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Derwin Gray on Making Peace

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Peace.

Throughout history, the world has been devoid of lasting peace. In this midst of this reality, followers of Jesus seek the deepest peace that only Christ can give.

How do we understand biblical peace? How can we start to let it rule our hearts and minds? How can we strive to bring peace into our groups? How can these conversations even begin?

In his latest Bible study on the Beatitudes, Derwin Gray shares about peacemaking. We can learn from his wisdom excerpted below. 

The Call to Make Peace

As Jesus continued His prescription for happiness, He said,

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God

Matthew 5:9

Reread Matthew 5:7-8. How are these three Beatitudes related?

Pursuing peace (Matt. 5:9) is intertwined with hungering and thirsting for righteousness and being merciful (Matt. 5:7-8). Becoming a peacemaker requires that God has first brought us into peace with Him through the forgiveness that comes by grace through faith in Jesus. Then out of the overflow of the Holy Spirit’s power God enables us to live righteously and mercifully in response to the gospel.

Read Romans 5:1.

What did God do to pursue peace with us?

Notice that Jesus said happy are the peacemakers not happy are the peaceful. What’s the difference between those two things?

God’s righteousness has always been about embodying God’s love, and God’s love is always merciful. The good life—a life of happiness—is loving God, ourselves, and all of humanity. In the kingdom of God, there‘s “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). Peace isn’t passive. Being peaceful is a fleeting state of mind. Peacemaking is an active, God-given pursuit. It’s the intentional act of God in Christ reconciling us to Himself through the cross and enabling us to extend peace to others. Making peace is hard, happy gospel-work.

Does it surprise you to hear that peacemaking is “work”? Why must peace be actively sought instead of passively assumed?

First-Century Expectations

The world Jesus lived in was chaotic, violent, and tumultuous. Jewish men were awaiting the Messiah to usher in peace by eradicating the Romans from their homeland, and the Romans believed Caesar would usher in peace. Rome’s method of ensuring peace was through force and brutality.

How was Jesus’ peace different from the peace the world expected?

Jesus saw and experienced Roman oppression, hardships of being poor, and living on the margins. Jesus’ peace extended beyond the borders of circumstance. Others’ expectations couldn’t contain it. People could only experience the peace Jesus taught about through communion with God. When we say the happiness He taught about was more than the good feeling you get when something nice happens to you, we know Jesus meant it. He experienced it constantly.

Making Peace When It’s Hard

Read Romans 12:19-21.

Why must we make peace despite difficulty?

What keeps you from experiencing peace and making peace with others?

Is there anyone against whom you’re holding a grudge and withholding peace? How might letting that go lead to a greater sense of happiness?

When Jesus correlated our happiness with being peacemakers in a world of violence, injustice, and hardship, people would have seen that as radical. Jesus’ method of eradicating the Romans from the Promised Land wasn’t to cast them out with the sword but to usher them into the peace of God, so they could become peaceful people. For Jesus, seeking vengeance is a tool of the ungodly. The Prince of Peace entered a world devoid of peace to create peacemakers.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, help us to be people of peace in a world that needs the peace You secured with Your blood on the cross.

This post has been excerpted from The Good Life Bible Study. To try the first two complete Bible study sessions and their corresponding teaching videos, visit Lifeway.com/NewBibleStudies. 

Online Bible Study

Online Bible Studies Are Moving!

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January is one of the best times for starting online Bible studies. 

As the new year rolls in, many of us experience waves of excitement and hope for what’s to come. We plan practical steps for growth, goal achievement, and making the year a great one. But, it can be difficult to keep resolutions. We often lose steam by the time February arrives. 

Online Bible studies are a practical step to ensure you don’t lose momentum on your Bible reading goals and plans. 

What’s changed for 2021?

Historically, we’ve hosted our online Bible studies in two ways. We initially ran our studies through a blog platform (like this one). More recently, we’ve held online Bible studies through Facebook Groups. Although these have been solid options that have been useful to facility great study and discussion, we are getting an OBS hosting facelift for 2021. We’re joining Lifeway’s Online Bible Study platform.

What is this “new platform”?

