Phyllis Hostmeyer

Small Group Dialogue Study Guide Phyllis Hostmeyer

You are about to embark on an exciting new Bible Study. Every week you will participate in a different activity designed to encourage dialogue; designed to encourage everyone to contribute; designed to help you learn Bible stories. Here are some tips to help you get the most from this study. Be an active participant; your ideas help others grow. Each week someone will tell the Bible story before the dialogue. Telling a Bible story might be new to you, but the tellings breathe new life into the stories. No need to memorize the story; simply tell the story as if you are having a conversation with friends. Spend some time before class preparing for each lesson. Step-by-step instructions on how to prepare for the next lesson have been included in the Closing section of the Study Guide. Before coming to class, listen to the next story and watch the story insights at btstories.com. The related Bible text has also been cited so that you can spend time in God's word prior to class. Questions and Considerations have also been provided. Bring your Bible along to each class. A version of each story has been included in your Study Guide, but having your Bible open during the small group dialogue will help you to review God's words as you dig deeper and come to new insights and understandings. At the close of each lesson you will have an opportunity to complete an Overview Activity which can be found at the back of the Study Guide. Each week you will write a brief summary or create the second verse of a simple poem about the story. Completing one of these activities weekly will give you an overview of the Old Testament at the end of the study. Each lesson has a Share the Word section which helps you to disciple others. During the week, find three opportunities to tell the story that you have studied. Perhaps you might share with family, someone at work, a neighbor, or even a stranger. People love to hear stories. Telling the story several times will help you to remember it and help you to build relationships with others. You will also find simple activities related to the story that you can do with family or friends which will help them to learn and love the stories also. Enjoy this study. Listen, share, learn, set goals, and be involved as you build relationships and learn God's word through the stories of the Bible.