Choose a Bible Study for Yourself or a Group

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Do you finally have time to work on a Bible Study for yourself? Are you thinking ahead and wondering what study to do next with your Bible Study group? Maybe you are starting a Bible Study group and need to know where to begin. Or you are new to the Bible and puzzled how to begin with something that won’t overwhelm you. You are not alone. Whether you are new to Bible study or have been doing it for a while, choosing a quality Bible Study can make your experience either a great one or a frustrating one. Over the years, I’ve learned some valuable lessons about choosing a Bible Study for yourself or for a group.

Start with prayer

Ask Jesus to help you choose a quality Bible study. Look at different options available in the topics that interest you. Depend on Him to show you which ones you should do. He is faithful!

When I say, “choose a Bible Study” in this post, I am referring to scripted Bible Studies. Those are written Bible Studies that cover portions of the Bible (whole books or sections of the Bible) in an organized fashion. They can be called workbooks or study guides.

Choose a Bible Study not a popular book study

What counts as a quality Bible study book?

• Look for a written Bible Study that covers portions of the Bible (whole books or sections of the Bible) in an organized fashion. These are scripted to help you learn by reading the Bible passage(s) then answering specific questions based on what you just read.

• Look for a Bible study workbook that focuses more on what you are learning from your study of the Bible passages than on reading commentary from the author. Bible study should always be Christ-focused, not personality-driven or author-focused. All of our Joyful Walk Bible Studies are prepared Bible Studies that are Christ-focused with limited commentary.

• Don’t choose a popular book containing some Bible verses in it that may have a leader’s guide in the back. That is not a Bible study. Those can be valuable learning tools but not as a Bible study.

Are you new at leading a Bible study lesson?

• Look at the format of the study. Can the questions be used as a guide for leading the discussion? A well-written Bible Study guide will make it easier for you to learn how to lead a Bible Study.

Most of our traditional Joyful Walk Bible Study books have a “Small Group Discussion Guide” in the back of the book (free download, printable/fillable version, and paperback). For our Graceful Beginnings short and easy studies, you can download a suggested discussion guide directly from that study’s webpage (go here for the list). All of these are available in our Free Resources Library.

Choose an “Inductive Bible Study”

There are two methods of Bible Study—inductive and deductive.

The INDUCTIVE method

The inductive method follows three steps: observation, interpretation and application. The process is more easily understood by answering three questions:

• What does the passage say? (Observation: what’s actually there)
• What does it mean? (Interpretation: the author’s intended meaning for the audience that would read or hear it)
• How do I live this out in my life? (Application: making it personal)

This is the best way to study the Bible. Look at what’s there. Learn what it means and teaches you. Then, live it out in your life.

The DEDUCTIVE method

The deductive method starts with a topic or theme then looks for verses in the Bible that match what you are wanting to know. There are two cautions about using this method of Bible study:

• Caution #1: You can use this method to selectively choose Bible verses to prove anything that you want to prove.

• Caution #2: This method feeds the “look-imagine-see” way of looking at the Bible. One looks at a verse or passage, imagines what they want it to say, and then “sees” what they have imagined. Many types of false teaching through the years have started with this kind of “look-imagine-see” process.

The deductive method is not a reliable method for studying the Bible. Be aware that sometimes popular topics use this method.

Check it out

Check the front of the Bible Study guide to see if it says it follows the inductive process.

All of our Joyful Walk Bible Studies follow the INDUCTIVE METHOD of study. They can be trusted to lead you to biblical truth.

Consider your time for studying or discussing

For yourself:

• If you have time to work on a lesson 4-5 days per week, you can find many Bible Studies that are divided into daily bites for you to do.

• If your season of life gives you limited time to work on a lesson, choose a shorter study—something that can be completed in one or two sittings. Then, you won’t get behind or discouraged when you can’t keep up with the study. Shorter studies are also great for summer because you can feel more relaxed trying to get through it. All of our Graceful Beginnings Studies are short and easy, perfect for anyone new to the Bible or with limited time. They are also easy to lead. We offer several that focus on who Christ is and how to have a relationship with Him.

For a group:

• If you have 1½ to 2 hours, you can usually cover one lesson per session without rushing through the lesson.

• If you have an hour or less, choose a shorter study or a study that can be divided into two sessions. You don’t want to feel rushed trying to get through all of the questions in a short time. You want the group time to be a learning experience, not just a challenge to get through it.

Our traditional Joyful Walk Bible Study books have a “Small Group Discussion Guide” in the back of the book (free download, printable/fillable version, and paperback). For our Graceful Beginnings short and easy studies, you can download a suggested discussion guide directly from that study’s webpage (go here for the list). All of these are available in our Free Resources Library.

