Knowable Word - Bible study help

5 Characteristics of a Great Small Group Leader

January 26, 2026 By Ryan Higginbottom

What do the best small group Bible study leaders have in common?

Yes, there are certain things they do. We have provided a guide for those steps, from planning the group, running the study itself, and training a new leader. These actions are vital.

But no one wants to be in a group where the leader takes the right actions but has poor character. In this post, we won’t look at what a leader should do as much as who they should be.

Five Qualities

This list isn’t exclusive; there are many other qualities we could add. But when I think about a leader whose study I’d like to attend, these characteristics come to mind.

A great leader is diligent

Putting together a solid small group Bible study takes a lot of work, and this requires diligence. A good leader will study the passage thoroughly using a trusted Bible study method. (We have written about the OIA method here.)

Turning that personal Bible study into good questions for the group can also be a challenge. First-rate leaders set aside enough preparation time to write questions that will help their group find and wrestle with the main point of the passage.

A great leader is vulnerable

The best small group studies are lead by a person who has already been changed by their study of the Bible. When preparing, an exceptional leader will be vulnerable with God when thinking through the application of a passage. They will prayerfully consider areas where they need to change.

This vulnerability will also carry over into the meeting time. They will talk with the group about their own sin, their efforts to repent, and the grace God extends to them. A great leader will provide a potential map for their group members by sharing their own applications of a text.

A great leader is curious

A terrific leader is hungry to know God through his word, so they ask difficult questions as they read the Bible. They love God and understand that he makes himself known through this book.

While a good small group leader will put in a lot of preparation time before the study, they know they do not have a monopoly on God’s wisdom. They understand that different perspectives, approaches, and life experiences can help them both understand the text and grow in love for others. They want to know how their small group friends see the Bible text, so they ask honest questions during the meeting.

A great leader is humble

All the preparation in the world does not make a leader self-sufficient. A great leader is aware of their dependence on God, and they seek God’s help in prayer as they work to prepare for the group.

A humble leader is open to correction. They study the Bible aware that they need the discipline that God gives as a loving father. They also know that God may correct them during the group meeting itself, so they listen to their friends’ interpretations and look back to the text. An outstanding leader is not afraid to be wrong, because they know that the real authority is the Word of God.

A great leader is loving

This may be the most important characteristic of all. A great leader loves their small group members and wants the best for them. They want them to grow in the ways they know and trust God.

Love motivates a good leader in their preparation, in their activities with their group members outside the group, and in their prayers. During the meeting, a loving leader will not be concerned with their image or reputation, but with God’s glory and their friends’ growth.

God Makes a Leader

Does your small group leader have these characteristics? If so, thank God! And encourage your leader that you see this fruit in their leadership. Pray that God would help them abound all the more in these qualities.

If your leader lacks some (or all) of these characteristics, pray for them!

Finally, if you are a small group leader, pray for yourself, that God by his Spirit would grow these characteristics in you.

God is the only one who can change hearts. Let’s look to him for the character of our small group leaders.

This was first published in 2019.

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Be Aware of the Path You Follow

January 23, 2026 By Peter Krol

In Proverbs 4, Solomon explains how wisdom gives hope that anything can change. First, we must get wisdom at all costs. But to do so, we must know where to find it. Usually, remaining in bad patterns won’t help.

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
Which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
They do not know over what they stumble (Prov 4:18-19).

In Prov 4:18-19, Solomon circles back for one last contrast between the hope of the righteous and the despair of the wicked. The path of the righteous faces the sunrise. Things might be a little hazy for you now; but stay the course, and it will brighten. You’ll gain more clarity, more conviction, and thus more hope for continued change.

If you choose the way of the wicked, you’re stuck in perpetual night. There’s a hint of mockery in the last line: “They do not know over what they stumble.” Those who tried to make others stumble (Prov 4:16) and failed against the righteous (Prov 4:12) now stumble themselves – without either realizing it or having any ability to remedy it. Folly and wickedness are both blinding and devastating, so, unfortunately, most travelers of this path don’t even understand the danger. As Waltke states:

The ignorance of both the nature and consequences of wickedness is the mark of absolute moral failure. [What they “stumble over”] refers to any agent that brings about the fatigue and death of the wicked. For example, many today see no connection between venereal disease and sexual immorality, between indulgent greed and national debt, between war and tribal thinking. Ultimately the agent is the LORD, who connects evil deeds with evil consequences. The wicked, however, cannot see the connection and die.[1]

Be aware of the path you follow, and know that what matters most is Christ. He endured the deepest darkness of God’s wrath so you could find life in him. If you stay where you are, things will never change. But in fearing the Lord, we have hope.

