Welcome to Week 4 of our 4-part series on attending Bible Study! I hope you’ve enjoyed this deep dive into Bible Study this month and that you have been encouraged along the way.

As we wrap up the series this week, I pray you have been inspired with effective and grace-filled ways to attend, participate, and enjoy biblical community this fall. 

Even if you aren’t attending a Bible Study this semester, I hope this series reminded you of the importance of studying the Bible and showed you how to grow in God’s Word through your personal study time. As always, don’t forget to share this with a friend who could use some encouragement, too!

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Well, friends, the time has arrived for us to sign up for Bible Study! 

I hope you feel equipped to make a wise decision for you and your family. As you pray about signing up and going, I want to encourage you to go for the right reasons (remember Week 1). Know that there are a lot of important ways to contribute at Bible Study (Week 2) and that you can confidently engage with others to share the Biblical truth you are learning (Week 3). 

If you are still nervous or unsure about signing up, I’d like to encourage you: don’t let these 3 things stop you from attending Bible Study.

1. Assumptions.

We’ve all done it. We assume we won’t like it, won’t make friends, or it won’t be a good fit. Assumptions are a guess and most of the time they’re based on pride or fear. Go and commit to open your Bible and your heart to what God has in store for you. Making friends might take a few weeks, you might have to get used to the set-up or teachers and rearrange your expectations. Bible study is not about meeting all our creature comforts. But don’t stay home because you assume it will be a waste of time. Maybe this is your season to bless and not just receive (remember the post from Week 2). Maybe you’re there for just one reason—to learn something new in the Word, to encourage one person, or meet one need. Keep your eyes open.

2. Guilt.

Feeling embarrassed about our spiritual state or personal life is something we can all understand. There have been seasons where I forgot where my Bible was in the house because it had been so long since I had opened it up! And there have been Bible study semesters where I’ve arrived with crying kids, no makeup, incomplete homework, or on the verge of tears myself. I’ve also led Bible Studies where women have been hesitant to walk in the doors because their personal life was messy or because they didn’t believe Bible Study would be a helpful place for them in their difficult season of life. Despite what it may look like or what you may think, no one has it all together. We all have struggles and imperfections, we all deal with sin, and everyone needs the Lord. So, if this resonates with you and you have similar feelings, I hope you hear this: our lives don’t have to be perfect to go to Bible Study. In fact, those are wake up calls to open our Bibles, move closer to the Lord, and bring some discipline into our lives—not to stay away!

3. Fear.

The hardest part of going to Bible Study is walking through the front doors. I know what it’s like to feel petrified to walk into a room full of strangers at Bible Study. And don’t get me started on having to make small talk, being tempted to compare, feeling unprepared, or just plain intimidated by everyone who looks so nice and put together. I have felt this way on more than one occasion. But so has everyone else. Moving outside our comfort zone to go to Bible Study is hard sometimes, but worth it. We don’t want to live by fear. When the Lord is our priority, it becomes easier to prioritize Bible Study. That doesn’t mean our palms won’t be sweaty when we walk in; stepping out in faith can be scary. So, ask the Lord for strength to participate in a new community of believers and to find joy in His Word around a table of new friends. Don’t let fear keep you from being blessed. Walk through the doors with a smile and be confident that time in the Word is always time well spent.