Reasons for Frequent Bible Reading
You are affected by what you read. Consider your feelings when you peruse your news feed. There are many advantages to consistently and regularly reading the Bible. First, God’s nature is revealed to us and his revelation to his people is recorded in the Bible. We witness the holy, immutable, dependable, gracious, and loving nature of God in every chapter of the Bible.
Since reading the Bible is a spiritual discipline, we must also approach it with discipline. If you are not in the mood to read the Bible, pray and ask God to inspire a desire in you to read his word. Schedule a certain time each day to read scripture and give this time high importance. You will need to find someone to help you stick to your reading schedule. Perhaps even begin a Bible/home group together. Maybe it is you who needs to bring people together.
Consider how the early church convened in one another’s houses. Acts 2:46–27 states:
Acts 2:46-47 NIV
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Gathering together
- Worship of God, 1 Peter 2:9
- Sharing understanding of God’s word, Colossians 3:16; Timothy 2:2
- Spending time together to help us love each other, John 13:34; Galatians 6:10
- Celebration of communion, 1 Corinthians 11:26
- Reaching people outside of the church both verbally and deed, Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 4:29, 8:4; 2 Timothy 4:1,2
- Supporting Christians in staying true to Christ, Matthew 18:15-17; Titus 3:10
Why a Bible group? What else a Bible group can include
- Establish a connection with God via prayer and the Bible.
- Establish a connection with one another. Care for each other.
- Study the Bible
- Connect with other believers
- Prayer situations and areas of the world
- Pray for those in the group
- Give an opportunity for non-believers to have access to scripture
- Understand certain scripture or topic
- To encourage others to teach
- To give skills so that people can serve or evangelise outside of the group
- Nurture your believers
- Give opportunity to talk about doubts in a safe environment
- Enjoy shared activities
A small group Bible study led by whom? In fact, you can!
God is seeking a spiritual mentor who possesses:
- Has the ability to correct others and correct yourself according to Scripture without offending anyone (Proverbs 19:20-21)
- Desires to provide rather than receive service (Philippians 2:3-11)
- Obeys spiritual guidance in accordance with the Bible (Hebrews 13:17)
- Aids in peace-making when disputes emerge (Matthew 5:21-26)
- Is true to their word (Matthew 12:33-37)
You can always ask for a mentor to help you work towards setting up a Bible/home group, and initially sit in on a few meetings until you have your confidence.
Myth – you do not need a theology degree to teach.
Setting Up
- Location – accessible – quite from distraction – disabled friendly access – people’s home/coffee shop/church – intimate or formal? Sometimes not having a Bible group at church can be more relaxing. Think out of the box, think of alternative settings, are there some rest homes that would welcome a group.
- Who your group is trying to connect. Christians/non-Christians/both – Will your group be youth/men/woman/mixed/families?
- Time of group and day – consider having 2 groups at various times to give availability to all.
- How long will the group be? 90 minutes or a couple of hours?
- Will the group be weekly/bi-weekly/monthly? For a few months or a group that runs indefinitely.
- Will the group have a themed period? E.g. 6 weeks Holy Spirit then next topic
- How many people will you? Will it be an intimate group or a larger group? Smaller groups 6-12 people sparks a conversation in the group, and everyone is there to listen, support, and give advice to one another. If the group becomes larger then maybe consider a second group.
- Consider DBS and safeguarding.
- Get the word out – church email, website, church service announcements,
- Set up a Facebook group, WhatsApp group.
- Encourage your group to make a group vision statement
- What resources will you use?
- Adequate seating for your group, including those with health problems.
- Spare Bibles, some print outs for those who do not have access to a printer.
The group – what to include
- Welcome – greet, allow time for people discuss their week. Catch up.
- Seek God’s involvement
- Refreshments (please remember those who have food intolerances /allergies)
- Icebreaker
- Worship, this could be a video or singing. People can feel venerable in small groups singing, try to find music that everyone can sing to.
- Prayer – allow time for prayer and time for people in the group to pray. Not everyone likes praying aloud, so it might be useful to have time of silent prayer too.
- Socialising/fellowship
- Scripture – study plan – information and include opportunities for transformation. Ask the group what they would like to cover. Interaction with scripture. Consider your appropriate level for everyone.
- Allow people to read the scripture – share between the group.
- Discussion – open ended questions (see below for ideas) – emphasise there is no right or wrong questions. Allow time for healthy disagreement. Sometimes it is better to let the group flow then stay to a set plan, you can always cover the rest of the plan on another day. Do not pressurise people into getting involved but try to encourage. Try not to stare a one person, look around the group.
- Witness, this gives the group opportunity to show how the Lord has worked in their lives.
- Invite your group to lead. This is about your group and how they connect, by getting someone else to lead gives a different aspect of teaching to the group.
- Breakfast/ meal or bring and share once a month.
- Encourage your group to invite others.
- Closing of meeting together, mention next week’s meeting and other events.
- If someone is absent check up to see if they are OK
- Birthdays, a simple card that everyone signs are precious
| What insight or personal application has God given you regarding this study? | What grounds does this passage provide for thanking God? | During this course, what personal need or concern has the Holy Spirit brought to light? | Which parts of this study most inspire you? Why? |
| Which parts of this study most convicts you? Why? | Which aspect of the study convinces you? | What realization—that you had never considered before—did you receive? | Which unanswered questions remain concerning this topic for you? |
| Was there anything in this lesson that reminded you of a role model? Whom? Why? | Which lesson’s lesson(s) can you illustrate using personal evidence? | What can you take away with me this week from the scripture? | To whom does God want me to share this truth? |
Group rules
- Phones on silence
- Respect each other – discussion and different views are OK but manage the group, so no one feels disrespected, or the discussion ends up being an argument.
- Listen to each other
- Whatever is stated in secret or during prayers remains in that room.
- Respect the persons home and their neighbours
- Are children welcome or an adult group only
As a leader you might not have all the answers, ask the group if they know, it is OK for you to say, “I will find out and let you know next time”.
© This website is subject to copyright and belongs to Christian Life Today. If you would like to reuse any of the materials, please contact first via the contact page, thank you.