GROUP BIBLE STUDY [GBS]
“Bible has the life to transform everyone. It could be studied by Believers and only among Believers but it could be investigated and discussed by Non-believers and among Non-believers in the process of Knowing the Truth and Finding the right belief.”
God speaks to people throughout
the history of generations, from Adam to the people of our present world. Though God spoke, speaks, and could speak
through many ways such as Nature/ Creation, Voice, Vision, Situation, People,
and other incomprehensible ways, God speaks primarily through the Scriptures. The
Bible is our authority in all matters of faith and conduct, and the God who had
spelled the things through the Bible is unchanging forever. The perspective of
every one of us differs based on our own exposure and background, so there is a
great possibility of misleading and misinterpretation when we fail to acknowledge
the different things without passion for God and God’s Word. Studying the Best
Book personally as well as together in small groups very carefully without prejudices enhances our understanding of God’s word, widens our perspective about Him and
different things, provides a joyful and transformational life, and makes us
useful to others defining our purposes in God.
People become true Disciples of
Christ through progressive and genuine Investigative Bible Studies, by knowing the right values and thereby gaining the
right attitude to stand for what is right and good.
What is Group Bible Study?
Group of believers studying
the Scriptures together.
In the early church which met
immediately after the resurrection of Jesus, the believers came together in
small groups and devoted themselves to the Word of God, prayer, fellowship with
one another regularly (Acts 2:42). The book of Acts records the impact and
vitality of these small groups around the world.
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but
let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day
approaching (Hebrews 10:25).
Types of GBS
|
|
Evangelistic Bible Study (EBS) |
Believers Bible Study (BBS) |
|
Target group |
Seekers
/ Unbelievers |
Believers |
|
Aim |
To
introduce Jesus Christ and the Truth |
To
build up one another in Biblical faith and practice |
|
Passages |
Primarily
Gospel narratives which focus clearly on Jesus and the Values/ Purposes in
Godly life |
Any
portion of the Bible depending on the need and maturity level of the members |
|
Application |
Usually
direct and realistic to know and grow in the Faith and Truth |
Direct
or indirect to do apply Godly values in every walk of life by doing Good and
executing faith |
Characteristics of GBS
·
Bible is the
authority
·
Knowing Triune God and Nature of Human beings is the ultimate focus
·
Honest interaction of group members in a friendly way to learn from one another
Why GBS?
The Psalmist writes “Open
my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law”. - Psalm 119:18
It is far beneficial
towards one another when many pairs of eyes look closely at a passage to
understand or study, rather than just one!
For Believers,
·
Stimulates
the members to think on the text and its application
·
GBS aids in gaining fresh, deeper knowledge and insights
about Jesus Christ that leads to the transformation of the lives of the members.
·
Studying with a group enables one to
check one’s own understanding of the text and enriches learning
·
A dynamic and lively GBS helps
in the sharper understanding of the passage and the members can retain their
learning.
·
A GBS serves as a platform to
clarify misconceptions
·
Encourages Personal Bible Study
and thus helps one to establish a regular pattern of study.
·
GBS can change our blindly driven lives to Biblically driven
·
It helps the members to analyze whether
their lives are based on the Biblical standards set by God or on worldly values
·
GBS provides support and
encouragement as members seek to grow in response to God’s Word
·
GBS helps us to know that we are not
alone in the daily battle of Christian living and there are role models and
supporting Christians.
· GBS helps us to know one another, accept one another and encourage one another.
· Gives confidence even to young Christians to lead the group
For people from other faiths,
·
EBS (Evangelistic Bible Study) helps a
person to understand the need of Jesus Christ for redemption from all the flaws
of his life.
· EBS helps a person to know the self, Know God and Know others better.
How to do a GBS?
·
Rely on God during your
preparation and pray that you would first learn through the passage that you
yourself will get to know Christ better.
·
Use the Bible language which
you and the group is comfortable with.
·
Convert your Personal bible studies [PBS] done on
the passages into questions.
·
Making questions is
hard work and requires discipline. It comes out of regular practice.
·
Test your
questions. Keep asking yourself, ‘How will the group probably respond to the
questions?’
·
The questions
should focus on the text, making it living and pragmatic for our lives today.
Your written questions should focus on three areas: What does it say? (Observation),
What does it mean? (Interpretation), What does it mean for us today?
(Application)
·
Questions should
ü Suit the group
ü Be brief and clear
ü Cover main points of the text progressively
ü Have two or more
possible answers or viewpoints
ü Stimulate critical thinking and bring healthy arguments
ü Help the group to
identify with people in the text
ü Have
personal and specific application and not general
ü Move the people
to a practical response to God
ü Have a balance
of all three types of questions – Observation, Interpretation, and Application
·
Questions should not
ü Have “Yes’ or ‘No’ answers and Be too simple (Do you
agree God loves you?)
ü Be
loaded with answer (Our bodies are God’s temple; so should we smoke?)
ü Be
intimidating (If you really loved God, what you would do?)
ü Be
embarrassing (What is your most frequent temptation?)
ü Have ‘Why?’ ‘How’ & ‘So what’ questions in the
beginning
ü Be harsh which explicitly
hurts the sentiments of RC/Hindus/ Muslims who attend EBS
ü Be too high level
for the group to understand
ü Be from verse to
verse
LEADING GBS, GROUP DYNAMICS, PRECAUTIONS/ALERTS
PREPARATION FRAMEWORK
Before GBS
·
Don't rely on commentaries or other helpful materials, unless it's really
necessary to understand the text. Let the Bible speak for itself!
