Kay Arthur - Ignite Your Passion for God: A 6-Week, No-Homework Bible Study

This small-group study is for people who are interested in learning for themselves more about what the Bible says on various subjects, but who have only limited time to meet together. Its ideal, for example, for a lunch group at work, an early morning mens group, a young mothers group meeting in a home, a Sunday-school class, or even family devotions. (Its also ideal for small groups that typically have longer meeting timessuch as evening groups or Saturday morning groupsbut want to devote only a portion of their time together to actual study, while reserving the rest for prayer, fellowship, or other activities.)

This book is designed so that all the groups participants will complete each lessons study activities at the same time. Discussing your insights drawn from what God says about the subject reveals exciting, life-impacting truths.

Although its a group study, youll need a facilitator to lead the study and keep the discussion moving. If you are your groups facilitator, the leader, here are some helpful points for making your job easier:

Go through the lesson and mark the text before you lead the group. This will give you increased familiarity with the material and will enable you to facilitate the group with greater ease. It may be easier for you to lead the group through the instructions for marking if you, as a leader, choose a specific color for each symbol you mark.

As you lead the group, start at the beginning of the text and simply read it aloud in the order it appears in the lesson, including the Insight boxes, which appear throughout. Work through the lesson together, observing and discussing what you learn. As you read the Scripture verses, have the group say aloud the word they are marking in the text.

The discussion questions are there simply to help you cover the material. As the class moves into the discussion, many times you will find that they will cover the questions on their own. Remember, the discussion questions are there to guide the group through the topic, not to squelch discussion.

Remember how important it is for people to verbalize their answers and discoveries. This greatly strengthens their personal understanding of each weeks lesson. Try to ensure that everyone has plenty of opportunity to contribute to each weeks discussions.

Keep the discussion moving. This may mean spending more time on some parts of the study than on others. If necessary, you should feel free to spread out a lesson over more than one session. However, remember that you dont want to slow the pace too much. Its much better to leave everyone wanting more than to have people dropping out because of declining interest.

If the validity or accuracy of some of the answers seems questionable, you can gently and cheerfully remind the group to stay focused on the truth of the Scriptures. Your object is to learn what the Bible says, not to engage in human philosophy. Simply stick with the Scriptures and give God the opportunity to speak. His Word is truth (John 17:17)!

H ave you ever jumped in the car, started it, and then found yourself at your destination with no clear idea of how you got there?

Its a weird feeling to realize you are awake but mentally you have checked out. Whats even worse is when operating on autopilot places you on a road you never intended, such as when you realize youre driving to work when you planned to go to the grocery store.

A similar situation can occur in our spiritual lives when we operate on autopilot, doing things out of habit rather than out of a burning passion to serve God.

Sadly, so many of us find at different times in our spiritual journey that weve developed apathy toward the things of God. The dictionary describes apathy as the absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.

Its a dullness of heart that affects the way you look at life. In the life of a believer, spiritual apathy might appear as a subtly decreasing interest in God and the things of God. A dullness of hearing when it comes to reading the Word of God and to hearing about the work of God. Its a lethargy, a sluggish feeling toward anything Christian.

Do you find yourself

reluctant to gather with other believers?

finding multiple reasons to miss church, Bible study, and prayer meetings?

singing the hymns and choruses rotely, as empty words on the screen or in a book?

constantly looking to the negative aspects of church and grumbling about them?

turning not to the Bible but to the latest quick-fix spiritual growth book?

Does this describe your life? Are you noticing others around you who are on fire for Jesus? And do you wonder how you can ignite a fire that will propel you toward a deeper, more meaningful understanding of God?