Writing Bible Studies with Punch, Zip, and Wow

by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28

“God is boring.” Three words that have subconsciously shaped my desire to write Bible studies. 

A fourth grader in VBS uttered those words. We were trying to settle the kids down for the Bible lesson, and a little guy in the middle of the room objected with this statement. Everything within me cringed when he said it, and the teacher proceeded to tell him that God was the least boring person ever. His innocent question was, “Why?”

We spent the whole week telling the class why. We picked different aspects of God’s nature—Savior, Father, Friend, and Lord—and let the kids come up with ways that such a person would work in their lives. At the end of the week, we asked the class whether they thought God was worth knowing. The little guy in the middle of the room thought so. 

Bible studies should be anything but boring—they should be infused with punch, zip, and wow. We write Bible studies so that our readers may not only come to know God more, but love Him more as well. The whole point of eternal life is knowing God (John 17:3), an adventure which starts now and lasts for all eternity. The greatest action we can ever take is to love God with our whole selves and then to love others (Mark 12:30-31), and Scripture shows us how to do that. The Bible is alive and powerful (Hebrews 4:12), yet it matters how we present it. When we are mindful of how we write about Scripture, our readers will come to grasp even more who God is, how to love Him, and how His word applies to their lives.

Just the Right Ingredients

A Bible study that is infused with punch, zip, and wow includes just the right ingredients for reader appeal and life transformation. When we write our Bible studies with punch, we make a point and we make it well. We include the right amount of insights proven by definitions, commentary notes, and illustrations. When we write with zip, we streamline our flow of thought so that our words hit the heart and sharpen the mind. We choose just the right words and cadence to drive our point home. When we write with “etches its message into our readers’ memory, and we share fresh insights or practical how to’s that help wow,” we deliver a unique approach to Scripture that them with present challenges. 

Just the right ingredients also include a balance of story and explanation. Too much story, and the book won’t feel like a Bible study. Too much explanation of Scripture, and it will feel like a commentary. With a conversational, friendly voice, we can blend both tools for heart impact, and keep the study animated and inviting. 

The heart of Bible study that keeps readers turning pages is application. Writing Bible studies with punch, zip, and wow means that we have application for the reader on every page. We plant takeaway for them at the end of our lead-ins, in the paragraphs that explain Scripture, and at the conclusion of each day’s reading. We keep them engaged with how God’s sacred words speak into their modern lives with all of its ups and downs, joys and heartaches. We keep the felt need of our study always before them, and answer their questions and provide solutions to problems with what God says about the situations they are likely facing. 

Together we can have a strong voice for God and His Word in this world, and we can do it with punch, zip, and wow! If someone told you that God or His Word were “boring,” how would you help them to be convinced that the opposite was true?

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Katy Kauffman finds herself writing about life’s spiritual battles more than anything else. As an award-winning author, an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies, she has the privilege of working with writers and the Lighthouse team to create Bible study compilations and magazine issues. She recently started a monthly newsletter for writers called The Lighthouse Connection, and she contributes to three blogs on writing. Connect with Katy at her blog, Winning the Victory, and on Facebook and Twitter.