One of the greatest gifts God has given us is His Word. When we open His Word, God speaks with us, and His Spirit makes known to our hearts the very thing He intended when He gave us His Word. He will use it to encourage you, comfort you, exhort you, confront you, reveal Himself to you, and speak through His Word directly to you.
In Hebrews 4:12-13, we hear that the Word of God is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
God sees everything and He wants to speak into what He knows about our life, what we need in that moment, through His Word. And He’ll do that. He really will.
The Bible doesn’t simply give us information about God; through the Scriptures, God reveals who He is. And as we encounter Him through His Word, He transforms us. Our goal in reading the Bible is to meet with Jesus. We come asking the Spirit to speak through His Word, and we come in a posture ready to listen. Every time we open the Bible, we can be expectant that God will reveal something about Himself and invite us to take another step of faith.
Discover God’s Truth Together
The Disciple-Making Bible Study was designed with this in mind. The guide helps a group discover God’s truth together. You’ll read a passage aloud, retell it together in your own words, and then walk through some simple questions. Finally, you’ll spend time in listening prayer, asking Jesus what He is inviting you into in response to His Word.
I have found this tool useful in a variety of contexts and cultures. Some friends of ours who were once far from God encountered Jesus while walking through this together one day in our living room. Now they are leading a community through this in their own home. I’ve also seen leaders in Japan use the process both to introduce people to Jesus and to establish believers in the core doctrines of the faith.
The best tools or practices for making disciples are reproducible, transferable, and scalable. Reproducible because anyone can do it. Transferable because it can be done anywhere. And scalable because it can be done in groups of all sizes with varying degrees of resources.
We want to see ordinary men and women become disciples who make disciples. Whether you’re discipling a new believer, meeting with a few friends over coffee, gathering your family around the table, or opening the Bible with your community, the Disciple-Making Bible Study is designed to help you create space for Jesus to speak through His Word and His Spirit.
Our hope isn’t simply that you’ll use this guide; it’s that you’ll experience the joy of watching Jesus reveal Himself through His Word to people in your life, and then see them replicate the simple process with others as well. Because that’s how disciple-making multiplies, from one person being transformed by Jesus to another.
Click here to access the Disciple-Making Bible Study by Jeff Vanderstelt, now available inside your Saturate membership.
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