We invite you to follow along with us as we explore our new theme Telling Time. You can use this material for group discussion or personal Bible study. Check out each week's section, watch the introductory video to each week's sub theme and read and reflect your way through this month's passages.

Each month at Sanctuary First we come to the Bible with our questions, our longings and our hopes. We open ourselves up anew to what these ancient words are saying to us today in the very midst of our lives now (whenever that is…). This month we want to tackle time itself. It’s that gap that lies between how the Bible came about and now. Between the creation of everything and the end of this sentence. Between Christ’s ultimate gesture of love and sacrifice and our heartfelt prayers today. These gaps can seem colossal… but our God is outside of time. God can reach through our experience of time unfolding and find us right here, right now. The Bible is a whirlwind, a library of books that bursts into history and reverberates continually. The Cross is a profound event that resonates for all time. In the passing of an instant we can brush close to eternity. The Kingdom is at hand.

Over these summer days, which stretch out longer up in Scotland, we are going to be meditating on time. We will be thinking about what it means to live through time, how we can begin to access a reality beyond time, and what our experience of time can tell us about the wonder and generosity of God.

As they say, time will tell.`

Download the Discussion Questions as a PDF

These discussion questions adapt our monthly themes for small Connect Groups or personal Bible study (look up the Telling Time Resource Pack PDF for more information on this month's theme). The questions are divided into 5 parts to correspond with the 5 weeks of the Daily Worship theme. They are offered as a guideline and there is no need to go through all the given questions in a single session, or in the following sequence. Feel free to pick and choose, or adapt to what interests you or your group.

Find out more on this month's theme: Telling Time

What are Connect Groups? 

‘Connect Groups’ is the name we give to small informal gatherings who decide to meet together to explore the Bible alongside our monthly themes. These groups are independent and folk can simply set up their own Connect Group themselves, meeting together with friends and family on their own basis. In this time of Lockdowns when people can’t get together physically this material can still be used to meet together online.

Each month we produce a range of questions to adapt our themes for group discussion. The material is offered as a starting point and there is no need to go through all the questions.You can pick and choose, tailoring it to suit the needs and interests of your group. Each ‘Part’ could form the basis of a weekly roughly 90 minute meeting but you could break it up differently. Let us know if you would like to find out more about Connect Groups and different ways of linking into the Sanctuary First community.

We all come to the Bible with our own questions, insights and barriers. The guiding principle we have in writing these is to ask questions we don’t already know the answer to! Our hope is to facilitate open-ended discussions. Often the most valuable parts of group chats are the bits that go off on bizarre tangents. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Jesus knows a thing or two about bizarre tangents…

Need some advice on starting your own Connect Group? Get in touch.