If you’ve done a Lifeway associated Bible study in the past, you may already have experience with the platform! The Lifeway Online Bible study platform, which previously only hosted Lifeway Women’s studies, has undergone changes to be able to include both men’s and women’s studies, as well as studies suitable for a mixed audience. Further changes have updated the user experience to be even more welcoming and easier to use!

When can I try it out?

Two Bible study options will give you a chance to try a Groups Bible study on the updated OBS platform, starting this January. Don’t miss out!

Battle Plan for Prayer (Alex Kendrick & Stephen Kendrick)

Launching Tuesday, January 5, 2021

This is an eight-week video-based Bible study that helps you develop a deeper walk with God as you seek the Lord for your battles. Through this study, you’ll be equipped to create their own prayer strategy, learning to be specific and deliberate in prayer. This study features teaching by Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick on the following topics: what prayer is and is not, why God wants us to pray, specific areas of prayer, specific strategies for prayer, and more.

U-Turns (Tony Evans)

Launching Wednesday, January 6, 2021

This is a six-week video-based Bible study about God’s direction over your life. Dr. Tony Evans shows you the reality of human freedom, the consequences that come from bad choices, and the way to reverse the consequences. By aligning your life choices under God’s Word and pursuing an intimate relationship with Him, you can experience the abundant life Jesus has for you. You get to choose whether or not you want that and sometimes, you get to witness God change the direction of your life.

How do I sign up

It’s simple. Click on the study titles above to visit the associated Online Bible study’s page on the updated platform. On that page, you’ll see instructions about how to register and how the Online Bible study experiences work. If you have more questions about online Bible studies, check out this post.

What is an online Bible study?

If you’re not familiar with this type of study, our online Bible studies are simple to understand and easy to join. Each study corresponds to a printed (or digital version) of a Bible study from Lifeway groups. When you sign up for the OBS, you gain access to the teaching videos that are typically 10 – 20 minute sessions that are typically accessed through purchasing a Bible study leader kit. But, with OBS, we offer these videos for free!

Each week, we post a video that corresponds to a session in the printed (or digital version) of the Bible study and post questions. Anyone joining the OBS is able to answer questions and comment back to others who also answer. These studies build community with people across the US (and abroad!) and encourage an enriching Bible study experience within the virtual group.

You don’t want to miss out. See you there!

Group Leadership

Bible Studies for the Christmas Season

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It’s Christmas, the best time of the year. Even as we walk through a season where “best” looks a little different, our firm reason for the season remains unchanged.

Christ is born. He is Immanuel, God with us.

As you prepare for the weeks leading up to Christmas with the new year around the corner, your Bible study (as a group or individuals) doesn’t need to halt. By choosing from several unique Bible study options created to meet various needs, you can find the perfect fit for your group as a whole and your specific members.

Bible Study Resources for Personal Study

  1. Foundations or Foundations New Testament (Robby & Kandi Gallaty)

With Foundations, you can read through the foundational passages of the Bible in one year, while having the flexibility of reading 5 days per week. In Foundations: New Testament, you’ll do the same through the 27 books of the New Testament. Along with supplementary devotional content each day, you’ll use the H.E.A.R. journaling method: Highlighting, Explaining, Applying, and Responding.

  1. Pray Like This: A 52-Week Prayer Journal

This journal will help you know God more intimately and invigorate your prayer life by applying the Lord’s Prayer every week for a year through daily Scripture reading and journaling exercises.

  1. 10-Minute Audio Devotions

Brief but powerful, these audio devotions will help you navigate through fear, stress, and anxiety. Each CD features approximately 10 minute devotions from some of today’s best Christian communicators such as Tony Evans, David Jeremiah, Matt Chandler, and more.

Bible Studies about the Life of Jesus

  1. Characters: Jesus

What if you could spend six weeks studying the life of our Savior and Lord? In this Bible study, a part of the Characters Bible study series, you’ll dive into learning about Jesus as the Son of God, Master Teacher, Miracle Workers, Crucified Savior, Risen Lord, and Fulfilment of Prophecy.

  1. Gospel Foundations: God With Us

The Bible is not a collection of scattered stories and books. From cover to cover, the Bible is the story of God’s plan to redeem sinners through Jesus—the gospel. In this Bible study, you’ll dive into the life of Jesus by studying His birth, preparation, miracles, teaching, crucifixion, resurrection, commission, and more. A part of a larger collection of Gospel Foundations study, this will help you see Christ throughout the storyline of Scripture.

