
Adult Bible Studies
Hundreds of thousands of students and teachers use ADULT BIBLE STUDIES each week in Sunday school classes, mid-week Bible studies, and other small-group settings. Bible-based and Christ-focused, it is an approved resource by the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. It is published quarterly.
Spring 2023 Theme - The Life of Faith
The units of the Bible lesson in this quarter unify around the theme The Life of Faith
Read samples from Spring 2023
Spring Student Book Sampler
Adult Bible Studies Spring 2023
Theme: The Life of Faith
This spring, our lessons center around the theme “The Life of Faith.” The language of journey and pilgrimage is commonly used to describe the Christian life. This spring our lessons encourage us to walk alongside Jesus and his disciples on Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem and explore the nature of faith that calls us to follow Jesus despite our uncertainty and doubts. The last unit this quarter looks at the concept of sabbath, the foreshadowing of the rest that God promises at the end of our journey. The writer of the student book is Michelle Morris.
Unit 1
Journey to the Cross
This Lenten season, we follow Jesus’ journey to the cross in Matthew’s account. Matthew’s Gospel stresses in many places that through his crucifixion, Jesus makes clear his perfect obedience to God’s will and the true nature of kingship under God’s reign.
Scriptures: Matthew 16:21-28 | Matthew 20:20-28 | Matthew 21:23-27 | Matthew 22:15-22 | Matthew 22:41-46
Spiritual Practice: Simplicity | Accountability
Unit 2
From Doubt to Trust
We often treat doubt and wisdom as belonging in opposite categories; but often, questioning our wisdom, knowledge, and certitude is a sign of wisdom. As humans, we should struggle to understand. The path forward from doubt is one of trust in God. We are invited to imitate Jesus and let go of our doubt and our competition with God and to trust in God’s love and intentions.
Scriptures: Matthew 26:36-46 | Matthew 28:1-15 | John 20:11-29 | 1 Corinthians 15:12-28 | 1 Peter 1:3-16
Spiritual Practice: Meditation
Unit 3
Intentional Sabbath
In the secular West, the concept of holy days and sabbath have been replaced by days off work or school and vacations. We rest so that we can work harder and earn more money so that we can take vacations away from our community. In the Bible, rest from work had a different purpose. One worked to prepare for the sabbath. On the sabbath, one participated together with the entire community, the livestock, and the land in a shared rest that signified the well-being and abundance that God intended for creation. No one was required to work to make another’s leisure possible. Sabbath rest is a foretaste of the rest that awaits us, and that God will provide in the fullness of time.
Scriptures: Exodus 20:8-11 | Psalm 23 | Matthew 12:1-14 | Luke 4:16-21
Spiritual Practice: Self-Care
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