Study Resources for The Good Samaritan (14 Oct 2023 Bible Study):
Read More›
Discussion Questions:
Today we’re practicing some of the 10 steps of Bible study!
The full 10-steps for Bible Study can be found here: https://melbournecityadventist.org/how-to-study-the-bible
Modified steps for today’s discussion time:
by: Jinha Kim
"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14
10 Steps to Bible Study
by: Jinha Kim
"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14
The South Pacific Division has produced videos & discussion questions to help you through the study of “How to Interpret Scripture” – check them out here:
1. The Uniqueness of the Bible
2. The Origin and Nature of the Bible
3. Jesus and the Apostles View of the Bible
4. The Bible – The Authoritative Source of Our Theology
5. By Scripture Alone – Sola Scriptura
more to come!
by: Jinha Kim
"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14
For the past few weeks the Box Hill Care Group (perhaps better know as a Bible study group) has been studying the book of Ephesians each Friday night.
I have shared in this blog before my complete astonishment with regards to the depths the books of the Bible can be studied and Ephesians was no disappointment! It may not have gripped me in the same way as the Gospel of John but it employed plenty of poetry, prayer and metaphor (which I always particularly enjoy). It always amazes me that such ancient texts can hold wisdom that is still relevant today.
I won’t go into an in-depth study here – but I wanted to share some of the things that spoke to me from the book of Ephesians:
First, Paul talks a lot about the Spirit and Signs of the Spirit throughout Ephesians and, for that matter, all of his writings. This passage, towards the end of Chapter 5, blew me away, so to speak: Ephesians 5:18 – 21.
It is a simple passage but as I read it, it felt strangely familiar. It begins by suggesting that being ‘filled with the Spirit’ entails, I paraphrase, ‘singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord’, ‘giving thanks for all things’, and ‘submitting to one another’. Why would this ‘blow me away’?
I looked around as I read it (or rather, in between verses, because I only have two eyes). We, as a group, had just finished singing and making melodies to the Lord (in my case, in my heart as the verse suggests), we had given thanks to the Lord in our prayers that evening and were spending the evening in fellowship, or, submitting to one another.
Our Bible study group is important to me both socially and spiritually and studying this passage was one of those occasions when you read something in the Bible, see it enacted and understand why attention is brought to it. Such a simple observation, but such a powerful reminder of how God provides for all our needs: spiritual, social and physical (I may have neglected to mention that we also share a meal together each week).
Paul then promptly jumps into what could be considered a controversial subject. He uses the example of marriage in a Christian household. I say controversial because at a superficial level the relationship described may seem unequal but with further thought and careful reading it reveals a foundation of respect and love that mirrors the relationship of Christ with the His people (or the Church).
The book of Ephesians is then rounded out with one of those metaphors I love so much – The Armour of God. This armour is to protect us against ‘the wiles of the devil’ but, as it’s a metaphor, I think it is describing the attributes that a Christ-follower should develop along their spiritual journey. I encourage everyone to ponder this armour that is available to us all, not only as protection but as growth and establishment of a Christlike character.
by: Ben
I think this sounds right
Have you ever sat a multiple choice test where you weren’t sure of the correct answer? You re-read all the options and then thought, I think ‘C’ sounds most correct.
When I taught English to Cambodian high schoolers I was trying to explain why their sentences were incorrect. Since English is my first language, I speak it fluently but do not always understand why I say things in a certain way. So the best I explanation I could come up with at the time was: ‘it just sounds wrong when you write it this way. This way sounds better.’
Or perhaps you are going somewhere you have been before but you aren’t entirely sure of the way. And as you walk or drive along you think, ‘hmm this way feels right.’
What is it that gives us this impression of ‘right’? And how do we ensure that our impressions actually are correct? So often we put the wrong answer down on a test or we give incorrect grammatical advice or end up lost because our inner sense of right is misplaced.
