Something slightly different this week. Pleasingly, it’s the seventh in our series of Bible study tools, so something that feels a bit like a sabbath seems appropriate.
So far we have been thinking about studying the Bible in a fairly academic way, engaging our intellects as we explore the text. But God didn’t just make us as ‘brains on sticks’ – he gave us senses and emotions, creativity and curiosity, too. It is good to remember to let our study ‘leak out’ into those other areas of our lives once in a while.
Don’t click away!
Now I know some of you are immediately tempted to think, ‘this isn’t for me’. Maybe you don’t consider yourself creative, or you think this kind of engaging with the text isn’t real learning. Maybe it scares you a bit, and feels vulnerable not to have questions to answer, or rules to follow, with the implication that there is a ‘right’ or ‘successful’ outcome at the end.
Well, spare a thought for everyone else out there, who has been struggling along doing things the academic way all these weeks, when it isn’t the best fit for their learning style. Why not humble yourself and have a go at something that comes less naturally to you, just as they generally have to?
Alone or together
My original idea for this series was to help small group leaders think about ways to approach leading a study, though really, the best way is to discover ways to study yourself, then introduce those to a group. Your interest and excitement, and example of ‘figuring it out together as we go along’ I think are probably more helpful to people than someone with all the knowledge in the world just spouting it out at people.
So, you can do today’s exercise alone, or you could think of a way to do it together as a group. Alternatively, set it as ‘homework’ one week, with the expectation that the next time you meet, everyone will bring back what they have created, or talk about what they learned through their activity.
Today’s download, then, is really just a sheet of ideas of ways to respond creatively to one of the ‘I AM’ statements of Jesus. They are not meant to be prescriptive, just to get the neurons firing and get you thinking about what you could do.
As ever, it is an adaptation of an exercise I put together for another group, and to prove that I wasn’t asking them to do anything I wouldn’t do myself, I did the painting in the picture on the left (clicking it should allow you to see a bigger version). They only had a short time for their exercise, so I did mine very quickly, too – the point wasn’t to create a great artwork, but to engage my heart as well as my head in what God revealed about himself.
Not just for artists
This isn’t just about creating a work of art, or being creative in that sense. Another way to think of it would be to do something which involves more of your body than just your eyes and brain.
– Bake a loaf of bread, and share it with friends as you discuss what it means that Jesus is the bread of life – pay attention to the feel of kneading, the smell of baking, the sound as you cut or tear the crust…
– Go for a walk and ponder what it means that Jesus is the way – how will you choose which way to go at any given turning? What are you feeling, hearing, smelling as you go?
– Fill a washing-up bowl with water and play in it with your children or a friend’s children. Water your plants. Splash water droplets into a sizzling pan. Think about how Jesus is the water of life each time you interact with water in your day.
Turn it to worship
You may find that you are very naturally able to worship God as you draw, sculpt, build, bake, walk, observe or play. If it doesn’t come so naturally, don’t forget that the purpose of studying his word is to get to know him, and the better we know him the better we are able to worship him. Thank and praise him for all you discover about the particular attribute of Christ you explore through the attached exercise, and in whatever similar things you do in future.
Do share your creations or ideas with me. You can tag me on social media:
Instagram: @mrsjenniehart
Facebook: @JenniePollockWriter (I haven’t changed that one from my maiden name yet!)
Twitter/X: @MrsJennieH
Or reply to this post, or send me an email.
I’d love to hear what you did and how God revealed himself to you through it.
A short break
This is going to be the last post for a while, as I’m busy or away for the next few weeks. Why not try out some of the tools we’ve covered already, maybe on one of the minor prophets, or a short book you’re not very familiar with? Better still, why not gather a group of friends and try them out together? See you in a few weeks.
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This post is part of a series of ideas for how to get started with studying the Bible either for yourself or as a small group leader. Follow this link to find the other posts in the series.
PS All these resources are absolutely free, but if you find them useful, consider making a small donation through my Ko-fi page. Thank you!
on Jun 16th at 8:36 am
I was the worst in y class for drawing and painting and got the lowest make possible in my O level exam. So when you say your class had very little time to come up with a creative art piece and you produce something that would take hours for me to do .. I thank you for the offer to be creative and yes even I can contemplate His creativity and worship him for it. But as for art you set the bar way too high for me, 67 year old male John
on Jun 17th at 9:43 am
Thank you, John. I was also very bad at art at school, but somehow seem to have found a little more ability in the last decade or so. You don’t have to draw or paint, though – bake a loaf of bread, or buy one of those part-baked ones, and share it with others, discussing what it means that Jesus is the bread of life. Or visit a vineyard and contemplate Jesus being the vine. Or go for a walk and think about how he is the way… I’m sure you’ll be able to find something less ‘academic’ to do.