Joining a Bible study group can be intimidating. You may be wondering: Will we have anything in common? Is this a safe place to share openly? How are we going to get along? These are great and natural questions. To begin, remember that our sovereign, all-knowing, and always-present God brought you and your entire group together.
Jesus is good at that—bringing people together. In fact, He’s perfect at it.
Consider how He brought together His disciples. Did you ever wonder what was going through their minds? They probably didn’t realize at first that they had the perfect group leader. Jesus’s first followers may have had similar questions to ours: Who are these people? What baggage do they bring? Will I even like them? Will they like me? How are we going to get along?
As we look ahead to the upcoming study of John’s Gospel: The Truth, the disciples’ first days with Jesus provide guidance and encouragement as we gather together and draw closer to our Savior and one another.
Our sovereign, all-knowing, and always-present God brought you and your entire group together.
Invited by Jesus
In John 1:35-42 we read about Andrew, originally a disciple of John the Baptist. With simple words, Jesus invited Andrew to “come, and you will see.” Andrew literally followed Jesus and responded by telling his brother, Simon Peter, “We have found the Messiah.” Through simple invitations, God grew a community of faith.
You may have been invited to BSF by a friend, been encouraged by a spouse, or heard about BSF through your church, the internet, or even this blog post. In any circumstance, this was how God invited you personally to “come, and you will see.” Jesus Christ, who was in the beginning with God (John 1:1), personally invites you to follow Him, believe in Him, and have eternal life through Him (John 3:16; 5:24). Faith-filled and transformative community always starts with Jesus’s invitation.
Known by Jesus
According to John 1:43-48, the day after Jesus invited Andrew and Peter into discipleship, He extended the same invitation to Philip with two words, “Follow me.” Like Andrew with Peter, Philip could not wait to tell a cynical friend, Nathanael, about Jesus. As Nathanael approached Jesus, before he could say a word, the Messiah revealed He already knew Nathanael perfectly.
Scripture says God knows us before we’re even born (Psalm 22:9-10; Jeremiah 1:5; 1 Corinthians 13:12). Our character, interests, pursuits, and loves are no surprise to Him.
Each BSF member comes with different experiences, interests, desires, and knowledge of God’s Word. If you look closely, any group is a fascinating group! Week by week, as we share together, we can learn something new about the world, about one another, about ourselves, and about God. Approach your group with an attitude of curiosity—to know and be known.
Approach your group with an attitude of curiosity—to know and be known.
United by Jesus
The first disciples included a clique of fishermen; a cynical Nathanael; a doubting Thomas; a spontaneous Peter; a contemplative John; a zealous Simon; and an unpopular tax collector, Matthew. This was a group that, from the outside, did not fit. But together they would witness Jesus’s miracles, listen to His teaching, and experience His death and resurrection. Their lives and relationships with one another would be completely transformed by the gospel.
What about your own discussion group? Whether in a room or on Zoom, tens of thousands of groups around the world are filled with men or women, young and old, varied in backgrounds, gifts, talents, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and personality. All broken, yet in Christ redeemed and united by the Holy Spirit through faith in Him. Christ brings unity to a diverse community!
Whether you are new to BSF or are a seasoned veteran, consider this new year, this 30-week journey through the Gospel of John, as a new opportunity. Like Jesus’s choice of His disciples, your discussion group is no accident. God has planted you in this group in this season for a purpose. In this deliberate moment in His story, God is calling you to draw close to Him and to one another as you engage with His Word together.