What this is
Our Bible study is a version of Discovery Bible Study (DBS). We don’t normally run the full DBS format, though anyone can, of course. We take the part that keeps a group in the text, hearing from the Spirit, and asking how to obey.
The group reads Scripture together and works it out together.
This approach maximises four things:
Depth
Reflection and real engagement with the Word.
Participation
Contribution from everyone, not one voice.
Openness to the Spirit
Room for the Holy Spirit to bring insight and revelation through the Body.
Practical growth
A clear sense of how we can grow and mature in Christ.
The Word of God is the standard. What we notice, what we share, and what we pray toward should be measured against it.
How a study works
The shape below is what we usually follow. The reading and re-reading is deliberate — it helps us consume and meditate on the Word, chewing and reflecting on it in an intentional way.
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Choose the Scripture
Decide beforehand, or on the day, which Scripture to focus on. Often we work through a book of the Bible step by step. Sometimes a particular passage is needed that week. Either is fine. What matters is that the group is in the same text.
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Read it aloud
Someone reads it aloud. If it helps, read it more than once.
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Retell it without looking
Have someone else retell it in their own words, not looking, while everyone helps to plug the gaps.
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Read it again
Someone else re-reads the passage aloud.
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Ask ourselves: What is this telling us about God?
His character, His ways, what He is doing, what He values. Take the time and space to reflect, re-read, and share what you’re seeing.
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Read it again
After a while, have someone else read the passage out loud again.
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Ask ourselves: What is this telling us about people?
What it shows about us, about the people in the text, about life in the Body, about humans in general. Again, take the time and space to reflect, re-read, and share what you’re seeing.
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Review what came up
Before you pray, share the notes back and review what came up. What did the passage actually say? What did we see about God? What did we see about people? What was repeated? What do we need to remember? What is the Holy Spirit telling us?
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Pray together
Pray into what came up, with a view to living it out in the week ahead. Do not leave it as interesting discussion. Ask the Lord to write it on us, to correct us, and to make us doers of the Word and not hearers only.James 1:22
Throughout the study people will bring different experiences and different angles, whether context, the Greek or Hebrew words behind the English, how a verse sits in the book, or something the Holy Spirit is prompting them to share. That is part of it.
Practical notes
None of this needs a leader at the front. It does need a few habits everyone holds to.
- Bring it back to the text
- If the conversation leaves the Scripture, everyone takes responsibility to bring it back around.
- Someone takes notes
- It can be a different person every week.
- Leave the rabbit holes
- There can be a desire to go off into rabbit holes on theological hot topics. There is a time and place for this, but it isn’t ideal for the DBS. The ideal is to focus on the Word, what it says about God and people, and to let it build us up and instruct us practically on how we should live.
- Give everyone space
- There are often some who speak a lot and some who speak less. Be aware of it, and allow people space.
- Background serves the text
- Context, language and background can serve the text. They should not replace it. A person with more knowledge does not become the preacher for the morning. A person with a word from the Spirit does not override the written Word.
- Everyone can contribute
- Older kids who want to join are welcome. Silence is fine. Dominance is not. The point of this format is that the Body mines the Word together.1 Corinthians 14:26; Colossians 3:16
- End in prayer
- The last movement is to pray what you saw, and to ask for grace to walk it out before you meet again.