel, think, say or do in light of this passage?
• How will I cooperate with God in light of this passage?