Studying the Bible…for Real Life Change
Scott J. Kaczorowski | June 26, 2024
Bible study is good. Many Christians are plugged into a host of different Bible studies that bring them into a deeper understanding of the Scriptures. But Bible study
by itself—devoid of any real life impact—is not good. Many of these same Christians spend their time studying the Scriptures but exert little effort to really apply it to their lives. The result is Christians who have a head understanding of the Bible but bear little fruit in their lives for Christ. They are in many ways like a group of people diligently studying the instruction manual to learn the best way to fix a lawnmower—but no one ever gets up from the huddle and fixes the lawnmower.
The Christians themselves are not (entirely) to blame for this state of affairs. Although there are some notable exceptions, many of the Bible studies they engage in are geared towards knowledge and spend little time on real life application. In order to provide a study that focuses on real life application here at River Cities Christian Church, we have developed Biblical Foundations for Christian Discipleship. In this study participants are exposed to eight areas of basic Christian discipleship: Faith, Repentance, Bible Reading, Prayer, Forgiveness, Service, Evangelism, and Giving. In each session one topic is surveyed through guided discussion questions of select Scripture passages on that topic. Participants are then assigned for homework concrete ways of applying these biblical teachings to their lives that they must report back on in the following session.
Here at RCCC, we believe in real life discipleship. And so we wanted to make Biblical Foundations for Christian Discipleship available free of charge to the wider Christian community outside our church. You are free to make copies of this study for yourself and those participating in the study with you. Please do not alter the text of this study or sell it. We have also provided links to some of the supplemental materials mentioned in the study, though you are certainly welcome to substitute your own.
We hope Biblical Foundations for Christian Discipleship will be a blessing to you! But warning: this study is not for the faint of heart. This kind of Bible study is for those who want to allow a deeper understanding of Scripture to make them more like Jesus.