Category: Weekly Study Guide

Small Group Study Guide, Week 10

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Summary

Rather than a detailed, day-by-day summary, I’m going to continue to point you to resources that will help you unpack the daily readings. They will give you additional helps and insights for each day. Please continue to let me know any suggestions to make this as useful to you as you prepare as possible.

The Unfolding Story Podcast: This is a daily 3-5 minute podcast from Peyton Hill, pastor of FBC Prattville.

The Bible Recap podcast: Typically around nine minutes, this podcast from Tara-Leigh Cobble also provides a concise summary of the day’s readings, focusing on where you see God’s character in the readings.

Links to Blog Posts for this week’s readings from 66in52.com (this site):

Discussion Questions:

Note to leader, especially if you are using this in Sunday School: Be sensitive to group members who may not have read or are not participating in the reading plan. Make sure you use the summary to help them get their bearings, and use the Scripture references in the parentheses so everyone can look up the passage. Don’t skip questions in bold.

  1. As you went through the reading this week, what stood out to you? Is there anything you noticed that you had not seen before ? What questions did the readings raise? (Allow group to share their highlights, but resist the temptation to comment, answer questions, or open it up for discussion. You want the group to get comfortable sharing their thoughts, without looking to you to be the expert on everything.)
  2. One of the takeaways of the Balaam story is that the power of our words is very limited. We can’t curse what God has blessed and vice versa. Have two volunteers read Mark 11:24 and Romans 4:17. Ask, What would you say to a prosperity gospel Christian who believes we are able to speak things into existence, based on verses like this? (For background to this question, see “Can We Speak Things into Existence?” on gotquestions.org.
  3. On one hand, you can see Numbers 26-27 as an example of God’s protection of His people in that after forty years, there was almost the same number of Israelites as there were in the first census. On the other hand, you have to wonder how much the Israelites could have multiplied in forty years if they had not rebelled. Which way do you look at it?
  4. If you are a woman, how does it make you feel that a woman’s oath could be overruled by her husband or father (Numbers 28)?
  5. Why do you think God has to repeatedly remind His people to worship Him only, and to rest? What us the connection between those two commandments (besides the fact that they are two of the Ten Commandments?)
  6. Why was God so insistent that His people drive out the Canaanites from the Promised Land?
  7. Numbers 35 makes a distinction between a murderer and someone who accidentally kills someone else. We make a similar distinction between 1st degree murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide. Do you think there should be a difference? Does it surprise you that there is a difference in God’s Law? Why or why not?
  8. We started Deuteronomy this week. The name of the book literally means “second giving of the law” (deu + torah). Why was a second giving of the law necessary?
  9. As we wrap up, are there any questions you had about anything you read that we haven’t addressed? (Don’t stress if you don’t know the answer. For some questions, there may not be an answer! You can toss the question to the whole group, give your opinion, or promise to research before next week. And always encourage them to post questions in our Facebook group. Pastor James or someone else may have an insight or an answer).
  10. What action steps or changes do you sense the Lord is leading you to do next week as a result of this study?

Small Group Study Guide, Week 9

Summary

Rather than a detailed, day-by-day summary, I’m going to continue to point you to resources that will help you unpack the daily readings. They will give you additional helps and insights for each day. Please continue to let me know any suggestions to make this as useful to you as you prepare as possible.

The Unfolding Story Podcast: This is a daily 3-5 minute podcast from Peyton Hill, pastor of FBC Prattville.

The Bible Recap podcast: Typically around nine minutes, this podcast from Tara-Leigh Cobble also provides a concise summary of the day’s readings, focusing on where you see God’s character in the readings.

Links to Blog Posts for this week’s readings from 66in52.com (this site):

Discussion Questions:

Note to leader, especially if you are using this in Sunday School: Be sensitive to group members who may not have read or are not participating in the reading plan. Make sure you use the summary to help them get their bearings, and use the Scripture references in the parentheses so everyone can look up the passage. Don’t skip questions in bold.

