Activity · Common Growth
Bible Study, Any Passage
Five questions that work on any chapter of the Bible, with no prep
Leader Context
Five questions. Any passage. No prep.
Keep this one in your back pocket. It is what you run when there is no guide, when the message does not fit, or when your group asks to open the Bible together and you have no idea how to start.
The goal is not to have all the answers or to get every detail right. It is to slow down, listen to what stands out, and share how God might be speaking through it.
Each question is doing a specific job, in order. Ask them one at a time.
Read to your group
Tonight we are going to read some scripture together and let God speak through it.
We will read the passage, then walk through a few questions one at a time. There are no right or wrong answers to most of these. We are just paying attention.
Questions
Observation
Start here. Notice there are no right or wrong answers to this one, and say so.
What stands out to you in this passage?
Interpretation
Ask this, or something like it, to get at the heart of the passage.
What do you think the author was really trying to say?
Illustration
How people answer this shows what the principle looks like in an everyday life.
Can you illustrate this truth with an example from your own life?
Application
Personal application belongs near the end, not the beginning.
What is the next step for you to live out what God is saying to you here?
Prayer
A question like this moves the room from discussion into prayer.
What is one thing you are asking God for right now?
Next Steps for Leaders
- Read the passage out loud together before you ask anything. Have a couple of people take turns.
- Pick a chapter, not a verse. A full chapter gives people room to find something.
- Do not answer your own question. Count to ten in your head. Somebody will talk.
- If a question about the text comes up that you cannot answer, say so and write it down. Pass it to your coach. That is a better outcome than guessing.
- Approved book studies and Equip Studies are another Common Growth option if your group wants something with more structure.