Bible Study Training

Romagooc SDA Church

June 16, 2021
Finding Bible studies
Personal Contacts are the Best:
The Holy Spirit is placing a desire for truth in hearts all around you.
Maintain a constant connection with Him.
Be friendly.
Pray every day, “Who today, Lord?”
Do as Jesus did: “He reached the hearts of the people by going
among them as one who desired their good. . . . He met them at their
daily vocations, and manifested an interest in their secular affairs.”7
“Go to your neighbors one by one, and come close to
them till their hearts are warmed by your unselfish
interest and love. Sympathize with them, pray for
them, watch for opportunities to do them good, and
as you can, gather a few together and open the word
of God to their darkened minds.”
Tips for Finding Bible students
1. Do door to door visitation in your
neighborhood using just the guides or a
community survey (see Appendix B) and the
guides.
2. Distribute a series or a single tract containing
an enrollment card
3. Apply the conversational evangelism
How to give the Bible study
Pray earnestly. Jesus said, “Without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5,
NKJV). Jesus is the center, focus, and essence of every study guide.
Jesus must also be the center, focus, and essence of your life.
To be successful in working for others, one must have the power,
presence, and guidance of the Holy Spirit at every step. Claim this in
earnest prayer.
And claim the promise: “In this work all the angels of heaven are
ready to co-operate. All the resources of heaven are at the command
of those who are seeking to save the lost. Angels will help you to
reach the most careless and the most hardened.
Ask yourself, “What is the purpose of this visit or study? What
decision do we want? How can I make it Christ-centered? How can it
make Jesus more attractive and aid in a decision to accept and follow
Him?”
Prepare well with underlining, highlighting, and comments and
illustrations jotted in the margins of your study guides. Plan enough
to make it interesting, but not too long, especially the first time.
Dress appropriately.
Be optimistic. Never think or talk of failure. “Workers for Christ are
never to think, much less to speak of failure.…The Lord Jesus is our
efficiency in all things”
What to Do When You Arrive at the Study
1. Be punctual
2. Be enthusiastic, cheerful, relaxed and friendly, when you greet them and
throughout the study.
3. Keep the first visit brief. Usually people are busy and you do not want to
wear out your welcome.
a. To begin, you may say, “It is so good to see you again. How was your week?”
Be intensely interested in them as they share.
b. An important principle is to talk about their interests and not yours.
1. Comment briefly on interesting items in the room. Begin to form a
friendship. It is good to do the brief chatting before, not after, the study.
Suggested seating arrangements
With a group, it is best to sit in a circle if
possible. With one person, sit across the
corner of a table.
How to present the Bible study
Begin with prayer
Read the introduction or review its high
points.
You will want to ask each question. Say,
“Perhaps it will be easiest if I read the
questions and you share your answers.”
How to present the Bible study
As they share, compliment them on their
good answers. (The good ones are brief.
They are probably not understanding the
answer if they write out the whole text.)
If there is a wrong answer,
Never say “that’s wrong”
1. You are not only looking for right answers,
you are trying to win hearts.
2. Say kindly, “We seem to have different
thoughts on that question. Would you mind
sharing that text with us again?”
Always listen and ask questions to be certain the person understands
clearly. Use often: “Is it clear that…? That word is a bit difficult. Is it clear?”
Make brief, relevant comments as you move along.
Build instructions on their understanding and comments.
Don’t preach. You are not giving a sermon. Giving Bible studies is done by
interactive discussion.
As you would not want to feed a whole truck load of hay to a cow at once, you
would not want to attempt to tell your students everything you know at once.
Use appropriate illustrations to make it interesting
An illustration creates a deeper and more lasting
impression in the heart and mind.
It is like a window that lets the light in and brings in fresh
air.
It drives the point home.
Be careful not to use too many illustrations.
Keep them short.
Remember to always be kind and tactful. Build
bridges, not walls.
In gentle tones, make your presentations beautiful, clear and
simple.
Keep in mind the following:
“Your success will not depend so much upon your knowledge and
accomplishments, as upon your ability to find your way to the heart.”
“The tones of the voice have much to do in affecting the hearts of
those that hear.”
Stress the blessings over the requirements. When
appropriate, emphasis that God is not there to squeeze the
fun out of life but He longs to give His children, as we do,
the more abundant life (John 10:10), withholding nothing
good (Psalms 84:11). At appropriate times, humbly tell of
blessings you have received.
Stick to the subject
Don’t take all the freeway exits or you will never reach your destination
Never introduce ideas …
for which the student does not have sufficient background and is not
prepared to receive. This can be disastrous. We do not jump to the top
of a stairway in one leap. Lead learners one grade at a time, as in
school. Follow the sequence of the study guides. Be careful in using
Ellen White’s writings prematurely if you cannot first prove the point
from the Bible.
If questions dealing with a future, controversial lesson are asked, do
not attempt to answer them. This could be the devil’s way of getting
you sidetracked! It is one of the greatest causes for dropouts.
If they ask, as an example, “Why do you keep Saturday for
Sunday?” Say something like, “That is a good question. It
demands a good answer. I could give an answer, but my
answer is not really important. I’m sure you want to know
what God’s Word says. You will be happy to know that we will
have a study or two on that soon.” You might add, “You’ll be
fascinated with what we will discover from the Bible.”
Remember, during the first six studies, it is vital to anchor
the student’s faith in the Bible.
More tips for success
Be understanding. When you know that the person’s
position is contrary to the Bible, you may say, “I understand
how you feel.” He/she may only have wanted to state an
opinion, so you can forget the subject, build on his/her
understanding, or ignore the error until the person is willing to
change.
Listen. Again, we emphasize: Don’t always do the talking.
Listen to hear needs, concerns, and understanding. Tailor your
answer to the needs of your student(s).
Get a firm decision for Christ
before you introduce testing truths. This is a very
basic principle of success. Jesus said, “I am the
vine, ye are the branches. . . . Without me ye can
do nothing” (John 15:5, KJV).Your learners have
no desire or power to obey Jesus until they know
Him and surrender their lives to Him as Saviour
and Lord.
Know how to meet opposition
If after the surrender is made, the person objects strongly to
clearly revealed truth, you can say in love, “This is not my
idea. This is Jesus, your Friend and Master, talking to you.
You belong to Him. Ask Him what to do. I’m here to
encourage you to do His will.”
Be tactful and smooth
Don’t be rude and make anyone angry. Don’t
condemn your students. “Satan is constantly
seeking to produce effects by rude and violent
thrusts; but Jesus found access to minds by the
pathway of their most familiar associations. He
disturbed as little as possible their accustomed
train of thought.”
Don’t argue
You may win the argument and lose the soul. When
people become argumentative, don’t oppose them.
Don’t get pushy. “Christ saves none against their
choice.” Accept people where they are. Work with the
Holy Spirit in moving them from where they are to
where He wants them to be.
Don’t be embarrassed about questions you can not answer
No one knows everything; and, besides, you aren’t
posing as an authority on the Bible. You might say, “I
never thought of it that way before. I’ll try to find the
Bible answer and bring it to you next week.” If you are
certain there is no Bible answer, don’t speculate. Only
teach the Word. Refer to Deuteronomy 29:29.