Adult Bible Study Resources

*NEW* The Letters of James and John: Real Faith

The Letters of James and John deal with a similar major concerrn: What is real faith? Or, to state it another way,  What is real Christianity? These 13 Bible study lessons offer pointed answers.

Living Faith in Daily Life

           

What difference does faith make when Sunday is over? These 13 Bible study lessons on Living Faith in Daily Life will help in answering that question and putting the answers into practice.

Growing Together in Christ

Growing Together in Christ is intended to help a church and its members focus on the opportunities and obligations of the Christian life and of members’ life together. This 14-session study of this biblical theme can be used in many ways to enhance the life of a church. Its prime use is in the church’s ongoing Bible study program, but other possibilities include use as a study for a new church start and as a study for a new member class.

Participating in God's Mission  

           

How Big Is God’s Mission—and Where Are You in It? Participating in God’s Mission consists of 13 Bible lessons that will broaden and deepen your understanding of God’s mission (it may be bigger than you think) and encourage and challenge you to participate in it.

God’s Message in the Old Testament

This thirteen-session study surveys the Old Testament in an easy-to-understand manner and focuses on some of the choice Bible texts of the Old Testament. The Teaching Guide for this study contains only teaching plans.

The Book of Genesis: People Relating to God

           

This eight-session study of the Book of Genesis combines two significant and attractive ways of studying Scripture—studying a book of the Bible and studying the people in the book of the Bible. The study follows the contours of Genesis and connects each lesson to the main truths of the book. It does this by focusing on key figures in the book so that each lesson contains biographical insights while emphasizing a major truth seen in the character being studied.

Genesis 12 - 50: Family Matters

Genesis 12 - 50 tells the story of the generations of Abraham’s family that became known as the patriarchs. Many Old Testament references speak of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—three generations—in one breath (see Exodus 2:24, for example). Jacob’s story in Genesis 12 - 50 continues a generation beyond, focusing on the life of Joseph, one of his twelve sons. This portion of Scripture can be read on several levels. It is indeed the story of how God began to work out his purpose in the life of this family. God made a covenant with Abraham (12:1–3), and much of Genesis 12 -50 is how God maintained that covenant and passed it to each of the succeeding generations.

Exodus: Freed to Follow God

Finding an Old Testament book that is more important than the Book of Exodus—and more important for understanding the New Testament—would be challenging. We probably never would have heard of a ragtag group of people called Israel had their redemption from Egyptian bondage at God's hand not occurred. This redemption is described in the Book of Exodus.
This study provides thirteen lessons of guidance for individual study and class sessions on the Book of Exodus. The lessons will help adults understand the Book of Exodus and apply its message to life today.

Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy: Preparing for a New Life  

These lessons from Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy focus on Scripture passages that have special application value to current life.
The lessons also will help to introduce adults to these Old Testament books, which provide an important base for understanding the rest of Scripture.

The Books of Joshua and Judges

"Joshua: Entering the Promised Land" is a six-session study of how God led the Israelites into the Promised Land and how they responded. The lessons deal with the call to commitment that comes to us as well.

"Judges: Spiraling Downward" is a seven-session study of selected events and people in the Book of Judges. The lessons aim for deepened commitment to God through understanding how Israel's cycle of sin played out in the lives of individuals and the nation. 

1 and 2 Samuel: Following God in Changing Times

Following God in Changing Times is a thirteen-week study of 1 and 2 Samuel. All three of the towering figures of these books—-Samuel, Saul, and David, plus Jonathan, Saul’s son and David’s friend—-call us to grapple with life and attempt to make sense of it. All of them lived out their lives where we live it, in situations of change and ambiguity, where the best course is not always clear and where even when we see the best course we do not always take it. We can learn from their failures and wrongs as well as the things they did right. An Easter lesson is also provided with this study.

1 and 2 Kings: Leaders and Followers-Failed and Faithful

Examples of good behavior are to be preferred over bad examples, but we can still learn not to follow the lead of bad examples. Bad examples are plentiful in 1 and 2 Kings. The story told here is largely one of failed leadership. The story is also about what happened to the people who often so willingly followed their bad leaders. We would do well to learn the lessons of these books. An Easter lesson is included also.

Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, Nehemiah, Malachi: Restoring the Future 

These fourteen Bible lessons (plus an Easter lesson) consider passages of Scripture about how the people of Judah sought to restore their future and make a fresh start after the nation’s destruction and exile. What kind of future would they restore? This study can help us as we ponder our own future.

Dealing with Hard Times: Job, Ecclesiastes, Habakkuk, Lamentations

Our paths are not always easy. In light of that reality, this study focuses on four Old Testament books—Job, Ecclesiastes, Habakkuk, and Lamentations—that deal in varying ways with suffering and hard times. This study can  open the door to experiencing God's love and presence and invite us to enter.

