EXTRA Ideas for Adults—How God Speaks—God Speaks Through the Bible

Date: September 13, 2026

Session Title: God Speaks Through the Bible

In Focus: God’s Word is His primary means of speaking to us.   

Podcast—Bible Studies for Life: Adults

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Additional Teaching Options

Optional teaching ideas that incorporate current news, cultural trends, and real-world illustrations to help your group engage more deeply and view today’s issues through a clear biblical lens.

Getting Started/Look at Our World

Read after discussing Getting Started—Opening question or In Focus:

Many women in South Asia get trafficked into red-light districts, either by their parents or husbands. If they are rescued by a non-governmental organization (NGO), the gospel doesn’t get consistently shared with them. Missionary Blyth and her South Asian ministry partner, Anvi, help fill that gap by meeting these women and their children in the district to share the gospel with them. In 2021, the missionaries rented a room in the district to hold weekly prayer meetings for these trafficked women. Nine women have left prostitution because of the message of Christ in the last three years, and those numbers continue to grow.

Two of these women, Prasana and Nabina, call each other “sisters” because of everything they’ve walked through together, including coming from the same village. They’re currently living in a halfway house, where they’re learning sewing and tailoring skills alongside discipleship and training in sharing the gospel. Blyth hopes that in the coming years, the two women will return to the village where Prasana was trafficked, using both their new trade and their testimony to plant a church and offer other women a path away from the poverty that makes them vulnerable to trafficking in the first place.

Thanks to the Bible stories and message of the gospel that Blyth and Anvi have shared, God has spoken to the women in this red-light district and shown them another path. If these missionaries hadn’t listened to God directing them to go, these nine women may never have heard the message that set them free. But because of God speaking through His Word, these women can now make a lasting impact by sharing the gospel with women just like them.

Names were changed for security.

To learn more, visit IMB.org and search “Former red-light district workers become daughters of the King.”

Look at Our World

Read at any point in your discussion of Psalm 19:12-14:

How has God been your Rock and your Redeemer?

At the 86th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, the F.A.I.T.H. Riders set up a tent and offered a drawing for a free motorcycle. One quiet man, covered in tattoos, walked in and said he wanted to enter the drawing and hear a volunteer’s testimony. As the volunteer shared how he’d been convicted of his sin, understood that Jesus’s death paid for his salvation, and turned away from his own selfish desires, the man experienced that same conviction. He confessed his sins, accepted Jesus’s gift, and made Him his Lord.

Coined “the Sturgis model,” this intentional evangelistic approach reaches interest-based crowds through three roles: a “catcher” who invites passersby into the tent, a “sharer” who gives a three-minute testimony, and a “recorder” who takes down the listener’s information—all built around the draw of a free motorcycle giveaway. The model was first used in 2004 by evangelist Ronnie Hill at a NASCAR rally, and was later adopted and carried on at Sturgis, first by the Dakota Baptist Convention and now by F.A.I.T.H. Riders. By focusing on meeting people where they are and showing them that God can save them there, the Riders share the gospel in a tangible way, even for those who may not have heard it before.

These volunteers keep the gospel at the center of their conversations, making it clear to those listening that redemption wouldn’t be possible without God. Thanks to the drawing of the Holy Spirit and keeping God centered as their Rock and Redeemer, 224 people made Jesus their “boss” at this year’s rally. Think about how God could use your testimony to change lives as you keep Him at the center of yours.

To learn more about this article, visit IMB.org and search “College students see God at work during 8 weeks with IMB.”

The week’s writer for Extra is Emily Duncan. Emily is a Southern California native who lives in west Georgia with her husband and daughter. God saved her from Wicca at a youth retreat when she was sixteen. Emily’s a member of Midway Church in Villa Rica and mentors young women as they transition from high school to college.

[Linked material and sources serve as background illustration only and do not imply endorsement beyond our biblical application.]

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Additional Questions

These optional questions are designed to warm up group conversation and guide engagement throughout each Bible passage—helping your group think critically, connect personally, and process Scripture through a clear biblical lens. For full session plans—including additional discussion questions, teaching content, and leader helps built specifically for this study—get the Adult Leader Guide, Daily Discipleship Guide Leader Guide, or QuickSource at biblestudiesforlife.com.

Icebreakers

• How do you decide which voices you trust?
• What’s one area of life where it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by competing advice?

Psalm 19:7-9. God speaks to reveal His character and nature. 

• How do voices in our culture compare to the voice of God in Scripture?
• What’s one practical way you could make God’s Word a greater influence in your daily decisions this week?

Psalm 19:10-11. God speaks to encourage and warn us. 

• When has Scripture provided clarity or direction when you were uncertain about what to do?
• What’s the difference between viewing God’s commands as restrictions and viewing them as loving protection?

Psalm 19:12-14. God speaks to convict us and guide us in right living. 

• What tends to be your first response when Scripture challenges an area of your life that needs to change?
• What practical steps can help us move from merely acknowledging sin to actively pursuing obedience?