Bible Studies Relevant Now

  1. Onward (Russell Moore)

In shifting times, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange and even subversive to our culture, we have the opportunity to embrace the distinctiveness of the Christian faith and to be marginalized for the sake of the gospel.

  1. The Church & The Racial Divide (Trevor Atwood)

In light of racial tension in America, many Christian leaders are talking earnestly about racial reconciliation. The average Christian may not fully understand why racial reconciliation is a gospel imperative. And the average pastor may not know how to pursue it. This Bible study features a multi-voice video series from evangelical leaders that sheds light on issues of race, culture, and the gospel, and equips small groups to take action.

  1. Counter Culture (David Platt)

How does truth affect how we respond to the social issues of our day—realities such as poverty, slavery, abortion, sexual immorality, the degradation of marriage, the neglect of orphans and widows, racism, and persecution? David Platt believes that the truths of the gospel should compel us to a contrite, compassionate, and courageous personal response to social issues in the culture. Using biblical foundations, practical illustrations, and personal exhortations, this study is a pointed yet winsome call for readers to faithfully follow Christ in counter cultural ways.

Bible Studies from Best-Selling Dr. Tony Evans

  1. No More Excuses

Tony Evans urges men to stop looking at their circumstances as excuses and instead to see them as challenges and opportunities for success.

Exploring examples of men of God throughout the Bible, this study will challenge you to lay down your excuses, stop compromising, and fight to be a man of character and commitment. Despite your setbacks, failures, and pressures, you can still find purpose, meaning, and direction in life and become the man God has called you to be.

  1. No More Excuses: A 90-Day Devotional for Men

No More Excuses: A 90-Day Devotional for Men will challenge you to lay down your excuses, stop compromising, and fight to be a man of character and commitment. Each day, you’ll find a Scripture verse, short devotion, and thought-provoking question to help you find purpose, meaning, and direction in life and become the man God has called you to be.

  1. U-Turns

In U-Turns, Tony Evans shows the reality of human freedom, the consequences that come from bad choices, and the way to reverse those consequences. By aligning your life choices under God’s Word and pursuing an intimate relationship with Him, you can experience the abundant life Jesus has for you. You get to choose whether or not you want that. If you do, you will see how God can work to redeem the negative consequences of decisions you’ve made.

  1. Pathways

The story of Esther appears to be a series of coincidences that deliver the Jews from certain death. However, God selected Esther for a particular purpose at a particular time in the history of His chosen people. Pathways will help you discover the power of God’s providence in the midst of your personal pain, fear, gain, loss, and love. You’ll see that God has a purpose for your life, and He uses every action and event that occurs in it to make that purpose a reality.

  1. Detours

It’s easy to wonder why God would allow calamity to happen or if He’s in control at all. Whether through uncontrollable circumstances or the pain of personal relationships, everyone has experienced unforeseen changes in life. By walking through the life of Joseph, this study helps believers navigate detours that may take you through trials, injustice, and even betrayal. You will be comforted and encouraged when you learn to rest in God’s redemptive plan and the hope found in God’s sovereign will.

Group Leadership

Jesus: The Servant in a Time of Suffering

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Jesus. We know He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith, the King of kings and Lord of lords (Hebrews 12:2; 1 Timothy 6:15). But we can easily lose sight of this awe-striking reality as we go about our daily tasks. This is only increased as we experience seasons of upheaval, uncertainty, waiting, or suffering—a lot like what many are presently experiencing.

How do we remember the profound reality that Christ is the Suffering Servant, obedient to the Father above all else? How can we personally experience this reality and then share this life-giving truth with our groups in transformative ways?

We can start by studying and letting ourselves think more deeply on these realities of Jesus. Then, we can pose questions to ourselves and others.

As a starting point, consider this timely Bible study selection: 

The Father declares His pleasure with the Son.

Read Mark 1:9-11.

John the Baptist came preparing the people for the arrival of Jesus. But Jesus would not be the conquering king the people expected; God had sent the Suffering Servant prophesied by Isaiah. The people of Israel needed to understand the humility of their king, but they needed to understand His greatness as well. John confessed that he was not even worthy to untie the sandals of the One coming.

