Welcome to this International Group Investigating God (I-GIG)! We’re excited you chose to look at the world’s all-time, best-selling book, which has significantly influenced many cultures and the lives of more than 2 billion people. The Bible may be the most important “textbook” you read during your undergraduate and graduate studies, as it provides many important life lessons.
The lettered sections (A to K) in this book provide information to help you understand the Bible and its main message. They are designed for you to read on your own. If you have questions about them, ask your I-GIG discussion leader (or another Christian friend). Your I-GIG discussion leader may also refer to some of the lettered sections during Bible discussions.
The numbered Bible studies (1 to 8) are designed to be done during your I-GIG group discussions. You are welcome to go through them on your own, but you will learn more by hearing other participants’ comments and the discussion leader’s input in a group setting. The Bible studies are not lectures. The leader is there to help guide the group discussions. He or she may not be a Bible expert; the Bible text is the “expert.” We encourage you to share your thoughts with the others in your I-GIG, even if you’ve never read the Bible before. Your questions and comments can help others to learn. If you are facilitating the group Bible studies, we have a step-by-step guide to help you do that, even if you've never led Bible studies before.
We know you are very busy. However, we encourage you to commit to going to at least the first 4 I-GIG Bible studies. They are easier to understand if you don’t skip studies. If the first 4 Bible studies go well, we encourage you to continue with Studies 5 to 8. You need to do at all 8 Bible studies to get a minimal understanding of the Bible’s main message. We hope these discussions will be enlightening to you and you’ll want to continue reading and studying the Bible beyond the 8 studies. Enjoy discovering what the Bible has to offer!
