Bible study - what have you gotten out of it?

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Hi All,

As some of you know, I work two jobs, so new undertakings requiring a commitment, personal and otherwise, requires that I submit schedule change requests and other things. I am not alone in that though am I? Many of us have packed schedules and busy lives.

As the title suggests, I am considering joining a Bible study group at my church, or maybe another church. Before I do this though, I wanted to get feedback from you guys on your experiences. What benefits me, happily may benefit other forum members.

So…
Has a Bible study group enhanced your spiritual life?
Has it been worth the commitment to you?
Would you mind describing what your format was like?

A thousand thanks in advance to all who share!:tiphat:
 
It depends on the Bible Study and who’s running it.

That being said, you won’t know until you go and see for yourself.

Pray on it, it may be exactly where God wants you at this time in your life.

God Bless

Jim
 
The only ones that I have enjoyed are from Catholic Scripture Study.
They run fro many weeks, and have extensive materials to read in advance, some short videos and some personal research to do. They pretty much need a knowledgeable person to lead the group, which is key to any of them out there.
Have fun looking around! Let us know if you find one that’s great!
 
pianistclare said:
The only ones that I have enjoyed are from Catholic Scripture Study.
They run fro many weeks, and have extensive materials to read in advance, some short videos and some personal research to do. They pretty much need a knowledgeable person to lead the group, which is key to any of them out there.
Have fun looking around! Let us know if you find one that’s great!
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Clare,

You should try the Lectio Series from the Augustine Institute. You can also watch them on FORMED.org
 
esieffe said:
Has a Bible study group enhanced your spiritual life?
Has it been worth the commitment to you?
Would you mind describing what your format was like?
Click to expand...
I attend a Bible study that meets (on average) every other Sunday at 7PM. It’s lead by our pastor, who has a Ph.D. in theology.

We read 5-10 verses then spend almost 30 mins discussing the verses. Monsignor starts by talking about the scholarship, the history, the theology, etc. He also brings in Scared Tradition, the liturgy, sacraments, current events, etc as it relates to the passages. When he’s done discussing the passages, we then ask questions and/or provide comments.

But our study takes a kind of academic approach. We are not a small group, more like classroom sized, so we don’t go around the room nor generally discuss what the passages mean to us (unless there is a question tied to it).

I enjoy it greatly because I find that when I understand something academically, it becomes easier for me to have conversion.

Even though we meet for 1.5 hours, because it’s every two weeks - on a Sunday night - it’s not a big time commitment. It’s pretty easy to make most of them.

I also find it to be a good break from the stresses of everyday life. And it’s much more rewarding than a night at the bar or something like that.

So, again, I really enjoy it.

NOTE: I don’t think I would enjoy a lay lead session unless the person knows Scripture and the History of that period cold. But I have enjoyed the some online, video based Bible Studies like ones from the St Paul Center of Biblical Theology and the Lectio Series from the Augustine Institute. The later is presented by several professors of Sacred Scripture.

God Bless
 
phil19034 said:
I attend a Bible study that meets (on average) every other Sunday at 7PM. It’s lead by our pastor, who has a Ph.D. in theology.

We read 5-10 verses then spend almost 30 mins discussing the verses. Monsignor starts by talking about the scholarship, the history, the theology, etc. He also brings in Scared Tradition, the liturgy, sacraments, current events, etc as it relates to the passages. When he’s done discussing the passages, we then ask questions and/or provide comments.

But our study takes a kind of academic approach. We are not a small group, more like classroom sized, so we don’t go around the room nor generally discuss what the passages mean to us (unless there is a question tied to it).

I enjoy it greatly because I find that when I understand something academically, it becomes easier for me to have conversion.

Even though we meet for 1.5 hours, because it’s every two weeks - on a Sunday night - it’s not a big time commitment. It’s pretty easy to make most of them.

I also find it to be a good break from the stresses of everyday life. And it’s much more rewarding than a night at the bar or something like that.

So, again, I really enjoy it.

NOTE: I don’t think I would enjoy a lay lead session unless the person knows Scripture and the History of that period cold. But I have enjoyed the some online, video based Bible Studies like ones from the St Paul Center of Biblical Theology and the Lectio Series from the Augustine Institute. The later is presented by several professors of Sacred Scripture.