Jesus’ hometown was nothing to brag about, consistent with the circumstances of His birth. Nazareth was a backwater village, the wrong side of the tracks which nothing of notoriety ever came from. Jesus left this remote village of no reputation and was baptized by John to begin His earthly ministry.

But why? We know from John’s message that he was calling everyone everywhere to repentance, and that the sign of repentance was baptism. But Jesus was—and is—the perfect Son of God. He had no need to repent of sin because He was not a sinner. So why be baptized by John?

Jesus’ baptism was, first of all, an issue of obedience to the Father. In the Book of Matthew, we see that John did not want to baptize Jesus because of His greatness. Who was he, John—the forerunner, to baptize Jesus the Messiah? If anyone was baptizing anyone, it should be the other way around. But Jesus explained that His baptism was not for sin, but rather to obey the commands of the prophets. Even from the beginning of His ministry, we see Jesus’ priority was to do exactly what God had sent Him to do.

But there was another reason for Jesus’ baptism. He was baptized to identify with sinners. Though Jesus was not a sinner, He was to be counted among the sinners. By being baptized as sinners were baptized, Jesus associated with those who needed to repent and believe. A few years after this, He would identify in a deeper, more profound way, when He would take the sins of the world on Himself at the cross. He who knew no sin would become sin so that we might be given His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21).

So Jesus, the perfect Son of God, went down into the water and came back up. It was a shadow of what was to come. Jesus would go down into death as the sacrifice for sin and come back up, raised to new life never again to die. 

Jesus identified with sinners in obedience to the will and plan of His Father, and His Father expressed His pleasure. The text tells us that immediately the heavens were torn open and the Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove. And the Father pronounced His approval: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased” (Mark 1:11).

This same pronouncement that was given to Jesus because of His perfect obedience is credited to us because of that same obedience. When we believe in Jesus, His perfect righteousness is credited to our account, and we are positioned as the children of God. 

How amazing to hear this from on high. How amazing to be adopted into God’s family, co-heirs with Christ. How amazing to be counted righteous in Christ. How amazing to know that God has not made a mistake when He formed us and when He called us into His family. How amazing to hear, because of the gospel, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!”

Why is it important to remember that Jesus’ priority was obedience to the Father, especially as you walk through seasons of suffering?

What practical difference does it make to you, as a Christian, to know that your Father in heaven is pleased with you?

The above content is excerpted and added to from the Gospel Foundations series, Volume 5: God With Us – The Gospels. Find out more about this Bible study which studies the life of Jesus here or learn more about the entire series here.

Church Leadership

Four Ways to Make Sure Your Small Groups Ministry Is Healthy

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If there is any “good” to come out of our current COVID-19 crisis, it’s that churches have been forced to reexamine the health of their current programs and ministries. What was working to help create disciples nine months ago may no longer be as effective.

It has also helped shine a spotlight on ministries that have been merely existing for some time—even before this pandemic—but are not producing fruit like they once were.

For many churches, small groups are designed to be the spiritual and relational lifeblood for the congregation. Groups are the environment where the message of the gospel is lived out through the practice of the “one anothers.”

If groups truly are that important to the current and future state of the church, we should do everything we can now to ensure they’re healthy and resourced for success for the future. Here are four ways to help make that happen.

1. Budget for current and future success.

Small groups and discipleship aren’t normally at the top of the budget needs for churches. Groups are a somewhat low-maintenance and self-sustaining ministry line item.

In order for groups to function effectively in this new reality, there will have to be more invested financial resources. The means more investment in the depth and quality of what’s being studied, more in staffing for discipleship, and more in helping group leaders and hosts provide a safe and welcoming environment.

2. Refresh your curriculum for groups.

Whether your small groups are meeting in-person or online, it is time for a curriculum refresh. If your only option for curriculum is printed materials, it will be more difficult for online groups to utilize these fully. Lifeway now provides all of it’s ongoing and short-term studies in digital formats.

Providing studies based on the weekend message is also a great option for new groups and those only meeting online. Smallgroup.com is a tool that makes the process of writing your own studies faster and easier.

