Perhaps the answers to these questions seem easy for you, but it is important for us to think about this. First off, we study the Bible bacause God in his Word told us to. (2 Timothy 2:15) We are also told to preach the Word. (2 Tim 4:2)

God’s Word is a gift from Him–a tool for our use and for our encouragement and growth. (2 Tim 3:16-17)

Studying God’s Word develops a desire for Him and helps us to grow. (Matt 4:4) Just like we grow with the food and nutrition we eat, we need the “nutrition” of God’s Word in our lives. Through study of God’s Word, we mature as believers (1 Peter 2:2) We begin to see how empty our lives are without the continual “nutrition” we get from the Bible. (Job 23:12)

Studying the Bible helps us to know God and know our Savior, Jesus Christ. We get to see His love and grow in Him, being filled with “the fullness of God.” (Eph 3:19)

Studying the Bible helps us to discern truth. All of mankind is a sinner and cannot be fully trusted, but God’s Word is authority for our lives and can and should be trusted as we read and meditate on it. (Acts 17:11; 1 Cor 2:13; 1 John 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1)

Studying the Bible helps us to be our best and grow in our relationship with God. It equips us with the full armor of God (Eph 6:10-18) so that we can be “conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

That’s why I’m challenging our small groups to choose a Biblical book study in their small group and carefully study God’s Word. (John 8:32)

What are you studying?

During the prayer time, ask people to keep their eyes open and to look at the heavens as they, too, declare the glory of God.

1. In old westerns the sheriff tells the man in the black hat to drop his gun and get his hands up in an act of surrender. Whether or not we worship God with our actual hands up, surrendering our heart is where yielding to Jesus as Lord begins. Living for God is a daily decision. Discuss with your group the question, “What helps you get to that place of surrendering all that you are to God?”

2. Alphabet Attributes: Try praising God by naming his attributes in alphabetical order. The first person for instance might praise God because he is A–All Powerful or A–Almighty. The second because he is B–Beautiful; the third person because he is C–Compassionate.  Can you make it through the entire alphabet? When you finish, take time in prayer thanking and praising God for these attributes.

3. Play Nerf-Ball Prayer: The first person shares a prayer request and then tosses the ball to another group member who catches it and prays for the member. Then, that person shares a prayer request and tosses to another group member who prays for her. Make sure everyone is involved in praying for one another. Praying for one another can be a fun, enjoyable activity.

4. Give your group an assignment that each person should bring a favorite song on CD to the meeting. (If you have cassettes or 8-tracks, that’s okay too!) Take turns sharing favorite songs. Share a little about why it is special. Sing along if it is one your group knows the words or sit and listen quietly as you focus on our Lord.

5. End with praise. If you normally end your meeting with prayers for one another, end differently for a change. Take an extended amount of time like 10 or 15 minutes and don’t ask for a thing. Instead spend time in prayers that praise and worship God and give Him thanks.

1. Meet with another D3 Small Group. Do a shared Bible study together. You can learn from each other and encourage growth in one another as well as maybe pick up some things that you want to bring to your regular meeting. Commit to praying for each other for an ongoing period of time.

2. Want to “up-the-ante” on that last one a little? Do a “Group Ambush.” Show up unannounced at the beginning of their meeting time (yes, you may have to meet at a different time). Spend only a few moments there and explain “You have been selected to be ambushed with love!” Then, unveil some treats you’ve brought to leave with them and leave. Perhaps you could return to your normal meeting spot for study or enjoy a good meal and fellowship together as a group once you leave your ambushed “victims.”

3. Make a group telephone call from your meeting to any member who is absent. Pass the phone around so everyone can talk. Open the call by saying “We just want you to know that we miss you. Here’s Nancy…” Everyone should participate in this, not just the group leader(s).

4. Ask your group to draw stick-figure families. Mom and Dad, the kids, the pets…  Then ask them to write the names and a few words or a picture image with each person that tells something about them. Perhaps the daughter plays basketball and the son speaks Spanish. Share the “works of art.”  You might collect them at the end of the meeting and photo copy them to distribute at the next meeting. This is a great way to get to know your fellow group members better.

