Justification and the Law

• Lesson 5 for the week of July 24 to July 31

Was Abraham justified by obedience or by faith? Having provided a technical definition and explanation of justification by faith in Romans 3:21-31, Paul now turns his attention in Romans 4 to the experience of Abraham....

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The Promise of His Return

• Lesson 13 for the week of March 24 to March 31

Leading Question: Why is it that the promise of Christ’s return is so easily dimmed in our world? Suggestion: Have class members share their favorite Second Coming passages from Scripture and the stories that illustrate...

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Love Stories

• Lesson 12 for the week of March 17 to March 24

Leading Question: What was a “love story” like before sin entered the world? How did sin affect the male-female relationship? In some ways, the only love story before sin, that of Adam and Eve, was...

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God as Artist

• Lesson 11 for the week of March 10 to March 17

Leading Question: How do Christians celebrate the beautiful in a world that is so heavily marred by sin? Devout conservatives Christians often find it difficult to recognize beauty for beauty’s sake.  It is much easier...

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The Promise of Prayer

• Lesson 10 for the week of March 3 to March 10

Leading Question: Why are God’s answers to prayer so unpredictable? The topic prayer is a huge one. The list of different kinds of prayer is impressive: Praise, thanksgiving, complaint, and petitionary are some of the...

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The Bible and History

• Lesson 9 for the week of February 25 to March 3

Leading Question: Is this world the best that God can do, or are we looking for a better one? The important questions in this lesson can perhaps be addressed against the backdrop of a chapter...

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Creation Care

• Lesson 8 for the week of February 18 to February 25

Leading Question: Has our consumer society taught us to destroy the earth? Lauren Weber’s book, In Cheap We Trust (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2009), raises a significant question for the Christian: Do we...

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Lord of the Sabbath

• Lesson 7 for the week of February 11 to February 18

Leading Question: How can Jesus help us see how an Old Testament Sabbath that was precious to Him, can also be precious to us today? Let’s consider important questions about the Sabbath from three perspectives,...

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God the Lawgiver

• Lesson 6 for the week of February 4 to February 11

Leading Question: Does God’s law condemn the sinner, or guide the sinner to a richer life? Terrifying Lawgiver and Gracious Lawgiver: The following passages help us explore the tension between a holy God from whom...

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The Holiness of God

• Lesson 5 for the week of January 28 to February 4

Leading Question: To what extent is “holy” a user-friendly word, either to describe God or our fellow human beings? In an insightful comment describing matched but contrasting pairs of human traits, the British classicist, Richard...

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The God of Grace and Judgment

• Lesson 4 for the week of January 21 to January 28

Leading Question: How is it possible for a person to rejoice at the thought that God is coming to judge the earth? In our culture, the prospect of judgment can be looked at from at...

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God as Redeemer

• Lesson 3 for the week of January 14 to January 21

Leading Question: Are human beings wretched wrecks in need of salvaging?  Or are they jewels in the rough just waiting to be polished? When the topic of “Redeemer” comes up, two alternative views of human...

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In the Beginning

• Lesson 2 for the week of January 7 to January 14

Leading Question: Does the Bible point to any other kind of week than one consisting of seven, 24-hour days? Our understanding of what the Bible teaches about creation is haunted by the modern impulse to...

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The Triune God

• Lesson 1 for the week of December 31 to January 7

Verses: Deut 6:4; Phil 2:6; Matt 28:19; John 14-16 Leading Question: Has any human being ever understood the Trinity? The word “trinity” nowhere appears in Scripture. Early Adventists attacked the doctrine. Ellen White nowhere uses the term, but...

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