Not long ago, I was talking with a long-time Christian Friend who lives in another state. Since I have known him for about thirty years, long before he moved away from California, we have been in many fellowship Bible studies together over the years. He, like me, is a Caucasian who was married to a Filipina and attended our Filipino-American (Fil-Am) church, Sunday Schools, and Bible studies.
When he moved to another state, he began attending a much larger Calvary Chapel church and we often discussed the differences in our Bible studies. My Fil-Am church was still having discussion style interactive Bible studies - while his larger church was having a Friday night sermon-style Bible study. And, the discussion always came around to, "What is the difference? We are still hearing the Word of God?"
As I told him, "The answer to your question can be found IN your question. You say you are HEARING the Word of God - and that is NOT a Bible study. A Bible study is when a group of people read and discuss the Word of God as a group - with folks being more involved in the discussion. If you are only hearing the Word - are you always involved? Or does your mind wander? It does not matter how loud the leader speaks, or how softly - your mind has a tendency to wander, to think about that task, or that test, you have tomorrow."
Being part of a group discussion, even if you are not actively participating - will keep you on your toes, will help keep you from thinking about tomorrow's task.
Our discussion, plus the fact that he had to look for real Bible studies outside the church he was attending - led me to share a blog I initially wrote in November 2006 titled "Why Don't You Invite Them To Bible Study?" and revisited in May 2017 with: "Why Is Bible Study So Important?"
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When he moved to another state, he began attending a much larger Calvary Chapel church and we often discussed the differences in our Bible studies. My Fil-Am church was still having discussion style interactive Bible studies - while his larger church was having a Friday night sermon-style Bible study. And, the discussion always came around to, "What is the difference? We are still hearing the Word of God?"
As I told him, "The answer to your question can be found IN your question. You say you are HEARING the Word of God - and that is NOT a Bible study. A Bible study is when a group of people read and discuss the Word of God as a group - with folks being more involved in the discussion. If you are only hearing the Word - are you always involved? Or does your mind wander? It does not matter how loud the leader speaks, or how softly - your mind has a tendency to wander, to think about that task, or that test, you have tomorrow."
Being part of a group discussion, even if you are not actively participating - will keep you on your toes, will help keep you from thinking about tomorrow's task.
Our discussion, plus the fact that he had to look for real Bible studies outside the church he was attending - led me to share a blog I initially wrote in November 2006 titled "Why Don't You Invite Them To Bible Study?" and revisited in May 2017 with: "Why Is Bible Study So Important?"
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WHY IS BIBLE STUDY SO IMPORTANT? Well, I can give you a number of reasons. But, let me offer an analogy I have often used: A church it like a three-legged stool. Those three legs are (1) the Worship service sermon, (2) Sunday School, and (3) Weekly Bible study.
What is really important in our lives? First, having a personal eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. Second, having a strong Christian environment within your family and your home. Both depend upon the strength of your relationship with Jesus Christ and your knowledge of His Bible.
When we become Christian believers, we should have two goals: First to grow more mature in our knowledge of His Written Word, the Bible, and the revelations God gives us there. Second, to take that maturing knowledge outside our church fellowship and be "His witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Our Jerusalem is our immediate family and friends. That should be strongly established to enable you to successfully take His Word to your Judea and Samaria, i.e., your community, state, nation, and world.
We might look at our Jerusalem as our close family and friends ~ our Judea as our local community ~ and our Samaria as our city, state, and nation. The remotest part of the earth is self-explanatory - we are to take His Word to the whole world. But, how can we take His Word to the world - if we do not have a working knowledge of it ourselves?
This brings us back to our Three-legged Church stool analogy. Is your church a three-legged church? Does your church have an interactive Sunday School and discussion style Bible studies to augment what you learn in your Sunday sermon? "Bill, why do you ask such a silly question?"
Glad you asked! When you sit on a three-legged stool, it is stable and you can relax knowing it will support you. But, remove one of those legs - and the stool becomes less stable. Remove another leg - and that stool becomes a precarious one legged seat where you had better not relax - or you might fall. If your church is too big to have all three legs - would you be better off in a smaller church fellowship? Food for thought.
"What is so important about Sunday School and Bible study? What can you learn there that you cannot learn in a Sunday sermon?" Good question. Let me ask you a question. What do you do during the Sunday sermon? You sit and listen. If you are really being honest, at times your mind wanders, sometimes you start to think about other things you have to do, you may even get up and go to the bathroom - just to stay awake.
I can remember one Sunday in the late 1990s, our church had a guest speaker whom I always enjoyed. Yet, during his message, I began to write a letter to Bill Gates with whom I had worked before he and Paul Allen started Microsoft. Did God put that letter on my mind at that specific time? I felt He did, but to be sure I let the letter, which I had finished during the sermon, sit for two weeks. By that time I truly felt that God had wanted me to mail it, without me knowing why.
