25 min: Teaching at Bible studies by emphasizing the Scriptures so that the student will see that he is studying the Bible. At Bible studies we teach Jehovah’s thoughts. It is important that, when people study the Bible, they understand what they are considering. (Neh. 8:8) There is no one specific way to accomplish this; not all people respond in the same way. Use what seems best to make the Bible understandable to those with whom you study. Highlighting scriptures, however, does not mean that every text in the lesson must be read and discussed. You may wish to develop with the audience some of the following suggestions and/or others that have worked well locally.

(a) During the first few studies, you may wish to look up quoted scriptures. The householder will then be able to compare what he is seeing in his Bible with what he is seeing in the book. Encourage student to incorporate texts in his answers. Example: When a student answers and there is a scripture that he could have used, you could ask: “How does [text] prove that point?”

(b) Ask additional specific questions. Simply asking, “What did you get out of that scripture?” may not be enough. Often the answer is so general that the real point is missed.

Example of better way: On page 12 of Good News book, the question on paragraph 6 is: “Why were these things written aforetime?” First Corinthians 10:11 is cited. After reading the text you could ask: “Why is it good to read the Bible?” “What statement in the text proves that?” You might ask audience for additional examples.

(c) Rather than just all general-knowledge questions, the review questions could consist largely of the type that require reasoning on the Bible to answer.

(d) Write on a card or paper the main points being considered in a particular chapter and the scriptures that support these points. This card or paper can be placed in the Bible and be used when the study is first started; it may be best to use only the Bible.

Remind audience that there is no set procedure to follow. Also, that there is no need to read every scripture. The above suggestions have been helpful to some publishers in the field. To conclude, you may want to have paragraph 8 on page 42 in the Good News book read, and have audience apply points (b) and (c).

20 min: Teaching at Bible studies by helping the student use information in his daily life. Discuss with audience the following observations of brothers who have been conducting studies for years. Good to allow person to make his own decisions rather than to tell him what he should do. It is not proper to force our beliefs on him. We should avoid an appearance of unduly prying into student’s private life with questions of a very personal nature.

(a) It may be that at the end of every study, questions such as these could be asked: “How do you feel about it? Do you think this would help you in your life?” If the student asks a particular question regarding his life, it may be necessary to cover material on that question right away in order to assist him.

(b) When it is appropriate, use your own example and the benefits you received from studying the Bible.

(c) To stimulate service activity you might want to ask periodically, “Have you discussed anything from the Bible with others?” or, as you study with him you might ask: “How could this scripture help to explain this point to someone else?”

(d) Prepare study with student and his needs in mind, and include him in your prayers.