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Your Viewing Guide to Christmas Bible Studies for Small Groups or Families

Christmas video Bible studies are the perfect way to bring together your people during the month of December, prepare your heart for the season, and study the birth of Jesus with fresh perspective! Can’t decide which Christmas video Bible study to do? Here’s your viewing guide to four popular Christmas studies to help you choose the best one for your small group.

4 Ways to Use The Marriage Devotional in Your Church

I have a strong conviction that as goes the marriage, so goes the family, and so goes the world. While a frail marriage can lead to heartache and brokenness that ripples into all those affected, a strong marriage can be the root of so much stability, strength, and healing. My wife, Jennie, and I wrote a 52-day devotional called The Marriage Devotional with this in our hearts and minds – to speak Jesus into every hear, home and marriage that would be willing to read.

Woman Evolve

If we dared to be honest, we’d confess that the fear of being seen is not just a little girl’s struggle. It grows with us like a companion in every stage of life. Have you ever chosen to actively resist experiences, memories, or situations because you did not want to run the risk of being seen in your most vulnerable state? What if everyone around you knew about the depression? The addiction? Chronic stress? That troubled child? Heartbreak? What if you were truly seen?

Waiting for God’s Timing

We ask God for something, and seemingly nothing happens. We want Aunt Martha healed, but she remains sick or even dies. We want that promotion, but someone else gets it. Instead of getting the answer we want, we often get silence. We struggle like Job. “I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me” (Job 30:20 NIV).

Mental Health: Could Your Small Group Use Some Help to Support Each Other?

Studies show that 1 out of every 4 adults in America will be affected by mental illness at some point in their lifetime. 

I decided to dedicate Season Two of our podcast, Study Gateway’s First Listens, to this universal and timely issue of mental health. I have curated a collection of sessions from seven Bible studies that speak to different aspects of mental health.

Fentanyl overdoses, fuel costs soaring, and failing power supplies. Is it chaos? Not to God

Fentanyl-laced drugs, along with other opioids, are taking the lives of thousands of people annually. The average nationwide price of gasoline in America is around $5.00 per gallon. Power blackouts ...

Reading the Gospel of John: Believing in Jesus

Special Note to the Reader: The purpose of the Gospel of John is explicitly stated at the end of the Gospel (20:30–31). Because that passage is so important to understand how this Gospel works, we begin with it. The purpose is to enhance faith in both believers and to promote faith among those who are not yet believers. If we keep this in mind as we read the Gospel, we will read the Gospel as John wants us to.

5 Keys to Success for the Introverted Small Group Leader

The struggle of the introvert who is leading a small group is real. We tend to script the personality and traits and even physical stature we think a leader should possess. And, they might feel the pressure of expectations, expressed or assumed, that they will perform as a leader the same way a charismatic people-magnet person would. But the most extroverted person is not always the best small group leader.

Abide Bible Course: Five Practices You Can Use to Engage With the Bible

These five daily devotions are based on Randy Frazee and Phil Collins' Bible study, The Abide Bible Course. will walk you through five innovative practices that will take you beyond ...

The Four Lies of Worry

Worry. There’s no shortage of it in our society and throughout our daily lives, and for many it can feel inescapable. Instead of worry being an occasional encounter, we have ...

Passing the Baton of Truth

As parents, grandparents, and mentors, we must strive to be giants among spiritual dwarfs relaying to the next generation the Baton of Truth that leads to personal faith in Jesus Christ.

Three Questions to Ask before making a Career Change

In April, over 4 million people quit their jobs.

That’s four million people who woke up the next day wondering, “What do I do next?”

What’s even more interesting is that April was not an anomaly.  It follows a trend of the months before where millions and millions of people simply quit, walking away from their jobs. 

Guiding Teens on Sex and Sexting

It’s awkward and even terrifying for parents to discuss their child’s sexuality. Yikes! You may be afraid you’ll give them ideas. News flash: God created us as sexual beings, and they already have ideas (plenty, actually). I would much rather you give them ideas than let their peers fill that void. Sexting is a modern-day reality.

Guiding Your Teens on Social Media

Social media is a reality of twenty-first-century parents. It’s a great way to connect and seek support. But as parents, we often don’t give posting much thought. It’s called “sharenting”: venting frustrations about teen drama, funny bath photos, relief over being “kid free” for the moment, asking advice on personal struggles, angst about teen dating or driving, posting awkward photos making gentle fun of your teen. Here’s the thing. You are the literal caretaker of your child’s digital footprint. One day they will look at everything you posted and see themselves through your eyes. What will they see?

The Strength That Prevails - Resilient

Right now, we’re in a sort of global denial about the actual cost of these hard years (which are not over). We just want to get past it all, so we’re currently trying to comfort ourselves with some sense of recovery and relief. But folks, we haven’t yet paid the psychological bill for all we’ve been through. We would never tell a survivor of abuse that the trauma must be over now that the abuse has stopped. And yet that mentality is at play in our collective denial of the trauma we’ve been through.

5 Ideas for Inspiring Your Small Group Prayer Time

Need a prayer reboot for your church small group? Get creative + designate prayer champions! By Shelley Leith, Study Gateway  Be persistent and devoted to prayer, being alert and focused ...

Free Resources

Using How (not) to Save the World with your church or small group?

Using How (not) to Save the World with your church or small group?

Here are some tools to help: 

The Small Group Tool Kit includes two mobile-friendly invitation cards, reflection cards to enhance your small  group experience, and a worship song playlist curated by Hosanna Wong that can beplayed during small group meetings or personal Bible study time. 

The Church Tool Kit includes a downloadable poster, bulletininsert, invitation card, and Power Point slide.

Is your church talking about anxiety, depression and mental health issues? You should be.

Is your church talking about anxiety, depression and mental health issues? You should be.

Shawn Johnson, lead pastor of Red Rocks Church, gives a
searingly honest portrait of anxiety and depression and shows readers how to fight back and live free. He also has put together three free tools pastors can use to help their congregation have a productive conversation around mental health, including a discussion guide, sermon notes and key Scripture verses.