To study the Bible or to take a class on prayer or discuss compassion for the poor—but not do anything about what one has learned—is a waste. The Word of God holds up a mirror in which we can see our own face: our character, values, attitudes, and habits. It offers an opportunity to compare

… Read More

In some small-group discussions, people like to leap into discussing what a passage of the Bible or a chapter of a book means to them personally without examining what it says. Such discussions can quickly lose sight of the topic or passage you’re studying. By zeroing in on the details—characters, events, setting, key words, and

… Read More

How do you get participants to share their stories? Ask storytelling questions. Who was God to you when you were a child? What has been one of the best compliments you have received as an adult? What does Easter mean to you personally? These are storytelling questions—ones that ask people to tell the stories of

… Read More

Mark wastes no time in getting down to business—a single-sentence introduction, and not a digression to be found from beginning to end. An event has taken place that radically changes the way we look at and experience the world, and he can’t wait to tell us about it. There’s an air of breathless excitement in

… Read More

The Christian gospel is expansive by nature—it spreads out. It’s what you would expect: The God who created a vast universe acts in such a way that his redemptive help will reach into every nook and cranny of creation. A God who can create with such endless variety and intricacy is going to redeem in

… Read More