In the case of the test, if we didn’t learn the material correctly then incorrect options will sound correct to our minds. If I learned to speak English incorrectly then I will likely teach others to speak incorrectly. And depending on how well I know the route to a destination will determine how easily I get there! In each case it is a matter of knowing the right way. To add complexity to this, there are degrees of knowing and with each degree of knowing comes increasing chances of getting it right.
And so it would seem with our life choices – which way seems right? What path feels right to you?
These are often questions we pose to ourselves and to others who are at a crossroads. Should I make this purchase or that? Should I go abroad to gain more experience or stay in my company to gain a promotion? Should I marry this person or keep looking? Should we have children? How should we raise them? The problem is if we don’t have any concept of ‘right’ then really anything could seem or feel right at any given point in time. And we may be faced with the question: ‘do I trust my feelings?’
God provides us with an avenue to know the right way. He illustrates a purpose for our existence through the Bible and in it are visions, mission statements, directions, examples to follow (and not to follow), descriptions, pictures and in some cases, explicit instructions. Just as the textbook and the test questions are not duplicates of each other, so with life the text and the choices given demand an applicable knowledge of one to answer the other. And so the more familiar we are with God and His way, the more correct our feelings about what is the right way will be.
Some people call it ‘feeding on God’s word’, others may call it ‘quiet time’, ‘devotion’ or ‘Bible study’. It doesn’t matter what name you give it, becoming familiar with the Bible is the best way to know God and His thoughts. As Albert Einstein said, ‘I want to know His [God’s] thoughts. The rest are details.’
by: Bronwyn
Bible study is the perfect time to open the word of God and create memories with family and friends. When you have a care group you also have a family, and families that play together grow together. Games are not just great ice breakers, but they’re also great for identifying hidden talents in others, breaking in the newbies to how “awesome” your group is, or just learning how to be more comfortable around each other. Here are five games that can help make any Bible study more fun.
1. Heads Up
For any one with a smart phone Heads Up is a game you can download on your phone that works exactly like charades except that you work in teams and one player has to guess the words by watching his teammates act out the word in front of them. The game comes with a lot of categories some free and some which you can buy for $0.99. You have to keep an eye on the clock with this one because next thing you know you’ll be rushing your lesson with 5 minutes left for you to run the study. You can downlod the app here.
2. Camera Hot Potato
Play hot potato with a camera. This camera game is a huge hit at parties. You set the camera’s self-timer, and pass it around the room (or table).Whoever has the camera must do a quick ‘selfie’ pose while holding the camera before passing it on to the next person. The result: lots of exciting and candid photos from one fun night. Great for Facebook Albums.
3. Honey I Love You
Honey I Love You, is another icebreaker that’s fun to play. Your group should be sitting in a circle again with one person in the middle. The person in the middle can go to anyone in the circle and say “Honey I love you, won’t you give me a smile?” The person who was asked the question has to answer back “Honey I love you, but I just can’t smile” (without smiling.) The person in the middle can do anything to the other person to make them smile except touch them. You have to be the judge as to what you call smiling.
4. Wink’Um
Have your group sit in a circle. With a deck of cards, have each player take a card until everyone has one. If there are seven players, take seven cards from the deck then pass those around. Make sure one of the cards is an ace of spades. The person who receives that secretly winks at the other players. If you are winked at, you say, “I’m dead” and throw your card in the middle. The object is to guess who has the ace of spades. If you think you know, state that you want to guess. If you’re wrong, you forfeit and die – if you are right, you win.
5. Fizz Bang!
This is one of my favorite games from primary school. Fizz Bang! is a counting game, in which players start at one and aim for 100. Instead of 3, or multiples of 3, say ‘fizz’; for 5 or multiples thereof, say ‘bang’. For multiples of 3 and 5, it’s ‘fizz bang’. So: I, 2, fizz, 4, bang, fizz, 7, 8, fizz, bang, 10, 11, fizz, 13, 14, fizz bang, etc. Make sure you split the teams evenly and play a few rounds before determining whether 100 is an achievable goal.
W ll there you have it; 5 games to make any Bible study more fun. Try not to play them all at once but do rather at your own pace. Have fun and God Bless!
