Short Term Small Group Bible Studies: Fill & Download for Free

I think it is OK that you don’t care for church, that is your opinion.However we are supposed to peruse fellowship and worship. What I suggest is you find a faith based group to join and take it from there. For instance, I don’t love church myself. I do regularly attend a Women’s Bible Study. Sometimes I go to an adult Sunday School Class.So you might try different small groups to see if there is a group you can commit to for the short term.

Interesting (and very) complex question. Let's assume you mean by 'official' (or at least more official) interpretations.Eastern Orthodox tend to focus a lot more on how (their) Tradition, and specifically through the lenses of councils and Church Fathers (or "Patristics"), interpreted Scripture. That list of church fathers is a little different than Catholics. For Catholics (whether they recognize it or not), the two most influential theologians are arguably Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas.As well, as the Orthodox put it, all of Scripture is Christ-centered, or is interpreted by or around ('through the lens of') Christ. (They're a little less interested in questions like dating, authorship, morphology, grammar, etc. that we Protestants tend to be interested in.)Catholics tend to also have papal declarations (e.g., encyclicals), documents from their councils, and most important are Vatican II and then Vatican I, and also the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In short, the Magisterium, or the teaching authority of the Catholic Church (the pope and/or the united college of cardinals), has the ability to tell Catholics how to properly interpret various things.Eastern Orthodoxy doesn't have a pope ... or a magisterium. So official communiqués, there are things like homilies or sermons or writings that various priests or bishops or archbishops have written, the Greek Orthodox Theological Review, there's a lot of material from the Russian Orthodox ... e.g., https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwiKyL6614vLAhWDth4KHcPpB38QFggcMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ve.org.za%2Findex.php%2FVE%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F654%2F750&usg=AFQjCNHXtZT20c7Wp2LjTAgvkBtj5I7wNg&sig2=ay17AvC2oXSyfPJ84iI6ow&bvm=bv.114733917,d.dmo&cad=rjaIn terms of lay biblical interpretation .... from what I've heard from various people, it's primarily due to the influence of Protestants (and specifically Evangelical Protestants) that Eastern Orthodox in America are interested in doing things like "small groups" or "Bible studies."I do think (as an observer and outsider) sometimes the terms in between languages and translation thereof get a little tricky (e.g., Latin was the primary language for the Catholic Church until Vatican II, then it was published in the vernacular; for much of the Eastern Orthodox, it was in Greek and then each country's vernacular). (Summary: sometimes language caused a bit of a barrier ... or was a stumbling block. Sometimes it was hard to find the right term/word/concept that matched up.)

The Bible Belt is an area of Southern United States in which conservative, fundamentalist, literalist, evangelical Christianity dominates everyday life in most areas.What's it like to live there?Well, Christianity is assumed, first of all. The phrase "It's not Christian" is equivalent to "It's not right" or "It's not moral". You will often hear folks recommended or spoken highly of as "fine Christian people".If you are not Christian, and openly Christian -- preferably protestant -- there is little chance of you holding even a local elected office, even down to (sometimes especially) school board or county commission.There are churches everywhere. Within a five mile radius of my home, for example, there are more churches than there are stores and mechanics' shops combined. In fact, on one half-mile stretch of road there are 5 churches and no other buildings except houses.There are Christian radio stations here, more than one. And you will often hear them playing in waiting rooms at doctors' offices, insurance agencies, car shops, and the like.People put fish emblems on their cars, their business cards, and the signs in front of their places of work. Some businesses close early on Wednesday for mid-week services. Most local businesses are closed Sunday.Some counties are "dry", serving and selling no alcohol.Almost all small kids around here go to VBS (vacation Bible school) at least one summer of their childhood. It's not uncommon to see missionaries on bikes or on foot carrying Bibles around neighborhoods. Local businesses raise money for mission trips to other parts of the world.If you are not religious, you are immediately suspect. You might have a hard time finding work, neighbors may shun you, and your kids will almost certainly be teased and bullied at school.If you are an adherent of a non-Christian religion, you won't be treated quite as badly, but you will never be considered entirely trustworthy or a "true American".People around here believe that America is part of God's plan, that it is mentioned in Biblical prophecy, that the Founding Fathers were inspired by God, and that the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are divinely inspired documents with a status second only to the Bible itself.In short, all parts of your life are judged according to the measure of belief in the Bible. Unfortunately, almost nobody knows what the book really says, or why it was written, or by whom, or when.ETA:A couple of things that are considered normal around here which foreign visitors have found strange....Churches have letterboard signs out front, like businesses, with messages that change regularly.Some churches send advertising by mail to recruit new members. I get just as much junk mail from churches as from gyms and lawn services.When you meet new people, you're just as likely to be asked what church you attend as what you do for a living. If you're new in town and don't yet belong to a congregation, expect to be asked to services by people at work, by neighbors, even by casual acquaintances.Preachers at large churches have billboards in the big cities advertising their services. Evangelical groups also have billboards with messages such as "If you died today, where would you go -- Heaven or Hell?" and a phone number to call.There are still "tent meetings" in rural areas, where traveling evangelists hold services, perform healings, speak in tongues, and take up donations.Then there are things which aren't thought of as exactly "normal", but they're accepted as a part of life in this area...There are churches in rural areas where they take the Biblical passage about taking up serpents literally. These people handle poisonous snakes as part of their service. Every now and then one of them dies, but that never dims the faith of the remaining congregation.There are churches where followers are taught that faith healing is the only true way, and relying on doctors is a sin, turning one's back on faith in the power of God. A while back, in fact, I was giving a ride to a woman at work whose car had broken down, and she told me how her grandson was up coughing all night, but no matter how hard they prayed he wouldn't stop.ETA 2:It's funny, if you live here, you're so accustomed to it that it's hard to notice things that will seem odd to outsiders. This just hit me....At my place of work -- a company with national and international sales -- there's a portrait of Jesus in the main hall on the main floor, all meetings open with prayer (which is noted in the minutes), there's a daily Bible study in the break room, and if we have clients to lunch there's a blessing in the name of Jesus before the meal.Meetings of the state legislature open with prayer. All high school sporting events open with prayer and a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. There's prayer before meetings of school boards, city commissions, and so forth.And mind you, it's not just conservatives who do this. I was recently at a Democratic Party fundraiser in a Bible Belt state which featured an appearance by that state's candidates for governor and lieutenant governor. It began with an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance, and when the candidates professed their Christian faith there were cheers from the crowd.Oh, and btw, one of my brothers is a judge, and he's a Bible-believing Christian. He's very intelligent, has a law degree, and believes evolution is a lie cooked up by liberal scientists. Global warming, too.My uncle was a doctor and was also a Bible-believing Christian. Despite his education in biology, he disbelieved evolution.One of our current candidates for the United States Senate has called evolution a "lie from the pits of hell".The term "Bible Belt" is no joke -- Biblical Christianity really does dominate life here.