Home

Don't skip this question

I start every lesson with a get to know you question. Bible Study is not only about getting to know the Bible; it is also about getting to know each other. So I always start with, "Share your name and. . . one detail trivia about yourself--hopefully one that relates to this weeks lesson.

The next type of question I call, "What does the text say?" Question.

There are two reasons we might be tempted to skip these questions.

• They are not as interesting as later questions
• We think everyone knows all this already

Dr. Curtis Vaughan told us the story of a preacher he heard one time who began his message this way, “The music went a little long today, we don’t have time to actually read the text. Let me share with you some thoughts I had as I studied this text this week.”

Well, let me share with you an opinion I have about that. If we have a choice between the Word of God and this preacher’s thoughts about the Word of God, I would rather have the Word of God itself. Now, in an ideal world, I would like to have both. I would like to have the text and his thoughts on it, but if I had to choose one or the other, I would take the Bible itself.

We assume people know. Often they don’t. Oh, they have vague ideas about the general theme of the Bible, but if you ask questions with any specificity, you will soon find we are all a little more ignorant that we would like to admit.

Next up: What does the text mean?

Get your copy of Good Questions Have Small Groups Talking: the book.