Fast forward a number of years and I read that Bill Gates' mom had passed away in 1994, the same year my mom went home to be with the Lord - and I knew that Bill Gates was very close to his mom. Did he need words of comfort at that specific time? I don't know; but God knew. Did my letter help Bill in any way? I don't know. My task was to write the letter and mail it. The rest was up to God.
Why have I mentioned this? To show you that depending upon only sermons (sometimes called devotionals), Sunday or during the week, to give us Biblical growth and maturity - can be a less reliable source than Sunday School and Bible study - for we can be distracted in so many ways, even good ways such as that letter. A sermon is someone talking AT you. A Bible study is you being involved in an active discussion, exchanging ideas, weighing new thoughts - all part of the process of learning and growing.
Consider these points:
"Why are Sunday School classes and Bible studies more productive means of maturing in our knowledge of God's Word?" In a well organized Sunday School and Bible study - we read Scripture AND we discuss what we have just read. We talk among ourselves about what message, or revelation, we believe that particular Scripture verse or passage was intended to give us.
We all can offer our thoughts and discuss them among the group. Will every thought offered be valid? No, but each one gives us food for thought. We may even be inspired to go home and do more indepth study on our own to discover God's true message. What has this accomplished? It has gotten us deeper into both a corporate and a personal study of His Word.
In the corporate world many companies have "brainstorming" sessions. What is the purpose? It is a time when all the people in the meeting can offer ideas, thoughts, and suggestions for a new product. After a time of "brainstorming" - they begin to discard those ideas which did not seem to fit. And, they begin to shape and hone others. And, finally, with all the irrelevant thoughts discarded - the new product begins to take shape.
Isn't that basically what we do in Bible study? Everyone offers their thoughts on the meaning of a Scripture verse or passage - and then we begin to discuss, analyze, discard, and focus on what seems to be the true meaning. That is a productive Bible study. That level of learning is hard to get in a sermon, Sunday or during the week.
Personally, I never say that I "teach" a Bible study. I will always say that I "lead" a Bible study - for we are all learning together.
"But, Bill, if you are not teaching the Bible study - who is teaching it?" So happy you asked. The Holy Spirit is teaching it - and the Bible study leader is merely seeing that the discussions do not take the group off into an unrecoverable tangent, i.e., the leader is keeping the study focused and on track - while the Holy Spirit leads us and teaches us.
So, with those thoughts, let me share with you the post I wrote in November 2006 which took me on this thoughtful journey today:
I pray you found this enlightening. If so, please feel free to share it.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
What is really important in our lives? First, having a personal eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. Second, having a strong Christian environment within your family and your home. Both depend upon the strength of your relationship with Jesus Christ and your knowledge of His Bible.
When we become Christian believers, we should have two goals: First to grow more mature in our knowledge of His Written Word, the Bible, and the revelations God gives us there. Second, to take that maturing knowledge outside our church fellowship and be "His witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Our Jerusalem is our immediate family and friends. That should be strongly established to enable you to successfully take His Word to your Judea and Samaria, i.e., your community, state, nation, and world.
We might look at our Jerusalem as our close family and friends ~ our Judea as our local community ~ and our Samaria as our city, state, and nation. The remotest part of the earth is self-explanatory - we are to take His Word to the whole world. But, how can we take His Word to the world - if we do not have a working knowledge of it ourselves?
This brings us back to our Three-legged Church stool analogy. Is your church a three-legged church? Does your church have an interactive Sunday School and discussion style Bible studies to augment what you learn in your Sunday sermon? "Bill, why do you ask such a silly question?"
Glad you asked! When you sit on a three-legged stool, it is stable and you can relax knowing it will support you. But, remove one of those legs - and the stool becomes less stable. Remove another leg - and that stool becomes a precarious one legged seat where you had better not relax - or you might fall. If your church is too big to have all three legs - would you be better off in a smaller church fellowship? Food for thought.
"What is so important about Sunday School and Bible study? What can you learn there that you cannot learn in a Sunday sermon?" Good question. Let me ask you a question. What do you do during the Sunday sermon? You sit and listen. If you are really being honest, at times your mind wanders, sometimes you start to think about other things you have to do, you may even get up and go to the bathroom - just to stay awake.
I can remember one Sunday in the late 1990s, our church had a guest speaker whom I always enjoyed. Yet, during his message, I began to write a letter to Bill Gates with whom I had worked before he and Paul Allen started Microsoft. Did God put that letter on my mind at that specific time? I felt He did, but to be sure I let the letter, which I had finished during the sermon, sit for two weeks. By that time I truly felt that God had wanted me to mail it, without me knowing why.
