Teaching the Word & Leading Bible Study

Course Syllabus

Course Description

This course equips you to study the Bible for yourself and to lead other women in studying it together. You will learn why Scripture matters, how the Bible's big story fits together, and how its books are organized by kind of writing: history, poetry, prophecy, Gospels, and letters. You will read the King James Version with confidence, practice inductive study (Observe, Interpret, Apply), use simple study tools with paper options, write good discussion questions, lead a group with warmth and good timing, handle hard questions honestly (I don't know; let's find out), teach every learner without shame, prepare a short devotional and lesson, and teach under church authority while staying faithful to Scripture. The course connects to The Timothy Pattern from CMD 271: we Be With a group, Build Up through the Word, and Send Out new teachers. You will finish by writing a four-session Bible study guide and teaching one 20-minute session. A Bible study leader is a fellow learner, not a counselor, clinician, or spiritual boss, and this certificate is not ordination or a counseling credential. Every activity can be completed on paper.

Faith Integration

Second Timothy 2:2 describes a chain of teaching: Paul taught Timothy, Timothy taught faithful people, and they would teach others also. God's Word was handed to you by someone, and He invites you to open it for others. Teaching the Bible is not about being the smartest woman in the room. It is about pointing to the One the whole Book is about. Jesus Himself expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 24:27), and hearts burned as He opened the Scriptures. We teach with humility, because we are still learners; with faithfulness, because the Word is God's and not ours to change; and with gentleness, because a bruised reed shall he not break (Isaiah 42:3). We teach under the care of the local church and the chaplain, we never shame anyone for how she reads, and we refer women to pastors, chaplains, and professionals when they need more help than a Bible study can give.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Explain why believers study the Bible, using 2 Timothy 3:16–17, Psalm 119:105, and the purpose of Scripture to reveal Jesus.
2. Describe the Bible's big story and its organization into Old and New Testaments and kinds of writing (law and history, poetry and wisdom, prophecy, Gospels, and letters).
3. Read the King James Version with confidence, using a working glossary of common older words and forms.
4. Study a passage inductively using Observe, Interpret, Apply, giving attention to context, cross-references, and humility.
5. Use basic study tools (concordance, Bible dictionary, cross-references, and maps), including paper options, and write clear observation, interpretation, and application questions.
6. Lead a group Bible study with a warm welcome, good timing, wise handling of quiet members, off-topic comments, hard questions, and difficult passages.
7. Adapt teaching for different learners and reading levels, and prepare and deliver a short devotional and a 20-minute lesson.
8. Teach under church and chaplain authority while staying faithful to Scripture, and produce a four-session Bible study guide with a taught session, peer evaluation, and self-evaluation.

Course Materials

• This student workbook
• A Bible (King James Version); a large-print copy is fine and encouraged if it helps
• A notebook or lined paper and a folder
• Pen or pencil, and colored pencils or highlighters if permitted (no devices are required; every activity has a paper version)
• Index cards or quarter sheets of paper
• Access to the chaplain's library or a classroom set of study tools (a concordance and a Bible dictionary), if available

Weekly Schedule

How You Will Be Graded

To pass this course: earn 70% or higher overall and attend at least 80% of sessions.

Classroom Covenant

• We begin and end each session in prayer. Participation in prayer is always welcome, never required.
• What is shared in class stays in class. We protect one another's stories.
• We speak with respect, listen without interrupting, and disagree with grace.
• We come prepared, do our own work, and ask for help when we need it.
• We follow all facility rules. Safety and security come first.
• We believe the best about one another and about what God can do.

Support & Accommodations

If reading, writing, vision, hearing, or any other need makes a part of this course harder, tell your instructor privately. Materials can be read aloud, enlarged, or completed orally. Missed sessions can be made up using the module pages. If you are transferred or released, your completed work stays on record and you can finish online.

Welcome

Welcome to Teaching the Word & Leading Bible Study. This companion walks beside you with a weekly reading, five devotions for the days between sessions, and a Bible Study Leader's Quick Guide you can keep in your Bible for years. You do not have to be a strong reader, a public speaker, or a scholar to love God's Word and help others love it too. Take each devotion slowly. Read the verse more than once, aloud if that helps. And remember the boundaries of this ministry: a Bible study leader is a fellow learner, not a counselor, and she gets help right away when anyone is in danger.

How to Use This Companion

• Read the weekly reading after each class session. It takes about 10 minutes.
• Reflect on the questions. These are for you; you do not have to turn them in.
• Meet with God through the five daily devotions between sessions.
• Keep the Quick Guide at the end to carry home after release.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.— Psalm 119:105 (KJV)