  1. As you went through the reading this week, what stood out to you? Is there anything you noticed that you had not seen before ? What questions did the readings raise? (Allow group to share their highlights, but resist the temptation to comment, answer questions, or open it up for discussion. You want the group to get comfortable sharing their thoughts, without looking to you to be the expert on everything.)
  2. Ask a volunteer to read Numbers 12:2. Point out that in the previous chapter, after Moses had gathered seventy elders, “the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied.” Point out that it’s very possible that Aaron and Miriam (or at least Aaron) were two of the seventy elders through whom God spoke in Numbers 11:24-25. How might that have contributed to their arrogance?
  3. Any guess as to why Miriam was the only one to get leprosy, when both she and Aaron spoke presumptuously? (Leader: there isn’t a clear answer. It is possible that since she is named first in 12:1, then she may have been the instigator. It may also be that she was singled out because she was a woman criticizing the patriarchal leader. Don’t shoot the messenger!)
  4. When the twelve spies bring back their report about the Promised Land, the claimed they saw the Nephilim in the Promised Land (13:33). How do you explain this if you assume the Nephilim were destroyed in the Flood (see Genesis 6)?
  5. Look at the sequence of events in Numbers 14: The people believe the ten spies who didn’t think they could take the land. They say, “It would have been better for us to die in this wilderness (v. 3).” Then God tells them they won’t be able to enter the land, but instead they will die in the wilderness (v. 32). So basically God gives them what they said they preferred. Then they change their minds and decide they can take the land. What do you make of this?
  6. If you were in Moses’ sandals, and God told you He was going to start over and “make of you a nation greater and mightier than they” (14:12), what would you say?
  7. When Moses intercedes for the people, did God change His mind? Can God change His mind?
  8. Why doesn’t Moses get to enter the Promised Land? Why was striking the rock instead of speaking to the rock such a big deal? Is it right or fair that leaders are held to a higher standard?
  9. As we wrap up, are there any questions you had about anything you read that we haven’t addressed? (Don’t stress if you don’t know the answer. For some questions, there may not be an answer! You can toss the question to the whole group, give your opinion, or promise to research before next week. And always encourage them to post questions in our Facebook group. Pastor James or someone else may have an insight or an answer).
  10. What action steps or changes do you sense the Lord is leading you to do next week as a result of this study?

Small Group Study Guide, Week 8

Summary

Rather than a detailed, day-by-day summary, I’m going to continue to point you to resources that will help you unpack the daily readings. They will give you additional helps and insights for each day. Please continue to let me know any suggestions to make this as useful to you as you prepare as possible.

The Unfolding Story Podcast: This is a daily 3-5 minute podcast from Peyton Hill, pastor of FBC Prattville.

The Bible Recap podcast: Typically around nine minutes, this podcast from Tara-Leigh Cobble also provides a concise summary of the day’s readings, focusing on where you see God’s character in the readings.

Links to Blog Posts for this week’s readings from 66in52.com (this site):

Discussion Questions:

Note to leader, especially if you are using this in Sunday School: Be sensitive to group members who may not have read or are not participating in the reading plan. Make sure you use the summary to help them get their bearings, and use the Scripture references in the parentheses so everyone can look up the passage. Don’t skip questions in bold.

