Picture this: It is 90 minutes before small group. You just got in from mowing the lawn and are in bad need of a shower when you get this text: So sorry I won’t be able to teach tonight. Can you lead group for me? Thanks! If this ever happens, you will be glad you have these ten small group questions tucked in your Bible. These small group questions can be used for any Bible passage—kind of like an already-prepared-meal. Simply read this week’s Bible passage and ask these ten questions. Obviously, some will apply better than others to any particular passage.
10 Great Small Group Questions for ANY Bible Passage
1. What do we learn about God?
Tozer famously said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” [1] If we have a big view of God, we have small problems. If we have a small view of God, we have big problems.
2. What do we learn about ourselves?
The Bible teaches that we are saints, servants, accepted, redeemed, beloved, chosen, predestined, special, sons and daughters, saved, God’s masterpiece and a whole lot more. When we come to see ourselves as God sees us, we will come to do what God has called us to.
3. What do we learn about … the topic?
What do we learn about the Devil? What do we learn about the Holy Spirit? What do we learn about Christian Discipleship? What do we learn about Heaven? This question will vary by text.
4. What is the context?
Context is king. Many know the stories of the Bible, but they do not know the story of the Bible. Spend a few minutes exploring how this passage fits into the whole. Look at the chapter before and after.
5. What is the big idea?
We teach so little because we try to teach so much. Good teaching has focus. What Haddon Robinson said of preaching is also true of small group Bible study, “Sermons seldom fail because they have too many ideas; more often they fail because they deal with too many unrelated ideas.”
