The Practice of Study | October 15-21, 2023

Lesson: The Practice of Study

October 15-21, 2023

Conversation Starter

Read the following quote and discuss what it says about the importance of studying God’s Word?

“The ultimate benefit of firsthand Bible study is that you will fall in love with the Author. You see, it’s hard to fall in love by proxy…If you want to know God directly, you need to encounter His Word directly.” Howard Hendricks

Previous Week Review

Share experiences from last week’s practice. Don’t skip this step even if people are reluctant to respond. If people did not try the practice, talk about the obstacles.

Group Readings and Discussion

Read the following scriptures together. Pause after each passage to discuss for 2-3 minutes to discover what it teaches us as followers of Jesus. Do your best to allow different people to share the readings and discussion.

Psalm 111:1-4

Luke 2:41-52

2 Timothy 2:14-19

Hebrews 4:12

Group discussion:

Ask these questions about the passages just read.

·      How do today’s scripture readings impact your understanding of study?

·      How is reading scripture to know God and reading to know about God different?

·      How have you seen scripture study modeled in a healthy way? How have you seen it modeled in an unhealthy way?

·      What fruit could come from practicing Bible study regularly?

Hand out The Four Rs of Bible Study and the Communities @ Grace Handout

Quickly review The Four Rs of Bible Study document. Choose one of the passages from above and go through the four steps as a group.

Group prayer: spend time praying as a group about how to pursue the practices for this week as well as last weeks.

Handout: Practice of Study

October 8-14, 2023

Practice this week

The practice this week is to incorporate Bible study into the rhythm of your life. Look at your schedule for this week and identify 3-5 times in your week to spend time in God’s Word.

Review The Four R’s of Bible Study document. There are many ways of studying the Bible. This is just one helpful tool. Although the document focuses on having the scripture read to you, you can also use this method by reading the scripture yourself. Choose one of the scriptures below and try The Four Rs Study method.    

Passages to read this week

Psalm 111:1-4

Luke 2:41-52

2 Timothy 2:14-19

Hebrews 4:12

Application

• Try another Bible study method called SOAP. Choose a passage from above or another passage and work through the SOAP steps.

  • Scripture-Read a short Bible passage out loud and/or write it out.

  • Observation-What do you notice about the verses? What do you think the main message is? What verse, words or ideas jump out at you?

  • Application-Ask God how He wants you to apply the verse to your own life.

  • Prayer-Pray for yourself and/or others. 

· Share what you learned with a friend or family member.

• Pray or journal about the areas of your life where you would like to see growth. To get started, read Galatians 5:22-23 which is the Fruit of the Spirit passage.

Preparation for next week

Come to the community next week ready to share something from your practice this week.