Today is a busy day in our household. Tomorrow there will be a wedding. Today, there is a rehearsal and other activities. Kathy is outside on the deck reading her Bible and doing her devotion. I have already completed my time in the Word for the day. Both of us have had the habit of daily time in the Word for longer than we can remember. It is just a part of our daily routine. This fall, we will be part of a small group Bible Study. We try to do this every year. Spending time in the Word is just a part of our daily lives.

A characteristic of a committed disciple is commitment to spend time in the Word. To be a disciple is to be centered in Holy Scripture  and on the One of whom Scripture speaks. Most of what we can know about about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Christian life we learn by listening to the voice of God in Scripture.

In Acts, Paul leaves Thessalonica for Berea. Initially, the Thessalonians were resistant to the Good News and did not want to hear Paul’s message. Later in Berea, things were different. Luke records: “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men” (Acts 17:11-12). Those who earnestly hear the gospel of Christ are almost always eager to study their Scriptures.

In perhaps his last letter, Paul underscores the importance of Scripture as he writes young Timothy:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

We read our Bibles not to memorize verses or to understand Jewish or Christian literature, but to hear God speak to us, to give us the kind of minds that are “wise unto salvation,” to be taught, convicted of our sins, rebuked for falling short, corrected when we have gone astray, and trained so that we can be representatives of Christ. When we become disciples, we are like little children: We need to learn how to survive the Christian life. It is the Word of God and God speaking to us through Scripture that will accomplish this task.

Transformed By the Word

As Christians study Scripture and meditate upon the One revealed in its pages, we encounter the God who is revealed to us in the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Paul says in Romans, “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Later, in Colossians, Paul urges Christians to, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16). As we listen to others in a Bible Study or Sunday School Class, God’s word enters our hearts through the window of our minds. Slowly, but surely, we are transformed into “little Christ’s,” participants in the life of God and vehicles through which his Wisdom and Love enters the world.

Having a Good Bible Study

There are many ways to center your growth as disciple on Scripture. There was a time when there was a lack of good small group Bible Study materials. This is no longer true. There are many, good printed Bible Study guides ranging from Sunday School materials; guides to the study of books of the Bible; topical Bible study guides in areas such as prayer, marriage, finances, child raising, coming to Christ. All of these help a group to center itself on Holy Scripture. Any good Christian bookstore has many studies. Not only do resources exist in printed form, but there are many ways to use materials to be found on the internet or in electronic media. Some of thie material is free. [1]

Most of our Christian growth will not come from sermons or large, lecture-oriented Bible studies. The key to a good Bible study is its personal character. This is why small group Bible studies are so important. They give us time to share with others what we are learning in Scripture. We can ask questions, give our opinions, be corrected in our understanding and correct others. I have been a Christian pastor for a generation and led countless Bible studies over thirty-five years. Even today, most of my growth is in a small group study. They mean more to me than any number of Greek word studies or words of commentators in my private time of study.

A life transforming Bible  study has  three basic characteristics.

Group Discussion. People remember about 10% of what they hear and about 80% of what they say. Therefore, lecture is not the best method for Bible Study. The best method for life transforming Bible study involves/personal interaction among people. This means conversation not didactic teaching.

Open-ended Questions. It is always best in leading the study to ask questions that enable group members to answer correctly whatever their relative level of Biblical knowledge. Questions like, “What did this passage mean to you” are always better than questions like, “What does Calvin say this passage means?” The term “Open Ended Questions” means questions that lead a person to disclose their understanding without embarrassment or discouragement.

Focus on Application. One of the most important things to remember that, as disciple-makers, we are more interested in what people put to work than we are in what they remember. It is always a good idea to end the study of a passage with a discussion of the question, “How am I going to live differently now that I have studied this passage?”

EXAMPLE: Don leads a Bible study. The study uses Serendipity resources, a relational Bible Study material. Donna, a member, remarked one evening, “I love this study. Most of my life, I listened to a Bible teacher. I never asked questions and no one ever asked me what I thought. In this study, I get to give my opinions and ask questions. And, it is practical.”

Basic Bible Study Rules

Here are some helpful rules in developing your Bible study skills:

Use the Bible. Everyone must have a copy of the text the group is studying. In some Bible study materials the text will be reprinted. In others, people must have a Bible as well as the guide. It is also helpful if everyone is using the same version of the Bible.

Read the Bible. Much of the Bible began as an orally transmitted message of faith. Therefore, it is always a good idea to begin by reading the selected passage aloud. This allows the modern hearer to experience soemthing of the oral tradition from which Scripture emerged. Stick to the text at hand. Avoid cross-referencing other biblical texts unless it is absolutely necessary.  Too much cross referencing confuses people, takes up time, and tends to make people shy about expressing their opinion.

