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Discovery Bible Study

The Gospel of John

Contents

  • How a Discovery Bible Study works
  • How to use this plan
  1. 1John 1 — The Word became flesh John 1
  2. 2John 2 — Water into wine, and a cleared temple John 2
  3. 3John 3 — You must be born again John 3
  4. 4John 4 — The woman at the well John 4
  5. 5John 5 — Healing on the Sabbath John 5
  6. 6John 6 — The bread of life John 6
  7. 7John 7 — Rivers of living water John 7
  8. 8John 8 — The light of the world John 8
  9. 9John 9 — The man born blind John 9
  10. 10John 10 — The good shepherd John 10
  11. 11John 11 — Lazarus John 11
  12. 12John 12 — The grain of wheat John 12
  13. 13John 13 — The towel and the basin John 13
  14. 14John 14 — The way, and the Helper John 14
  15. 15John 15 — The vine and the branches John 15
  16. 16John 16 — Sorrow turned to joy John 16
  17. 17John 17 — Jesus prays for us John 17
  18. 18John 18 — Betrayed and denied John 18
  19. 19John 19 — The cross John 19
  20. 20John 20 — The empty tomb John 20
  21. 21John 21 — Breakfast on the beach John 21

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

Who this is for

  • Established groups of committed disciples — not new believers. The readings are whole chapters, much longer than the short passages in the starter plans. A group should already have the DBS habits — reading, retelling, the four questions (what does this show us about God? about people? what will I obey this week? who will I tell?), a commitment (the one specific thing each person will do this week) — before taking on a whole book.
  • The point is still faith, not knowledge. John tells you his purpose plainly: these things are written “that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.” A whole-book study is not a Bible-survey course. Resist the pull toward commentary, background trivia, and “covering material.” The same simple question drives every study: what is God showing us, and what will we obey?

How to use it

  • One chapter per study, the DBS way. Read the chapter (aloud, in sections, if that helps), retell it in your own words, then work the four questions. Because chapters are long, it’s fine for the retelling to trace the chapter’s main movements rather than every detail.
  • Let the follow-up prompts serve, not steer. Each study’s extra prompts under the four questions point at one thread in the chapter. If the group discovers a different thread, follow the group — the prompts are a help, never the agenda.
  • End every study in obedience. An honest commitment and one person you’ll tell — the same discipline as every other plan. Longer readings never excuse skipping the response.
  • Pace to the group, not the calendar. One chapter a week finishes John in about five months. Linger where a chapter opens up — especially chapters 13–17 — and never rush the cross.
  • Facilitate, don’t teach. With more text on the table the temptation to lecture grows. Keep asking, “Where do you see that in the chapter?” Don’t chew their food for them.