A simple approach to summer Bible Study
Which study should we do next? This is always the question that nags as we end each session of Bible Study. There are so many (glorious!) options, it can be overwhelming to choose. Should we do a Beth Moore video study? A topical book-study? A book-of-the-Bible Navigator’s study? Since I love to teach, I also enjoy creating and studying my own book-of-the-book study, then teaching each week and writing homework. This is very, very, very labor-intensive for me and while I love it, I have noticed that it requires MUCH of me and not much of those who attend. *smile*
But this spring we went an entirely different direction, and now I’m asking myself: Why have we never done this before?!!! I’m amazed how learning in community so powerfully draws out the richness of the biblical text, how each person’s perspective widens my own, how just studying Scripture is rekindling that lost love for the Word of God like nothing else has.
I feel silly “sharing” this “new” way to study the Bible because it’s not new at all. It’s ancient. Old. Simple. But somehow over the years I feel as though we‘ve been drunk on books and parched for the Word. [bctt tweet=”We’ve been drunk on books and parched for the Word.”]
Sure, I read my Bible through every year. I even write Bible studies and do study it on my own. But in terms of our corporate Bible studies, growing together, I feel like we’ve become so glutted with books about the Bible we’ve become starved for the actual Bible itself.
It’s a little scary to say those words, seeing how I write books about the Bible. *smile*
But I’d rather you read your Bible than read my books about the Bible.
So here’s what we’ve been doing: studying the Bible. Tada! Aren’t you impressed? Ok, all jokes aside, two groups of us gals have been gathering to study through the New Testament. Like, all of it. At our current rate it will take us 5 years, but hey–what else is there to do?! So we began in Matthew, and we covered 4 chapters a week. Matthew is 28 chapters long, so we covered it in 7 weeks. We added an introductory week at the beginning and the total was an 8-week study.
What I love is that you dear friend could easily gather a handful of gals this summer and use this same method on your own. No materials, no videos, no cost. Nothing. Just you and your Bible and a handful of friends in your living room.
Here’s briefly how it works: Let’s say there’s 8 of you and 28 chapters in the book. Two of you study one of the first 4 chapters (i.e. Two study chapter 1, two study chapter 2, two study chapter 3, two study chapter 4). A shorter book you could study slower (i.e. Philippians, with 4 chapters, you ALL could study each chapter, or even half a chapter, and cover the book in 5 weeks or 9 weeks, allowing for an intro week.) You use the same method (below) and all agree to devote just ONE HOUR each week, broken into 4 15-minute chunks. Anybody can find an hour a week—we easily waste that much time gawking at stuff on Facebook. Right?
Then, when we gather, each duo shares their process and discoveries from that week–their outline, cross-references and Aha! moments, insights and ways they want to see God work in their lives as a result of what they’ve learned. The entire group has read all 4 chapters, so discussion can take place, questions asked, insights shared. Everyone is involved, and if someone is having an off-week and struggled to finish the chapter (or can’t come for some reason), the others can cover for her, offer their insights. We learn in community.
The Word of God and the people of God. We need both. Perhaps this might be a simple way to wed the two and discover all over again the greatness of God’s holy Word.
{Happy studying! Thanks for reading.}
*Here are PDFs outlining the process and giving an example of what a week’s study might look like. Enjoy!
Book Review: Battlefield of the Mind (3 ways to win the battle)
Love the Lord your God … with all your mind.
Matthew 22:37
Most of us, at one time or another have felt frustration over a certain area of our life that we just cannot seem to master. We’ve talked about Freedom from Food, but the truth is we battle for freedom in dozens of areas virtually every day of our lives. These battles are with besetting sins, areas where we seek to obey God’s best, and yet we struggle and stumble, flail and fail. We are beset, or troubled persistently by these same things again and again. And when we find ourselves facing the same foe again and again, chances are there’s a battle.
A battle of the mind.
All sin is a personal affront on the goodness of God.
All sin, in essence, looks God in the face and says, “You are not enough.” I still need to have the final word with my husband, I still need to hate this person in my heart because she doesn’t treat me like I want, I still need to be harsh with my children, I still need to stay up late and overindulge in food or media.
So if the essence of sin is believing that God is not sufficient for our needs, the place to begin is by changing the way that we think. We cannot change the way we feel but we can change the way we think. So how do we begin?
Joyce Meyer’s book, The Battlefield of the Mind, is a great place to start. I’ve never read her work, and kept arm’s length because of some of her word-faith associations and borderline health-wealth theology. So while I’m not espousing her entire ministry, necessarily (simply because I do not know enough either way), the book is a great eye-opener to all that God’s Word says about the necessity of winning the thought-battle we face each day. It’s a bit all over the place, so I can’t completely summarize but here are a few things stood out to me:
- Be careful how you speak of a situation.
- Tenaciously believe that God is for you. I was struck by one thing about Joyce Meyer: confidence. She is just so stinkin’ confident! She basically figures, “I’m seeking God, trusting God, asking God, praying to God, He loves me and will keep me from doing anything stupid.” Simple, yes? But simply true! Yes, things may “fall apart” temporarily if God wants to mold our character, but He’s not out to get us. For me, this translated into our house situation and London trip (I read the book before we went to London). I was feeling so anxious (Will God sell our house? What if He doesn’t? What if we go to London and it all flops?), but this simple step brought my mind back to peace. God loves me. He led us to read the books and hear the stories and see the world in such a way that we want to downsize our life to give to His kingdom. He orchestrated the London trip, all of it! So of course He is for us! Of course He will work out a beautiful plan. But we have to tenaciously believe this simple thing — God loves me and is for me.
I had to do some repenting of how I had labeled my dear and precious son. Yes, he is the child who requires more of my energy, but I think perhaps I’ve labeled him right into a corner clearly marked “Great Challenge” when I should have lifted him right up and placed on his head the honorable crown marked, “Great Potential.” Because truly he does. The boy already has a God-consciousness and an uncanny ability to care less about the opinions of others. It can frustrate me because he is not motivated by praise, at all. (He is motivated by treats laced with sugar.) But the gist of it is that how I think about Dutch will greatly impact how I invest in him, treat him, and train him. I truly believe that Dutch is the coolest cat in the world and want to spend myself in training that strong-willed soul into a mighty warrior for God. (Can you remind me of that when I’m weak? Thanks!)
- Determine wrong thinking and begin a new thought-pattern. It was clear as I read that there was one particular thought-pattern that was tripping me up. If we slow down and pay attention we’ll begin to see that we probably do the same thing over and over again. It might not be a horrible way of thinking, but if it’s less than God’s best then over time it will slowly lead us off course. We have to slow down, pay attention, and ask God to show us where our thought-habits are skewed. Then, the hard part: Over and over (and over and over) begin practicing God’s way of thinking instead. This is where reading/ studying/ memorizing God’s word is critical. We really must brainwash (wash and clean our minds!) with the truth of God’s Word. Where to start? Get in God’s Word every day.
What ways have you waged war in the battlefield of the mind? What worked, what didn’t work, and what have been your “aha!” moments along the way? I pray the mind of Christ for us all today. Thanks for reading.