Our small groups have been starting off with a small group study based on Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life.  In six weekly sessions, the participants explore:

A study guide covers basics of small group study, includes discussion questions and exercises for each session, and offers tips for both hosts and facilitators.  Rick Warren teaches at each session by DVD video.  The DVD also includes a guide for facilitators for each session.  A longer version is also available; participants spend six weeks exploring each of the session topics listed above.

From John Ortberg

God is Closer Than You Think

Based on John Ortberg's funny, inspirational book, the DVD-based lessons are designed to bring you closer to God by learning to experience his presence everywhere in your life.  With warmth and humor, the study explores six central themes:

Includes leader's guide, participant's guide, and DVD/VHS video.

The Life You've Always Wanted

Six humorous, upbeat teaching sessions from John Ortberg and Stephen and Amanda Sorenson that encourage you to mature in Christ.  Includes leader's guide, participant's guide, DVD/VHS video, book.

If You Want to Walk On Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat    

In this 6-session journey on learning to trust God, John Ortberg teaches "water walking" skills:  finding your call, transcending fear, risking faith, managing failure, and waiting on Christ.  Includes leader's guide, participant's guide, DVD/videocassette, and hardcover book.

Ordinary Day with Jesus curriculum:  Experiencing the Reality of God in Your Everyday Life

Learn to experience "abundant life" as you recognize the Holy Spirit's voice, simplify your routine, spend time alone with God, and dedicate every relationship and activity to Christ.  Includes leader's guide, participant's guide, a PowerPoint CD-ROM, and a 45-minute videocassette.

From A Purpose Driven Life

Inside Out Living:  Vols 1 & 2

This video study series is based on The Sermon on the Mount, and is a blueprint for building the Christian life.  The Sermon cover three chapters of the book of Matthew and includes the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, Jesus' teachings about worry, forgiveness, integrity, loving our enemies, storing up treasures in heaven, and many other topics.

A Spiritual Road Map in a Mixed Up World:  1 Thessalonians, Vols 1 & 2

This video study series unpacks important topics for the development of Christian character--spiritual growth, discipleship, pure motives, spiritual reproduction, and love for people.  This study is designed to engage participants in deeper study, application, and prayer.

Developing a Faith That Works:  James, Vols 1 & 2

This video study takes your small group verse by verse through the book of James.  Rick Warren teaches the study, and focuses on each of the five biblical purposes of the church.

Experiencing Christ Together

A 6-Series study on the life of Christ.  This video study explores the five biblical purposes that make up a high-impact Christian life — fellowship, discipleship, ministry, evangelism, and worship — based on the life and lessons of Jesus.  Each section is a six-lesson study:

• Beginning in Christ Together:  Explore Jesus as a teacher, healer, shepherd, servant, savior, and risen Lord.
  
• Connecting in Christ Together:  Explore how Jesus loved us in his life, death, and resurrection and how we respond by relating to him and others
  
• Growing in Christ Together:  Observe how Jesus trained his disciples in habits that made it possible to live with his love, joy, and power
  
• Serving Like Christ Together:  Understand Jesus’ heart and serving beyond ourselves
  
• Sharing Christ Together:  Seeing the lost through the eyes of Jesus
  
• Surrendering to Christ Together:  Explore six heart attitudes that motivate groups to passionately embrace God’s agenda

Doing Life Together

A 6-Series study on living in community.  Based on the five biblical purposes that form the bedrock of Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, Doing Life Together will help your group discover what God created you for and how you can turn this dream into an everyday reality.  Experience the transformation firsthand as you begin Connecting, Growing, Developing, Sharing, and Surrendering your lives together for him.  Each section contains six lessons.

• The Goal of Life featuring Chip Ingram (Highway Video: Are you Ready?)
  
• Connecting with God’s Family featuring Steve Farrar (Drama: The Next Step)
  
• Growing to Be Like Christ featuring Anne Ortlund (Testimony)
  
• Developing Your Shape to Serve Others featuring Bruce Wilkinson (Testimony)
  
• Sharing Your Life Mission Every Day featuring Doug Fields (Testimony)
  
• Surrendering Your Life for God’s Pleasure featuring Steve Arterburn (Highway Video: Be Bold for Christ Testimony)

Foundations curriculum

A key that can

• Enable the group to see how beliefs change behavior
  
• Lessen their day-to-day stress level
  
• Increase their security in an insecure world
  
• Help them raise their kids with a right perspective on life
  
• Increase their love for and trust in God

In 24 sessions, Foundations explores 11 core Christian truths:

     1.    The Bible
     2.    God
     3.    Jesus
     4.    The Holy Spirit
     5.    Creation
     6.    Salvation
     7.    Sanctification
     8.    Good and Evil
     9.    The Afterlife
     10.  The Church
     11.  The Second Coming

Includes guides, PowerPoint slides, CD Audio sermons.

