I have told my pastor that I would like to open my house for a house fellowship with a focus on bible study. So, it got me thinking about what I should prepare as a basic bible study for believers of all levels, especially for the new believers. I was thinking over this while driving and meandering about the house (indeed ideas come to you when you are least concentrating on them). Initially, I was thinking of doing Romans since I just bought Moo's commentary recently. Then, I asked myself this question, how come so many believers were so illiterate about their beliefs and were so easily drawn away by any new doctrines that claimed the authority of being inspired by the Spirit? I thought this problem would provide the questions for the bible study to answer. It gave me a framework to reflect on. I though one of the most obvious observation would be that we really do not know much of the origins of our Christian faith. We were never taught by the leaders in our church on the origins of our faith, the origins of our bible and the origins of the church. We were brought up in a culture that regarded the study of history as something to be done only when sleep escaped us.
So, bearing this in mine, I thought a basic bible study needs to include at least the following topics.
- The story of God's dealings with humankind throughout the Old Testament
- The story of God's dealings with humankind through the Messiah and Lord, Jesus of Nazareth
- The story of the church from the first century until now
- The story of the bible from the first century until now
A humongous task indeed to make this understandable to brethren who have never exposed themselves to such stories.
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