1. They’re holistic. In a traditional church you go to a Sunday School class and hear a Bible lesson. Then you go to the worship service and hear another. When you come back Sunday night or midweek you hear additional Bible lessons. All these separate Bible teachings can have the negative side-effect of training us to file away God’s Word without fully applying it. We’ve been educated beyond our obedience!

One of the things I love about using the weekly message as the basis for our small-group study is that it forces us to go back and re-examine how we were challenged by God’s Word over the weekend. The emphases are integration and application. God’s Word is meant to be obeyed, not just listened to or read. When we have time to further reflect on the Sunday morning message in our small groups, it’s more holistic and better for our spiritual health.

2. They emphasize application.James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” In our weekend worship services we listen to the Word, but it’s in our small groups where we focus on helping each other apply the Word.

I have found that I can be really moved by my pastor’s message on Sunday but then go to lunch and forget all about it!

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