How to Use this Book

This book is the formulation of years of guiding myself and my church family through Bible reading and study.  It is a simple but helpful tool to help with the discipline of drawing near to God through regular Bible reading and listening. 

This book could be used weekly over 1, 2, or 3 years. It could even be used with intermittent 6–12-week studies. While this version goes through the whole Bible, it is a compilation of three separate discussion guides for the New Testament, Psalms & Proverbs and Old Testament.  Be sure to check out and share www.Bible.video and www.TrustworthyWord.com for our latest, free downloadable resources.

Sunday School & Small Group Discussion Questions

This book is full of questions, both specific and generic, to help you and your group in studying God’s Word together.  These questions are coupled with a Bible reading plan to help you understand and apply God’s truth to your life.  These questions can also be helpful personally for journaling or prayer.  You’ll find yourself asking more questions as you journey through the Bible, so write them down or type them up for future discussions and learning!

Good questions help us to learn and apply what God is wanting to say to us each day.  Each week has several questions available that you might find helpful for your personal devotional time or to use for discussion in a Sunday School class or small group.  Some of these questions are generic towards helping our Bible understanding while others are more specific and applicational.  May we not simply be hearers of the Word, but lovers and doers of God’s voice as well!

One of the best resources to consult for short, biblical answers to the most common questions of life is www.GotQuestions.org – check it out sometime, you’ll be glad that you did!

The Bible Project (www.bibleproject.com) is another incredible resource with video summaries of Bible books and Bible themes.

If you are looking for some additional resources for questions for your small group, Sunday School class, or for personal use, here are some suggestions:

• Serendipity Bible: For Personal and Small Group Study – edited by Lyman Coleman

• The One Year Bible Companion – by Tyndale House Publishers

• The Complete Bible Discussion Guide: Group Discussion Questions for Every Chapter in the Bible – by Mack Thomas

• 3 Questions on Every Chapter in the Bible – by Ed Roop

If you are a group leader you may want to use the margins of this book to write some of your own questions to expand on the provided questions.  You may want to raise your own questions to encourage discussion within your group gatherings.  As you encounter God in the Bible ask Him to show you new and deeper truths about His goodness and greatness!

If you are a group participant you will likewise want to prepare for your gathering ahead of time.  Your involvement and time in the Word will impact others in your class.  As you read the Bible chapters each week, you may have your own questions so don’t be shy about writing them down and asking them in class. The group conversations that follow your questions will help you all to think through and together may you find God’s answers!  Ask God to grow you through this study and to use you in the lives of your small group friends.  What a blessing it is to be a disciple who makes disciples!

2 Timothy 2:2 “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” (ESV)

A Warning & 3 Tips!

Since these verses are shared 1) in shortened form 2) with parts removed for brevity and 3) out of their original book and context, there is a real danger of misunderstanding God’s truth. 

Always be sure to read this book with an open Bible in hand. This book is not designed to replace the Bible.  This book is designed as a tool to help us get back into the Bible more regularly.  May this resource help you to better remember and proclaim the glories of Christ from the Scriptures.

Here are three tips!

1) Use a Study Bible: Please always be sure to read and study these verses in light of their original context and setting.  A great study Bible (my favorite is the ESV Study Bible) will be one of the best helps you can find as you get into a right understanding of the Word of God.  At the end of this book are some helpful tools on how to study your Bible (also here: www.trustworthyword.com/how-to-study-the-bible)

2) Join a Local Church: The Bible isn’t made to be studied alone.  A church family and a pastor can greatly help in your spiritual growth as a follower of Christ. If you commit to be in a biblical church each Sunday, the Lord will grow you through the preaching of the Word and through the weekly gathering of His saints! (See also: www.trustworthyword.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-church-membership)

3) Participate in a Small Group or Sunday School Class: Small groups and Sunday School classes are a wonderful way to learn more about the Bible and to be challenged in your personal spiritual growth. We are better together, and a small group can be an incredible blessing to you through the ups and downs of life. If you need some free Bible reading plans or small group Bible study questions, check out www.smallgroupquestions.com.  They might be just the tool you need to start up your own Bible study group!

A Few Helpful Bible Verses on audible & visible Bible Reading!

our inspiration & GUIDANCE for www.Bible.BEST

“Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” - 1 Timothy 4:13

“They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” Nehemiah 8:8

“And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God.” Nehemiah 8:18

"And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God." Nehemiah 9:3

“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” Revelation 1:3

“I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.” 1 Thessalonians 5:27

“For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues." Acts 15:21

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.” Luke 4:16

“And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.” Colossians 4:16

Dr. Jonathan Carl

Jonathan Carl grew up in the great state of Texas as the oldest of six kids. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served in the U.S. Army as a tanker with a combat tour in Iraq in the early 2000s. He had the joy of journeying to Kentucky where he met and married his wonderful wife Brittney. Several years later he became the lead pastor at South Fork Baptist Church where he has served over a decade. He enjoyed the opportunities to study and earn his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Evangelism & Missions from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Jonathan & Brittney have four daughters (Sophia, Lydia, Alia & Mia) with whom they enjoy spending every spare minute they can.