Everyone

A Creative Observation activity asks your group to put themselves into the passage and make observations from “inside” the story. This will engage their imagination and add energy and depth to your study. Give one of these prompts a try, or invent your own!

Ms. Skip McDonald, R.N., BSN, Th.B. shares about her book, the Anxiety Bible Study Guide.

During the third part of the conversation, called “Application”, you’ll help your group put into practice what God has made clear through his Word.

During the second part of the conversation, called “Interpretation”, your group will gain clarity about what the passage means as they share and discuss their questions together.

In this first phase of your group's conversation, called “Observation”, you want to see your group grow increasingly curious about the passage as they look closely at what’s there and share what they’re seeing.

With God's help and a little preparation, you too can create a space where Jesus takes center stage. When preparing, spend about half your time getting to know the passage and the other half preparing to teach. Remember to be prayerful as you work through your preparation. Jesus wants to meet with you even as you prepare.

The goal of a Bible study is not information, but transformation, and this is what the application phase of the conversation is all about. Here are five characteristics of application questions that will help your group respond well to what Jesus is doing in their lives.

The core message is the essential meaning of the passage. If the summary is a paragraph, the core message is a tweet—one key repeatable sentence that participants will remember from the study.

The summary of the passage is a short paragraph that helps clarify the heart of the passage and launches into application. It is the bridge between discussing the meaning of a Bible passage to discussing what it means for our lives.

Great questions are at the heart of any solid Bible study. Here are five characteristics of great questions that will guide the interpretation part of the conversation deeper and help your group unlock the core message.