ANATOMY OF THE DISCOVERY BIBLE STUDY

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2022

BIBLE READING: 1 TIMOTHY 4:13; EPHESIANS 3:14–21; PSALM 119:105

“And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.” Acts 13:15 (NKJV).

Discovery Bible Study (DBS) is a strategic tool that drives the Discipleship Making Movement (DMM). DBS enables people to read the Bible and discover what it has to say to them. Discovery Bible Studies work best in small groups.

During a DBS, the leader of the discipleship group poses simple questions from the Bible study that allow participants to understand the character of God, encourage them to obey what they are learning and help them to share it with others.

The anatomy of DBS includes:
• A review of the previous session’s actions (unless it is the first study), reading of the scripture for the current study, usually several times and then people are asked to retell what they read in their own words.

• Thereafter, these types of questions are asked:
– What does this scripture tell me about God?
– What does this scripture tell me about people (or myself)?
– If this is God’s word for my life, how will I obey it?
– Who am I going to share it with?

There are several powerful benefits of this method of Bible study:
• The DBS structure is easy to teach, easy to remember and easy to replicate. That means that anyone can run a DBS with anybody, anywhere.
• In spite of their simplicity, DBS questions are very powerful and people often come up with profound discoveries from the Word of God.
• The last two questions of the DBS teach people from the start, the need to obey God’s word, and the need to share it with others.

Disciples who obey God’s Word and share it are more likely to make disciples of others. And so it is the best strategy for catalyzing and sustaining a Discipleship Making Movement (DMM).

PRAYER:

Lord, thank You for the wisdom that inspired the Discovery Bible Study. Forgive us for not maximizing it as we should. Help us to use the DBS strategy to start Discipleship Making Movements that will birth revivals in our communities.