Fast forward a number of years and I read that Bill Gates' mom had passed away in 1994, the same year my mom went home to be with the Lord - and I knew that Bill Gates was very close to his mom. Did he need words of comfort at that specific time? I don't know; but God knew. Did my letter help Bill in any way? I don't know. My task was to write the letter and mail it. The rest was up to God.
Why have I mentioned this? To show you that depending upon only sermons (sometimes called devotionals), Sunday or during the week, to give us Biblical growth and maturity - can be a less reliable source than Sunday School and Bible study - for we can be distracted in so many ways, even good ways such as that letter. A sermon is someone talking AT you. A Bible study is you being involved in an active discussion, exchanging ideas, weighing new thoughts - all part of the process of learning and growing.
Consider these points:
Bible studies - as I use the term - are groups of people actively engaged in mutual examination of the text of Scripture. Bible studies differ from sermons, classroom lectures, and informal instruction in that they primarily consist of group discussion. Bible studies can be terrifying, because you never know what people will say. There’s always inherent potential for losing control of the discussion. And for this reason, many people fear them.
But though it’s unscripted, the discussion does not have to be uncontrollable. Though open-ended, it doesn’t have to be directionless. Though interrogative, it can still be powerfully declarative. Bible studies have something going for them that few sermons or personal quiet times can achieve: Interaction. This is the chief advantage of Bible studies. ("Why have Bible studies?" March 21, 2014 By Peter Krol - http://www.knowableword.com/2014/03/21/why-have-bible-studies/)
And,
If we receive too much important information for more than about 10 minutes, our brain starts to get fatigued, doesn’t properly process, and some information is lost. Information is more likely to be retained and acted on if (1) we are interested and actively engaged, (2) we receive it via more than one of our senses, (3) we discuss it with others to assist in processing it, (4) we speak it out to reinforce it, and (5) we put it into practice immediately.
Sermons and lectures have almost none of these attributes, and studies show that only a small amount of any sermon is retained and acted on, generally from the first 10 minutes. (Sermons – Not How We Learn Best? https://theway21stcentury.wordpress.com/church/sermons-not-how-we-learn-best)
And,
Studies show sermons make congregations feel better, but they neither learn much or change much as a result. Pastors who want to equip their congregation for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12) instead of keeping them passive and doing most of the ministry themselves - will find ways to make gradual change. (Sermons – Not How We Learn Best? https://theway21stcentury.wordpress.com/church/sermons-not-how-we-learn-best)
"Why are Sunday School classes and Bible studies more productive means of maturing in our knowledge of God's Word?" In a well organized Sunday School and Bible study - we read Scripture AND we discuss what we have just read. We talk among ourselves about what message, or revelation, we believe that particular Scripture verse or passage was intended to give us.
We all can offer our thoughts and discuss them among the group. Will every thought offered be valid? No, but each one gives us food for thought. We may even be inspired to go home and do more indepth study on our own to discover God's true message. What has this accomplished? It has gotten us deeper into both a corporate and a personal study of His Word.
In the corporate world many companies have "brainstorming" sessions. What is the purpose? It is a time when all the people in the meeting can offer ideas, thoughts, and suggestions for a new product. After a time of "brainstorming" - they begin to discard those ideas which did not seem to fit. And, they begin to shape and hone others. And, finally, with all the irrelevant thoughts discarded - the new product begins to take shape.
Isn't that basically what we do in Bible study? Everyone offers their thoughts on the meaning of a Scripture verse or passage - and then we begin to discuss, analyze, discard, and focus on what seems to be the true meaning. That is a productive Bible study. That level of learning is hard to get in a sermon, Sunday or during the week.
Personally, I never say that I "teach" a Bible study. I will always say that I "lead" a Bible study - for we are all learning together.
"But, Bill, if you are not teaching the Bible study - who is teaching it?" So happy you asked. The Holy Spirit is teaching it - and the Bible study leader is merely seeing that the discussions do not take the group off into an unrecoverable tangent, i.e., the leader is keeping the study focused and on track - while the Holy Spirit leads us and teaches us.
So, with those thoughts, let me share with you the post I wrote in November 2006 which took me on this thoughtful journey today:
Subject: WHY DON'T YOU INVITE THEM TO BIBLE STUDY?
Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2006 14:51:38 -0800 From: Bill Gray
Maybe I am different, maybe a bit weird - but it seems that God puts ideas and thoughts into my head frequently when I am taking a shower. It could be because I am relaxed, my mind is not thinking of the hundred and one things I need to do, or maybe the warm water is just so soothing. But, many times the things I write occur to me in the shower. Maybe you have your special place where God talks to you.
