Our intention is to keep these groups simple. The vast majority of groups will work through the questions in the back of the book for each chapter, and wrap up by asking four additional questions:
- What did you learn about God’s story from this chapter? or What did you hear God say?
- How did this chapter relate to your life?
- What do you need to do differently as a result? or How do you need to respond?
- How can we pray for you?
That’s it. It really is that simple. You’ll notice the options on the questions because some will work better for some groups than others. That’s up to you. The goal is to help people connect God’s story as we read to their story, and then take next steps as a result.
The following are additional resources you may find beneficial.
Curriculums from Alumni Churches
Personal Journal and Discussion Guide [by Jean E. Jones at Crossline Community Church, Laguna Hills, CA. 5-day reading plan with Beth Moore-level of homework questions for each day, and 11 Bible timeline charts to aid in understanding the single story of scripture. Includes an e-Reader version for those who want to type in their responses on their computer or device.]
Adult Sunday School Lessons [by Oak Hills Church. Well-done, thorough, going-deeper curriculum for a master-teacher style of classroom setting. Supplemental visuals and activity resources provided. Check out the two Jeopardy review games!]
Small Group Discussion Guides [by Oak Hills Church, includes great ice breaker questions, one-page read-aloud overview, and take-home personal devotion questions. Good starting point for developing your own sermon-based discussion guides. ]
Adult Devotions [by Lutheran Church of Hope, West Des Moines, Iowa. Adaptation of the personal devotion questions developed and included by Oak Hills Church within their Small Group Discussion Guides (above). The Lutheran Church of Hope version re-words some of the questions, and adds a prayer for every chapter.]
Men’s Bible Study Lessons [by Oak Hills Church, complete teaching scripts with fill-in-the-blank outlines and discussion questions. Great ideas – with complete teaching transcripts – for sermon development!]
Women’s Bible Study Lessons [by Eagle Christian Church, Idaho. Teacher’s guide and participant handouts for lessons on 31 women of the Bible – some you’ve probably never heard teaching on before! – found in the time of Biblical history covered by each chapter in The Story.]
2 Chapters/Week Video-Based Curriculum [by Church @ The Springs, Ocala, Florida. 31 videos and teaching scripts (!), leader’s guides, personal devotion guides, and family guides. Highly recommended resource for discussion-based groups. Can be done one chapter per week. Page number references need to be updated to refer to the current edition of The Story.]
The Story: Teen Edition Curriculum Weeks 1-31 Perfect for high school or middle school Sunday school classes and small group Bible studies. [Lesson plans, handouts, Story Readers scripts]
Teen Toolchest – Youth group meeting openers (games, video clips, songs, skits), youth pastor message outlines for high school and middle school groups, and loads of great discussion questions [by Oak Hills Church for middle school and high school youth group-style meetings and small group discussions.]
Confirmation Lesson Plans & accompanying Parent Pages [by Faith Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, MI. The lesson plans have been adapted from The Story: Teen Edition lesson plans found on the Teen Edition DVD in your kit. The Parent Pages have been adapted for parents of teens and greatly enhanced to incorporate confirmation content.]
Christian High School Bible Class Quizzes and Exams [by a Bible teacher at Fresno Christian High School, Fresno, CA.]
“Spiderman and Joseph” [great article to introduce the concept of Upper Story/Lower Story to teens. Originally written for Saddleback Church’s youth magazine, NOT for The Story. Permission is granted to reprint the article. To contact the author: joshua.d.pease@gmail.com]