Stories of Us: Issac and Scott

Scott Lincoln and Isaac Kuruvilla have been running a weekly small group Bible study since 2015 that has, since inception, supported over 50 people to dig more deeply into God’s word. Having been involved with City Bible Forum for many years, it was in 2005 at one of our lunchtime talks that Isaac was fortunate to meet the woman he would later marry. Scott and Isaac’s small group later began as an off-shoot from the lunchtime talks, and although both men work for the Sydney Anglican Diocese, they work in the ‘back-office’ administrative arm and consider this an excellent opportunity to serve Jesus in a most practical way.

Whilst meeting in person has not been possible with Covid restrictions, the group has continued to meet via Zoom every Thursday lunchtime. They have been delighted to see their small group grow from 5 or 6 regular members before lockdown, to now including anywhere from 9 to 15 members over the past six months. When meeting in person, they have people from all walks of life participating, of varying backgrounds, ages and life-stages. There are city workers, Christians from varying denominations, retirees and even those “on struggle-street”. This has given them experience interacting with different people and allowed them to develop a greater perspective of God’s love for all His children. Perhaps the greatest challenge is that the group insists Isaac bring them a new riddle every week. His head is now full of riddles!

“We really want it to be a family, where what is said in the group, stays in the group,” says Isaac. “People have shared many deep things over the years. People have confessed personal and family issues, and I really enjoy that part of the group… The thing I like about it is that it’s inclusive of everyone.”

Having just finished working their way through the Gospel of Luke, they are about to embark on a study of Isaiah. “We have covered many, many books of the Bible over the years!” Scott recalls.

So, what is their approach and what kind of issues do they cover? Isaac shares, “The primary purpose of the group is always to let the Bible speak for itself and to always have the Bible’s authority, because there have been times in the past where people bring challenging topics… but reading the Bible like this always brings us back to what the gospel says. Jesus has done everything for us. Jesus plus is not really the gospel”.

They are grateful for the support of City Bible Forum’s Craig Josling and Martin Chung, who regularly encourage them to be more missional. Scott reflects, “Being part of City Bible Forum, it’s in our DNA that we are there to share the gospel, and that’s really done by reading through chapters of the Bible. It’s also a discipling thing for people to benefit from regular Bible study.”

So, what impact has their group had? Scott explains, “There’s a few people in the group who have shared that this has made a real difference for them in terms of understanding God’s word and reading it for themselves.” Isaac was delighted to recently receive a message from one of the men in the group. He says, “One of the men messaged me to say that Scott and I are his best Christian brothers ever! And I felt really humbled when he said that.”

They have hopes that their small group will retain good connection when they return to meeting in some form of hybrid format. “I hope that it will multiply and perhaps break into more groups,” shares Isaac. “Also, that people will continue to grow in their understanding of the gospel.”