Psalms & Proverbs

This study provides thirteen Bible lessons on "Psalms and Proverbs: Songs and Sayings of Faith." The Book of Psalms tells of a deeply personal and meaningful faith, and the Book of Proverbs provides intensely practical guidance based squarely on a relationship with God.

The Books of Isaiah & Jeremiah   

“Isaiah: Proclaiming God's Salvation” is a seven-session study of the Book of Isaiah.

The study of “Jeremiah: Messages of Judgment and Hope” consists of six lessons on the Book of Jeremiah. 

Amos: A God Who Roars
Hosea: A God Who Judges and Restores
Micah: What the Lord Requires  

This study focuses on three eighth-century BC prophets who have much to say to our twenty-first-century AD world. These books have a modern ring to them, and Bible study classes wil not have any difficulty finding pointed applications to current life.

Good News in the New Testament    

This thirteen-session survey of the New Testament emphasizes understanding Jesus' ministry and its meaning for our lives. The first unit, "The Ministry of Jesus," deals with the ministry of Jesus as seen in the gospels. The second unit, "The Ministry of Jesus Continues," consists of three lessons from the Book of Acts. The third unit, "Interpreting the Meaning of Jesus," deals with other books in the New Testament. These lessons will add greatly to adults' understanding of what the New Testament teaches about Jesus and its meaning for their lives. 

Matthew: Hope in the Resurrected Christ

These thirteen Bible lessons study Matthew’s Gospel from the perspective that it is the story of hope and celebration focused in the life, ministry, teachings, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.

Matthew: Jesus As the Fulfillment of God’s Promises

The thirteen-session study of “Matthew: Jesus As the Fulfillment of God's Promises” portrays Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promises in the Old Testament.

The Gospel of Matthew: Jesus' Teachings

The teachings of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew are the focus of this study. Perhaps part of the reason the Gospel of Matthew became the favorite Gospel in the early centuries of Christianity was that it contains so much of Jesus’ teaching. The Gospel of Matthew’s emphasis on Jesus’ teaching has much to offer us, too. Do we need to get more in touch with the teachings of Jesus? Surely the answer is yes. This study will help you do that. 

The Gospel of Mark: Jesus' Works and Words

What Did Jesus do? And what does Jesus want us to do? This thirteen-session study of the Gospel of Mark offers help in answering these questions. A Christmas lesson is included also.

Jesus in the Gospel of Mark

Who is Jesus, and how shall we respond to him? In sixteen swiftly-moving chapters, the Gospel of Mark tells the story of Jesus in a way that calls for a decision by every person. Mark's message about Jesus also provides hope and assurance that commitment - the kind of commitment that means taking up our own cross and following Jesus - is indeed worthwhile. This study, Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, invites adults to see Jesus in a new way as they study Mark's Gospel and then to decide to follow Jesus more closely or for the first time.

Gospel of Luke: Good News of Great Joy!

           

The Gospel of Luke: Good News of Great Joy! contains 18 lessons. It traces Jesus’ life and ministry from preparation for his birth through the resurrection. (Because this study has more lessons than usual, it costs a little more.)  

The Gospel of Luke: Parables Jesus Told

This study consists of thirteen sessions on the parables in the Gospel of Luke.  An Easter lesson is included.

The Gospel of Luke: Meeting Jesus Again, Anew    

Luke invites readers to meet Jesus afresh and anew. If we let the message of Luke's Gospel get through to us, we also may well see Jesus in a fresh, new way. The Teaching Guide for this study contains only teaching plans.

The Gospel of Luke: Journeying to the Cross

The Gospel of Luke: Journeying to the Cross is a thirteen-week study that focuses on Scriptures in Luke's "travel narrative" (Luke 9:51—19:27)about Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and the cross. These lessons are aimed at helping us join the first-century disciples, whom Jesus challenged to take up their cross daily and follow him (Luke 9:23). A Christmas lesson is also provided with this study.

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The Gospel of John

Simple and easy to understand; profound and mysterious - that is the Gospel of John. This study will lead adults to find the meaning for their lives in these familiar stories and sayings.

The Gospel of John: The Word Became Flesh

The Book of Acts: Toward Being a Missional Church

This thirteen-session study of the Book of Acts focuses on what the early church can teach us about truly being a missional church today.