Consider your familiarity with the Bible

• If you are new to the Bible or your group members are mostly those new to the Bible, choose a Bible study designed for you. Look for basic lessons with simple questions and applications that are easy-to-understand for beginners. See my blog, “Nurture Women Who Are New to the Bible” for additional insight.

• If you already have some experience studying the Bible, you have lots of options. Just make sure what you choose follows the Inductive Bible Study Method as described above. Bible studies designed for Christians who already have some experience studying the Bible have longer lessons with questions that assume you have a working knowledge of the Bible. Once again, make sure they are Christ-focused more than author-focused.

Here is another source of quality women’s Bible Studies that can be freely downloaded. “Women’s Bible Study Curriculum” page on Bible.org (wide variety).

Choose something that interests you and will nurture your faith

• Ask yourself what would be the best focus for you in your life right now or for your group. Then, consider what you have already studied and what might be the best thing to build onto that. Choose your Bible Study based on these.

• Your passion about the study will motivate you to dig in and learn for yourself.

• Group leader: It’s important that you feed yourself from the Word of God before trying to lead others in a discussion. The joy of what you are learning will be infectious to those in your group.

• For a new group: it’s best for you to just choose the study and run with it rather than trying to please everyone in the group. The truth is that will not be able to please everyone. Pray about what is best for the group.

• For those who have already studied that book of the Bible you chose, suggest that this is the time for them to help someone else understand it. Remind them that Bible study in a group is not all about “me.” It is about the whole group learning together. The Word of God is alive and active. If she is open to it, she will learn something new.

• If someone who has been in Bible studies for years complains that the one you chose is too easy, suggest that she invite a friend or coworker who is new to the Bible to attend this one. Then, she can be the mentor for that person.

Ask questions when considering a video-driven study

Wonderful gifted teachers have made their messages available through Bible Studies that have accompanying videos. You can always learn something from gifted Bible teachers. But, when it comes to choosing a Bible Study for yourself or for your group, here are some questions to ask and things to consider before choosing a study that requires watching a video to complete it:

Does the study lead you to dig into the Bible for yourself for the truth?

Is the personal Bible study time actual study of the Bible according to the inductive process or does it contain mostly thought and reflection questions? It is easy to become “lazy” when it comes to studying the Bible for yourself if you can just be spoon-fed by a gifted teacher. Can you learn from the Bible passage through the study without watching the video at all? If yes, sounds like it might be a good study. If no, avoid it.

How does the cost for purchasing the videos and workbooks affect you or the group members?

Video-driven studies are convenient but can be expensive. You must still purchase a workbook for every participant plus buy access to the videos. You must depend on technology to work perfectly every time. Will that be a challenge for you? Will it fluster you if showing the video doesn’t work during your group time?

Can the group members watch the videos on their own time through an app or website and then share what they learned during group time?

This is the better way when it comes to building community within the time limits that you have. Will you be forced to focus on whatever the teacher draws out in the video? It is better if you can focus on what your particular group needs the most from the study. Again, look at the personal study portion to see if it covers the passage well. The video should be like “icing on the cake” not the cake itself.

Will watching the video limit group interaction if time is short?

It is very hard to find a video-driven study that can be used in an hour or less during a typical lunch hour at work or during an evening study at the end of a hard work day. The videos are generally too long to allow for much group discussion at all. It’s hard to build community when you are just watching someone else talk. And watching a video together is not a good substitute for interaction within the group. If the group members can watch the videos on their own time through an app or website and then share what they learned during group time, that’s a better way to do it.

Recap

• Choose a scripted Bible Study not someone’s book.
• Make sure it uses the inductive method: observation, interpretation, application.
• Consider the amount of time you have to give to it—yourself or your group members.
• Choose a Bible Study that matches your familiarity with studying the Bible.
• Choose something that interests you and will help you grow.
• If you choose a video-driven study, make sure it leads you to learn for yourself from personal Bible study and not depend on the gifted teacher to give you the truth. The video should be the icing on the cake, not the cake itself.

If you are a group leader, it can be hard and scary to lead a group of women through a Bible study. But that’s a good thing because you will depend on Jesus more. It’s okay to say, “Lord Jesus, I do not feel confident leading a Bible study group. But I will let You do that through me. I am willing to learn from You and depend on You as I do this.” Then, watch what He does!

Ask Jesus to help you with all of the above steps to choosing a Bible study for yourself or for your group. Depend on Him to show you what to do. He is faithful!

Download the “Start and Lead a Bible Study Group booklet” which contains the same information from this blog and more for group leaders.

Want more help for leading a small group? Get Be a Christ-Focused Small Group Leader, available at Amazon.com and other online bookstores.

AI was not used to generate this post.