Biblical Insights: Three Bible Study Ideas

Contents
Introduction to Biblical Insights
Three Bible Study Ideas
10 Passages to Comfort Workers
10 Bible Studies that Affirm Workers
Characters in the Bible
Passages to Play With
What's the Bible Have to Say About...?
Five Hard Questions
Other Bible Links

1. Study any Bible section (e.g., a parable of Jesus) from the viewpoint of a worker, or a set of various workers, including those who first heard or read the text or story. What do the texts say to these individuals in the context of this important part of their daily living? (For further examination of the subject, an example and a reproducible handout for this method, see Working: Making a Difference in God's World.)
2. As a temporary constraint on participants in a Bible study, especially an Old Testament text or story, set this condition: In your world, there is no "church" except a very large one approximately 100 miles from here. But you do have an opportunity to go to a Bible teaching hour one day a week, led by local believers especially trained in that skill. As you read and talk about this text, keep that (temporary) reality in your mind and see how it changes the way you look at the text. As you study any text together, keep participants within this "no-church" context and see how much it constrains and/or frees up their understanding of practicing the faith in daily life.
3. If you have done a spiritual gifts inventory with members of your congregation, ask Bible study participants to bring their individualized inventories with them to the class or session or group. (If not, begin a series of sessions with a quick overview of the concepts of "spiritual gifts" and conduct a quick written audit of participants' individual giftedness.)
Study any text with participants' gifts inventories nearby, for their reference in applying the Bible lesson to life." Ask the question, "How has God already equipped you to fulfill the meaning of this text in your daily worlds?"
In this approach, participants leave (and approach?) Bible study with less guilt, more possibilities and higher motivation for living their faith in every arena of life. (For an even more interesting approach, expand "giftedness" past "spiritual giftedness" into all areas of life in which God has given blessing, and use the word "assets" instead of "gifts" to describe the basic personal equipment with which Christians live out God's purposes in their lives.)