Why Study the Old Testament?

Welcome to our small group study! Thirdmill produces teaching materials with the primary goal of helping church leaders around the globe to study and teach the Bible more deeply. This 8-week small group study has been adapted from the first lesson of our series Kingdom, Covenants & Canon of the Old Testament. It asks the question, “Why study the Old Testament?” Our goal is for you to discover the importance of the Old Testament for today by learning why it seems so distant from us, how Jesus and Paul used the Old Testament, the challenges we face when applying the Old Testament, and the many similarities between the Old Testament and our lives today. This study is intended to take about 50-60 minutes each session, but you're welcome to adapt it to your own circumstances by making each section as long or short as is beneficial for your group. This study can be done individually, but it is designed to be done in a virtual group setting as a typical weekly adult Bible study or Sunday school. You can watch the videos together through a third-party virtual networking platform (like Zoom or Skype), or you can watch the videos before meeting together online to discuss. Some groups might even gather together via a group phone call. Each video is around 15 minutes long to allow ample discussion on each section. We've also added approximate times for each section in case you have a time limit you'd like to follow. Feel free to use as many or as few of the questions provided. We hope these lessons serve as a way to grow together. On a final note, if you would like to download the lesson guide or the manuscript of the full lesson, you can find those resources on the series page for Kingdom, Covenants and Canon of the Old Testament.