5. Here is another twist on the last one… In a meeting, have group members bring in a family photo or photos so you can get to know each other’s families. Give each person a minute or two to say something about each family member’s interests, grade in school, or unique personality. Do you have pictures of grandkids? These are great to bring as well!

1. As a group, list people who serve in your church. Don’t stop just with pastors, but think about the Deacons, the Sunday School teachers, the child care workers, the musicians, the guys who mow the lawn, the custodians who clean, etc. Take some time praying for these servants. Afterwards, divide the names up and ask each group member to take some names and write them a note of encouragement on behalf of your group. Let them know you prayed for them! Perhaps, provide the note cards to make sure the note writing really happens.

2. Use this as a discussion question:  “If neither time nor money were an obstacle, what would you attempt for God?” Then ask, what can you do right now to begin moving in that direction of ministry.

3. Choose another church in town and pray for it. Intercede for the pastor(s), the ministries, and the members of that church. Write a card from your group letting the pastor know that you spent time praying for the church. Represent your group and our church.  Be an encouragement!  (This isn’t a time to correct or criticize. Choosing a church that you can support and encourage will be important for this activity.)

4. Invite to a meeting an individual or a couple who have walked with the Lord for many years. Let them know that you would like to hear stories from their life as well as wisdom they have learned through their walk with God. In what ways have they seen the world change in their lifetime? How did they come to know Christ? What lessons or advice about the Christian life can they pass on? Make this a special time to honor and encourage them. As a group, pray for them and commit to pray for them in an ongoing fashion.

5. Leave an empty chair. An empty chair communicates an important message to your group. It reminds us that God has someone new for our group. Who is that person? Pray that we are each praying for new people as well as actively inviting others to grow through your group.

1. Have each member talk about the person in their life who has had the greatest spiritual impact on them. Why? What was it about that person? What sparked your spiritual growth?

2. Once or twice a year, spend an entire meeting giving your group members the opportunity to assess their own spiritual health. Encourage honesty and authenticity. Ask, “Where are you strong and where do you need to grow?” Allow time for group members to map out a strategy for their spiritual growth. Set goals. Decide when the first step will be taken.

3. Each person writes down the top ten qualities of a disciple of Jesus. Then, each shares their answers with the group. Perhaps create a poster recording the ideas. Can you reach a consensus on the top ten?

4. Place a garbage can in the middle of the room where you meet. Then, talk about the unhealthy thoughts, songs, movies, TV shows, radio programs, books, and magazines that we let into our minds. Write each of these down on a small piece of paper and throw them in the trash can. As a group and as individuals, make a prayerful commitment to God as to what we put into our minds. (Philippians 4:8)  A meaningful way to end this activity would be to “give up” the unhealthy actions by symbolically burning them in a fireplace or fire pit.

5. Assign a passage or group of passages for your group to read in the days leading to the next meeting. Encourage them to read the passage(s) slowly and carefully and to take notes on what they learn and observe. Then, the next time your group meets, read the passage together and each person can share what they learned.  A good passage to start with is John 17.

Big Idea #1: Think from the Inside Out…Not from the Outside In

Conventional Wisdom: Take care of those on the inside first.

Reality: Small groups that focus on serving their own members rather than on reaching out to others quickly become inwardly focused and stagnant.

The authors say we need to ask the right question. “When church leaders set up their small groups system with the committed people of their church in mind, they inevitably crate a process that makes it easy for members and regular attenders to get signed up, or signed up again, as the case may be. But what about those people who are new to the church, have never been in a small group or who only come occasionally?”

Wrong Question: How do I get people to sign up again?

Right Question: How do I get new people to sign up?

Every church has a “big number” and a “little number.”  The “little number” is the average attendance of the church over a three-month period. Most of us know this number. But, there is a much greater opportunity for ministry when we learn to reach the “big number”–the number of individual people who have attended the church over that same three-month period.

The authors write: “The key to building healthy, thriving, small groups is to create a system that targets your “big number.”

Focusing on the “big number” with small groups helps to close the back door on those people who like to slip from place to place and help them move from the “big number” to the “little number” and become fully committed.

