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Maybe you shared the three circles or the sacrifice stories with someone and - while they were not ready to give their live to Jesus yet - they were interested in learning more. Consider inviting them to do a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) with you.
But How Do I Do a DBS?
For the first meeting, use the following format.
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Ask: What are you thankful for?
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Ask: Do you have any struggles that you want to share with us?
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Read the passage from the Bible.
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Have one person (with help from the group) retell the passage and let the others listen to make sure they have said it correctly. Others can fill in any information that was missing. Don't ADD to the Bible. Just retell what it says.
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What does this passage teach us about God/Jesus? (OT:“God” ... NT: God or Jesus)
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What does this reading teach us about people or about life?
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How can you live differently because of what you read? How does this reading affect your life?
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Who can you share this passage with?
Use the following format for all meetings except the first.
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Ask: What are you thankful for?
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Ask: Do you have any struggles that you want to share with us?
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Ask: Did you live differently because of what you learned?
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Ask: Did you share last week’s story (or other Biblical truth) with anyone
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Read the passage from the Bible.
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Have one person (with help from the group) retell the passage and let the others listen to make sure they have said it correctly. Others can fill in any information that was missing. Don't ADD to the Bible. Just retell what it says.
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What does this passage teach us about God/Jesus? (Old Testament:“God” ... New Testament: God or Jesus)
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What does this reading teach us about people or about life?
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How can you live differently because of what you read? How does this reading affect your life?
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Who can you share this passage with?
Which Passages Do I Use?
Below are story sets that you may choose to use for different people at different times. You should probably do just one passage in the set per meeting.
Download a PDF
Discover App for DBS (English/Farsi)
The "Whys" of Discovery Bible Study
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To point people to the Bible rather than a teacher
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To foster confidence in the Spirit
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To encourage Berean evaluation of assertions (Acts 17:11, 12)
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To stress obedience (obedience-based vs. knowledge-based NOT vs. grace-based)
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To stress sharing the Word with others
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Encouraging memorization of the Word
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To lead towards church gathering
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To foster reproducibility
Foundations and Tips
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One person facilitates. Move quickly towards taking turns at facilitation, so it's not always you.
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The Bible is the teacher. All answers to facilitation questions must come from the Bible itself, not from personal opinions nor past experiences.
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When answers are not derived from the passage, gently ask, “Where do you see that in the text?” Very occasionally ask this question, even if answers are derived from the text, just to remind everyone that we get our answers from the Bible.
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Have the Bible in their own language to make sharing with compatriots more natural (Biblegateway.com has many languages you can print. For those who don’t read well, try audio Bible in their language at Faith Comes by Hearing).
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After the text is read, ask them if they understand what they read. Sometimes the translations can be a bit dated.
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NIRV is a good and easy English translation.
More Tips
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Ask your friend when and how often to meet. Don't assume just once a week.
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Ask your friend to invite others and form a group, because groups...
...remember more than individuals.
...learn faster than individuals.
....replicate faster than individuals.
...replicate more often than individuals.
...self-correcting(self-correcting)
...keep members accountable.