God Bless
Click to expand...
That sounds awesome.
 
As with many questions on the forum, the answer is “It depends…” 😃

I’ve been part of and/or facilitated many different Bible studies / faith-sharing groups in many different contexts. St. Paul Center studies, Great Adventure, Lectio, Symbolon, Ignatius Study Bible, home-grown studies let by priests or seminarians, etc., etc. There’s very few of them I would say have not benefitted me in some way.

Generally, you get out of it what you put into it. It usually helps to spend some time with the material on your own to make the time together as a group more enriching. Or maybe that’s just me because I need more time to connect the dots.

A lot of studies that are out there are designed to be used by groups without anyone needing to be the “expert”. Many of the video-based studies rely on the person on the video to be the expert. That has the benefit of allowing people to hold studies when a priest might not have the time to devote to it. However, even the best designed “out-of-a-box” studies can still turn into the blind leading the blind if you’re not careful. It is helpful to have someone who knows what they are talking about. But if it’s between that and nothing at all, I suppose we do the best with what we have.

The bottom line is, you may not know until you actually try it. I think it’s worth the effort to see. Worst case scenario, you spend extra time reading and reflecting on Scripture and meet a few people from your parish. That’s hardly a bad thing. Even if your fellow parishioners aren’t biblical scholars, they may still surprise you with insights into the Bible that you wouldn’t have thought of on your own. The same Spirit that guided the authors of Scripture also dwells in us by virtue of our Baptism. Some very great saints with very profound insights into Scripture were not that well educated. The Spirit is still at work.

I hope it works out for you!
 
My experience parallels Joe. You get out what you put in. If you can devote time to preparing for the actual Face Time of the study, you’ll likely gain valuable insight into your Faith and your life. If, due to schedules, you can only (barely) spend the Face Time of the actual study, it will be less valuable. But I’ve been surprised. Sometimes you walk away with that one insight that forever changes your life.

Also being on both sides, I find facilitating the study leads to more learning than simply attending a Bible Study, but that occurs only after attending several.

Blessings,
Stephie
 
There is a Bible Study that I used to attend and I go a lot out of it. It was run by the pastor of the parish. Each scripture that we would study, Father would give us the background on various words and their meanings in Greek and/or Hebrew, customs of that time, geography, etc.

I found that particular Bible Study to be very fulfilling. I need to find another Bible Study, since I no longer live near that parish.
 
Tjh
Joe_5859 said:
As with many questions on the forum, the answer is “It depends…” 😃

I’ve been part of and/or facilitated many different Bible studies / faith-sharing groups in many different contexts. St. Paul Center studies, Great Adventure, Lectio, Symbolon, Ignatius Study Bible, home-grown studies let by priests or seminarians, etc., etc. There’s very few of them I would say have not benefitted me in some way.

Generally, you get out of it what you put into it. It usually helps to spend some time with the material on your own to make the time together as a group more enriching. Or maybe that’s just me because I need more time to connect the dots.

A lot of studies that are out there are designed to be used by groups without anyone needing to be the “expert”. Many of the video-based studies rely on the person on the video to be the expert. That has the benefit of allowing people to hold studies when a priest might not have the time to devote to it. However, even the best designed “out-of-a-box” studies can still turn into the blind leading the blind if you’re not careful. It is helpful to have someone who knows what they are talking about. But if it’s between that and nothing at all, I suppose we do the best with what we have.

The bottom line is, you may not know until you actually try it. I think it’s worth the effort to see. Worst case scenario, you spend extra time reading and reflecting on Scripture and meet a few people from your parish. That’s hardly a bad thing. Even if your fellow parishioners aren’t biblical scholars, they may still surprise you with insights into the Bible that you wouldn’t have thought of on your own. The same Spirit that guided the authors of Scripture also dwells in us by virtue of our Baptism. Some very great saints with very profound insights into Scripture were not that well educated. The Spirit is still at work.

I hope it works out for you!
Click to expand...
Thanks!
I subscribe to the daily readings from the USCCB.org. I also get the “Catechism in a year” from the same. I have been getting this for a while, but I think I am ready for something a bit more. BTW, I suggest getting both of these for anyone interested. At fi first I thought the Catechism in a year mailing was too much like the Baltimore Catechism, but they send two and they mix them up, so it is palatable and seems to work for me.
 
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