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Many of us live with a great deal of stress and external pressures. The important thing is to just spend even as little as 5 minutes reading God's word and spend a minute or two in prayer. If that is all you can do, that is the priority, reading His word and prayer. If you want to go deeper and you want to mutual edification and growth from sharing with a group. Read on.
We are all at various life stages, so do what you have the time to do. There are a lot of things listed here, participate as you can.
What to Expect
Weekly Reading Schedule
The weekly reading schedule will be posted in the “Weekly Reading Plan” forum and in the “Bible Study” forum.
Discussion and Sharing
We will have a discussion thread for each week’s reading in the “Bible Study” forum. This is where you can post your insight into the week’s readings.
If you want to post daily you can do one of the following or all of the following or any combination
1. SOAK a verse of your choosing or the Verse of the Day
2. Share general insight from each chapter
3. Answer the discussion questions
4. Share whatever God has put on your heart and what He is showing you
5. Reply to what other posters share
If you want to post one time or a few times a week you can
1. SOAK one or more of the verses that stood out to you or one of the Verse of the Days
2. Share general insight from your reading that week
3. Answer any of the discussion questions from that week
4. Share whatever God has put on your heart and what He is showing you
5. Reply to what other posters share
Discussion Questions and Chapter Insights
We will be providing daily discussion questions. These are completely optional and there to give you ideas about what you may want to share with the group.
Reading Aids
Are you getting lost in the reading, not understanding it, or struggling to connecting with it? Hang on!
Remember, to pray and ask God to open His Word and to help you to see His truth and what He wants you to learn. And everytime you read you won't have some tremendous insight and sometimes the passages won't speak to you. That is fine. We don't look for emotional experiences, but God's truth.
GMG has a good post on 9 Ways to Study the Bible.
Also, BibleStudyTools.com has commentaries, dictionaries, concordances, and other helpful Bible study tools.
Bible Study Resources
GMG has some great Bible study resources. Many of these can be found in this post. This includes information on the SOAK method, optional workbooks, and additional Bible study tips and training.
GMG has also provided a checksheet to help you keep track of what chapters you have read. So, as we jump around or if you miss some readings, you will be able to track your progress.
Last edited by TBG (4/24/2017 7:19 pm)
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What to Do
Monday GMG Introduction
On Monday we will be posting an introduction to the week's reading in the Bible Study thread.
Read
Ideally, you should try to read a chapter each day. However, if that does not work for you, be flexible. You don’t have to read every day and you don’t have to read all the assigned chapters.
Perhaps you want to read several chapters on a few days, or all chapters on one day, or one or two chapters just one day.
The point is to just read. Even if you just pick one chapter a week, don’t lose heart. You can’t get behind as there is no one tracking your progress! If you miss too many readings, just jump in where we are when you get back.
If you are struggling with a passage or reading, see the “Reading Aids and Bible Study Resources” paragraph in the “What to Expect” post above.
It is better to get some of the Word into your heart, than none of the Word. If you don’t keep up, Satan would love to discourage you and to get you to think that you should not even bother. But, stay in the Word. Do you best and don’t allow yourself to get discouraged and stop reading completely because you cannot keep up. Better to stay in the Word and keep reading some of the Word than to totally stop.
Even if it is once a week, that is still helping you to start seeking God and start building on your maturity and knowledge of His Word. Remember we are on a journey of spiritual growth. It is a life-long process; don’t lose heart. Let God continue to grow you and transform you as you take small steps of faith towards Him.
Share
At least one time a week try to share what impacted you. Now, feel free to post more frequently.
Some will post daily, and that is great. However, there is no pressure or expectation if that is not possible for you.
Look in the “Discussion and Sharing” paragraph in the “What to Expect” post above to see the different ways that you can share your insight.
Memorize
This is something you do privately, on your own. No one will be tracking your participation. And if this is too difficult for you, skip it. It is in keeping with Courtney’s new SOAK approach to help us SOAK in the scriptures.
Print out or write out a memory verse of your chosing or the Verse of the Day and post it everywhere so that you see it throughout the week. Post it or set a reminder on your phone and computer, post it on your refrigerator, in your car, on your mirror, in your purse. Recite it each morning before you get out of bed, once before you go to bed, before each meal, etc. Be creative.
Here is a great post with tips on Bible verse memorization.
Friday GMG Devotional
On Friday, we will be posting a devotional on the topics read that week.
Encouragement and Exhortation
Remember, there is no condemnation in this. We are saved by faith through grace, not by our works. We don’t earn God’s favor by doing this; we do not define our value or worth by reading through the Bible.
We read to develop a stronger relationship with God. It is an act from our heart, and no one is in a position to judge where your heart is or where you are in your walk with God. Work out your own salvation and you commit to reading the Word.
I find that by staying in the Word I tangibly see God transforming my heart and my attitude, deepening my understanding of Him, and strengthening my faith. And I notice a difference when I let too much time go by without daily devotions. Boy does my natural man come out.
When I stay in the Word I am better equipped to be about His work. I develop stronger relationship with Him and with my family. It helps me to truly love God more. The more I read, and the more I soak in the Word, the more I desire God and His word.
The bible tells us to be continually being filled with the Spirit and to set our minds on things of the Spirit so that we will not walk in the flesh. It also tells us to not be conformed to this world but to transform ourselves by renewing our minds in His Word.
Last edited by TBG (4/24/2017 7:21 pm)