This post was first published in 2013 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

[1] Proverbs 1-15, pp.292-3. (Disclosure: This is an affiliate link, so if you click it and buy stuff from Amazon, your purchase will help support our site without any extra cost to you.)

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The Surprising Benefits of Daily Bible Reading

January 21, 2026 By Peter Krol

I’ve shared many posts over the years outlining the many benefits of frequent Bible reading. I still was delighted and surprised by some of the insights on this list by Kevin Carson and Howard Eyrich. In addition to the usual “strengthen your faith” and “deepen you relationship with God,” they observe some benefits I haven’t fully realized myself. Blessings such as:

#4: It equips us for special battles
#7: It fosters a habit of consistency
#9: It prepares us to encourage others

What I most appreciate is that daily Bible reading is not just for you but also for others, by equipping you to serve them better. What a terrific motivation for reading God’s word every day.

Check it out!

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Choose the Road to Life

January 16, 2026 By Peter Krol

To get unstuck from bad patterns, you should do whatever it takes to get wisdom. But where can you find it?

Hear, my son, and accept my words,
That the years of your life may be many.
I have taught you the way of wisdom;
I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
When you walk, your step will not be hampered,
And if you run, you will not stumble.
Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;
Guard her, for she is your life.
Do not enter the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of the evil.
Avoid it; do not go on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
They are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
For they eat the bread of wickedness
And drink the wine of violence (Prov 4:10-17).

In this section, Solomon explains that there are only two possible trajectories in life: toward wisdom (Prov 4:11-13) or wickedness (Prov 4:14-17). If you are not on one path, you are on the other. Do you see why he just instructed us to do whatever it takes to get wisdom? The alternative is not worth it!

On the path of wisdom, you are more likely to live longer (Prov 4:10), honor God (Prov 4:11), avoid obstacles (Prov 4:12), and find life (Prov 4:13). On the path of wickedness, you are likely to find plenty of companionship (Prov 4:14-17) but not much else.

Notice how those on the way of evil end up becoming addicted to evil. Doing the wrong thing is the wicked person’s sedative (Prov 4:16) and sustenance (Prov 4:17); he just can’t live without it. He suffers from the worst kind of substance abuse.

Solomon is not saying that every person on this path is that evil; he’s saying that everyone on this path is on the way to becoming that evil. By illustrating the end of the road, he warns us to stay away. He’s like a police officer cautioning a teenage driver not to speed – not because every instance of speeding will produce disaster; but because, as he grows more reckless, he brings himself closer to the impending disaster without realizing it.

What’s the point? You can’t toy with evil. You shouldn’t make friends with folly. Trusting yourself is never a good idea. The way to life is found in hearing and accepting God’s words (Prov 4:1). You can’t keep doing what you’re doing and hope to get unstuck. You’ve got to turn (Prov 4:15) and make a radical break from the norm before you’ll experience lasting change. Once you do, however, the way forward often becomes clear and effective.

An Example

What does it look like to choose the road to life?

My friend Angie[1] struggled with manipulative, overbearing parents. She had become a Christian in college, and they did everything in their power to turn her back. They cut off her funding. They threatened to disown her. They prohibited contact with her siblings. She feared for her well-being and for her relationships. She felt truly stuck.

Angie’s instinct was to return to old patterns. She could give in by visiting on weekends and skipping church on Sunday. She could stop talking about faith in Christ. She could obey her parents’ every whim about who her friends could be, how to spend her money, and whether to be sexually active.

As she sought the Lord for counsel, however, she came to him with a listening ear and a teachable heart. She realized that things with her parents might get worse before they could get better, but that she had to honor the Lord and seek wisdom at all costs. She feared the Lord, and found hope that things could change.

