Hot or Not Bible Study Method™

1. Grab 2 highlighters (and a Bible): Procure 2 different coloured highlighters for each person in your study. (They can bring their own from home if they prefer). It doesn't matter what colours as long as they are different. Choosing one light yellow and one dark yellow is a bad idea. Instead, choose one colour to represent "positive response" (i.e., "hot") and the other, different colour to represent "negative response" (i.e., "not"). (N.B. People may also want to procure a Bible other than their normal Bible for reading in as the end result of this method is a book that is full of highlighting -- some of which may not make sense a few years down the road. Many thrift stores sell Bibles for cheap!)

2. Pick a section of the Bible to read: Decide what part of the Bible you are going to read as a group and what part you are going to read on your own. You could, for example, decide to read through the Pentateuch together, with a plan to read 20 chapters per week on your own and then 10 chapters during the study itself.

3. Start reading: As each person in the Bible study reads through the selected passages (whether on their own or as part of the group), they should have their two highlighters on hand.

4. Highlight the "hot" stuff: If they encounter something in the Bible that really resonates, that they really like, or that they find exciting and are interested by, then they would take their "positive response / hot" highlighter and highlight that part of the Bible.

5. Highlight the "not-so-hot" stuff: By contrast, if they encounter something in the Bible that they find themselves reacting against or not liking or being upset by, then they would take their "negative response / not" highlighter and highlight that part of the Bible.

6. Discuss with others: At the end of the quiet time in the Bible study, once everyone has finished reading the section to themselves, everyone will flip back to the beginning of the section (either the section read together or the section read separately) and slowly move through the chapters, each person drawing attention to the parts of the Bible that they highlighted "hot" or "not."

7. Reflect on similarities and differences: You will find that people will often highlight similar things. What things resonated with your group? What things did your group find challenging? Is there any wisdom in the group that might help respond to those "negative responses"? Or maybe you can just dwell on them as a group and even pray through them.

And that's it!