  1. As you went through the reading this week, what stood out to you? Is there anything you noticed that you had not seen before ? What questions did the readings raise? (Allow group to share their highlights, but resist the temptation to comment, answer questions, or open it up for discussion. You want the group to get comfortable sharing their thoughts, without looking to you to be the expert on everything.)
  2. Ask group members to open their Bibles to Leviticus 19. Explain that there are three basic kinds of laws in the Torah: Moral Laws, which are true for all people, in all places, in all times; Civil Laws, which governed the Jews in their dealings with one another, and Ceremonial Laws, which were specifically related to Jewish worship. Look over Leviticus 19. Can you find examples of each?
  3. How does understanding the different kinds of laws help you answer people’s objections to Christianity, such as “aren’t you just picking and choosing which laws to follow? You’re against homosexuality, but you wear clothes of mixed fibers (see Lev. 19:19).”
  4. In your opinion, why do you think the Bible just lumps all these different kinds of laws together? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have all the moral laws together, then all the civil laws, and then all the ceremonial laws?
  5. There are 56 verses about the year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25. However, there is no mention of it actually being observed in all of Scripture. If it was never observed, what might have been the reasons?
  6. Compare Numbers 1:1 to Leviticus 1:1. What’s the difference between God speaking to Moses “from” the tent of Meeting, and God speaking to Moses “in” the Tent of Meeting? What made the difference?
  7. God caused the Levites to be the tribe of priests. He also divided the labor between the three clans of Levites. Do you think this caused any conflict? What kind of conflict?
  8. Numbers 6 lays out the guidelines for making the Nazirite vow. Who is the most famous Nazirite in Scripture? (Samson). How was his vow different from the way it is laid out in Numbers 6:1-4? (Samson was a Nazirite from birth, and his vow was intended to be permanent. In Numbers, it was a voluntary vow freely made by an adult for himself or herself, and was for a specified amount of time.) Do you think God intended Samson to point to Christ?
  9. As we wrap up, are there any questions you had about anything you read that we haven’t addressed? (Don’t stress if you don’t know the answer. For some questions, there may not be an answer! You can toss the question to the whole group, give your opinion, or promise to research before next week. And always encourage them to post questions in our Facebook group. Pastor James or someone else may have an insight or an answer).
  10. What action steps or changes do you sense the Lord is leading you to do next week as a result of this study?

Small Group Study Guide, Week 7

Summary

Rather than a detailed, day-by-day summary, I’m going to continue to point you to resources that will help you unpack the daily readings. They will give you additional helps and insights for each day. Please continue to let me know any suggestions to make this as useful to you as you prepare as possible.

The Unfolding Story Podcast: This is a daily 3-5 minute podcast from Peyton Hill, pastor of FBC Prattville.

The Bible Recap podcast: Typically around nine minutes, this podcast from Tara-Leigh Cobble also provides a concise summary of the day’s readings, focusing on where you see God’s character in the readings.

Links to Blog Posts for this week’s readings from 66in52.com (this site):

Discussion Questions:

Note to leader, especially if you are using this in Sunday School: Be sensitive to group members who may not have read or are not participating in the reading plan. Make sure you use the summary to help them get their bearings, and use the Scripture references in the parentheses so everyone can look up the passage. Don’t skip questions in bold.

  1. As you went through the reading this week, what stood out to you? Is there anything you noticed that you had not seen before ? What questions did the readings raise? (Allow group to share their highlights, but resist the temptation to comment, answer questions, or open it up for discussion. You want the group to get comfortable sharing their thoughts, without looking to you to be the expert on everything.)
  2. If you have been reading Leviticus through, maybe for the first time, what has been your initial reaction? A) This isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, B) This is just as bad as I thought it would be; or C) This is worse than I thought it would be. Explain your response.
  3. Is there a difference between “unclean” in Leviticus and sinful? What is the difference?
  4. Throughout Leviticus, there are very strict laws regulating how God can be approached. At the same time, sinful people are always commanded to bring their sin offerings to the Lord. They aren’t told to wait outside while the priest brings it in for them. What does this say about God’s heart toward sinners?
  5. At your individual tables, open your Bibles to Leviticus 10:1-4. Spend a few minutes reading the Scripture together. Listen for any differences in translation. Discuss what Nadab and Abihu’s sin was, and why the judgment was so severe (Note, the Bible doesn’t explicitly say. So there’s not a wrong answer. Encourage people to compare translations, especially in verse 1. If any of you at the table have a study Bible, compare the study notes on this passage).
  6. In Leviticus 11, do you see any similarities between unclean and clean animals that could be a logical reason why the people were forbidden to eat certain animals? (again, there is nothing explicit, so we can only guess. But some have noted that a pig will eat anything it finds in the mud. Similarly, most marine life that does not have fins and scales are bottom feeders. And all the birds that are on the forbidden list are birds of prey or carrion birds).
  7. In Leviticus 14-15, a seven day waiting period is required after someone is cleansed of leprosy or from a discharge of blood before one could be allowed back into the presence of the Lord. Yet, there were many stories of people that were cleansed from leprosy or of bleeding who did not obey this command. Why did Jesus not condemn the Samaritan leper (Luke 17) or the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5)?
  8. Today, we would never consider asking our pastor to come and inspect a spot of mold in our house (and your pastor is very grateful for that). Most of us would say that has nothing to do with our spiritual lives, so it would make no sense to call in a religious leader. But the Hebrews made no distinction between their “spiritual life” and their “secular life.” For them, it was all just life. What can we learn from that?
  9. As we wrap up, are there any questions you had about anything you read that we haven’t addressed? (Don’t stress if you don’t know the answer. For some questions, there may not be an answer! You can toss the question to the whole group, give your opinion, or promise to research before next week. And always encourage them to post questions in our Facebook group. Pastor James or someone else may have an insight or an answer).
  10. What action steps or changes do you sense the Lord is leading you to do next week as a result of this study?

