Group members will decide whether they'll return or not based on what goes on in the actual group, so be prepared. Preparing the Lesson There are two important phases to preparing a lesson. First, you must prayerfully and thoughtfully work through the lesson yourself. You can't lead a good discussion and point a group toward life-changing application if you haven't studied and applied the material. In this book we will use lesson to refer to the biblical content portion of the small group meeting.
Session refers to the entire group time, including the lesson, prayer, fellowship time, etc.
Study the lesson, asking God to teach you from His Word. Consider how He might want you to apply what you're learning. If you skip this step your ability to effectively lead this lesson will diminish greatly. Learn and apply the lesson well, and you'll teach it well. If you're personally involved with the material, you'll find it much easier to provide personal illustrations.