Audio

The Abuse of Power and Grace

• Lesson 9 for the week of February 24 to March 3

Background Considerations Have you heard people when commenting about events around them say: “It’s all about power.” Jesus once said: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high...

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Wisdom as a Shelter

• Lesson 8 for the week of February 17 to February 24

Background Considerations If you were given choice between money, on the one hand, or wisdom, on the other, which one would you take? Proverbs 4:7 says: “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost...

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Common Destiny for All

• Lesson 7 for the week of February 10 to February 17

Background Considerations How should we view death: As an evil or as a blessing? In our culture today there are different views on what happens to us when we die. Most often people talk of...

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The Dark Side of Life

• Lesson 5 for the week of January 27 to February 3

Background Considerations How are we to relate to painful experiences we sometimes have to go through? Can they teach us some profound dimensions of life? American novelist Thomas Wolfe wrote: “Ecclesiastes is the greatest single...

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The Catalog of Times

• Lesson 4 for the week of January 20 to January 27

Background Considerations Have you ever lived in a culture in which people explain all life’s coincidences by saying: “It was written (that it should happen that way).” Among the neighboring nations of ancient Israel, there...

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In Pursuit of Pleasure and Wisdom

• Lesson 3 for the week of January 13 to January 20

Background Considerations Human lives are filled with complexities and apparent contradictions. Certain biblical passages talk straight about life’s toughest issues. The author of Ecclesiastes asks his readers: “Isn’t life meaningless since in the end we...

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When Life Appears to be Meaningless

• Lesson 2 for the week of January 6 to January 13

Background Considerations What happens when we overvalue our accomplishments in wisdom, wealth or pleasure? The author of Ecclesiastes was very successful in life and he claims to have tasted pretty much everything that life has...

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What is the Purpose of Life?

• Lesson 1 for the week of December 30 to January 6

Background Considerations Does life have a meaning? I have known some people who would never dare to ask this question. Some of those people are very religious. Yet, there are parts of the Bible that...

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The End of the Beginning

• Lesson 13 for the week of December 23 to December 30

Read: Genesis 41:42 – 50:26 The book of Genesis closes with powerful examples of forgiveness and providence. Yet it is also a story that reveals the lingering effects of sin even after forgiveness has been...

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From Prison Cell to Palace

• Lesson 12 for the week of December 16 to December 23

Read: Genesis 37:2 – 41:40 Discussion themes and questions: The story of Joseph is one in which an overriding providence carries Joseph through a series of heartbreaking setbacks to a remarkable position of honor. The...

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Jacob becomes Israel

• Lesson 11 for the week of December 9 to December 16

Read: Genesis 25:19 – 29:30 Crooked Jacob, still haunted by his flawed genes and chromosomes, is still being blessed by God. And as he nears his homeland again, Jacob tussles with God until he receives...

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The Price of Duplicity

• Lesson 10 for the week of December 2 to December 9

Read: Genesis 25:19 – 29:30 The whole family knew how to cheat: Jacob cheated his brother and lied to his father; Jacob’s uncle, Laban, deceived both his daughters and Jacob by switching them on the...

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The Triumph of Faith

• Lesson 9 for the week of November 25 to December 2

Read: Genesis 20:1 – 25:10 The last years of Abraham’s life are a collage of failures, triumphs, and tragedies. He fails the test of honesty with Abimelech; he passes the test of loyalty on Mt....

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Faith and Frailty

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

Read: Genesis 16:1 — 19:38 The story of Abraham brings out amazing highs and lows, from victories won with God to striking human failings. Discussion themes and questions: Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 16). The story...

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