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I just saw these great tips from the group leader guidelines at New Vision Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Here they are, slightly adapted.

Do:

• Stay positive
• Stay on topic
• Stay on time!
• Encourage participation

Don’t:

• Don’t feel like you must know the answers
• Don’t read the questions word for word–use your own words!
• Don’t talk much more than the average person in your group

Our newest No-Prep book came into the world August 17th!

It is called “Suffering and Evil: Biblical Answers from the Christian Perspective.”

This book features seven lessons:

• The Foundation: God is Good!
• Pillar #1 — Fallen World
• Pillar #2 — Ultimate Hope
• Pillar #3 — Beyond Comprehension
• Pillar #4 — Consequences
• Pillar #5 — Ultimate Justice
• Sharing the Five Pillars

Even though the topic is usually difficult and emotional, I’ve kept the material extremely organized and light enough to not be overbearing.

The big feature in this book is the six memorable phrases that I guarantee you will remember and can use in your own life and in the lives of others.

And of course, like every No-Prep book, we draw every lesson from just a few focal Bible verses. So, even with this difficult topic, these lessons are still in a very real sense Bible study!

Our next three booklets are in process:

• “Suffering and Evil” — release date of July 15th
• “The Greatest Excuses in the Bible” — release date of Oct 15th
• “Origins”– coming in early 2025

I’m excited about all three of these newbies!

Additionally, due to the continued popularity of “Jesus’ Most Popular Parables,” and “Jesus’ Most Challenging Parables,” we are planning a third parable booklet called “Jesus’ Most Provocative Parables.” Look for it in 2026.

Book #7 is due out November 15th!

It is a book organized around King David. Here are the lesson titles:

• David & Goliath
• David & Bathsheba
• David Confesses His Sin
• David & Mephibosheth
• David & His Music

I’m excited about this book! It mixes some strong life-application takeaways in the Bathsheba lesson with some strong covenant theology in the Mephibosheth lesson. Plus, the “David & His Music” lesson will take you on an unusual tour through the Davidic Psalms to see what David spoke about most.

After that, in early 2024, we will release perhaps our most important book ever: “Suffering & Evil: The Five Pillars in a Christian Worldview.”

It is humbling to hear about so many small groups that are trying and enjoying and learning from our booklets in “The No-Prep Bible Study Series.” We promise you many more high-quality booklets over the next few years.

My second parable book came out July 14th–Jesus’ Most Challenging Parables. Feedback has been super positive, especially on the very first lesson: The Pharisee & The Tax Collector. Here’s all the lessons:

• The Pharisee & The Tax Collector
• The Sower
• The Lost Sheep
• The Ten Bridesmaids
• The House Upon The Rock

Honestly, I think this booklet is our most powerful to date!

Here’s how you tell our two parable books apart:

• Jesus’ Most Popular Parables = blue
• Jesus’ Most Challenging Parables = yellow

Coming soon are:

• Lessons from the Life of David (Nov 15th)
• Suffering & Evil: Biblical Answers in a Christian worldview (early 2024)
• Origins (mid 2024)
• The Trinity (late 2024)

Our 5th Bible Study book–“Your Most Valuble Stuff” will be released in mere days. The feedback we are already getting says it might be our most powerful life-changing book yet! Here’s the lesson titles:

• A Very Expensive Palace
• Some Very Expensive Perfume
• Whose Stuff Is It, Anyway?
• Whose Life Is It, Anyway?
• Change Your Moniker, Change Your Life

Look for this purple little Bible Study book on Amazon as always!

Also — Coming this summer is a NEW parable booklet called “Jesus Most Challenging Parables”. Here’s the parables:

• The Pharisee & The Tax Collector
• The Sower
• The Lost Sheep
• The 10 Bridesmaids
• The Two Foundations

Yes, both our blue and red books have been translated into Mandarin and are absolutely free! We have not scrimped on these. They look, feel, and read just like our English books, except of course, they are in Mandarin.

We definitely want to bless the Chinese community with these books and truly expect to see some Mandarin speakers saved!

Just email me at kennybeck99@gmail.com and I’ll get them out to you immediately!

Several things have transpired that have led us to start promoting our bible study books to the teen crowd, and not just adult community groups.

The adult SS class that I teach has had several teens (& pre-teens!) participating for 6 years now. These kids learn boo-koos, and honestly, very little of the material is over their heads.

So, you might want to consider our popular bible study books for the teens in your church–or the ones sitting on your couch right now!

Already in process is book #4 — “Telling Others The Story of Jesus”. It’s looking really good and I’m excited about it! Here’s the lesson titles:

• Hava Tells Her Friends
• Peter Tells Cornelius
• Eric Tells The Chinese
• I Love To Tell The Story
• Twill Be My Theme In Glory

It should come out in June.

Long term, we are planning for a total of 15 more (yes, you read that right, 15 more!) bible study books over the next 5 years.

Most already have titles and super strong outlines. On the docket are:

• The Greatest Rescues in the Bible
• This Changes Everything!
• Detours
• Jesus’ Greatest Miracles
• The Five Pillars: Biblical Answers To Suffering and Evil
• The Trinity: How Not To Be A Heretic
• Memoirs of the Apostles
• Pick The Right Pharaoh
• The Best Wisdom Psalms Ever
• The Three Parts of You

But for now, keep an eye open this summer for book #4, “Telling Others The Story of Jesus”. You’ll love it, I promise!

Always Bat Clean-Up!

When you throw out a question never give your answer first.

Let at least one or two people go first. Then, when you feel the time is right, give your view, example, opinion, or answer in a wrapping up sort of way.

There are many reasons why this works best. Just trust me on this one and bat clean-up, not lead-off hitter!