3. Make groups a priority everywhere.

The option to join a group can no longer be three clicks away on the website, or a once or twice a year emphasis from the pulpit. The church website was once considered the new lobby for the church, but it’s now the lobby, bulletin, and sometimes the stage.

Getting people assimilated into groups has to be easy and obvious from the first page of your website. Online Zoom groups have made this easier than ever, but in-person groups will need to be just as easy.

4. Model from the top.

Sheep will follow where the shepherd leads. Research shows that churches with leadership that is highly invested in groups have more people in the congregation actively attending groups.

If the lead communicators are actively involved in groups and frequently share stories from those group experiences, people will understand groups are a priority. If groups are just another option listed on the website, they’re easily passed over.

This next season of ministry will require much from our small groups and leaders. Let’s do everything we can to make sure they’re as healthy as they can be!

CHRIS SURRATT (@ChrisSurratt) is the discipleship and small groups specialist for Lifeway Christian Resources, a ministry consultant and coach with more than 20 years of experience, and the author of Leading Small Groups: How to Gather, Launch, Lead, and Multiply Your Small Group.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 178: Avoiding Drift in Discipleship

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:36 — 39.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS

On this episode of Group Answers, Chris, Brian and Brandon talk about ways to avoid drifting in discipleship, even when everything else in life seems to be moving.

Resources:

The Group Answers Podcast is a weekly show designed to resource, train, and encourage small group leaders. Each episode considers current trends and resources as well as timeless truths and methods of discipleship. It is hosted by Brian Daniel, a Bible study and discipleship expert in Lifeway’s Groups Ministry, and Chris Surratt, the small group and discipleship specialist at Lifeway and author of Leading Small Groups.

Church Leadership, Group Leadership, Uncategorized

Six Reasons I’m Using the New Daily Discipleship Guide in My Group

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My wife and I recently launched a new Bible study group at our church. Almost a dozen adults gathered for the first meeting of this fledgling group! Since then we have grown to over 30 group members with an average attendance of 15.

When we were talking about starting this new group, we made a decision to use the Daily Discipleship Guide (DDG) from the Bible Studies for Life series produced by Lifeway. Why choose the Daily Discipleship guide? Here are six reasons I launched my new group with it as our primary discipleship tool:

  1. It is discussion-centered. I love the five great discussion questions that are a part of this series. Every study begins with a tremendous icebreaker question—one that gets the group talking, and one with no wrong answer (which encourages everyone to speak up more during the study and take a chance on answering the other questions that are asked). Plus, I don’t want the Bible study to be about me and what I say or do—I want the Bible study to be about what the group does, says, and thinks. Of course I study and prepare, and I fully guide my group’s study, but I don’t have to do all the talking.
  2. It engages the group members during the Bible study. The DDG has engaging images, in-group activities, and fill-in-the-blanks that engage logical, visual, physical, and relational learners.
  3. It provides five daily studies that tie to the group’s study. This is my favorite new feature in this resource! Once I lead the group’s Bible study, my group members have an opportunity to dig a little deeper in the days that follow. After the group Bible study ends, there are several pages that include daily Bible studies connecting to the biblical text we studied together as a group. Our group studies now align with my group member’s “God and me” time during the week. The daily studies expand on and reinforce what we studied as a group.
  4. The six-session studies are compelling and engaging. I don’t have to create new Bible studies every week on my own. I love the way Lifeway’s experts have carefully crafted each study along with the teaching resources I need to deliver a quality Bible study every week. The topics hit adults where they live and engage them in Bible study.
  5. The teaching plan is a part of the DDG. The group plan is built into the back of each Daily Discipleship Guide. Everyone in the group is now a potential teacher, substitute, or apprentice teacher. Savvy group leaders will identify a person or two with potential to be future group leaders (or subs and apprentices right now) to follow along in the group plan section, watching to see how the leader uses the teaching plan ideas in the group. I want these individuals to see that they could follow the same teaching plan to teach our group or a group of their own. The goal is for them to say, “Since I have the same teaching plan my leader does, I could do this!”
  6. The Bible Studies for Life series is based around the eight signposts of discipleship. Research has demonstrated there are eight signposts, or indicators, that people are on the right pathway and are growing as disciples. Every year, Bible Studies for Life has eight six-session studies. Each of the 8 studies is centered around one of the eight signposts of discipleship. If I simply continue using Bible Studies for Life in my group, I will expose my group members to the core ways that God’s people grow and mature as disciples. That’s huge!

