Bible Month Samples

Ruth

Ruth, a short and often overlooked story shows God’s faithfulness to a Moabite who travels to Israel. Bible Month is a primary resource for those running a Bible study group. Use it as a catalyst for your own thinking, praying, and planning. It includes Bible notes, small group studies, ideas for children and youth, as well as a reflection and further resources.

The Bible notes on Ruth offer a basic commentary on each chapter and some ideas for preaching. They have been written by Dr Rachel Starr, of the Queen’s Foundation

Colossians

It's hard to be exact how Christianity began in Colossae, not least because Colossae is mentioned only once in the NT (Col. 1:2.) We don't know if Paul ever visited Colossae, though in his journeys through the southern part of Asia (western Turkey) (Acts 18:23 and 19:1) he must have been close by. It’s also easy to imagine that during his two years in Ephesus (Acts 19:10) he or mission from Ephesus spread the gospel further inland. A likely reason for the growth of the churches written to in Rev. 2-3, though (somewhat surprisingly?) the church in Colossae is not mentioned in Rev. 2-3.

Jonah

Disney gave us Pinocchio. Melville gave us Moby Dick. The Old Testament gives us Jonah who, like Pinocchio is taught a lesson. Although there’ s humour in this story, there's little to laugh about. Jonah is as obsessed as Captain Ahab; not with the whale but with his own take on religion. We often focus on the sea creature and fail to be amazed by God - the prime mover in the story. Jonah is ‘swallowed’ and after three days is ejected from the whale's belly. Some see this as death then resurrection (1 Cor 15:4).

James

James is a short, snappy, challenging book, full of wisdom about how best to live as a follower of Jesus. It’s also a letter that says a lot about holiness and justice.

For James, holiness without just living is an impossibility – ‘faith without works is dead’ (James 2:26).

James challenges followers of Jesus to live out their faith, demonstrating it by good deeds.

Mark

Most of us probably read the gospels to learn about Jesus. The gospels are rich and provide four portraits of Jesus, far from identical, but all recognisably about Jesus. The Jesus story is not just an interesting tale; the gospel writers have a conviction about who Jesus is and what that means for their readers. One person put it this way: the gospels are written to tell us ‘what was going on in what happened’ (John Marsh, The Gospel of St. John, Penguin 1968, 20). Thus, each evangelist is an author, telling the story of Jesus and conveying their convictions about Jesus’ identity and mission, and the place of His followers in that mission.

Isaiah

Have you ever wondered how to make sense of the book of Isaiah? And then, clearly explain the purpose and function of his prophecies to others? Bible Month’s 30 days with the book of Isaiah will guide you and your church into a deeper understanding of this central Bible text with its poetic language and extraordinary promises. It’s a great place to start your Bible study of Isaiah.

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