Luke Bible Study - Part 1

Picture a scientist
going about some great work. He or she is searching for the cure for some
horrible disease, or making some marvelous new discovery. First the scientist
digs for facts, looking deeply, studying carefully, investigating every
clue, relentlessly hunting for any and every fact that will make the discovery
deeper, richer, and more accurate.

That is the approach
these studies will take with the Gospel of Luke. In these studies we are
going to look at Jesus through the eyes of those who actually witnessed
him, and then told their story. That is what a witness is: a person who
sees or experiences something, then tells others what he or she has seen.
In these studies we are going to look at a wide and interesting variety
of witnesses-witnesses who have experienced Jesus and share what they
have seen. First we’ll look deeply at what they say, and then we’ll draw
our own conclusions.

These studies will
use the inductive method, a way of looking into the text for the facts,
then pondering what they mean, and then considering what they mean for
our situation today. And what could be more important! One of the most
profound things in life is to think about God, our relationship with God,
and the meaning of life and truth. That is what we will be investigating
in these studies as we look at these witnesses of Jesus and what they
have to say to us.

Luke’s Story

Luke is the author of this Gospel as well as the book of Acts. With these
two books he actually wrote one fourth of the New Testament! Luke was
the only Gentile New Testament writer and was a man of broad sympathies.
He noticed and wrote about groups usually neglected by the cultures of
his day: women, children, the sick, the poor, outcasts and foreigners.
He points to Jesus’ great interest in all kinds of people. Luke was also
an educated man, a doctor and a historian. And, like the scientist described
above, he was very careful with his facts, describing incidents with historical
accuracy and using a rich vocabulary. His reporting is orderly and accurate.

The Gospel of Luke
is a fascinating account of Jesus and those who witnessed his life. Luke
does not present the facts about Jesus as a statistical report but as
a story. He tells in an interesting, accurate and reliable way the story
of Jesus and what that story means for us. May God give your small group
rich and rewarding insights as you study his Word together!

Notes
for the Discussion Leader

You can help your group get the most out of these studies by presenting
some guidelines for effective discussion just before you get into the
passage. Here are some you can mention:

Approach the Bible
as you would any good primary source: be open to learn.
Let the text speak
for itself rather than depending on something you’ve heard or read about
it.
Expect the text,
rather than the leader, to answer questions that come up.
Stay in the passage.
On occasion, when background information is necessary, the study guide
may refer the group to another passage. But that is the only time to
go out of the passage. Don’t go off on tangents into different passages.
Stay on the point
under discussion.
Keep in mind that
each person’s part in the discussion helps the group to learn more.
People who talk easily in discussion can provide for quieter people
to contribute also. God can use what each one says to help the rest
of us. And we can honor each other by listening to each other.
Begin and end on
time.

The second time the group
meets, it may be helpful to run lightly over these guidelines again.

The questions in
this guide are for your use in preparing and leading. (Note:helpful
leader’s notes are in italics throughout the guide.) Put the questions
into your own words if you’d like, yet try to stay within the intent of
each question.Become so familiar with the questions that you won’t be
looking down at your page all the time. Have your own written responses
handy as you lead the study. Since the questions are based on the construction
of the passage, they will lead the group to major teachings. Decide how
much discussion time each group of questions is worth. This will help
you pace the discussion.

Make sure that each
study ends with one or two questions of application, even if that means
watching the clock and leaving out a few of the suggested questions.

Note: It is easier
for study and discussion if everyone has the same version of the Bible.
The New International Version (NIV), the New American Standard Bible (NASB),
or New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) are good and popular versions of
the Bible and any one of them would be accurate and reliable to use together.
The questions in these studies are based on the NRSV text.

Throughout the series
of discussions, pray for the members of your group-that they’ll be prepared
and open for the study-discussion, and that God would speak powerfully
to them as they dig into his Word together.

Permission is granted
to make and distribute verbatim copies of this article provided this permission
notice, and the copyright notice below are preserved on all copies.

Logging You

Luke Bible Study - Part 1