Blog

Winter 2018

Our Love for God Our Love for God, the title of this quarter’s studies, can be a rather humbling subject. While the Lord’s love is “everlasting” (Jeremiah 31:3), ours is inconsistent and “never-lasting.” Still, the command to love God is, as Jesus stated, “the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:36–38). Lessons this quarter are drawn from both the Old and New Testament, since loving God is seen throughout Scripture as humanity’s principal response to God. A Nation’s Foundation It is only fitting that this quarter begins by studying the passage where the original command to love God is found: Deuteronomy 6:4, 5. The Israelites were preparing to enter the land promised to them by God when Moses spoke his farewell address that makes up the book of Deuteronomy. Joshua spoke his own farewell address to the Israelites who had entered the land and triumphed over the residents there. He challenged […]

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Fall 2018

God’s World and God’s People The word creation is applied to accomplishments in various fields of endeavor. Likewise, the word recreation has a wide range of uses, applying primarily to leisure activities that provide a break from stressful routines. The lessons for this quarter focus on the uniquely creative and re-creative activity of the Lord God. The lessons are drawn from Genesis, the Bible’s book of beginnings. Genesis is rightly associated with God’s work as Creator. But Genesis also emphasizes God’s power to re-create, to address what happened when his “very good” creation (Genesis 1:31) became very bad due to sin. The Creator The first unit of studies consists of five lessons drawn from the first three chapters of Genesis. The opening chapter (covered in lessons 1–3) moves from the general statement of God’s creation of “the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) to the day-by-day record of specific items […]

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Summer 2018

Justice in the New Testament Through the years, some have claimed that the two testaments of the Bible portray two very different Gods: an Old Testament God of intense wrath and judgment in contrast with a New Testament God of love, grace, and compassion—demonstrated through the life and ministry of Jesus. Such a view is totally disproven by an examination of each testament. The words love and mercy are not missing from the Old Testament, as a Bible concordance readily demonstrates. At the same time, God’s judgment and justice permeate the New Testament; and justice is the theme of this quarter. God’s righteous judgment will one day be visited on all people everywhere, and he requires justice from his people in their dealings with others. Teachings of Jesus The lessons of units 1 and 2 emphasize Jesus’ desire that people be treated with the mercy that was often denied them. […]

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Spring 2018

Acknowledging God Most of us are familiar with the child’s mealtime prayer, “God is great, God is good; let us thank him for our food.” That prayer expresses a truth that is worth remembering and honoring in adulthood as well as childhood: God is indeed great. That greatness is on display in the studies of the upcoming quarter. Sacred Space Unit 1 begins with a lesson from Genesis 22, which records Abraham’s willingness to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. When Isaac questioned where the lamb for such an offering was, his father, with the faith that became his trademark, replied, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8). And God did indeed provide a substitute, sparing Isaac. Certainly worth noting is the fact that the very place where this incident occurred (Mount Moriah) became the site of the magnificent temple built by King […]

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