I think most of the "rules" here are quite good and appropriate.
To add to and support some of what has been said so far, here is the way I approach a text that I am going to preach or teach on:
1. I start by prayer. At every turn in the process that I will describe below, prayer is included. Christian interpretation of the Bible must be bathed in prayer, otherwise we are just sharing interesting trivia with one another.
2. I read the text in its context many times. Doing this helps me see its literary connection to what is around it.
3. Then I pull out a legal pad and begin thinking about how the passage fits with the context of the entire book in which it is found. This may (and often does) require me to read and re-read the entire book several times. Doing this helps me root the passage in question in the themes and emphases of the book in which it is found.
4. Then I begin thinking of how the text fits with the rest of the Bible. I start by thinking about how it fits in its canonical context (OT prophets or NT Gospels for example). Then I think about how it fits inside the Testament in which it is found. Then I consider how it fits in the context of the Scripture as a whole. To complete this step, a good concordance and/or bible search website/program is highly recommended. Doing this step helps prevent me from building a theological case from one obscure text in the Bible, instead causing me to weigh all of the evidence.
5. Then I continue with my legal pad, this time focusing back on the passage in question. If I have time, in this step I translate the text from its original language into English, utilizing as few tools as possible. Doing this will reveal to me "problems" in the translation of the text as well as idioms and other interesting turns of phrase that may not be so obvious in English.
6. I'll then go back over the text, this time in English, and I'll write down all of my thoughts about each verse. I do this prior to consulting commentaries so that my interpretation is not unduly influenced by others from the start. During this step I'll write down anything from questions that I want answered, to things I find funny, to exegetical insights, to connections with other parts of the Bible, to notes about literary genre, to thoughts about the audience and their culture, to who the author and audience are, to applications and possible illustrations.
7. Only after step 5 is completed fully will I consult the commentaries. At this step I try to look at more than those that I know will agree with me. So I will look at ones that are liberal and conservative, Protestant and Catholic, Reformed and not, historcal-grammatical and literary, traditional and feminist. Doing this is important so that I will not simply go to commentaries that always confirm my thoughts; instead I am challenged to either defend my thoughts or change them. Also, consulting a wider range of commentaries will ensure that I think about most of the important issues that a text may raise and that I will not only be influenced by one method of interpretation.
8. At this point I usually begin feeling pretty confident in how I understand a text. I usually will summarize my exegetical findings at this point so that I can refer back to them quickly when actually writing the lesson or sermon.
9. Now, after all of that work, I will actually write the lesson or sermon, thinking specifically about how the text applies both to my life and to the lives of those to whom I will be speaking. This is the hardest part, because applying the Bible to our lives is usually not as easy a one-to-one correspondance. The great cultural and historical gap between the 21st century and the many centuries represented in the Bible sometimes make application seem almost impossible. Thus, I often spend much time here trying to discern what the main point of the passage is or what timeless truths are found in it. Then, once the husk of culture and history is stripped away, applying the point or the truth of the passage is much easier. Sometimes consulting homoletical commentaries is very helpful at this point.
10. Then I take my written sermon and lesson and spend time "learning" it. I like to teach and preach with notes, but I don't like to depend on my notes. By "learning" my lesson or sermon I won't have to read my notes, but instead will just use them as a guide or as a way to get back on track after chaising a rabbit (which I tend to do).
Underlying my method are several "rules" that makes sense to me:
1. Christian interpretation is something that must include prayer.
2. Literary issues are of vital importance in understanding a text. This includes genre, context (immediate, of the whole book, of the whole type of literature, of the Testament, of the whole Bible), etc.
3. The "introductory" issues of a text help us understand much about it. By "introductory" I mean the identity of the author and audience, the date it was written, where it was written, etc.
4. Understanding the historical-cultural context of a text is also indespensible. Knowing about the culture of the audience will help us to understand how they might have heard the text and it may give us hints as to why the author wrote the text in the first place.
5. Grammatical, lexical, and syntactical issues are also very important. Since the Bible is made up of words, understanding what they mean and how they relate to one another cannot be stressed enough. If you do not have access to Hebrew and Greek, then you may have to rely on a Bible study program or commentaries here, which should be fine (as long as the commentaries are diverse).
6. While commentaries are very useful, they can quickly become a crutch that allows preachers and teachers to stop thinking for themselves. Also, only consulting commentaries with which one agrees can lead to interpretations that are not balanced at all. Instead, do as much work on the text as you can by yourself, and then consult a myriad of commentaries.
7. Applying the text to today should be the final step of interpretation and when making application one should always hold in mind what the intent or purpose of the text is. Doing so will prevent us from trying to force on 21st-century believers the cultures represented in the Bible, but will instead free us to be challenged by the truth or point of the text.