The situation did in fact get worse. Angie’s parents did disown her. She had to move herself and her belongings to an undisclosed location and communicate with her parents through hand-written letters sent from her church’s address. Her church elders involved the police at appropriate times.

After a few years, however, walls started to come down. The heat calmed and healthy communication resumed. Her siblings grew to adulthood and found hope that they, too, could turn aside from bad patterns in the family. Some of them came to faith in Christ as a result. Her parents began attending church and hearing the gospel. One of them came to faith, and the other one is now actively considering Christ’s claims. Jesus broke in and brought life to this family, because this one young lady was willing to hold fast to him.

You, too, can get unstuck from whatever difficulties you face. Are you willing to choose the road to life?

This post was first published in 2013 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

[1] I’ve changed names and a few details to protect anonymity.

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The Value of Structure

January 14, 2026 By Peter Krol

Jon Nielson writes about the benefits of what he calls the “construction tool,” or finding the structure of a biblical passage.

Finding the structure helps you to avoid a misplaced emphasis, wandering thoughts, and literary abuse. Discerning the structure helps you to find the author’s outline and emphasis, and to discover the right application.

Far too often, as we read and study the Bible, we place a lot of emphasis on things that just happen to jump out at us as we read. Perhaps a certain word strikes us from a passage; all of a sudden, we become very focused on that word and begin to think about it as the most important part of the passage. That can often be very dangerous. It is the structure of a passage that actually shows us what the author is emphasizing—not just what happens to jump out at us as we read. Careful work with the construction tool to discover the structure of a passage is key to seeing what the author is building toward—the key point that he wants us, the readers, to focus on.

Nielson’s advice is quite helpful, which is why we’ve written much about structure on this blog.

Check it out!

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Context Matters: Bear One Another’s Burdens

January 12, 2026 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve heard that Christians are to bear each other’s burdens. When a member of your church family is ill, recovering from surgery, or has recently welcomed a new child, you may have been encouraged (using this verse) to provide meals and other practical assistance.

“Bearing the burden” or “carrying the load” of another person is a memorable, vivid image. When a friend is weary and struggling with something weighty, we can take that heavy object in our arms. This is an act of service and love.

And yet, context matters. When we learn to read the Bible as a unified collection of letters and books instead of as a binder stuffed with proverbs, we’ll see that some of its most memorable commands don’t mean what we always assumed.

Ensnared in Sin

The context of the command to “bear one another’s burdens” is a person caught in sin.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:1-2)

This instruction comes on the heels of Paul’s famous passage about the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16–26). Paul is explaining, in part, what it means to keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).

What should Christians do when someone in their fellowship is “caught” in a transgression? Those who are spiritual should “restore” them in a spirit of gentleness. These topics are tricky and sensitive; being ensnared in sin is humbling and the one who is caught has likely been exposed. We must proceed with caution and love, and Paul gives us guidance.

Fulfill the Law of Christ

Perhaps by now we can see that bearing another’s burdens has little to do with mowing their grass after knee replacement surgery. Paul is concerned that Christians bear the burden of their friend’s sin entrapment and help them to freedom. This is so central to the way we are to love one another within the church that Paul writes that it helps us “fulfill the law of Christ.”

It is rare that someone can escape the quicksand of entrapping sin without the help of a Christian friend. A friend who will listen, who will gently speak the truths of the gospel, who will pray, who will help develop a plan for resisting and fleeing temptation—this is a friend whose value is beyond gold. These are the friends we need, and these are the friends we are called to be.

The surrounding passage gives further commentary on these situations.

Those who restore a sinner must be careful to watch themselves, lest they also be tempted (Galatians 6:1). When walking so close to the bog of sin and temptation, we must take care not to fall in the muck ourselves.
Christian friends must remember their own weaknesses and sin. There is no place for pride when bearing the sin burdens of another (Galatians 6:3).
We must not think we are better than our friend and boast in that perceived superiority (Galatians 6:4-5). Our “walking by the Spirit” is not measured by comparison to others; rather, we should use Paul’s list of the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit to make an honest self-assessment of our lives and hearts.

What We Lose

Do not fear. When we interpret Galatians 6:2 correctly, we are in no danger of losing the Christian call to care for our brothers and sisters when they need practical help.

