Your Cart is Empty
WE LAUNCHED A PODCAST! LISTEN NOW! | $5 FLAT SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS WITH LETTERED PRODUCTS
WE LAUNCHED A PODCAST! LISTEN NOW! | $5 FLAT SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS WITH LETTERED PRODUCTS
First—thank you. You’ve said “yes” to helping others abide in Christ through the power of His Word. That is sacred, holy work. And it’s not easy work. It will stretch you. But it is also one of the greatest joys and privileges you will ever step into.
As Zechariah 4:6 reminds us:
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
That means you don’t lead because you’re an expert. You don’t lead because you’re confident or have it all together. You lead because you love God—and He has called you to love His people.
So where do you begin? Let’s walk through it step by step. (There's a downloadable PDF of all of this at the end).
Before you lead anyone else, you must first be abiding yourself. You don’t need perfection—but you do need to be walking closely with God. Spend time in prayer. Be honest with Him. Go to the Word for yourself before you guide anyone else through it. (Read more about leading in this blog post).
✨ Say this to your group:
“I want to be upfront—I don’t lead because I have all the answers. I lead because I want us to learn together how to abide in Christ. Leading this group isn’t about me teaching you everything; it’s about us opening God’s Word together and meeting Him there.”
This is the most important vision you can cast for your group members. People need to know why they’re here. Your job is to cast a vision for them. "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18a, KJV)
We study to know and love God. The Bible is a book about God, and it is how He has primarily chosen to reveal Himself to us. It is not a self-help book, a book about us, a magic genie in a bottle, or a quick path to prosperity. It is the story of God’s redemptive plan of salvation for man.
We have to first know God before we can truly know ourselves. We don’t study to check a box, appear holy, impress others, or earn anything from God. We study to know Him more, so that we can love Him more, and then live for Him and love others as He has called us to live and love.
✨ Say this to your group:
“The Bible isn’t about us first—it’s about God. And as we come to know Him, we learn who we are. This study isn’t about checking a box; it’s about knowing and loving God more deeply.”
Next, decide what you’ll study as a group.
If you and your members are brand new to Abidible studies, consider starting with our How to Study the Bible 20-lesson video course. Both new and mature believers have called it transformative. (We offer group pricing—email hello@abidible.com for more info.)
If you’re looking for a shorter study, start with Do Not Be Anxious (Philippians 4) or The Lord is My Shepherd (Psalm 23).
If you’ve never done an Abidible study yourself, we strongly recommend spending a few weeks going through one first. Leaders must go first. Get familiar with the process and the skills before leading others.
Waiting on your printed workbook? Use the digital copy in your email or try our free demo study.
Note: Every Abidible workbook includes QR codes that link to “how-to” blog posts for each skill.
Frequency: Weekly or every other week. (Don’t stretch beyond 2 weeks or accountability will drop.)
Pace: One verse per week is doable. Some will go deep; others may keep it simple. Encourage both.
Commitment: Pick a time and place—and stick with it, no matter who shows up.
✨ Say this to your group:
“Our plan is to meet on [day/time]. We’ll work through one verse per week, and the whole study will last [number] weeks. My commitment is to be here and walk with you through it. Whether it’s all of us or just one of us, I’ll be here—and I’d love for you to commit too.”
Bonus: Prepare and print simple word document with a schedule. Include meeting dates and times, as well as what they'll be working on each week. Clear communication is helpful.
Think of your first gathering as laying the foundation. Here’s a suggested format:
Open in prayer.
Share why you study this way (cast the vision).
Offer a personal testimonial of what God has done in you through this process.
Explain the study logistics (schedule, meeting times, how many weeks). Hand out that printed schedule if you can.
Walk through the workbook layout (four pages per verse).
Practice the first three skills together:
Saturation – Hide God’s Word in your heart as He commands (Deuteronomy 6:6). Use memory tools like window markers, tiles, or study cards.
✨ Say this: “We saturate ourselves with God’s Word so it becomes the lens we see life through. Let’s look together at the ideas in your workbook for how to start doing this.”
Annotation – Slow down and make initial observations. Ask questions about the text. Print the annotation keys (get the free PDF key here) and walk through a page together. If possible, recommend ahead of time that your group members bring different colored pens and highlighters to this first meeting. If you're able to provide some yourself, great!
✨ Say this: “Annotation helps us see things we might otherwise skim past. Let’s try it together on this page.”
