As the result of your feedback, beginning with the winter quarter (December-February) and continuing with the spring (March-May), we will post each lesson’s Focal Bible Passages from the Common English Bible (CEB) on www.adultbiblestudies.com for easy downloading. It will also be linked in the AdultBibleStudies.com Newsletter each week.
Beginning with the summer quarter (June-August), the Focal Passages will again appear in print in both the Student and Teacher books. We will mostly use the CEB version of the text, while sometimes including the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) when it will better help students engage and appreciate the biblical texts.
Winter Theme:
Promise
Genesis | Hebrews | Isaiah|Matthew | Acts | Ruth | 2 Samuel |
Jeremiah | Exodus
This winter, our lessons support the theme of "Promise." The teacher book writer is Von Unruh.
Hope
The five lessons in this unit center on one of the things promise
gives us: hope. Hope––the expectation that, regardless of what is
happening in the present, God has a good future for us––is an
underlying and uniting theme in these lessons. Lesson 1 follows
Abraham, who left his homeland and moved to Canaan, trusting that
God had something good ahead for him. Lesson 2 recalls how
Abraham's trust that God was going to give him a place as an
inheritance motivated him to make the move. Lesson 3, based on one
of the servant songs from Isaiah, speaks of the hope of a servant
who "will bring justice to the nations" (Isaiah 42:1). Lesson 4
focuses on the angel's announcement to Joseph that Mary would bear
God's Son, declaring that Jesus is the fulfillment of "God with
us." Lesson 5 looks at Jesus' final words to his disciples before
ascending into heaven, planting in them the hope of the Holy
Spirit's coming and the reality of Spirit-filled living.
Spiritual Practice: Scripture
Covenants: The Basis for Committed
Relationships
The four lessons in this unit focus on covenants and the promises
they include. God's covenant with Abram, Ruth's covenant with
Naomi, God's covenant with David, and God's new covenant announced
through Jeremiah and extended to us remind us of God's faithfulness
in keeping promises.
Spiritual Practice: Anam Cara (Soul Friend)
Holiness Expressed
The four lessons in this unit call us to live into the promise God
gives us to be holy people. Holiness, a primary attribute of God,
is also present in the world God has created; these lessons invite
us to look at holiness in four of the ways in which it is
expressed: holy place, holy presence, holy people, and holy
purpose.
Spiritual Practice: Works of Justice
Both supplementary and complementary to the Adult Bible Studies student book, the teacher book provides small-group leaders, teachers, and facilitators with additional biblical background and exposition and suggestions for guiding group discussion. Now, in response to feedback, we are introducing new features and benefits for teachers, and their students including:
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