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Discovery Bible Study

Come and See

Contents

  • How a Discovery Bible Study works
  • How to use this plan

Cycle 1 · Who is Jesus?

  1. 1God welcomes the lost home Luke 15:11-24
  2. 2Jesus forgives and heals Mark 2:1-12
  3. 3Jesus meets you personally John 4:7-26,39-42
  4. 4Jesus is baptized Matthew 3:13-17

Cycle 2 · Why did Jesus come?

  1. 5Who do you say Jesus is? Mark 8:27-38
  2. 6Jesus dies for us Luke 23:32-49
  3. 7Jesus is alive John 20:24-31
  4. 8You must be born again John 3:1-16

Cycle 3 · Following Jesus

  1. 9Turn, believe, and follow Mark 1:14-20
  2. 10Confess Jesus as Lord Romans 10:8-13
  3. 11Be baptized Acts 8:26-39
  4. 12Go and tell others Matthew 28:16-20

More Bible study plans at comission.cc

How a Discovery Bible Study works

This page is for whoever leads the study. Everyone else only needs the passage.

A Discovery Bible Study has no teacher. The person leading only asks the questions; the Bible does the teaching. That is what makes it simple enough for anyone to lead — no title, no training, no materials, no money.

Eat, digest, grow

  1. Eat the WordRead the passage aloud, read it again, then close the Bible and have someone retell it in their own words. Reading is the bite, re-reading the chewing, the retelling the swallow. If the group can't retell it, read it once more before going on.
  2. DigestWork through the four questions. This is where the passage turns into faith and obedience — answered from what the text actually says, not from what someone already knew.
  3. GrowGrowth is God's part, not yours. One plants, another waters, but God gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6–7). Do the cycle faithfully and leave the growing to Him.

The four questions

Answer from what the passage actually says — stay in the text.

  1. What does this passage show me about God?
  2. What does it show me about people — and about myself?
  3. What will I obey this week? (a concrete step, with a day)
  4. Who will I tell?

The shape of a meeting

  • Look backWhat are you thankful for? What is hard right now? How did you obey what we found last time, and who did you tell? Pray briefly for each other.
  • Look upRead, re-read, retell — then the four questions.
  • Look forwardEach person says out loud one concrete commitment — a sentence that starts “I will…” — and names one person they will tell. Next time, the group asks about both. Asking is what turns a discussion into obedience.

The one rule: don't teach

The moment you start explaining, the group stops discovering. If someone says something that is not in the passage, do not correct them — ask, kindly, “Where do you see that in this passage?” and let them look. The text and the group sort it out. This is the rule that lets someone who has been in two studies lead the third.

Four to fifteen people. About an hour, once a week. Nothing else required.

How to use this plan

How to use it

  • One study at a time, the DBS way. Read, re-read, and retell it in your own words; then the four questions — What does this show me about God? about people, and me? a command to obey, an example to follow, or a promise to hold? End with a commitment and one person you’ll tell. Then pray the study’s prayer honestly, or in your own words.
  • Pace to the person, not the calendar. Usually one study a week (~12 weeks), but linger where a study opens up, and never rush the approach to the cross.
  • Run the commitment conversation at the end of each cycle (below). It’s a conversation, not an altar call — questions, honesty, and no pressure.
  • No pressure, ever. A seeker prays only what they mean, believes only what they’ve truly come to see, and asks for baptism only when they are ready — freely, never under duress. We invite people to Jesus and his Word, not to a building.
  • Facilitate, don’t teach. Let them find it — “Where do you see that in the passage?” Don’t chew their food for them.
  • If faith comes early, celebrate it — and keep walking the studies, which lead naturally to baptism and first obedience.

Commitment conversation — end of Cycle 1: “Where are you with Jesus?”

Purpose: take the temperature and keep them seeking — not to press for a decision. They’ve only just met him.

  • Ask: What are you learning about God and about Jesus? What has surprised you? Who is Jesus to you so far? Is anything getting in the way of seeing him clearly?
  • On baptism (light touch): “You saw that Jesus himself was baptized. When people decide to follow him, this is one of the first things they do — we’ll come back to it as we go.” Name it; don’t urge it.
  • Invite forward: “Would you like to keep discovering him with me? Is there someone you’d invite to study alongside you?”
  • Guardrail: no pressure to believe or be baptized yet — they haven’t reached the cross. Honor honest uncertainty.

Commitment conversation — end of Cycle 2: “Do you believe?” (the pivotal one)

Purpose: now that they’ve seen the cross and the empty tomb, give a real doorway to faith — and make baptism concrete for the one who’s ready.

  • Ask: Now that you’ve seen his death and his resurrection — who do you believe Jesus is? Do you believe he died and rose for you? Are you ready to trust him and follow him? Is anything holding you back?
  • If they believe: celebrate it, and pray with them. Then talk about baptism plainly: “This is how people have always said yes to Jesus — the man in Acts didn’t wait.” Begin planning it (organic, voluntary, soon) and keep walking Cycle 3 to ground them.
  • If not yet: honor their honesty; no pressure. The remaining studies still bless a seeker, and the door stays open.
  • Guardrail: baptism follows real faith — never coax someone to the water to hit a milestone. Their yes must be their own.

Commitment conversation — end of Cycle 3: “Baptized and sent”

Purpose: bring the believer to baptism and their first steps of obedience and witness.

  • Ask: You’ve confessed Jesus as Lord — is anything keeping you from being baptized? When and where would you like it to happen, and who will be there?
  • On baptism (organic): it can be soon and simple; a believer can baptize a believer. No hoops — celebrate it.
  • Send them: Who are the people God has put on your heart? Would you start a study like this one with someone you know? (This is where a new believer becomes a disciple-maker — the next “come and see.”)
  • If someone comes to faith only now: that’s wonderful — the same conversation applies; walk them to baptism without rushing.