Small Group Study Guide, Week 6

Summary

First off, I am so sorry about last week’s discussion questions! A small group leader pointed out that they were the same questions as the week before. I know I typed new questions, but somehow an old version overwrote the new version, and that’s why you all had deja vu. But we are going to make it right with these questions.

Rather than a detailed, day-by-day summary, I’m going to continue to point you to resources that will help you unpack the daily readings. They will give you additional helps and insights for each day. Please continue to let me know any suggestions to make this as useful to you as you prepare as possible.

The Unfolding Story Podcast: This is a daily 3-5 minute podcast from Peyton Hill, pastor of FBC Prattville.

The Bible Recap podcast: Typically around nine minutes, this podcast from Tara-Leigh Cobble also provides a concise summary of the day’s readings, focusing on where you see God’s character in the readings.

Links to Blog Posts for this week’s readings from 66in52.com (this site):

Discussion Questions:

Note to leader, especially if you are using this in Sunday School: Be sensitive to group members who may not have read or are not participating in the reading plan. Make sure you use the summary to help them get their bearings, and use the Scripture references in the parentheses so everyone can look up the passage. Don’t skip questions in bold.

  1. As you went through the reading this week, what stood out to you? Is there anything you noticed that you had not seen before ? What questions did the readings raise? (Allow group to share their highlights, but resist the temptation to comment, answer questions, or open it up for discussion. You want the group to get comfortable sharing their thoughts, without looking to you to be the expert on everything.)
  2. How would you describe “the fear of the LORD”? How would a believer define the phrase differently than an unbeliever?
  3. As you will see throughout the next few weeks, The Ten Commandments are far from the only commandments in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). In fact, there are 613 laws in Genesis-Deuteronomy. What makes the Ten Commandments distinct?
  4. If you had to pick the most important commandment, which would it be? Which are the easiest to keep? Which are the easiest to break?
  5. Ask a volunteer to read Exodus 20:13. Then, ask another volunteer to read Matthew 5:21-22. While the first volunteer still has his Bible open, ask him to read Exodus 20:14. Then ask your second volunteer to read Matthew 5:27-28. Ask, Between Exodus and Matthew, which is harder to keep? Why would Jesus make the law harder to keep than it already was?
  6. When we get to the long, detailed description of the Tabernacle (Exodus 25-27), our eyes tend to glaze over, and we think “BO-RING.” What do you think God wants to teach us from this passage? How might we be comforted by God’s attention to detail?
  7. What is the difference between Aaron collecting gold for the golden calf (see Ex. 32:1-5) and Bezalel doing the same for the ark and the tabernacle furnishings (see Ex. 36:1-7).
  8. Where did the Israelites get all this gold in the first place? (If no one answers, ask a volunteer to read Exodus 12:36). What are some ways people use God’s blessings in ways that dishonor God today?
  9. As we wrap up, are there any questions you had about anything you read that we haven’t addressed? (Don’t stress if you don’t know the answer. For some questions, there may not be an answer! You can toss the question to the whole group, give your opinion, or promise to research before next week. And always encourage them to post questions in our Facebook group. Pastor James or someone else may have an insight or an answer).
  10. What action steps or changes do you sense the Lord is leading you to do next week as a result of this study?

