Does God Still Speak?

Why this course exists

There are believers who love Jesus, honour the Bible, and have been taught their whole lives that the Spirit's gift of personal speech ended when the apostles died. Or that everything labelled "God told me" is suspect, perhaps even dangerous. They have good reasons for this. Their tradition has good reasons for this. And they are not the audience of Hearing His Voice (the next course in this series), which assumes from the first page that God still speaks.

This course is for the step before that one.

It is for those who have wondered, sometimes quietly, whether the Shepherd they trust might still be speaking, but who would never want to leave the sufficiency of Scripture behind to find out. It is for the cautious heart, the Reformed mind, the conservative-evangelical conscience. It is for the pastor whose congregation is mixed and who wants a shared text that honours both convictions.

We are not here to argue you out of anything. We are not here to win a debate. We are here to ask one honest question together, slowly, over six weeks, with our Bibles open and our defences down.

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." (Hebrews 3:7-8)

The Spirit of God, in the inspired Word, says today. That is where this course begins.

What the group walks through

Six weeks of careful reading and honest conversation. Each week pairs a short participant reading with a 90-minute group session.

1. The Honest Question. Naming what we are actually asking, and why it matters.
2. The God Who Has Always Spoken. A speaking God is not a new doctrine. He always has been.
3. Pentecost and After. What did the New Testament expect of believers?
4. Heard With Honour. Where cessationism comes from, and what it gets right.
5. Sufficiency and Voice. Why a sufficient Scripture does not mean a silent God.
6. An Honest Invitation. What we do with the question now.

Each week combines pre-reading, a short Scripture anchor, conversation, and a quiet practice. Three honourable destinations are affirmed at the close of week six: settled cessationism, openness to the next step, or the freedom to remain undecided.

Who this is for

• Pastors of mixed-conviction congregations who want a careful shared resource.
• Small groups in Reformed, Baptist, dispensational, and conservative-evangelical churches.
• Believers from any tradition who have wondered whether God might still be speaking, but have not had a safe place to ask.
• Anyone who loves both the closed canon and the living Christ, and wants to think about how those two convictions sit together.

This course is not for those who are already settled, in either direction, and would prefer not to be unsettled. That is honourable. Move on with our blessing.

Who this is not for

This course is not a campaign for charismatic experience. It does not teach prophecy. It does not assume any participant has ever sensed the Spirit speaking to them. It does not raise the stakes of the conversation. It only asks one question, with Scripture open, in the company of trusted people.

If you want a course that teaches you to recognise and steward what God says, that course is Hearing His Voice (Course 1 in this series). It is the natural next step for anyone who finishes this course and wants to keep walking.

How the course is structured

• Participant reading (15 to 18 minutes before each session): everyone reads the week's material.
• Group session (90 minutes): welcome, pre-read discussion, Scripture anchor, short teaching, quiet practice, close.
• Between sessions: one short, gentle practice that reinforces the week's theme without forcing a posture.

The facilitator edition contains everything in the participant guide plus teaching notes, discussion prompts, common objections to be ready for, and pastoral cautions for each session.

A word to facilitators

If you are leading this course, your job is not to convert anyone. Your job is to hold a careful space where every conviction in the room is honoured, where Scripture is the loudest voice, and where the question is allowed to do its own quiet work.

Read the facilitator notes for each week before you arrive. Pay particular attention to weeks four and five, which carry the most pastoral weight. Resist the urge to push for a decision in week six. Three paths are honourable. Bless every one of them.

How to use this guide

• Pastors and facilitators: download the full facilitator edition. Read it through before week one.
• Small group leaders: share the weekly link with participants as pre-read. Gather weekly.
• Participants: read the week's material, come to the session, bring your honest questions.

The goal is simple. A group of believers, sitting with a question they have not always felt safe to ask, walking through Scripture together, and discovering where Jesus Christ is asking them to land.