How to get your group to prepare for Bible study

“So... how did you find the passage? Any initial thoughts?” An eerie silence follows, accompanied by the awkward shifting of people in their chairs, as it becomes apparent that no-one has prepared. It will be a dry old night of trying to wring out some answers from people whose sudden pangs of guilt have distracted them from the possibility of thinking up a response by reading the passage right now.

If you’ve not given up the habit of meeting together, you’ve probably been here. From both the study facilitator’s and from the participant’s angle, it turns the night a bit off-colour.

What do I mean when I talk about preparation? Sometimes it’s whatever you can squeeze into the 10 minutes before you meet. Other times you get to digest the passage, listen to two sermons, read a commentary, write a blog post, and memorize your favourite verse. Whatever you do, it’s reflecting on the Word of God, sharper than a two-edged sword, able to judge the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart. Either leading or participating, it is eternal treasure to work for, and I pray that you and your group are caught up in seeing Jesus.

Now the thing with ‘how-to guides’ is that they’re all very procedural, and the same “ten steps to Bible study fruitfulness” don’t suit everyone. In the early church there was no procedure manual for small groups. We are simply told to not give up meeting together (Heb 10:25), and to love one another deeply from the heart with the word of Christ at the centre (1 Pet 1:22-23) So in the same way, let’s attend to a few of the big motivators that should draw our hearts to dig into the Word together.

A passion for seeing Jesus

Jesus’ prayer for believers (John 17:24) is that we would see his glory. Jesus Christ is the one who reveals grace and truth. He is the one who shows us what the father is like (John 14:9-10). When I am passionate about seeing Jesus, and my brothers and sisters are also, there is usually willingness to be ready and to share the Word that we have heard, read, studied, memorized or meditated on (see the Navigators’ hand illustration).

Sometimes we’re not doing any of these things about our loving Saviour Jesus Christ, and his Word is far from us, so our readiness to see him is crippled. Being crippled like this makes us unable to prepare or meaningfully contribute. When Jesus says I am the vine, you are the branches, he’s being quite practical and declaring that our fruitfulness—even in Bible study—comes from finding in him the source of our life and passion.

It doesn’t matter if you’re the study leader or one of many participants, when this passion is alive in you it will be evident in preparation, and you will be blessed and be a blessing (sometimes a little and sometimes a lot).

A love for the brothers and sisters

My brothers and sisters in my study are precious to me. We spend time talking during the week. We know each other’s troubles and pray through them together (and the dignity and honour that we show each other by asking if the Lord has answered what we prayed through last week means so much to our spiritual siblings). We confess sin openly together after working through the application of the Word.

My love for my Bible study family comes from wanting to share what is most precious to me with those dearest to me. We don’t come to Bible study to meet nice people who think like us, or even to have fun learning. We come to sharpen one another, to admonish one another, to have the word of God dwell in us richly.

The effect of showing this deep prayerful love for each other is that the duty of preparation becomes a gift of love and care that makes meeting together a sanctuary, and probably the best time we spend all week.

Precious time

The time we spend together is precious, partly because we are so wretchedly time-poor in our western busy lives. But mostly because these are people for whom Christ died, and because their company and the focus of our time together is on the things into which “angels long to look” (1 Pet 1:12). If the time is sacred to us we won’t be thinking of what latest gossip to share, but instead preparing to feast by bringing spiritual food.

Perspective

Sometimes our family life crowds out study time. Sometimes we’re ill. Sometimes we’re overworked. Sometimes life is rough. But the grace of God works through all of these times. Getting my group to prepare for Bible study is quite secondary to getting my group to see Jesus, to love one another, and to enjoy precious fellowship—but these things engender a willingness to prepare for Bible study.

When, as leaders or participants, we have passion for him, love for one another, and know that the time we spend together is precious and give it the proper perspective, these attitudes will grow in us the grace to prepare to meet together, to encourage one another as we see the day approaching.

Photo credit: Jeff Noble