Weekly Lectionary Studies

These bible study notes are very accessible and can be used for personal or group study of the lectionary readings.  They can, of course  be used anytime in the year.  Just click on the date link below to upload the notes for the relevant Sunday. 

Here are some notes that Jacqui has put together about leading the material:

LECTIONARY GOSPEL HOUSEGROUP STUDIES

 Notes for Leaders

 The complete study is intended to take no longer than 60 – 90 minutes.

 The Ice-Breaker

This is intended to take no longer than 10 minutes.  Its purpose is to get people thinking about something related to the study in a reasonably light-hearted way, and to get people talking at the beginning of the meeting.

 Looking at the Text

The comments, questions and suggestions under this heading are intended to help people familiarise themselves with the passage they are studying, to help them understand it better in its context and to discuss any issues that are raised by the text itself.  In an hour’s study: perhaps this section should take 20 minutes; in an hour and a half: perhaps 30 minutes.

Applying it to Ourselves

This section usually contains 2 or 3 questions which are aimed at taking the message of the Bible and applying it to ourselves in our daily lives.  It maybe that one question will be sufficient for your group on any one occasion.  Another time, perhaps you will deal with two questions, or all three.  Don’t feel you have to cover all the questions but do make sure you apply the biblical material to yourselves in some way!

 Action

 It is important to encourage people, at the end of a meeting, to think about what they have learned, and about whether there is any action they want to take.  This may be something very small – a change in attitude, a prayer to make, a word to say – or occasionally it may be something major or life-changing.

You will want to end in prayer in some way.  This may just be giving people a time of silence to commit their action to God, or it may be a time of open prayer, or it may be a creative prayer time that has emerged in some way from the Bible Study.

 In General

 Don’t spend too long on any one section.  It is important to keep a balance between the section that looks at the Bible passage and the section that explores its relationship to ourselves.  Within these, don’t be afraid to leave something out if you are running short on time, or if one particular question or discussion topic doesn’t seem to work.  Don’t be afraid to adapt questions if, by doing so, you make the questions more relevant (or understandable!) for your group.  The suggested format is a framework that is meant to be adapted, and made user-friendly, for your particular context.  

More variety can be given by dividing the group at various points.  Don’t be afraid to use pairs, threes or splitting the group in two for initial discussions that can then be shared in the whole group.  This gives variety, helps quieter people participate and can bring out more insights than if the group discussed the question as a whole.  It also helps if you have a particularly dominant or talkative person!  But don’t overuse this technique – keep a balance.

 © Jacqui A. Horton 2010 

If you'd like to contact Jacqui about the material, you can email her on:  jacqui.horton.work@gmail.com

Current material:

8th Jan 2012      15th Jan 2012      22nd Jan 2012      29th Jan 2012

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