Acts: Sharing God’s Good News with Everyone

The Book of Acts reveals a vibrant, growing, witnessing Christian community. The book also reveals a Christian community that had some things to learn as it went along. Christians in the days of the Book of Acts did mighty and wonderful things through God’s Spirit, but they were not perfect.They had some growing to do. Wouldn’t you agree that we do, too?
As you study these Bible lessons, you will see particularly that the early Christians had to grow in their understanding that the gospel was for all people, not just for people like them. The Teaching Guide for this study contains only teaching plans.

Romans: What God Is Up To

What do you think God is up to? In a sense, the message of Paul’s Letter to the Roman Christians is focused on exactly that—helping us understand what God is up to and calling for response. These thirteen lessons provide guidance for exploring what Romans means for the twenty-first century as well as the first century.

Romans: Good News for a Troubled World

The Letter to the Romans is Paul’s most orderly, complete, and carefully reasoned statement of the gospel. Written some thirty years or so after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the book is a classic statement of the meaning of the Christian faith.
As Paul wrote it and the Roman Christians read it, the book truly was “good news.” It still is. The world in which the Roman Christians lived was indeed “troubled,” as every era before and since, including our own, has been. Paul went to the heart of the trouble—human sin. Paul painted a sordid picture of human sin in the Gentile world in Romans 1:18–32, but he did not let the moralistic Jews off the hook. In Romans 2:1—3:20, Paul showed how the Jews, too, were guilty of gross sin. The conclusion of Paul’s closely-reasoned argument is that all people, whoever they are, are guilty of sin (Rom. 3:23). The Teaching Guide for this study contains only teaching plans.

1 Corinthians: The Church in a Secular Culture    

As adults in your church study 1 Corinthians, they will find connections to their needs. They will also find challenges to live Christian lives in the secular culture of our world. 

2 Corinthians: Taking Ministry Personally   

Second Corinthians may well be Paul's most personal letter, revealing more of himself and more personal details than any of his other letters.
In light of the personal nature of 2 Corinthians, many of the lessons in this study will focus on personal issues for adults, too. Among the personal concerns to be considered during this study are these: facing suffering; comforting others; overcoming strained relationships; ministering to others; not losing heart; facing death; being authentic; giving our possessions; dealing with conflict; relying on God's grace; and considering how to help people, especially people we love, to change.

Galatians and 1 & 2 Thessalonians: Building On a Solid Foundation

           

Galatians and 1 & 2 Thessalonians: Building On a Solid Foundation contains 8 lessons on Galatians and 5 lessons on 1 & 2 Thessalonians.

Galatians: By Grace Through Faith
Ephesians: God's Plan & Our Response

This study consists of six lessons on “Galatians: By Grace Through Faith” and seven lessons on “Ephesians: God’s Plan and Our Response.”

Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians: Living with Faithfulness and Joy

These thirteen lessons from Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians serve at least two purposes. They provide a guide to study of the books themselves, beginning with the context of each book and moving sequentially through each of them. They also provide guidance for truly “living with faithfulness and joy,” which is a major emphasis of these books.

Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians

This study focuses on letters of Paul to the three churches to whom he ministered. Philippians is Paul's "joy" letter and can help us learn how to make the best of life, given the circumstances in which we find ourselves and the opportunities we have.  Colossians called on the Colossian Christians to put Christ first rather than to follow competing ideas. Colossians calls us, too, to put Christ over all.  The Thessalonians Letters reveal the pastoral heart of Paul the missionary.

1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon

This study provides thirteen Bible lessons from 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. The focus of these studies is as follows: 1 Timothy, "Care for the Church"; 2 Timothy, "A Legacy to Live By"; Titus, "Putting Things in Order"; Philemon, "The Gospel Transforming Human Relationships." These letters contain much practical guidance that continues to speak to and challenge individuals and churches today.

Hebrews: Call to Wholehearted Commitment
James: How Real Faith Acts

The lessons in Hebrews focus on the call to halfhearted Christians to commit themselves wholeheartedly to Christ. The lessons in James make plain what real faith means, what it looks like, and how it acts.

Letters of John and Peter

These adult Bible study materials provide guidance for individual study and class sessions on 1, 2, and 3 John and 1 Peter, plus a Christmas lesson.  The study is available for use in your church beginning in December 2003.  The focus of the study of the Letters of John is on authentic Christianity - what it is, how it acts, and how it can be measured in our lives.
The study of 1 Peter focuses on facing pressure as Christians. The letter's first readers were living a lifestyle different from that of their surrounding culture and were having to pay a price for their differentness.  What can we learn from this letter as we seek to live the Christian life?

The Book of Revelation: Visions That Encourage and Challenge

If you need encouragement, hope, and strength for dealing with difficult circumstances, that is what you will find in the Book of Revelation. The study begins with what Revelation meant to its first readers and explores implications for life today.      

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