Yesterday, as I was taking a shower, I began to think about Bible study. All my Friends know the high value I place upon studying and discussing the Word of God with other brothers and sisters. Our Christian spirits are fed both by the worship of God and by studying His Word. Although we should be worshiping God 24/7 (twenty four hours a day/seven days a week), there is one day each week which we set aside, a day when we gather with brothers and sisters, to worship Him in fellowship together. That is our Sunday Worship Service.
And, there should be another day each week when we gather to study His Word, most often in a private home. I have always like Friday Evening Bible Study for the work week is over and most of us do not work Saturday - but whatever works for your group. Bible study is a time when we sit together, read from the Bible, and discuss each Scripture verse or passage. That is an interactive Bible study dialogue.
Our faith should compel us to do two things: (1) worship Him, and (2) share His Word with the world. How can we say we worship God - if we do not follow up on that by going out into our world to share the Gospel as Jesus instructed us in His Great Commission? And what better way is there to prepare for the Great Commission Jesus gave us (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1-8, Mark 16:15) of "Going, Discipling, Baptizing, Teaching. . . being His witnesses" - than Bible study?
What God put on my heart on this November day is this: November and December of each year are special times for all Christians. This is a time when we give special Thanks to God for all He has given to us during the year. And it is a time when we give Thanks and Worship for His Son, celebrating His birth, when He was sent to pay the penalty for our sins, to make salvation available to all who will believe.
Yet, we seem to get so busy during this time of year that we often put Jesus Christ on hold, "Sorry, Lord, but we are so busy this time of the year. You know, with lots of friends and family visiting, with making plans to celebrate Your birth, with buying gifts for everyone - we just don't have time to do Bible study during these months."
Whoa, hold it, let's back up. Those reasons for canceling Bible studies - are the very reasons you should be more adamant about having Bible study. What are our reasons? First, we are just too busy? Too busy for God? Really? Second, we have so many friends and family visiting, that we don't have time for you, God. Really?
I believe He would say, "Why don't you invite those friends and family to your Bible study? If they come with you, that is wonderful; they will be hearing My Word being discussed among believers - and, if they are not already believers, this might be the time. If they decline; your faithfulness to Me will be obvious to them, it might give them second thoughts about their own lives. Think about it."
And, third, we are just too busy shopping and buying gifts? We just do not have the time to spend one whole evening in a Bible study when there is shopping to be done? We might miss out on some good bargains? Think about that. God gives us seven days in each week - and, we cannot give Him ONE evening to study His Word - because we have to shop? Really?
Yes, gift giving is a wonderful tradition. But, it is just that - a tradition. It does make us feel good when we can share the material blessings God has given us by giving gifts to our friends and loved ones. But, what is the greatest gift you can give to them? It is the gift of God's Word. It is the gift of sharing God's Word with those whom you love. The greatest gift you can give to any friend or loved one is a deeper understanding of the love letter God has written to us - His Bible.
All of those other gifts we buy at the shopping malls will rust, wither, and fade away; soon they will exist no more. But, the Word of God you help plant in the hearts and minds of your loved ones will be eternal. Is there a greater gift? You give that gift by gathering as a family, including your extended Christian family - in reading and talking about, discussing, God's Word. That is why Bible study is so important.
With that in mind; which should we put on hold - shopping or Bible study?
With that in mind; what should we do with visiting friends and family - sit around watching television and talking, or invite them to our Bible study?
I love what a pastor Friend, Pastor Ed Dacio, says when he gives an altar call at the end of a sermon, "Please bow you heads and do not be moving around or otherwise be distracting; for eternal decisions are being made right now."
Eternal decisions also are often made in Bible studies. I was saved in a Bible study. And, I recall a Bible study about five or six years ago, when Pastor Ed gave an altar call at the end of our Bible study. Eight people stood to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Three of those were from one family, a mother and her two young sons.
Bill Gray Update 2017: That Bible study was circa 2000. The oldest son is now in seminary and is an associate pastor in a local Fil-Am church.
The next week the father came to our Bible study, which he had always avoided - and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Later, he told me that it was because his young sons came home from Bible study and witnessed to him. Soon, the father's brother and his family came to our church where they received Jesus Christ. Then, their mother, Connie, came to our church and was saved. About two years later, Connie went home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Think what might have happened, several years before, if the Holy Spirit had not prompted Pastor Ed to give that altar call in our Bible study. Think what might have happened if that Bible study had been canceled - because we were too busy. Yes, we never know when an eternal decision is ready to be made. Do we really want to be somewhere else - when that eternal decision could have happened in our worship service or Bible study?
God has put this on my heart - and I believe it. I pray that you do, too, and that you will share this message with all your Friends, Relatives, Associates, and Neighbors - all your FRANs. Invite them to Bible study.
I pray you found this enlightening. If so, please feel free to share it.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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