Here’s a way you and your group can study the Bible without using a Bible-study guide. I developed these questions (some of which I picked up from other places) several years ago.
Read a section of Scripture (a chapter, for instance) together as a group. Be creative. Read in the round (one verse or sentence at a time) or have group members read in parts. Then ask some general questions to get people dialoguing around the text. Move from “what did you get” questions to “what will you do” questions. Here are a few possibilities. You might use only one or two of these kinds of questions in a study! Remember that follow-up questions are the best questions.
- What jumped out at you in this passage?
- What’s going on here? Summarize what’s happening.
- What did you notice here, maybe for the first time?
- Who are the main characters in this passage?
- What’s your favorite verse in this passage? Why?
- What’s your least favorite verse in this passage? Why?
- What do you think God is trying to communicate overall in this passage?
- If we were writing a sermon with three main points from this passage, what would be our three points?
- What did you sense the Holy Spirit saying to you?
- What example do you see here that you can follow?
- What commands do you see here that you need to obey?
- What thoughts do you find here about God himself?
- What promise(s) do you see here for you to claim?
- What principles do you see here that you need to accept?
- What can we learn as a group from this passage?
- In what verse or section do you sense God speaking directly to you?
- How will this passage affect your relationships this next week?
- What changes do you feel like you need to make based on this passage?
- So what? What are you going to do based on reading this?
- What is one specific thing from this passage that you would pray back to God? How would you word that prayer?
This article originally appeared here.
 several years ago.){kind=link}