Blog

Winter 2017

Faith in action Many common expressions consist of noun pairs that seem to go together naturally. Think of salt and pepper, cause and effect, and macaroni and cheese. In the Bible, faith and works form just such a pair. The lessons for this quarter emphasize how important this combination is for any follower of the Lord. Faith and works go hand in hand in both Old and New Testaments. Committed Faith Within the first unit of study is the Christmas story (lesson 4). There we consider anew the account of the wise men, whose faith prompted them to leave home and follow a star to a distant land. Faith in action is also evident in the healing of a man who couldn’t walk (lesson 1), in the sending forth of Barnabas and Saul on the first missionary journey (lesson 2), and in the devotion of those same two men in […]

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Fall 2017

Covenant with God The concept of a covenant-making deity was virtually unknown to pagan religions of the ancient Near East. The impersonal nature of their fictitious gods contrasts starkly with the personal nature of the true God, the one who declares, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). He demonstrates that love through the covenants he makes with humanity. Signs from God A characteristic of God’s covenants is his provision of signs to accompany them. Such signs, or symbols, serve as reminders or visual aids. As such, they keep people aware of both their privileges and their responsibilities under the covenant at issue. This is necessary; for while God has a spotless record as a covenant keeper, humans are just as consistent in being covenant breakers. God knows all too well our tendency to forget or to be distracted from pursuing his desires for us. The covenant […]

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Summer 2017

God’s urgent call One evening some years ago, I helped serve what was called a midnight breakfast at the college where I teach. It was scheduled during final exam week in order to provide a break for the students, and faculty and staff were asked to help fill the students’ plates. Before we did so, we were told to put on a pair of plastic gloves in preparation for handling the food. “Do these come in different sizes?” asked one faculty member. “No,” was the reply. “One size fits all.” Our clumsy attempts to don the gloves revealed that that was not the case. Neither does “one size fits all” apply to how God calls people to serve him—or for that matter, to how people respond to his call. Both are illustrated time and again in this series on “God’s Urgent Call.” A specific call Consider our first unit of […]

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Spring 2017

God loves us Is it possible to spend too much time talking about the love of God? The inspired authors of both Old and New Testaments don’t think so! This quarter offers a kaleidoscopic sampling. Scratching the Surface No greater truth has ever been uttered: “God is love” (1 John 4:8; lesson 1). The fact that he first loved us is what draws our love in return (v. 19). We were “dead in transgressions” (Ephesians 2:5, lesson 2), and unless God in his love had taken the initiative to save us, we would be little more than walking dead people. Jesus, who embodied God’s love, commands us to love one another as he has loved us (John 15:12, lesson 3). As a community of love abiding in Christ, we bear the fruit of love. An important characteristic of divine love is that it keeps promises. This is demonstrated in God’s […]

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