I’m proud to place this excellent resource in the hands of every group member and our guests. If you want to have free access to four sessions of the Daily Discipleship Guide, click here.

Other than serving as the manager for Lifeway’s ongoing adult Bible studies and as the Director of Sunday School, Ken is an 18-year church education staff leader and blogs regularly about Sunday School and groups ministry at kenbraddy.com.

Group Leadership

How Video Teaching Can Help Your Group

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Even as our world seems incredibly divisive and the future seems ever more uncertain, this remains certain: ministry cannot stop.

Pastors, small group leaders, and disciple makers of all kinds feel the strain. Months into an “unprecedented time,” we can exhaust the endless need for creativity to meet the current discipleship needs. We can grow weary of continuing to lead well as tension is high, disagreement is higher, and our groups seem to be so different than just one year ago.

In these moments, we can lean on the body of Christ to find encouragement, fresh creativity, and new solutions to meet our varied small group needs. One of our favorites? Burden-lifting video teaching.

What is video teaching?

Our Lifeway video teaching is 10 – 30 minute Bible teaching sessions from trusted Christian voices. Made to complement Bible study print editions and eBooks, we offer as wide a selection of video teaching as we do traditional studies. These videos can be done alongside the Bible study or used as a discussion starter on their own.

You’ll hear about difference making from Gregg Matte, purpose from Tony Evans, doubt from Barnabas Piper, racial reconciliation from many voices, the book of James from Matt Chandler, and so much more. 

How can video teaching help your group?

  • Less Leader Stress

Relieve your leadership burden by leaning on other trusted leaders. By picking a specific topic or finding a particular author, you can let the biblical wisdom of another provide spiritual insight and temporarily alleviate your preparation work. These videos will help with the teaching time of your small group and let you focus on additional group needs during this season.

  • More Flexibility

You might only need to fill two weeks before you launch into your group’s next focus. Video options let you do this. Or, maybe you want to fill a 6 – 8 week time slot. Videos let you do this. From the wide variety of topics and authors, you can find seasonally relevant videos, teaching specific to cultural moments, and classic teaching that easily adapts to your group’s needs.

  • Easier Access

Our videos are easy to access. Through a simple click and purchase, you’ll be able to use the teaching videos. These can be screen-shared via a virtual meeting platform, or they can be played during an in person group gathering.

  • Personalization

Even if video teaching isn’t the preferred option for your group, one of your group members or a smaller discipleship group within your group may ask you for resources on a particular topic. You can search our video teaching to find particular videos that can be a ministry resource to help meet their needs. 

We’re in this together, here to help and support you in all the ways we can—one step (or video) at a time.

Group Leadership

Custom Church Resources

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By Tyler Quillet

I speak with pastors and church leaders about their small groups weekly. I keep up with groups on social media focused on small group ministries. I have small group inquiries thrown my way almost daily. I know what you’re thinking: What are these people talking about, discussing, and doing when it comes to their groups ministry? I’m glad you asked. 

Far and away, what I hear more than anything is, “What do you know about sermon-based Bible studies? What are other churches doing when it comes to sermon-based studies? Would this be a good option for us?” When thinking through these questions, it’s important to recognize that what works for one church may not be successful for another. You need to know your church family and prayerfully decide how to lead your groups ministry. 

That said, sermon-based groups are a great option to consider. For those who use sermon-based studies, the alignment allows individuals and families to focus on the same text and topic in the sermon, small group, individual study, and family devotions throughout the week.

However, many leaders are confronted by the question, Who has the time to write sermon-based resources for adults, students, and children? Most church leaders simply don’t have the time in their week. That’s where Lifeway’s Custom Church Resources team comes in. We create Biblical solutions for the specific calling and context of your church. Whether this be sermon-based, a long-term discipleship plan, a simple short-term series, daily devotions, or more, we create based on your specific needs.

