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Abiathar: The Priest

• Lesson 7 for the week of November 6 to November 13

Leading Question: Does one last mistake, overshadow forever a life that otherwise was marked by faithfulness? Key Passages: 1 Samuel 21:1-9, Ahimelech, Abiathar’s father, gives holy bread to David 1 Samuel 22, Abiathar escapes the...

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Uriah: Faith of a Foreigner

• Lesson 6 for the week of October 30 to November 6

Leading Question: When a leader commits a great mistake, can we still trust him or her? Key Passage: 2 Samuel 11 Questions: A Man After God’s Own Heart? When God rejected Saul, Samuel said that...

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Abigail: No Victim of Circumstances

• Lesson 5 for the week of October 23 to October 30

Leading Question: If your spouse does something really foolish, what is your obligation to protect him or her? Key Passage: 1 Samuel 25 Thoughts: Protecting your spouse. From a modern perspective, we might wonder how...

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Jonathan: Born for Greatness

• Lesson 4 for the week of October 16 to October 23

Leading Question: Does the Lord always choose the best man to be his leader? Key Passages: 1 Samuel 14, Jonathan takes risks for Israel, the people rescue him from Saul 1 Samuel 18-20 Jonathan in...

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Hannah: Learning to Be Someone

• Lesson 3 for the week of October 9 to October 16

Leading Question: Does it work to bargain with the Lord when we want something very badly? Key Passage: 1 Samuel 1-2, Baby Samuel brings joy to childless Hannah Questions: Bargaining with the Lord. Hannah made...

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Caleb: Living With the Wait

• Lesson 2 for the week of October 2 to October 9

Leading Question: How does one stand for the Lord when everyone else falls away? Key Passages: Numbers 13-14, From twelve spies down to two, Caleb and Joshua Joshua 14, Caleb asks for the toughest part...

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Appendix B: The Worst Story in the Old Testament: Judges 19-21

• Introduction

Appendix B: “Who Can Change the Mind of God?” Commentary on conditional prophecy (Jeremiah 26): By Alden Thompson, “Who Can Change the Mind of God?” Signs of the Times, Feb. 1992, 25-27. God is in...

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Appendix A: Commentary on the ninth command

• Introduction

Appendix A, on truth-telling: Commentary on the ninth command, Alden Thompson, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor,” Signs of the Times, November 1988, 20-22. Published as “When the Truth Is a Lie,”...

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Story and History

• Lesson 1 for the week of September 25 to October 2

Leading Question: “Do stories make truth more believable?” Key Passages: Genesis 39:6-12, Joseph and Potipher’s wife 1 Samuel 24:1-6, David allows Saul to escape from the cave Job 1-2, God and Satan in dialogue over righteous...

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All the Rest Is Commentary

• Lesson 13 for the week of September 18 to September 18

What should Christians do when they don’t agree? Having emphasized the supremacy of love in the Christian life (Rom 12:9-10; Rom 13:8-10), Paul now begins to wrap up his letter by providing examples of how...

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Love and Law

• Lesson 12 for the week of September 11 to September 18

How should the Christian live be lived? Now that Paul has finished his explanation of the gospel, he turns his attention more fully to the way life should be lived in light of it. Paul...

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The Election of Grace

• Lesson 11 for the week of September 4 to September 11

Did God reject the Jewish nation? Today’s lesson focuses on Romans 10 and 11 and is a continuation of Paul’s discussion in chapter 9 dealing with fact that so many Jews failed to accept Jesus...

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Freedom in Christ

• Lesson 9 for the week of September 4 to August 28

What role does the Holy Spirit play in the Christian life? In contrast to the discouraging picture painted in Romans 7 of the person struggling to overcome sin, but failing miserable, Romans 8 offers a...

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Redemption for Jew and Gentile

• Lesson 10 for the week of August 28 to September 4

What qualities is God looking for in the lives of his followers today? I suspect that Romans 9-11 is probably the least liked section in Romans. The first eight chapters of Romans provide a stunning...

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