UNLEASH THE WORD
Studying the Bible in Small Groups
By Karen Soole
10ofthose. 110 pages. £5.99
ISBN 978 1 910 587 201
If you have ever felt inadequate when preparing to lead a small group or one-to-one Bible study, then this book is for you! Karen Soole makes clear from the outset that she doesn’t have all the answers and that the perfect Bible study does not exist. However, her conviction is that ‘God is Sovereign, his Word is powerful, and he works despite me!’.
Her starting point is to explain why small group Bible study is still important, even – and perhaps especially – in churches where expository Bible teaching is strong. Paul exhorts us in Colossians 3.16 to ‘let the word dwell among [us] richly’, which is why it is important to allow what we have heard in a sermon to sink in with further study and prayer.
The author suggests that we do not use published materials as a basis for Bible study, but instead write our own questions, having spent time reading, understanding and applying the passage to ourselves. Her premise is that we ask three ‘big questions’ of the passage as an outline for our study, and there are examples at the back of the book to show how this model might work.
What I found particularly helpful was her emphasis on two things as the ‘qualifications’ for leading a small group Bible study – loving God’s Word and loving God’s people – which make the time and effort involved in preparing a study worthwhile. There were lots of little tips that I hadn’t thought about and encouragements to keep going even when there is little obvious fruit.
I was left with the conviction that I need to spend more time in preparation, both for my own sake and for that of my group, but that this will be an immense privilege for us all. God’s Word can stand up to our most rigorous scrutiny and I don’t need to beat myself up about results, because that’s the Holy Spirit’s work.
