Disciple I Becoming Disciples Through Bible Study: Teacher Helps: Second Edition

By Abingdon Press

DISCIPLE
is a program of disciplined Bible study aimed at developing strong Christian
leaders. The study gives the Old and New Testaments equal time, emphasizing
the wholeness of the Bible as a revelation of God. DISCIPLE draws upon the work
of scholars, the personal Bible reading and study of the participant, and
dynamic group discussion to aid understanding of the Bible.

The
first study in the program is DISCIPLE: Becoming Disciples Through Bible Study,
a thirty-four week overview of the entire Bible.

Commitment and Time
Involved

Three and one-half
to four hours of independent study each week (40 minutes daily for leaders and
30 minutes daily for group members) in preparation for weekly group
meetings.
Attendance at
weekly 2.5 hour meetings.


Teacher
Helps

Disciple
I Teacher Helps guides Disciple group leaders through each
session.

In
the front of the Teacher Helps is a section of general information on
effectively using the study manual, preparing to lead the weekly group meeting,
following the proper schedule and procedure, tips for leading
discussion, and suggestions for creating and maintaining a caring
climate in the study group.

Process
suggestions in the teacher helps enable full participation by all
members of the group as a result of disciplined daily study. A one-page plan for
each of the weekly group sessions follows an established schedule and procedure,
with an amount of time designated for each section in the plan. Each session
plan includes suggestions for group study of a selected passage of
Scripture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Release date: Sep 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781426726903

Book preview

Put the Study Manual to Work

Each part of the study manual has a specific function both in daily preparation and in the weekly group meeting.

Theme Word

The theme word gives a clue to the subject of the lesson and the Scripture being studied in the lesson.

•  Display the word during each group meeting.

•  Suggest that persons memorize the theme word along with the lesson title to help them recall the sequence and content of the biblical story.

Theme Verse

The theme verse(s) expresses the focus of the lesson and might be read or recited from memory during the opening moment of devotion.

Title

The titles are descriptive of events or content, and together they summarize the biblical story from Creation to Revelation.

Our Human Condition

Our Human Condition is a statement of who we are.The Marks of Discipleship are statements of whom we are committing ourselves to become,and as such, suggest a resolution to Our Human Condition. Encourage persons to restate Our Human Condition in terms of their own experience.

Assignment

Scripture is central to DISCIPLE, and the gaining and maintaining of the discipline of daily reading and study of Scripture are essential to the process of becoming disciples.

•  The Assignment section indicates when to read the week’s Scripture and when to read the study manual and write the responses called for.

•  Insist on daily notetaking along with daily Scripture reading. The second page of each lesson in the manual provides space. The main purpose for taking notes is to have a personal record of information gleaned from Scripture and of insights and questions about the Scripture. Many activities will call for use of the notes in group discussion and interaction.

•  Ask group members to covenant together to prepare this weekly page of notes.

•  Challenge group members through your own example of daily reading, study, and notetaking.

•  Encourage persons to mark their Bibles as they read. (See Marking Your Bible, page 7.)

•  Make use of the work persons have done during the week. The extent to which you recognize and use the preparation group members have made will determine the degree of commitment they continue to bring to completing assignments.

Prayer

The prayer psalm printed in the manual is a starting point for personal prayer.

•  Encourage persons to jot down concerns about which they want to pray during the week and to add concerns from their daily study of Scripture.

•  Establish a plan for group members to pray for one another. Each week write persons’ names on slips of paper for exchange at the group meeting so that each group member will have the name of one other person to pray for daily.

The Bible Teaching

This section comments on the Scripture and draws meaning from it.

•  Write notes in the margin as you read and during discussion in the group meeting while others are telling what they have learned.

•  Decide how you will use the information persons write in the blanks in this section. Some information will be suited to response on a voluntary basis, in pairs or in threes; other information might be discussed in the entire group.

Marks of Discipleship

The marks of discipleship summarize major characteristics of the disciple of Jesus Christ and emphasize the practice of discipleship.

•  Make the connection between Marks of Discipleship and Our Human Condition.

•  Vary the approaches you use for having persons talk about their written responses in this section.

•  In instances that call for practicing discipleship in a specific way, decide as a group how to proceed.

If You Want to Know More

This section provides practice in using reference materials and in presenting information.

•  Make use of the initiative of group members by providing time for them to report their individual research and study.

•  Scan the information in this section. Some of it is useful at more than one point in the study.

Weekly Group Schedule and Procedure

Teacher helps for each of the thirty-four group meetings (pages 16-50) follow this format. Copy the planning sheet on page 6 to use in preparing your weekly group meeting plan. NOTE: This resource has been revised to make use of the Revised 2005 set of video segments. Check the front of your VHS or DVD case for the Revised 2005 banner displayed on the lower right corner. If there is no banner on the case, turn to page 51 for information about using the Second Edition (1993) Video Segments.

GATHERING AND PRAYER

(5 minutes)

Begin on time with those who are there. A moment of worship could include the theme word, theme verse, Our Human Condition, and daily prayer from the study manual.

VIDEO SEGMENT

(20 minutes)

The video segment will provide persons a common body of information to which to react and will focus attention on the subject of the group meeting.

Teacher helps for each lesson

•  suggest a way to prepare group members to view the video segment;

•  provide a summary of the ideas in the segment;

•  suggest one way the group may respond to what they have heard.

Encourage notetaking during the viewing.

Occasionally the group may want to view a video segment a second time to gain fuller understanding.

Preview the video segment. Prepare some questions to help group members make connections between the video content and what they have read in the Bible and in the study manual.

SCRIPTURE AND STUDY MANUAL

(50 minutes)

Much of the discussion and activity during this time will result from the reading and study persons have done and from their notes and questions.

Because you will be dealing with large amounts of Scripture and commentary on the Scripture, plan some procedures that help persons identify, clarify, organize, and master information they have gathered in their study. Plan some procedures that take persons beyond information to meaning.

Guard against repeating in the group meeting what persons have already done in their preparation.

As you prepare to guide this part of the meeting, put yourself in the place of the group members and ask yourself what kind of activities would allow you to make use of your preparation.

BREAK

(10 minutes)

Stay with the allotted time. Limit refreshments.

ENCOUNTER THE WORD

(40 minutes)

This time focuses on group study of a passage selected from the assigned Scripture. Group members will have read the passage but will not have studied it in detail. No mention of this activity is made in the study manual, and group members will not know before the meeting what passage they will be studying together.

Teacher helps for each lesson indicate the passage selected for study and one or more study approaches. The approaches are described in detail in Teaching the Bible to Adults and Youth,by Dick Murray (Abingdon Press, 1993).

•  Familiarize yourself with the suggested approach.

•  Test the approach with the selected passage.

•  Identify clearly the steps you will follow in guiding the study.

MARKS OF DISCIPLESHIP

(20 minutes)

At this point in the group meeting, you will consider what it means to be a disciple. Draw on the work persons have done in this section of the study manual and on group study and discussion.

The mark of discipleship for each lesson is stated in both the study manual and the teacher helps. Teacher helps emphasize the importance of making the connection between the mark of discipleship and Our Human Condition stated at the beginning of the lesson.

Becoming disciples is the point of this section and the point of DISCIPLE. Therefore, exercise careful control of time throughout the group meeting in order to have the time necessary for this section.

CLOSING AND PRAYER

(5 minutes)

Close the session on time with a prayer or song.

Keep in Mind

MARKING YOUR BIBLE

Start DISCIPLE study with a fresh, unmarked Bible so that you approach the Scripture anew without the influence of earlier notations and markings.

Mark your Bible to