The Good Life: Habits of Grace (Bible Reading) Study Guide

This weekend, we kicked off a series called “The Good Life,” which shares four key spiritual habits that will help us experience a deeper relationship with God and how to enjoy all that He has for us. In part one, Pastor Doug Sauder shared the importance of Bible reading and how we can build a healthy rhythm of Scripture engagement.

Dive deeper into this topic on your own, with your family, or in your group with this new and improved resource! Watch Pastor Chris’ short devotional video recapping the key themes of our study and then go through our discussion questions as a group.

 

THIS WEEK’S STUDY GUIDE RESOURCE

Below, you’ll find some key questions to reflect on and consider in your group, with your family, or in your circle of friends, some action points for the week, and a look ahead. 

Ice Breaker: What does “the good life” mean to you? 

Getting the Conversation Going: A habit is a tendency or practice that is hard to give up. Pastor Chris pointed out how some habits are good, productive, and beneficial, while others are bad, harmful, and damaging. How do our habits shape our daily lives? 

“There are certain habits . . . things we can actually do that lead to the abundant life Jesus promises—to the good life.”—Pastor Chris Baselice

Key Definition: Spiritual disciplines are key rhythms and practices that open us up to God’s voice and His work in our lives. They are habits that allow us to experience His grace and power in greater measure and understand His heart and voice more clearly. In essence, spiritual disciplines are habits that help us enjoy more of God and, in turn, experience the good life Jesus came to give us.

Understanding Spiritual Disciplines

Spiritual disciplines are not about something we do. They’re about enjoying more of Jesus and becoming more like Him. We engage in these habits of grace because we want to know Him deeper, we want to spend time with Him, and we want to have a deep and loving and healthy relationship with Him. The same way we call or text our friends to tell them about our day or when something happens so we can share every detail with them, that’s the kind of relationship God wants with us. 

It’s all about Jesus and getting more of Him in our lives. The ultimate prize of Bible study and prayer isn’t learning to be a better Christian or memorizing the whole Bible, it’s about getting to meet with Jesus! There is no greater thing than to spend time with Him. Everything else that happens—character growth, wisdom, comfort, help, peace, strength, endurance, answers, purpose, understanding, etc.—is all icing on the cake as a direct result from our deep intimacy with Him. 

Key Definition: A devotional life is simply a consistent rhythm/habit of spending time reading, studying, reflecting on, and memorizing the Bible.

Discussion Question 1: Why is it so important to study the Bible?

Discussion Question 2: What does your current devotional life look like? What’s your current rhythm? 

Discussion Question 3: Pastor Chris stated, “If you want to hear His voice, you have to read His Word.” Based on the video we just watched, what’s one practical thing you can do immediately to experience a richer devotional life?

Continuing the Conversation: What is one area Pastor Chris discussed that you really want to grow in—Bible study through a method like S.O.A.P., journaling, biblical meditation? How can your small group members help you in this area?

This Week: Spend some time studying the Book of James using the S.O.A.P. method. Shoot for studying four days this week—that’s the majority of the week!

Pray It Out: As a group, ask the Lord to help you in this new season as you seek to grow together and get to know Him more deeply. Pray for strength, endurance, and grace.


“THE GOOD LIFE” DEVOTIONAL READING PLAN

In this 20-day devotional, we explore four key spiritual habits that allow us to experience a greater intimacy with the Lord, grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, build deeper relationships with other believers, and get the most out of this life. To subscribe, click here.


A LOOK AHEAD

This weekend, we’ll continue our series “The Good Life” as Pastor Doug explores the spiritual habit of prayer.


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About the Author

Danny Saavedra

Danny Saavedra is a licensed minister who has served on staff at Calvary since 2012, managing the Calvary Devotional and digital discipleship resources. He has a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling and Master of Divinity in Pastoral Ministry from Liberty Theological Seminary. His wife Stephanie, son Jude, and daughter Zoe share a love of Star Wars, good food, having friends over for dinner, and studying the Word together as a family.