*CC content* Suggestions needed for a small group bible study

[jak of in]

A group of my friends...6 couples...want to meet regularly for a bible study/small group...probably every 2 weeks for 2-3 hrs.  We really have no idea what kind of study to do.  It should appeal to men and women, not too intense or time consuming....maybe a DVD study series.  Anyone have any suggestions?  This group hasn't done this kind of thing before, so I'm not sure what format or style would work best.  I think a bible study that is about practical everyday Christian living would appeal to me...not sure about the others.  

 

The only idea someone gave was Simplify by Bill Hybels....reviews on that one would be great, too.

 

Thanks!  

 

jak

[Chris in VA]

We like the Alpha parenting and marriage series, but they are usually done so that there is some privacy to talk.

 

Experiencing God might work for you. (Blackaby)

[MIch elle]

I've lead using 2 of this dvd series: http://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Life-Meaning-DVD-Discovering/dp/B008R5SZKM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408373058&sr=8-1&keywords=kathleen+norris+dvd

 

You can watch some of the lectures on youtube.

[jak of in]

Thanks, Chris in VA.   A marriage series might work.

 

I should have mentioned that we all have grown children and are past the little kid stage. The women of the group meet regularly...we are all in varying degrees of the empty-nest stage. A few of us have had our adult kids move back home for a time.  All of the women and our husbands want something to get us all together as couples, and get the men together specifically.  In our case, it is much harder for our husbands to have close friendships and fellowship with other men.  

 

 

 

[Slache]

Paul Washer (free)

 

Warren Wiersbe

 

RC

[TechWife]

Anything from Kay Arthur would be great - check out Precept Upon Precept ministries. 

[Rachel]

What about just reading a book of the bible and discussing it? Pick a book and depending on the length of chapters discuss 1-4 at the following meeting. That's what my husband's bible study does. I think they started with Hebrews and worked through most of the New Testament.

[Heather in Neverland]

"The Truth Project" is awesome as is a series we are doing right now called "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist."

[jak of in]

Thanks for responding...I will look at all the suggestions.  

[fairfarmhand]

Check out living on the edge.

[HS Mom in NC]

How Biblically literate are the people participating?  Have they all read through the entire Bible at least once ? Are they already capable of looking up on their own, any topic and finding out what the Bible has to say about it on their own?  For example, if I asked them individually, "What does the Bible say about money?" Could they say, "I'll look that up and get back to you next week." and on their own find all the verses related to money, read the context and give a summary without looking at someone else's commentary?  If not, I would never suggest doing another study with them.  I'm shocked at how many professing Christians these days are unable and or unwilling to do this on their own with just their Bible before they accept what some famous stranger has to say on any given  topic. It's an essential, foundational skill too many people lack and that foundation needs to be laid first.

[SoCalLynn]

I was also suggest The Truth Project. It's something both men and women would get a lot out of.

[JenniferB]

We no longer have a Bible study at our house (I miss those days), but if we did, I would want to study the Early Church history or commentaries or practices, etc.

 

If I could pull a group together, I would want to do something like this:

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Incarnation-Word-Large-Print/dp/1490388370/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1408395186&sr=8-6&keywords=on+the+incarnation

 

or for something practical to "work on" something like this:

 

http://www.amazon.com/12-Step-Approach-Spiritual-Exercises-Ignatius/dp/1580510086/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1408395406&sr=8-6&keywords=St.+Ignatius

[MissKNG]

The Love Dare. And you can do a showing of "Fireproof" with Kirk Cameron.

 

Which male is leading the group?

[Carol in Cal.]

We did this for a long time by using a study Bible and going through it.  It took us about 3 1/2 years to get through the whole thing, and then we really didn't know what to do next.

 

We tried a study on evangelism, which was fine but very short, and then we selected another book to study, but it didn't really take off.

 

So after a several year hiatus, we started up again, and wow.  It was so bad.  There was one man who took the discussions into so many weird tangents, and would never let anyone else talk.  And there were some seasoned people there who could talk him down, but there were also some new ones who got very confused.  It was a mess, and after a while I got tired of being one of the seasoned people who was always arguing for the benefit of the new ones, and plus the new ones all quit over a period of time, and I finally realized that it wasn't working for me any more and that I wasn't serving anyone else by being there anymore either so I quit.  Someday I will probably go back.

[Carol in Cal.]

I encourage you, if you take this approach, to start with the Gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John--and to have some authority that you agree on--a pastor who will either lead the group or be available to settle questions.  Otherwise this can be very good or it can go off the rails completely.

 

This DVD series, Your Strong Suit, looks like it would be great.  I saw the author present a great deal of it in person in May, and was impressed.  It was pretty meaty.

 

I have recently started studying this book:  http://www.amazon.com/Ruth-More-than-Love-Story/dp/0758644396  and am VERY impressed with it.  It's billed as a woman's Bible study only because it's written by a woman.  It's not geared toward women at all, and I think that anyone would get a lot out of it.  Plus this is a book of the Bible that is not read very often, so it might put everyone on an even playing field.

 

If I were starting something new right now, I would read "The Hammer of God" in a group.  The title is unfortunate. It is about the spiritual growth of a couple of young pastors, separated in time, but in the same location, not about people going around hammering each other with their ideas.  It is one of the best Christian fiction books I have ever read, and would be absolutely superb for a mixed gender group.

 

 

[creekland]

Suggestions would depend upon how knowledgeable folks already are.  If they haven't done much in depth, I agree with the Truth Project or simply starting with the New Testament and a good Study Bible (ESV or something).  If they feel they've "done" the basics and find them repetitive, it can be fun to study the Minor Prophets and/or look more closely at the context of the day - even the early church after the Bible was written.  In the middle might be a study of Paul's life - or Daniel's - or David's.  There's more to some of these than the "normal" stories we all learn about.

 

For life application stuff, I did enjoy Hybels, but have never read Simplify to comment on that one specifically.  I prefer being grounded in Bible knowledge before going with interpretations of life application books personally.