Earlier in this epistle, Paul tells the Galatians to “through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). In 1 Thessalonians, we read, “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone” (1 Thessalonians 5:15). Finally, the many New Testament commands to love one another more than cover the circumstances which are usually in mind when Galatians 6:2 is cited.

The danger we face, in fact, is just the opposite. This is one of a few places in Scripture that teach us how to act when a friend is stuck in the brambles of sin. If we misuse Galatians 6:2 because we haven’t read the passage carefully, or because we have over-emphasized the burden-carrying image, or because we think sin is a private matter, we’ll lose valuable instruction about how Christians bear the fruit of the Spirit in community.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

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Do Whatever it Takes to Get Wisdom

January 9, 2026 By Peter Krol

David was Solomon’s chief role model, and here’s what he taught his son.

^“Get wisdom; get insight;
Do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
Love her, and she will guard you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
And whatever you get, get insight.
Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
She will place on your head a graceful garland;
She will bestow on you a beautiful crown” (Prov 4:5-9).

David’s instruction is not all that complicated. I would paraphrase it like this:

Prov 4:5: Get wisdom!
Prov 4:6: It will guard you from trouble.
Prov 4:7: I mean it; get wisdom! Do whatever it takes!
Prov 4:8-9: You’ll be respected and honored by everyone who knows you.

It sounds like great advice for children like little Solomon who don’t carry much life baggage yet, but how can it help those who feel stuck? What would it look like to get wisdom at any cost? Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a treasure hidden in a field. A man who finds it “goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matt 13:44). Malcolm X believed human rights to be worth acquiring “by any means necessary.” Solomon’s approach to wisdom is similar (without implying any violence, of course). What resources are available to you? Proverbs 4:5-9 doesn’t give many specifics, but here are some ideas from elsewhere in the Bible:

Fear the Lord (Prov 1:7). Take your need to him. Wisdom (and change) always begins here.
Hope it can change (1 Peter 1:3). Such hope is always a choice. You’re not a victim to your despair.
Resolve to pay any cost (Prov 23:23). Do you want it to change? Are you willing to risk anything? Will you give all you have to find wisdom, seek help, and make the necessary changes?
Immerse yourself in Scripture (Ps 1:1-3). What matters most is what God has to say to you. Search the Bible for answers to your questions. Learn how to study it. What time of day are you at your best? Give the Lord that time, and develop the habit of reading and studying his Word.
Engage in a community of wisdom (Heb 10:24-25). Find a good church where the Bible is taught and Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and rescue for sinners are central. Find a mature mentor who can help you to connect the Word of God to your life.
Practice wisdom (Phil 4:9). Remember that wisdom is not just about thinking godly thoughts. It’s about living godly lives. Talk to people about what you’re learning. Ask others what they’re learning. Spend time with non-Christians and look for ways to share about Christ. As you practice these things, write down any lessons or questions that arise, and discuss them with your church or your mentor.
Do whatever it takes (2 Cor 6:1-2). What other ideas do you have? As Derek Kidner writes, “What it takes is not brains or opportunity, but decision. Do you want it? Come and get it.”[1]

This post was first published in 2013 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

[1] Kidner, Proverbs, p.67. (Disclosure: This is an affiliate link, so if you click it and buy stuff from Amazon, your purchase will help support our site without any added cost for you.)

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You’ve Got Time

January 7, 2026 By Peter Krol

Glenna Marshall makes a profound point in this piece: you’ve got enough time to read the Bible daily. Glenna required deep suffering to persuade her she couldn’t live life without God’s word. What will it take to persuade you?

Glenna timed her reading of the entire book of James, at a slow pace: 7.5 minutes. Then she went back to reread chapter one: 90 seconds.

Don’t start out with an hour of Bible reading at 5 a.m. unless this is a really, really feasible plan for you. Most of us won’t benefit from a plan like that. Not because it wouldn’t be good for us (it would be) but because if we start out too strong too quickly, we’re very likely to quit. We don’t want Bible reading for two weeks at the beginning of every year followed by months and months of spiritual malnourishment. We want Bible reading for life.

And then my favorite line of the piece:

If you have time to read this article, you have time to read your Bible.

Check it out!

