Bible Study Methods – DDDiSarro.org

A String of Conferences

March 4, 2020March 4, 2020

Thank you for your prayers! I really needed them, because the last two and a half months have been a whirlwind of conference activity for me:

running media — *Running slides at the Indy Winter Conference*

I ran the song lyrics and speaker slides for the Indianapolis Winter Conference (December 27 – January 1). 1346 college students came from throughout the Midwest. During an outreach at a local men’s prison, 75 students and staff shared the gospel with 93 inmates, and 18 indicated decisions to trust Christ!
Emcee Lab, our weekend of personalized coaching for emcees scheduled in November, was postponed when our main instructor had a family emergency. To make up for it, we trained two staff members in December and six college students in January.
From January 13-29, I was one of 11 small group coaches for a two-week course on Bible Study Methods. I had the privilege of coaching 11 new Cru staff members who will serve in assignments across the U.S. as well as in South America, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
I taught communication skills at a Worship Arts Weekend in Sharon, PA (February 21-23) to college students who lead musical worship for weekly Cru meetings on their campuses.

Comm Lab

CL20 coaching group — *My Comm Lab coaching group, minus one who ministers in a sensitive country.*

23 people came to Indy February 10-13 to attend Comm Lab, our annual communication training event. Here is what a few of them had to say about it:

“This was an amazing training. The coaches were so helpful and kind, and the community it built so quickly between the participants was so fun. I loved everything about this not just the irreplaceable training I received!” – Jenn, Cru staff member
“I loved how practical and applicable the sessions were and how easy it was to transfer those principles into practice. The coaches were incredibly personal and encouraging as they pushed us to dig deep and work hard. I have a degree in communication and think I learned more in 4 days than I did in 4 years!” – Maria, Cru intern
“This was the most practical training I have ever attended. It was focused and purposeful. The coaches were kind and pushed us to the next level. I finally have a little bit of a handle on my movement, eye contact, facial expressions, and voice. Wow!” – Lee, pastor

Thank you for your partnership with me in equipping messengers for God’s mission!

Thank you for your prayers for the Worship Arts Conference and Auditions! 76 students came from 29 campuses. 55 auditioned for the student band that will lead worship at the Cru Winter Conference in Indianapolis, while the others attended sessions on the essentials of communication. The students I interacted with gave encouraging feedback, and it was fun to help coach a band from Detroit and watch them gain confidence during our session.

In the next three months, I look forward to equipping students and staff members at other Cru conferences and training events.

Winter Conference: Thousands of students will attend conferences across the country where God will work in their lives in significant ways. I’ll serve on the production team for the Indianapolis conference, which starts right after Christmas.
Emcee Lab: A small group of students and staff members will come to our office in January for a weekend of personalized coaching. I do most of the prep work for this one, and even though it’s small there are still a lot of details to arrange.
Bible Study Methods class: January also brings me a chance to coach a small group of new Cru staff members taking a two-week course on how to study the Bible and teach it to others.
Comm Lab: Our annual communication training event will be in February in Indy.
And finally, right on the heels of Comm Lab, another Worship Arts training weekend, this time for students in Pennsylvania.

As Christmas and a new year approach, your prayers will play a significant role in all of these events. Please ask God to keep me dependent on His power as I follow His lead, and to work in the hearts of everyone who attends training.

I want to thank you for your partnership in ministry. You are helping me equip messengers for God’s mission!

The Power of the Scriptures

July 18, 2019July 18, 2019

What a joy it was to coach six new Cru staff members in studying the Bible! Their love for the Lord and passion for serving Him was obvious.

Mornings started with a meeting for coaches to discuss the day’s lesson plan. Then came a 30 minute lecture on a Bible study skill followed by a 90 minute coaching group. Group activities included devotionals, prayer, discussion of the previous day’s homework, guided practice of skills presented in the lecture, and time to work on assignments.

At the end of the course, the new staff filled out an evaluation; one of the questions was, “How did God work in your life through your study, reflection, and application of Ephesians?” Here’s how three of my group members answered :

“He gave me a greater appreciation for His word and used it to bring about greater desire for Him and a greater sense of my place in the kingdom. “

“God reminded me of the power of the scriptures while studying Ephesians. There were a few times when things that I had read before struck me in new ways. I was reminded also of the richness of scripture. There is so much more in this letter than we even had the time to dive into. I’m more excited than I have been in a while to dig deep into the scriptures. “

“The assignment on the broken family relationship was pretty big for me. He showed me how much I need Him to help me extend grace and forgiveness to others.”