Small Group Study Guide, Week 5

Summary

Friends, because of time constraints this week, I was not able to provide the day-by-day summary I’ve been doing in this section. Fortunately, we are still in a section that is very familiar to many of you. Instead, let me direct you to a couple of resources that will give you additional helps and insights into the daily readings. Please give me feedback if this is helpful to you. If this is just as helpful or even more helpful to you than the narrative summary, let me know.

The Unfolding Story Podcast: This is a daily 3-5 minute podcast from Peyton Hill, pastor of FBC Prattville.

The Bible Recap podcast: Typically around nine minutes, this podcast from Tara-Leigh Cobble also provides a concise summary of the day’s readings, focusing on where you see God’s character in the readings.

Links to Blog Posts for this week’s readings from 66in52.com (this site):

These are short devotional posts that drill down on a specific passage from each day’s reading.

Discussion Questions:

Note to leader, especially if you are using this in Sunday School: Be sensitive to group members who may not have read or are not participating in the reading plan. Make sure you use the summary to help them get their bearings, and use the Scripture references in the parentheses so everyone can look up the passage.

As you went through the reading this week, what stood out to you? Is there anything you noticed that you had not seen before ? What questions did the readings raise?

Note to leader: This will be your first question every week. Allow group to share their highlights, but resist the temptation to comment, answer questions, or open it up for discussion. You want the group to get comfortable sharing their thoughts, without looking to you to be the expert on everything.

The following questions span the whole week’s reading. You probably will not have time to deal with all of them. Highlight the ones that are most interesting to you. As you listen to the group’s highlights, put a star next to any of the questions that address what stood out to someone in the group. Make sure you always ask Questions 9 and 10.

  1. When you look at all the dysfunction in Abraham’s family, what do you think God wants us to learn from these stories?
  2. Some stories in the Bible are prescriptive–they tell us what happened as an example to follow. Others, like Genesis 34, are descriptive–they tell us what happened without the expectation that we do the same thing. How do you discern the difference?
  3. Even after God gave Jacob the new name Israel, he is still primarily referred to as Jacob. Why do you think that is? Allow for responses, but suggest that it may simply be a way to differentiate Israel the man from Israel the nation.
  4. In the story of Jacob wrestling the man (Genesis 34), why does verse 25 say “the man” (God) “could not defeat Jacob”? Doesn’t God always win?
  5. Similarly, in verse 28, God says to Jacob, “you have struggled with God… and have prevailed.” What do you make of this?
  6. Jacob seems to demand a blessing from God in exchange for Jacob letting him go (v. 26). Is it right to “demand” anything from God? How do we make sense of this?
  7. Genesis 34:29 says that God blessed Jacob. But it doesn’t say how. Or does it?
  8. Ask a volunteer to read Genesis 12:3 (“all nations will be blessed by you”). Ask, did you see anything in the story of Joseph that was a fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham? If no one says it, ask a volunteer to read Genesis 41:52.
  9. As we wrap up, are there any questions you had about anything you read that we haven’t addressed? (Don’t stress if you don’t know the answer. For some questions, there may not be an answer! You can toss the question to the whole group, give your opinion, or promise to research before next week. And always encourage them to post questions in our Facebook group. Pastor James or someone else may have an insight or an answer).
  10. What action steps or changes do you sense the Lord is leading you to do next week as a result of this study?
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