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Stop Turning “Proverbs Aren’t Promises” Into a Proverb That Makes a Promise

December 31, 2025 By Peter Krol

It’s crazy how widespread is the counsel that “proverbs aren’t promises.” It’s ridiculously common for folks to treat it as a truism that requires no defense, only an assertion or brief explanation. And that explanation seems to require Prov 26:4-5 (or Prov 22:6) as a launching point, as though invoking “answer a fool … answer not a fool” makes the truism self-evident.

close up of a couple holding hands — Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com

Consider an Example

Case in point. Here is a nursing professor doing a wonderful thing for his church, seeking to encourage them to read the Scripture and dig more deeply into God’s glorious word. I trust that he serves faithfully in his role as a church elder and music coordinator. He wants to read God’s word well and help others read God’s word well. However, he falls prey to the unexamined truism that unintentionally undermines an entire book of the Bible desperately needed in our generation.

And notice that, in the process, he turns “proverbs aren’t promises” into a homemade proverb that makes a promise. This brilliant biblical poetry is now reduced to “principles” but not “promises,” whatever that actually means. But if these “principles” cannot be relied on to promise the truth to us, then, as Bruce Waltke put it, how could a psychologically well person ever trust what God says in this book?

And as a result, the truism’s effect is the opposite to its intended effect: It only motivates people not to read and study the Proverbs. Why spend my time here, when I can spend my time in a different book of the Bible that does promise something? A book that provides fully reliable truth I can bank on, and not just “principles” that are merely possible or likely but you can never be sure?

I can’t really blame this blogger, though, as he’s merely quoting a commentator. The problem is not that a few people think this way. The problem is that everybody holds to this tradition as handed down from the elders without really considering its consequences.

Notice how, right in his opening paragraph, the writer linked above contrasts proverbs with the “promise” of John 3:16. “Are these promises in the same way the John 3:16 is a promise?” He clarifies by quoting an unnamed commentator: “Proverbs are not magical words that if memorized and applied in a mechanical way automatically lead to success and happiness.” But are we to presume that John 3:16 is?

You might say, “of course not.” But please follow the logic as presented. If:

Proverbs are not promises, and
A “promise” means something is “a magical word…applied in a mechanical way” that “automatically leads to success and happiness,” and
John 3:16 contains a promise,

then John 3:16 is a magical, mechanical, and automatic word.

In other words, a person can apply John 3:16 like this: “What a great deal! God loved me (and the whole world) so much that he gave his Son! That means that if I just believe, I will never perish! I will have eternal life! I can therefore jump off a skyscraper without a parachute, or walk in front of a dump truck, and nothing bad will happen to me! I won’t perish! No believers in Christ will ever die young. Or die at all.”

Not What Promises Are

Of course that’s not how this blogger or anybody else believes John 3:16 ought to be applied. That would be a magical, mechanical, and automatic use of that promise, doing violence to what it really means and to how promises actually work in the Bible.

But nobody in their right mind treats any promise of the Bible that way. Not the promise of John 3:16. Not the promises of the Prophets. Not the promises of covenant blessings and curses in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Every one of those promises requires qualifications and a covenantal or cultural context to be properly understood. Just like…the sayings of Proverbs.

Therefore, when a proverb makes a promise, we should not treat that promise mechanically, either. So I agree fully with the intent of the statement that “Proverbs aren’t promises.”

But the solution to that tragically mistaken use of the Bible’s promises (magical, mechanical, automatic) is not to maintain the oft-repeated yet self-defeating claim that “proverbs aren’t promises.” If proverbs really are not promises, then that conventional proverbial saying must not be a promise, either. And if proverbs aren’t promises, there is little reason to dive deeply into the book of Proverbs to mature as a person or society. And so we continue suffering our cultural and generational folly, experiencing the covenantal consequences of what God promised in the book of Proverbs. “When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves” (Prov 28:12).

Can we please instead find the courage to acknowledge that some proverbs are, in fact, promises? Let’s instruct people that the Bible’s promises are not magical, mechanical, or automatic. But let’s also euthanize the false and confusing reflex that communicates that, because proverbs are not mechanical, they are not “promises.” Stating the matter that way has only misled people and created worse problems than those we attempted to solve.

For further defense of this thesis, please check out “Why ‘Proverbs Aren’t Promises’ is Still Misleading.”

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