Sea of Galilee 

 

A Discovery Bible Study (DBS)

A discovery group follows this basic three-part structure whenever you gather, spending about a third of your time on each:

  1. Look Back: Review what has happened since the last meeting. Care for one another. Check on last meeting’s commitments. Refresh the vision to multiply.
  2. Look Up: Hear from the Lord from his scriptures, using simple questions to facilitate a participative discussion that remains focused on discovering what's in the passage.
  3. Look Ahead: Make practical plans to do what you’ve learned and tell others.

Follow the 3/3 meeting format in every meeting, dividing the time about equally among each third.

Break into subgroups of 3-4 if necessary for the sake of time. Leadership is just facilitating, and rotates each meeting. Each person shares briefly, in sentences, not paragraphs! Use the template below, or use the Waha app.

Look back:
  • What are you thankful for?
  • What are you struggling with? (Pray for individual struggles; can you help?)
  • How did you do on your last meeting’s 'Do & Tell' commitments? (Encourage with positive accountability.)
Look up:

Leader, ask a member (or the group/subgroup) to read the chosen Bible passage aloud.

Then share answers to these standard questions. If answers wander or people start bringing in other passages or outside authorities or philosophies, ask "Where is that in the passage?"

  • What does this teach about God, God’s character, or what God does?
  • What do we learn in it about people, including ourselves?
  • Depending on time or the passage—or, in the USA, instead of those questions: What's the main point of the passage?
Look ahead:
  • Do you need to obey what this (perhaps God) is teaching you? If so, what specific thing will you do? Alternately in the USA: What will you do about what you've learned?
  • With what specific person should you share who needs to hear it, or the good news, or your personal story? Alternately in the USA: Whom will you bless in light of this?
  • When and where will we meet next time?

Your group can close with a commissioning prayer.