What a privilege to be part of God’s work in the lives of these six missionaries-in-training! Thank you for helping me equip messengers for God’s mission!

The small group coaches for the Bible Study Methods course.

Developing and Being Developed

June 13, 2019July 8, 2019

“Thank you! You changed the way I read the Bible and gave me greater confidence and a vision for where I want to be.”

That’s what one person said after taking Bible Study Methods, a foundational course in the theological training received by all Cru staff members. From June 16 to July 2, I’ll serve as one of 20 coaches for the Bible Study Methods class being held in Fort Collins, CO. I’ll guide a small group of new staff members as they practice Bible study skills they learned during large-group lectures.

I love equipping messengers for God’s mission! Our staff members are wonderful, dedicated people who are winning people to Christ, building them in their faith and sending them out to reach others. I feel so privileged to have this opportunity to develop some of them as they embark on God’s mission!

As you know, my job throughout the year is to plan and teach at events designed to develop Cru staff members, students, and other Christian leaders. From July 19-26 it will be my turn to be developed! I’ll join 5000 other staff members at Cru19, our biennial staff conference, to hear exciting stories of what God is doing through Cru around the globe. I’ll be challenged by God’s word through skilled Bible teachers and experience the incredible joy of joining 5000 other voices in musical worship. I’ll hear from our leaders and gain renewed vision for our mission to give every person on the planet the opportunity to hear about Christ. It will be wonderful to simply attend Cru19 (also in Colorado) so I can be refreshed and developed.

PLEASE PRAY:

for safe travel for both trips
for wisdom as I coach my Bible Study Methods group
that I would be encouraged and equipped by Cru19.

Thank you for praying. I am so grateful for your prayer partnership; you are helping me to equip messengers for God’s mission!

Jesus Our Great High Priest, Part 1

The high priest played an incredibly important role in the annual Day of Atonement. He alone entered the innermost room of the tabernacle (or later, the temple) where God manifested His presence, and he could only do it on that one day each year.

The book of Hebrews in the New Testament teaches that Jesus is our high priest. Hebrews 1 shows Jesus’ deity, then Hebrews 2 shows His humanity, and most of the book compares Jesus to the priesthood and sacrificial system in the Law of Moses.

Our study group is doing a bible study exercise with Hebrews 2: 14-18, Hebrews 4:14-5:6 and Hebrews 7:20-28, which are all about Jesus’ high priesthood. I’ll describe the steps so you can do the exercise yourself.

Step 1: Print out the three passages in large print and with wide margins on both sides. You can do this by copying and pasting them from biblia.com, biblegateway.com or blueletterbible.org. I find that this makes it easier to focus on the text itself instead of getting distracted by my bible’s study notes, and I have plenty of room to mark up the text and write any insights or questions. This helps me listen to God as He speaks directly through His word.

Step 2: Pick three contrasting colors of pens, pencils, markers, or highlighters.
Use the first color to mark words and phrases that describe Jesus as high priest, the second to mark the benefits we gain from His ministry, and the third to mark descriptions of the Old Testament priests.

Step 3: Do a bit of analysis of what you’ve discovered and write insights or questions in the margins. For example, list comparison (similarities) and contrasts(differences) between Jesus as high priest and the Old Testament high priests.

Step 4: Make this personal; ask yourself questions about what you’ve learned like “What practical difference can this make in my life?” or “Is God asking me to do something in response?” God may speak to you about a specific circumstance in your life where you need to apply His truth, or He may lead you to practice a spiritual discipline like memorizing a verse from one of the passages, or you may simply be led to praise Him for what you’ve learned. Be open to His leading, and He’ll let you know!

Last Wednesday our group looked at the first two passages this way, and tomorrow we’ll look at the third. Then in my next post I’ll list some of what our group found in the process.

(This post is part of a series. See Entering the Most Holy Place: a Study on the Day of Atonement for an introduction and list of posts.)