Opening Question. Think out before hand the first question you will ask. The first question is always the most important of all. It will open the discussion and will often determine the character of the group’s interaction for the evening. This kind of question most often can take the form of, “What aspect of this verse made an impression on you?” or “What did you find most interesting about this passage?”

Reflective Study Questions. In reading this passage of Scripture or book, here are some questions you may want to ask yourself about the text as you prepare to lead the group:

What immediate message do you hear?

What feelings are you having in reading this?

What was helpful?

Prepare more questions than you’ll actually need. This will help you overcome a fear of not having enough material to use the time allotted.

Let Questions Guide the Study. Ask questions which are clearly tied to the text and build logically upon one another. If a question is not understood, restate it in different words. Limit initial comments to key information and definitions. Focus on the most important aspects of the passage. Try not to answer your own question. If a question does not gain response, move on to another next question. After the first response to a question, ask if anyone has a different or additional response. Don’t exhaust a question before moving to the next verse or question. Let the group set the agenda.

Involve the Imagination. One of the most important techniques that a teacher can use is to the whole person: sight, sound, touch, thought in the study. For example, as the text is read aloud, have the individuals visualize the scene. Ask the group to imagine how they would have reacted if they had been present.

Share Personal Meaning. In a small group Bible study, the most important thing to know is what the text means to a person. This does not mean ignoring commentaries or historical understanding. It just means that what changes a life is a personal experience of the power of the Word.

Don’t Be Afraid. One of the greatest barriers to some people exercising gifts for leadership in Bible Study is a fear of not knowing the answer. “I really do not know” is always a good answer. If you do not know, offer to study the question next week and give an answer at the next meeting. Even pastors do not know all there is to know about the Bible. Therefore, you should not be afraid to say you don’t know.

Stay in One Passage. One common mistake is to play “Bible Hopscotch.” Most people do not have a ready familiarity with the Bible and flipping pages makes them nervous. Sometimes to get a clear idea of what Scripture means, we need to study more than one passage. Much of the time, however, this is not ncessary.

Use Various Methods. Any Bible Study method when overused gets old. Variety is the spice of life, and we should use a variety of teaching tools and methods.

Sample Study Questions

There are some basic kinds of questions that laypersons can use to help others connect with the Bible and learn from the text. Some of these are:

What does the Text Say? The first level of any text is a rendering of what it literally says. Some questions that will help get the basic meaning out are as follows:

• What did you hear the author (or character or Jesus) saying as the text was read?
• What is the context where this is said?
• What was frustrating, unclear, or difficult?

Personal Involvement. The next stage is to help people get personally involved in the text. Some helpful questions here are:

• With whom or what do you identify with in the story?
• What past feelings does this restore?
• What personal experience does this bring to mind?
• What pain or hurt does this bring to mind?

3. Personal Application. Remember that personal application is the most important thing in any small group Bible study. Therefore, we should always leave adequate time for application. Some personal application questions are:

• What is God asking you to do?
• What hope does this give you?
• What relationship does this impact?
• What will you do differently because of this study?

Let God Work

Leading a home Bible study or a study in a Sunday School Class can be nerve racking for some people. It is good to remember that the Holy Spirit will be attending your Bible Study! Times of silence, disagreements, uncertainties about the text, questions that cannot be answered, they are all part of the way in which people learn. Years ago, I participated in what would be one of the most important Bible studies of my life. It was not perfect. Not everything that was said was totally correct. However, God worked in the text and in the relationships being formed to change lives.

People who study small groups often note that it the relationships people have in the groups more than the information that is shared that matters. Sometimes, people say this as if it exposed a weakness in small groups. Actually, it is not surprising that a God who exists in community created human beings who learn best in communities. It is not surprising that the community can often be more important than the text. God is  busy building a community–the kingdom of God–and he uses Bible studies as one of the ways in which that Kingdom is built!

The goal of our Bible studies is not to create hundreds of Christian Bible scholars but to help make disciples living together in a community of love, sharing that love with others, and expanding the reach of God’s Kingdom of Wisdom and Love. Bible study is not an end. It is a means. It is one of the ways God brings us into a life changing relationship with Him through his Word.

Copyright 2015, Chris and Kathy Scruggs, All Rights Reserved.

We miss our friends and look forward to being with you soon in our Salt and Light study!!

 

 

[1] When downloading materials from the internet it is important to remember that not all the materials found on the internet are sound. Many individuals put up materials that does not reflect either the spirit or the words of Christ or the experience of the Church over the centuries.