Our team can take your sermon text, topic, or even your full manuscript to create curriculum for your groups that aligns with your sermon. We create studies based on your needs and in a way that reflects the culture and context of your church. This may include heavy teaching content for a traditional Sunday school class, a shorter facilitator guide for a typical small group setting, or some simple questions to help keep your group discussion moving. Whatever your needs, we’ll incorporate your language and your church’s style guide to make your studies look, feel, and sound as if they came out of your church office. 

Take a look at www.customchurchresources.com to see the many ways our team can serve you and your church family. On our site, you can view many sermon-based samples and click the “Get Started” button to set up a time to connect. We’ll answer your questions, share with you how we can serve you in this partnership, and discuss what next steps might look like. 

What are pastors saying about Custom Church Resources?

“We can do what we’re supposed to do here every day in serving this church and being a part of the ministry here and meeting the needs of the people without having to spend hours in the office doing something that we’re not really used to doing. So, handing it over to a trusted expert who can take it and put it together for us, and we know it’s gonna be good, we know it’s gonna be theologically correct, and we know there’s not going to be surprises. It’s been fantastic. It’s been really good.”

Jim Herndon

Small Groups Pastor, Second Baytown Church 

Baytown, TX

“I have been so happy and surprised at how beautiful the partnership is, and how great the collaboration is. I really feel like we have an added member to our team that’s not in-house. It’s incredibly affordable for a church our size….Not only are they helping with the application of the truth, but they are helping me think of ways I could even teach the truth.”

Barrett Bowden

Lead Pastor, Island Community Church

Memphis, TN

Have you been writing your own guides but feel like you don’t have the time, the content has become stale, or the responsibility has become overwhelming? Let Custom Church Resources take that burden from you, learn your church’s DNA, and write your group studies for the specific calling and context of your church. Set up an appointment today. I look forward to hearing from you!

Tyler Quillet is the discipleship strategist for the Custom Church Resources team at Lifeway Christian Resources. He lives in the Nashville, TN area with his incredible wife, Cathie, and two boys, Cylas and Bowen. Tyler also speaks, writes, and coaches alongside Cathie as they pour into and love on those battling infertility through Cathie’s “The Quillet Institute.” Tyler previously spent 15 years as a pastor and is passionate about serving churches and pouring into church leaders in a variety of ways. 

Online Bible Study

Giveaway for David Platt’s Online Bible Study

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Starting Tuesday, November 3, we are beginning an Online Bible Study of Something Needs to Change by David Platt!

What’s the Bible study about? 

When David Platt took a trip to the Himalayan mountains, the staggering hardship he witnessed transformed the trajectory of his life. Now, in this study, he’s inviting you to reflect and wrestle with him as he describes his life-altering trek through the Himalayas. You’ll ask hard questions alongside Platt about human need, suffering, faith, the gospel, and our role. For Christians, ignorance of profound human need is not an option. Neither is indifference. It’s time to explore what it means to follow Jesus in a world of urgent physical and spiritual need. 

Session topics include: repentance, physical need, spiritual need, loving God and people, opportunities, counting the cost, the one, and something needs to change.

Click to read free sessions, order the Bible study, or to find out more.

How does it work?

Head over to the Facebook Group to request to join the Something Needs to Change Online Bible study hosted by the Lifeway Groups team.

Once you’ve joined the free group, look for a new video teaching session from Something Needs to Change posted every Tuesday at 7 AM. We’ll continue posting weekly for eight weeks (posted videos will be saved so that participants can view anytime).

Next, jump into the discussion. With each video, we’ll be adding a few questions from the Bible study to spark conversation in the comments section.

Who can join?

The Facebook Group is open to anyone! Join individually and engage with others in the group or invite your friends to join the group and watch the sessions together to discuss in person.

What do I need?

The session videos that correspond to each week in the study will be provided for free. You may also want to purchase an eBook version of the Bible study or a physical copy to complete your study experience. There, you’ll be able to find the additional session material referenced in the videos as well as personal study “devotions” to continue working through the content each week.

Want a free copy?

We are giving away free copies of the Bible study to equip you to best engage with this online study experience! Five people will be chosen to receive one free Bible study book. Complete the form below to be entered into the giveaway.

We look forward to joining you on the journey!

Giveaway form

by filling out this form you agree to receive more information from LifeWay Groups.

 

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