·
Set a time for the meeting according to the best time for your friends. In
the beginning, plan on meeting for only one hour per week.
·
Invite your friends through mail, Facebook, SMS, or WhatsApp. Pray and Trust
God.
·
Tell your friends; when, where and how often you'll meet; how the meeting
will be run; that they don't need any knowledge of or background in the Bible,
their religious background won't make a difference; the discussion will focus
on the text, and any question goes.
·
Remind your friends half an hour or an hour before the meeting begins. Very
likely, they have higher priorities in life than the Bible study, and may
easily forget if you don't remind them.
While leading GBS
·
Thank God for He
has called you to serve Him this way! Approach it prayerfully.
·
Start on time
·
Have a circular
pattern of seating arrangement in a quiet place
·
Have your sense of
humor and smile
·
Introduce new
comers; see that no one is a stranger
·
Start your GBS with
games/ stories/ illustrations/ newspaper
cuttings/ role plays/ videos that will make the members familiarize with
the passage.
·
Do not be
afraid of silence, give time to think. Reframe your question if needed
·
Use small
paper, memorize all questions/see the questions without being noticed
·
Appreciate the honest answer (right/wrong)
·
It’s not
preaching/teaching. Be ready to accept the viewpoints of others.
·
Try fresh and
contemporary language to explain difficult words and phrases
·
Avoid an argument
by comparing religions/churches as it tends to move the discussion away from
the subject.
·
5-GIVES while leading
1.
TIME to think
2.
Listening EARS
3.
RESPONSIVE heart to
what they say
4.
FREEDOM of
expression
5.
Genuine LOVE
·
NOT’S
ü Don’t answer your
own questions
ü Sermonizing/ cross-references/ theological words/ Church language
ü Don’t pressurize “make a decision”
ü Don’t hesitate to say, “ I don’t know, but I’ll look into it before we meet again”
ü Don’t compromise the Standards of the Scripture at
misinterpreted situations.
Phases:
1. WARM
UP:
i) Introduce members
ii) Begin with an illustration/story relevant to the
Passage
iii) Reveal the passage
2. READ:
Read the passage (single/group reading)
3. DISCUSSION:
i)
Start with questions
ii) Properly arrange observation,
interpretation, and application questions
4. PRAYER:
i) Enable members to take decisions
ii) Pray and close
Handling different members:
ü “As Priya said..” [acknowledge a member’s viewpoint]
ü “What do you think
about this?” [for a timid/ shy person]
ü “It seems to me..”
“The Word of God says…” [ in
misinterpreted situations]
ü “Let’s hear someone
else viewpoints also..” [for talkers],
ü “That’s
interesting, but let’s stick to the text and dig deeper into its meaning……………” [for knows-it–all member and one who confuses with
irrelevant discussions]
While attending GBS
·
Your contribution
is important
·
Come expecting to
discover new things from the Bible
·
Be humble to listen
and share sincerely
·
Avoid preconceptions/
super-spirituality/ competition
·
Ask questions for
clarifications/ information
·
Be sensitive to
others
·
Carefully correct /
modify a point
After GBS
ü Briefly inform
about next bible study passage/ topic, time and venue
ü Pray for
everyone
ü Evaluate the
study with believing friends and plan for better quality
ü
The
personal contact outside the group meeting time is absolutely critical!
ü
Don't get trapped into "come to the
meeting" mentality.
ü
Visit the people from your Bible study group
regularly. During a visit, it's easy to mention the discussions you've had in
the group. You might ask/tell, "What have you gained from the
discussions?" or "Are there questions you'd like to ask, but haven't
yet?" or "I've been thinking about that question you asked during the
study..."
ü
Learn
to listen! Show true interest in others interests, eat together, share a hobby,
study together, share your lives together - that's love. Share your belongings:
books, cassettes, CDs. Feel free to borrow too - it shows your friends have
something to offer you too.
ü
Invite
your friends’ home over break, or to a camp or weekend where they can meet
others who are interested in Jesus.
Alert to the
Leader
ü Hard work,
diligent practice, spiritual discipline in personal lives, commitment to teach
God’s word and passion to make disciples are the key things for every cell
leader.
ü Study should
make an impact on both of our personal and participant’s lives.
ü Teach People,
not just lessons – Students/the person is your focus, not the delivery of
content
ü Teach more by
teaching less – illustrate, explain and discuss the truth
ü Teach using a
lesson plan – Planning is essential
ü Teach only after
you have gained attention
ü Teach only what
the bible teaches
ü Teach in ways
appropriate to your age group
ü Teach using
relevant issues – Current affairs
ü Teach heart to
heart – Share your passion – not intellect or behavioral matters
ü Teach from a
humble heart – Students are teachers too – learn from them
ü Teach with a discerning spirit- discernment of false teachings and cults, differentiate right and wrong.
Make Group Bible study as an unforgettable
and life changing experience!
References:
1. Bible
2. Learning and leading by Ada Lum
3. Let the Bible Speak by UESI Publication Trust
4. The Bible Study Handbook by Lindsay Olesberg
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