Spring 2022 Small Group Curriculum Review
I review 3 new small group Bible studies from Lifeway in this post.
Some of my small group Bible study leaders have expressed interest in having me give a few suggestions each quarter for Bible studies along with a brief description. To that end, I have reviewed these three studies and recommend each of them.
The Life of a Jesus Follower (Vance Pitman)
Length: 8 weeks
Videos? Yes - for each week (12-15min)
Devotionals? Yes - 5 days per week
Leader Helps? Yes
TLDR; Each group session begins with an ice-breaker style of question or activity and then goes into the video teaching section. Following that, the author provides at least 6 questions (sometimes more) for discussion within the group. The daily devotional readings are two pages in length - so most people could finish them in about 15min.
This 8 week study aims to bring people through a scriptural journey of learning to Abide in Christ personally and daily, Connect in large and small groups, and share locally and globally (p109), so that people can be “unburdened” in their walk with Jesus.
Ecclesiastes (Barnabas Piper)
Length: 8 weeks
Videos? YES - for each lesson
Devotionals? YES - 3 per week
Leader Helps? YES
TLDR; Each group session begins with an ice-breaker style of question or activity and then goes into the video teaching section. Following that, the author provides 6-10 questions for discussion within the group. The 3 devotional readings per week are two to three pages in length - so most people could finish them in about 15-20min.
This 8 week study aims to teach you that Jesus is our wisdom and give you a biblical perspective on God, life, pleasure and mortality as you deepen your understanding of the book of Ecclesiastes.
Experiencing God *Updated (by Henry, Richard, and Mike Blackaby)
Length: 12 weeks
Videos? YES - for each lesson
Devotionals? YES - 5 days per week
Leader Helps? NO - all use the same material
TLDR; This is a deep Bible study of how people encountered God in the Bible, drawing principles from the scriptures that you can use to experience God in your life. The 5 devotionals per week will take 30min or more to complete. There are additional scriptures to memorize as well. The video sessions include a teaching video with an outline that has questions for your group to discuss. The study is more introspective than discussion oriented, so depending on your group it may be difficult to generate substantive discussion.