From LifeWay:  Foundations of the Faith Series

The Foundations of the Faith Series places group members on solid ground.  That’s because knowing and understanding the vital principles that the Christian faith is built upon solidifies our connection with Christ and His church.  But these studies aren’t just for believers — they’re ideal for reaching those who have not yet begun a relationship with Jesus.  These conversational studies answer the question asked by many seekers, “What makes Christianity different from other religions?”  (written guides)

The Christian in a Postmodern World

Examines the strengths and weaknesses associated with postmodernism from a biblical perspective.  This study is a great tool for Christians as well as those who are seeking the truth and determining what they believe.  (7 sessions)

God and the Journey to Truth

An excellent resource for seekers and young believers who want to establish the Bible as the ultimate truth source and see what it has to say about: the nature of truth; who Jesus is; what to expect in the afterlife; the Spirit of truth; and how to live out the truth.  (7 sessions)

Knowing Jesus

Focuses on Jesus as Teacher, Healer, Revolutionary, Redeemer, and Reconciler.  (7 sessions)

Foundational Truths

Helps you better understand key truths that will strengthen your faith.  (7 sessions)

Available at the church

Homes of Honor (Gary Smalley)

Practical and Biblical principles to enrich any relationship whether single or married.  (9 sessions)

The Second Half of Marriage (David and Claudia Arp)

The focus is on marriage in later years and preparing for empty nesting  (9 sessions)

Children at Risk (James Dobson and Gary Bauer)

The secular world view and how Christian parents can battle it.  (3 sessions)

Freedom for Mothers (Denise Glenn)

Enables mothers of all ages to be more loving and joyful, and more full of peace and patience.  (10 sessions)

Heaven, your real home (Joni Eareckson Tada)

Explores questions of what heaven will be like and what we may do there.  (8 sessions)

The Man God Uses (Henry and Tom Blackaby)

This study helps men understand their encounter with God and how it affects all areas of their life.  (7 sessions)

The Body (Charles Colson)

How the church has changed the world and individual lives, inspires a fresh vision of what God wants to accomplish in His people today.  (3 or 13 sessions)

Face to Face, an encounter with Christ (Max Lucado)

Men's study for devotion to daily worship, prayer and reflection.  (4 sessions)

Fresh Encounter (Lifeway)

Helps develop corporate identity, self-examination by God's Word and establishing a right relationship.  (7 sessions)

Discovery Series Bible Study

How Can I Know what God Wants Me To Do?

Biblical guidelines to help us sort through the confusion and move ahead confidently through life.  Addresses questions such as:  Will He send me a clear signal?  Will I get some kind of special feeling?  How much should I rely on good old common sense?  What if the Bible doesn't seem to have anything to say that applies to the matter?  Why does God seem to leave me hanging in limbo when I want so desperately to hear a direct word from Him?  And what about those times when there seem to be several good options, or perhaps no good option?  (5 chapters)

The Lord Is My Shepherd

In this excerpt of Psalm 23: The Song Of A Passionate Heart, author David Roper examines the first two verses of this well-known psalm.  He looks at the importance of the shepherd metaphor throughout Scripture and then gives practical help in experiencing the rest our Shepherd has for us.  (6 Chapters in 2 sections, "A Portrait of God" and "The Rest and Renewal of the Shepherd," with study questions.)

Joseph:  Overcoming Life's Challenges

If we really believe that God is working all things for our good, then one of the greatest challenges is to allow hard, painful, and tear-filled experiences to be our teacher in the classroom of life.  This Bible study explores five of life's biggest challenges - treachery, tempation, disappointment, success, and bitterness - in terms of Joseph's story in the Old Testament.  (5 studies on God's Faithfulness)

Miscellaneous

Go Fish Study Guide (Andy Stanley)

People love to tell stories of their fishing adventures.  When it comes to faith, however, most people clam up.  Why is it we can't talk about what God has done in our life as naturally as we can spin fishing tales?  DVD-based study includes conversation-starting exercises, discussion questions, and application steps.

Experiencing the Passion of Jesus (Lee Strobel and Garry Poole)

This is described as a companion to Mel Gibson's film The Passion.  Designed for both seekers and believers, the small group study explores central questions related to Jesus' death and resurrection:

Each discussion includes an introduction to the topic, a number of questions and exercises to work through together, several quotations to stimulate thinking, and Scripture references for perspective.  Groups can spend a week or two as they prefer on each discussion topic, as well as viewing the film (available on DVD).

How Reliable Is The Bible? (Judson Poing)

Part of Zondervan's "Tough Questions" series, this study is designed for seekers and for Christians who want to discuss the tough questions that seekers ask, so that these people are better prepared to answer.  Sessions cover:

Includes background information, quotations to spur discussion, recommended resources, and a feature called "Charting Your Journey" where you can identify and talk about your current position on the questions being discussed. (Six sessions)

Essential Christianity (Bill Hybels)

"Essential Christianity is your invitation to sipritual discussion with others as you explore the basics of faith - principles deeper and more far-reaching than you may have imagined.  You'll learn what it means to really know Chist.  You'll dsicover the secret to confident living, how to grow spiritually, how to handle your failures, how to follow Jesus in a world that's anything but devoted to Him, and the dfifferent ways God wants to guide you in the practical concerns of life." (Six sessions)

"I Love Lucy" small group study (Rusty Walker)

This program takes lessons learned from the classic I Love Lucy TV show and uses them as a discussion starter for small group study.  Comes in two volumes:  Volume One contains lessons 1-4 (Lucy Tells the Truth, The Kleptomaniac, Bonus Bucks, and The Fur Coat); Volume Two contains lessons 5-8 (Never Do Business With Friends, The Courtroom, Pioneer Women, and The Camping Trip).  Includes handouts and original shrink-wrapped CBS/FOX video tapes.  (Eight sessions)

Too Busy NOT To Pray (Bill Hybels)

Learn to develop a rich and regular prayer life in the midst of life's busyness.  Bill Hybels says, “Prayerless people cut themselves off from God’s prevailing power, and the frequent result is the familiar feeling of being overwhelmed, overrun, beaten down, pushed around, defeated.  Surprising numbers of people are willing to settle for lives like that. Don’t be one of them.  Nobody has to live like that.  Prayer is the key to unlocking God’s prevailing power in your life.”  (Six sessions)

Please contact Susan Stafford to add a study to this list or offer comments on one of the studies above.  Please contact Pastor John Leonard at Lansing First Southern Baptist for more information on joining or starting a small group.