THE IMPACT OF IBS, SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDY AND EVANGELISM LTS-Morogoro, May 11, Bro. Benson Lazaro, Ardhi Institute Morogoro (TAFES Associate - Morogoro) /

Introduction Many believers know the great commission as found in Math 28:19,20 “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Farther, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world”. In order to fulfil it, one needs clear understanding of it and how to fulfil it. The preceding verse v18 says “All power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth”. Romans 1:16 “I am …, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe”. Evangelize which is the speaking (preaching) the word of god should be done confidently.

Introduction cont. Unless one know clearly the world of God can not confidently preach the Gospel (Evangelize) The world of God is found in the Bible! What is Bible (anything that you know about Bible) Bible is a Greek word “Biblia” means “Library”. It is made of Old testament and New testament. Old testament contains God’s work with His people before the birth of Jesus, while New testament tells us about Jesus (His birth, His life and His Ministry).

Introduction cont. Three fundamental questions answered in the Bible are: Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where will I go? The Central theme of the Bible is “God’s loving plan to rescue man kind”. Bible should be printed in believer's heart in order to make effective use of it. The aim of this study is to help believers to interact with the Bible as it will bring the Bible to your life and life to the Bible through small group Bible study using IBS techniques.

INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY (IBS)-PART I Inductive is to start with the details of the text and then move to the conclusion, WHILE Deductive begin with a preposition or thesis and then draw from that certain applications/details. What are the three steps of IBS (DTS-Attendee) Advantage of IBS It gives you freedom to learn from the Holy Spirit as you co-operate with Him in your study It lays a firm foundation for a person conviction in Biblical truths that should be practiced on a daily basis It helps you to make your own discoveries from scripture and therefore helps you feed yourself from the scriptures.

IBS Acknowledges a gap between us and the time of bible writing Through IBS, we travel backwardly in history Then we travel forward to present (we hear voice of God) by so doing, IBS expert can be considered as cooking food eg. rice

A gap between us and the time of bible writing cont. Time gap Consider changes in Tz in our existence such as electronic equipment changes in political arena (Multipart system) means of transportation If in few years of our living big changes has happened, what about more than 1900 yrs ago when a Bible was written.

A gap between us and the time of bible writing cont. Cultural gap Greetings; I Thess. 5:26; Rom. 16:16; I Cor. 16:20 In Jews culture, kissing was their way of greeting each other; Gen. 33:4; 45:15; I Sam. 20:41; Luke 15:20; Acts 20:36,37 What does greetings signify, (Obedience). Do n’t we show obedience to an elder, we does but in different way. If Paul was to write to today’s church probably he could say “greet each other by shaking hands…” How do you see if someone today comes to your house and start kiss your wife/husband! Or someone behind the pulpit ordering to kiss each other in the church. There is a lot in the Bible of the same, things like: Let woman cover head; I cor. 11:1-16 Let your woman keep silent in the churches; I cr. 14:34 Ye out to wash one another's feet; john 13:14

A gap between us and the time of bible writing cont. Language gap Old testament was written in Hebrews, except Ezra and Daniel which were written in Aramaic (Jews learned to Babylonians when were in exile) The entire new testament was written in Greek IBS suggests what to do if intended meaning is not portrayed due to short comings of our languages.

A gap between us and the time of bible writing cont. Others are Geographical gap (change in names) Spiritual gap (spiritual need in particular section are different) Writing gap (some books were written several years after the actual happenings of events) These gaps sometimes cause difficulties in understanding the Bible. It is through small group Bible study using IBS techniques that will help you to study God’s word more effectively.

A gap between us and the time of bible writing cont. I encourage leaders to set enough time in CUs so to have this skills. Invite speaker in one or two weekends Use your CU meeting for one week Arrange retreat two or three CUs with overlapping time table Associates are ready to minister unto you.

Small Group Bible Study some helpful tips for leading a bible study small group. KNOW YOUR BIBLE STUDY GROUP: Know every member of your small group by name. If there are visitors, make sure that you acknowledge them and introduce them to the group. PREPARATION: be well prepared in advance: You will not only be a blessing to those you lead, but you will be personally enriched by the time you spend studying God’s Word in preparing your study. When possible, give your attendees advanced noticed of what scripture passages you will be studying at your next meeting; this will give them a chance to contribute with knowledge and confidence. If you use study guides for preparation, use it as a guide only! Do your own research as well.

Small Group Bible Study Cont. KNOW THAT YOU ARE A FACILITATOR AND NOT A PREACHER: Remember that you are not a preacher; you are a facilitator of the discussion group. Let others speak. Communicate your questions well, rephrase it if necessary. Don’t let it be silent for a long time, but allow time for thought. Give hints, ask individuals. You will always find a few people more responsive than others. But, don’t let it be a discussion between just 2 or 3 people. Many times, you will find the discussion being side tracked or distracted by a particular topic, use your judgment, to continue or bring the group back to the main idea or passage. If there is some major important issue, let the discussion continue. The idea is to learn and to draw closer to Christ through His Word, not necessarily to stick to the passage.

TIME MANAGEMENT It is essential to have fixed start and finish times. If your group runs late every week individuals will stop attending Begin with a brief greeting. Consider either beginning or ending with about 10 minutes of prayer/requests. Then have approximately minutes of bible study time. If there is some important theological discussion going on, you can announce the conclusion of the bible study, but continue the discussion, so that those who need to leave can go. Don’t try to finish the passage because you run out of time. You can continue next week.

PART II IBS into Details