Is your small group “inward focused” or “outward focused?”

We make up all sorts of reasons to stay “inward focused.”

1. We place the responsibility of inviting others to small groups on the church or pastors.
2. We argue that our group is at a place of growing intimacy and new people would set us back or even hurt the group.
3. We love  the comfortable–we look for people who will “fit” the group rather than trusting that God will send the “called” to the group.
4. We fear change and what that might do to our relationships and the fun we have together.

The bottom line is that inward focused groups are slowly dying, stagnating away either to fall apart as a group or to exist ineffectively as if asleep. Outward focused groups look forward to the unknown together knowing that they are focused on God’s will to reach outward serving others and inviting them to be part of their small group. While that might sound harsh–even offensive–it is truth that is proved over and over again in small group ministry and churches.

Ask the hard question with your small group: “Are we an inward focused or outward focused group?”

Don’t just accept a “yes” or “no” answer, but dig deep into the reasons why you fall in one or another category. Then, determine ways that you can purposefully either be or continue to be an outward focused group.

The first study I want to highlight is The Treasure Principle Bible Study by Brian Smith & Randy Alcorn.

Alcorn begins in the Introduction saying:

All your life, you’ve been on a treasure hunt. You’ve been searching for a perfect person and a perfect place. Jesus is that person; heaven is that place… But there’s a problem. You’re not yet living with that person, and you’re not yet living in that place! … You dutifully put one foot in front of the other, plodding across the hot barren ground, longing for a joy you cannot find, a treasure that eludes you... Jesus told a story like that. It’s about hidden treasure that once discovered, brings life-changing joy…

The treasure principle is built on six keys:

God owns everything. I’m His money manager.
We are the managers of the assets God has
entrusted—not given—to us.
____________
My heart always goes where I put God’s money.
Watch what happens when you reallocate your money
from temporal things to eternal things.
____________
Heaven, not earth, is my home.
We are citizens of “a better country—a heavenly one”
(Hebrews 11:16).
____________
I should live not for the dot but for the line.
From the dot—our present life on earth—extends a line
that goes on forever, which is eternity in heaven.
____________
Giving is the only antidote to materialism.
Giving is a joyful surrender to a greater person and
a greater agenda. It dethrones me and exalts Him.
____________
God prospers me not to raise my standard
of living, but to raise my standard of giving.
God gives us more money than we need
so we can give—generously.

Click here for some great resources on Randy Alcorn’s Eternal Perspectives Ministries website regarding the Treasure Principle studies.

Two important things to know about The Treasure Principle:

1. This is not just a study on giving and tithing.
2. This is not just a study to teach how to budget.

With an easy-to-read-and-understand way, this study uses contemporary and Biblical stories to present a six-step plan to find the immediate pleasure and eternal rewards of the Treasure Principle.

As Alcorn himself states, “You couldn’t pay me enough not to give.” “Giving infuses life with joy. It interjects an eternal dimension into even the most ordinary day.”

The Treasure Principle would be an excellent study for any small group or even a family to go through.

We made our Word Clouds by hand and above is a great example of one of the Clouds created.

If you had your small group members create a Word Cloud, what would they see as important. Do you think they would see things the same way you do? Would they recognize what you feel is important?

Creating a Word Cloud is a great way for a small group to understand better who they are and be able to be all that they can and want to be.

In our list, resources are first grouped by type: Book Study or DVD Study. Both types of studies can be quite useful to the small group and you might want to check out the options under both categories.  After type, our studies are grouped by classification. There are studies that are specifically Biblical studies. There are Biblical or Christian Worldview studies. You will find studies on Christian living and families, relationships, and men and women.

The list contains links to outside vendors that sell these books. This is for you to find out more information about the study. Often times, it will be most economical for the small group to order their study through the church. We get discounts and can usually get the resources for even less than listed on these sites.

A great feature about using our small group blog for our list is it gives you the opportunity to comment about a study. This can help others as they make their choices.

Check out the resources on this list. Many of the book studies would even be great to read in your personal study time. In addition, this list will continue to develop. Be sure to return again and again.