Background Information – Gather historical and cultural context to read with the right lens. Show them how to use a study Bible or do a simple online search.
✨ Say this: “Context keeps us from reading our own modern biases into Scripture. Let’s look at the background for this passage together.”
By the end of this first meeting, your group members should leave knowing: why you’re studying this way, what the study will look like, and how to begin with Saturation, Annotation, and Background Info.
Your second meeting is about taking the first full verse and walking through all the skills together.
Read the verse.
Introduce each skill with a brief explanation of why it matters.
Model it once.
Send members to try it on their own.
Regroup, share, and answer questions.
Translation Comparison – Compare how established translations render the verse.
✨ Say this: “Comparing translations gives us deeper insight into meaning. Let’s each look up this verse in two or three different versions and notice what stands out.”
Word Study – Dig into the original meaning of key words. Use Blue Letter Bible or another tool.
✨ Say this: “Let’s look up this word together. Notice the original language and definitions. What does this add to our understanding?”
Cross-Referencing – Let Scripture interpret Scripture.
✨ Say this: “The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible itself. Let’s find some cross-references and see how they shed light on this verse.”
Commentary – Look at expert insights, but only after doing your own study.
✨ Say this: “We check commentaries last, so we don’t shortcut our own digging. Let’s see what others have said now that we’ve done our part.”
Paraphrasing – Summarize what you’ve discovered in your own words.
✨ Say this: “Try writing this verse in your own words as clearly and simply as possible. This helps us check our understanding.”
Prayer – Respond to God in prayer through the passage.
✨ Say this: “Let’s take what we’ve learned and pray it back to God, aligning our hearts with His Word.”
This meeting is hands-on. It may feel slow—but that’s the point. By the end, they will have experienced the process, not just heard about it.
After the first two gatherings, members should be able to practice the skills on their own between meetings. From here, your group discussions can flow in one of two ways:
Go around the table, asking members to share what they discovered in each section.
Prepare a few guiding questions to shape discussion.
For larger groups, split into smaller circles of 3–4.
✨ Say this to your group:
“Remember, this is practice. Abiding isn’t a race—it’s a place. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t finish everything. Come anyway. The important thing is showing up and letting God meet us in His Word.”
Never shame anyone for an incomplete workbook. Instead, let your own joy and discoveries be contagious.
You are stepping into the work of making disciples who love God’s Word. That brings joy to the Lord. You don’t need to lead perfectly—just faithfully.
✨ Say this to your group:
“My prayer is that together we would learn to abide in Christ, know Him more deeply, and see our lives transformed by His Word. Thank you for walking this road with me.”
Father, I thank You for this leader who has said “yes” to walking others into Your Word. I ask that You strengthen them with courage and humility, fill them with wisdom, and remind them daily that it is not by their might but by Your Spirit that lives will be changed. Guard their heart from fear, striving, or discouragement. Let their joy in You be contagious, their dependence on You be evident, and their life be a living testimony of Your grace. Use their faithfulness to raise up men and women who will know, love, and obey You through Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Lord, thank You for calling me to serve in this way. I confess that I cannot do this in my own strength. I need You every step of the way. Remind me that this is Your group, these are Your people, and this is Your Word. Make me faithful, not fearful. Let me overflow with love for You and Your Word, so that others might be drawn to You. Give me patience, gentleness, and courage as I guide, and help me point everything back to You. Lead us by Your Spirit and accomplish what only You can. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Want the PDF download of this complete leader guide? You can get it here. (Note, links like the annotation key are only live in this blog post. So be sure to come back and access those here if needed.)
The 3–2–1 Context Method is a simple way to see what’s happening before and after a passage of Scripture. In just a few minutes, you’ll identify the scene, the story, and the big-picture sense of each section. This quick overview helps you understand the flow of God’s Word without getting bogged down in details.
Have you ever wished Scripture would just stick the way a song lyric does? That’s the heart behind the first step of the Abidible Method: saturation. It’s about surrounding yourself with God’s Word until it becomes part of your daily rhythms—on cards, mirrors, windows, even kitchen counters.
I just got the final pathology report from my surgery, and my doctor emphasized how extremely sick I really was. For years I lived with pain, exhaustion, and brain fog without realizing the depth of it. But today I get to share the full story of what they found—and how the Lord has carried me through to healing.