A practical guide for discipling someone by one to one Bible reading

Joe Carroll October 29, 2025 9 min read 0

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I have written this booklet to prepare and encourage our church members to help each other grow with Christ and care for each other by reading the Bible with another church member or two.

Christ intentionally chose His disciples for a purpose, to teach them. Christ has also called us to make disciples of one another. Therefore, like Christ, we must make friends intentionally and spend time with other believers for a purpose. For what purpose? To help them grow with Christ. But how do we do that? One of the most important and fundamental ways is to meet with a couple of other members to read the Bible and discuss God’s word and our lives in the light of God’s word. By studying the Bible with one another, we strengthen our relationship with others in the church and help one another to live for God.

How can I actually do this?

1. Ask one or two members to meet to read a portion of the Bible.

2. Select a scripture or portion of the Bible. For example, select Philippians or the scripture from last week’s sermon. Or maybe choose the verses that your church will preach the week after you meet. (Note: Below are some suggestions for choosing a Bible passage)

3. When you meet with your friend, do these steps.

Ask each other how you are doing. This is to strengthen your relationship and get to know each other better so that you can carry each other’s burdens.

Before you begin reading the word, briefly pray that God would soften and open your hearts so that you would understand His message and be transformed by God.

Read a portion of the Bible.

Use the following questions to discuss and reflect on the verses.

What do these verses say? What is the main message of these verses?
What do these verses teach us about God, Christ, and the gospel of Christ?
What effect do these verses have on our lives? That is, according to these verses, what behaviors and beliefs must we change in order to more faithfully live for God?

Share your joys, sorrows and worries with one another and pray together. Also, pray over the message of the verses that God will empower you to apply those verses in your life.

What is the purpose of this?

There are two main objectives.

1. Encourage and help each other to grow with Christ

2. Strengthening your relationship with others in the church

But you may be saying, “I’m new to the faith and can’t understand the Bible well enough to teach someone else.” Well, remember that first of all, if you read the Bible with another member, it does not mean that one of you becomes a teacher and the other only listens. No, when you both come together, you will help each other to understand God’s word. Also, remember that God has revealed His message to us through the Bible and has given us the Holy Spirit and each other to understand His message. You do not have to be an expert in all parts of the Bible to encourage one another by reading, discussing, and praying about it. This is really something that every member can do with each other.

The goal of getting together to study the Bible is not to understand all the verses perfectly. Of course sometimes (maybe most of the time) there are some verses you don’t understand. But don’t let this cause you to lose focus on the verses that are clear and understandable. So, don’t spend all your time debating about verses that are not very clear. Concentrate more on verses that are clearly understood. Remember that the purpose of these meetings is to encourage and help each other grow with Christ and strengthen your relationship with your friend.

Some ideas and suggestions on organizing a meeting

If you find it difficult to see someone 4 or 5 times to complete Philippians or any other scripture, you can ask a friend to read the entire book of Philippians at home, and you also read Philippians at home. Then when both of you are finished, meet together and discuss what you read. This will be an incentive to read the Bible at home as well.
Another option is to simply read the verses that were preached in your church last week. Or you can read the verses that will be discussed next week.
If you want to meet with another member but are just having trouble getting around, talk to your pastors and deacons to find a solution to this problem.

A list of Bible passages that are good to read with a friend

Some Bible passages are easier than others. Of course, you can choose another book outside of this list. But the following are easier than the others. Or you can talk to your pastor for suggestions on what to read.

Genesis, Jonah, Luke, John, Acts, Ephesians, Philippians, Romans, First Thessalonians, First Peter, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, First John.

Some suggestions on discussing the Bible

Remember that one of the goals of meeting is to strengthen your relationship with the other person. Therefore, it is important not only to discuss the meaning of the verses, but also to share your life’s issues, sorrows and hopes. Of course, we cannot bear each other’s burdens if we do not know each other’s burdens.
When we read the Bible and the light of God’s message shines upon our hearts, God opens our eyes to see our sins. It is important not to hide these sins but to confess them to the person. Proverbs 28:13 says… “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” The purpose of confessing our sins to one another is not to judge and condemn each other, but to expose the sin so that we can forsake it and be forgiven by Christ. Also, confessing our sins to each other is to receive mercy and help from others. If we never confess our sins to each other, it means that we pretend to be sinless and blameless, but this is not true. The church is the hospital for sinners where we repent by the power of the Holy Spirit.
If you have questions about the meaning of a verse, write them down so you don’t forget them. Next, ask your pastor or mature member in your church.
The three questions listed above to help you discuss God’s word have a particular order to them. The purpose of question 1 is to help you observe what the verses say. Question 2 is about understanding the meaning of the verses in light of the gospel of Christ. Remember that all parts of the Bible are related to the gospel of Christ. Question 3 is to help you see how to apply the message of the verses in your life.
Before discussing the meaning of the verses or how they apply, it is important to understand what the verses say. If you jump straight to trying to interpret or discuss the meaning of the verses without knowing what they say in the light of the gospel of Christ, you will likely misunderstand the meaning of the verses. So before you try to interpret the verses, consider what the verses say.
Question 3 is about how you should apply the message of the verses in your life. Because this is the last question, sometimes we spend all our discussion time on questions 1 and 2 and we never get to talking about application because time runs out. It is true that understanding the verses is important, but the purpose of reading the Bible is not only to understand the meaning of the verses, but also to apply and change our faith and life according to God’s word. So I encourage you to take a few minutes at the end of the meeting to discuss the third question about how to apply the verses.

The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ

The Bible is about the gospel of Christ. Therefore, interpreting Bible verses in the light of this gospel is important and helps us understand the Bible correctly. When we read the Bible, we must keep this gospel message in mind.

1. Who is god

There is one true God. He is the Creator of everything and everyone. God is also perfectly loving, holy, and just, worthy of all honor, trust, and praise. He has absolute authority to give orders and rule all people.

(Revelation 1:1; Revelation 11:4; 1 John 5:1; Romans 2:5-8)

2. Who is man

God created us to know Him, praise Him, and have a peaceful relationship with Him for all eternity. But we have all sinned, rebelled against God, and are under the curse of sin. The result of our sins is that our relationship of peace with God is broken and the wrath of God is upon us. Therefore, everyone deserves the punishment of eternal death in hell. We can never earn God’s forgiveness and escape God’s punishment by our own good works.

(Revelation 1:26-28; Revelation 3; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 1:2-3)

3. Who is jesus

God loved us by sending Jesus Christ to restore our lost relationship with God and to free us from the bondage of sin and the wrath of God. Jesus Christ is eternal, fully God, and fully human. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. Therefore, he did not have the wrath of God upon him and did not deserve to die. But He paid the price for our sins with His sacrifice when we deserved to die. He rose from the dead and overcame sin and death. Now Christ is alive to give us a new relationship and life with God. There will come a day when Christ will come again to judge all people. After separating the wicked from the righteous, He will establish His reign forever over the new world with His holy people.

(John 1:1; 1 Timothy 5:2; John 16:3; Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 21:5; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22)

4. What must we do to be saved?

You must believe the gospel of Christ and repent of our sins. You must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, He died as a sacrifice and God raised Him from the dead to be the only way to forgive your sins. You must confess that your sins separate you from God and that you cannot save yourself by your good works. You must repent of sin and disobedience to God. You must entrust your life to Christ and obey Him.

(Mark 1:15; Acts 21:20; Romans 10:9 – 10)