I would like to call your attention to one matter. You may use the Life-study messages and the Recovery Version in the small groups, but when you use the footnotes, you should not be too rigid. This is because some footnotes are there to explain the meaning of certain words. For instance, in explaining the word holy in Romans 1:2, footnote 3 mentions several terms, such as holiness, saints, and sanctified. In a small group meeting, you should not bring out all these terms. As long as you understand that holy means to be separated unto God, it is enough. Some footnotes were written in detail because we need to base the explanation of a word on a proper source and cannot explain it without any foundation. When you use the Life-study messages in the small groups, the less you explain the meaning of the words the better. If some saints desire to know more, they can study by themselves.
Life-study messages may contain some words of explanation, which you do not need to read through in their entirety. Therefore, before a meeting we must spend time in the Life-study message that will be covered. As we are preparing the message, we can mark the parts that we feel should be used in the meeting. We must find the major points, and then during the meeting the saints can read a few sections related to the central point. There may be the need to explain some points to help enliven the meeting. If the message is read rigidly, the atmosphere of the meeting will be stiff, and it will be difficult for the saints to have a taste for the message and to enter into the enjoyment.
After the major points are read and the central point is emphasized with a brief explanation, there can be some spontaneous fellowship. We all must exercise in this matter. We should not be overconfident and think that this is not important. In this new beginning with the small groups in the church, we all need to exercise. Whether we are a full-timer, a part-timer, an elder, or a deacon, we must exercise in the small groups.
Before every small group meeting, we must be diligent to read the text and the footnotes in the Recovery Version and also the related portion in the Life-study messages. If we practice marking the places that should be used in the meeting, after six months to a year, we will be experienced and proficient. We should not go to the small group to give an inspirational message; rather, we should learn to apply the material that we have.
Some may think that this practice is regulated and not according to the Spirit. However, it is not simple to do things according to the Spirit. In the fellowship meeting of a small group, we must always have the Lord’s word; otherwise, there is no focus. We are not experienced enough to speak without preparation; therefore, we need to prepare the material. We cannot find material that is as complete as the Recovery Version and the Life-study messages. However, we do not need to be a tape recorder and mechanically recite what is in the books. Rather, we should be chefs that use the material in the books to prepare a delicious dish. We even do not need to buy groceries, because all the material is found in the footnotes of the Recovery Version and in the Life-studies. We only need to study to determine what portions in the Life-study should be used in the meeting.
The footnotes of the Recovery Version and the Life-study messages are in our hands. There is no stipulation that we can use only one message; we simply need to pray concerning which paragraphs to use. From a message of fifteen pages, we might select only three pages to read in the meeting. As we fellowship with the saints, we can explain certain portions. In this way the message becomes living, full of light, and full of the life supply. If every small group would pursue and enter into the truth in this way, it will be easier for the elders to lead the church, and the church will advance.
Suppose we use the Life-study of Romans. The content is rich and inexhaustible, but when we release the light from the truth and supply the riches of life in the small group, we do not have to present every point. As long as there is some light and some of the riches of life are supplied, our goal is achieved. We do not need to learn the entire book of Romans as if we were a theologian. The food that we need is in the Life-study of Romans. We can select portions from the Life-study for the saints to read. Even if the saints do not understand the Epistle to the Romans, as they continue to attend the meetings, they will be enlightened and supplied with life from the riches in the book of Romans. In this way, the goal of the small group meeting will be attained. This brief instruction requires our practice.