In the Explore the Bible adult resources, you will find a Bible skill in every session. These features are designed to help each person involved in the life of a Bible study group become a better Bible student. Leader may guide the group through the Bible skill during the group time or individuals may be expected to complete the skill during their personal study, or both.
Since introducing the Bible skill, two questions seem to be asked more frequently than others. These two questions are the focus of this post.
What kinds of activities will we find?
The Bible skill can cover a wide range of activities. These exercises may direct you to locate a city on a map, read an article in a Bible dictionary, or compare related verses.
Here is a quick list (not complete)
- Use other Scripture to help understand a Bible passage.
- Read, reflect on, and react emotionally to a Bible verse.
- Dig deeper into the background and usage of key words or phrases.
- Notice repeated words or phrases in a Bible passage.
- Use a concordance and/or Bible dictionary (either print or on the Internet) to learn more about a feature of Israel’s religious life.
- Use multiple Scripture passages to understand a major doctrine.
- Create a compare/contrast chart to study a passage.
- Compare how another biblical writer used a word or phrase.
- Compare how the same writer used a word or phrase in other Bible books.
- Observe when and for what purpose a New Testament passage includes an Old Testament quotation.
- Connect Old Testament prophecy to New Testament fulfillment.
- Identify the imagery in a verse or passage and discover what it communicates.
- Use a Bible atlas and Bible dictionary to locate and learn about places mentioned in Scripture.
How can we use the Bible Skill during the group time?
The group plans in the Leader Guide and in the leader helps section of the Daily Discipleship Guide include ideas for using the Bible Skill in the group time. Here are the more common ways of using it:
Report assigned. The leader preenlists a person in the group to complete the Bible Skill PRIOR to the group time and then at a specific time during the group time, calls on that person to share what they learned and the process they used to gain that insight. This approach is a great way to develop a future leader.
Teams. The group may be called upon to complete the Bible Skill in smaller groups, at the most four a team. This enables everyone in the group to participate and add to the group experience. Leaders may provide Bible study tools to each group or direct them to an online source that can be accessed on a smartphone or tablet. If our church has a library, we can secure reference books from them for many of the activities. This also helps us remind people of the importance of a church library.
Group. Leaders may choose or be called upon to lead the group through the process of completing the Bible skill. Leaders will want to make sure that we do the skill itself, using a Bible dictionary or other reference item in front of the group. In effect, we are modeling how to do a skill when we take this approach. We cannot assume everyone knows how to use a cross-referenced study Bible, atlas, or other study tool and this helps others see the value of and how to use a reference tool.
Tip: Beginning in Fall of 2022, QuickSource will include a suggestion for using the Bible Skill in every session. Doing so will make it easier for a leader to quickly identify this idea.
Want a sneak peak of what is coming this Fall? Complete the form and you will have access to samples of the Fall 2022 resources.