Throughout history few leaders have accomplished as much as the apostle Paul, yet he endured an astonishing number of traumatic events: imprisonment, beatings, sleeplessness, hunger, thirst, and many other forms of suffering. Almost matter-of-factly Paul mentions, “Three times I was shipwrecked” (2 Corinthians 11:25). In Acts chapter 27, Luke tells about one of those shipwrecks […]
Use one or both of these questions to introduce the lesson: (Feel free to withhold names in this exercise if you wish.) 1. Who is the best boss you’ve ever had? What made this boss the best? 2. Who is the worst boss you’ve ever had? What made this boss the worst? Read Matthew 23:1-4. […]
“God is just” was the accent of last month’s lessons. “Jesus calls for justice and mercy” is the accent of this month’s lessons. Therefore our texts will come from the Gospels—two from Matthew and three from Luke. Matthew 18 is Jesus’ fourth discourse in the Gospel. The theme of the discourse is taken from the […]
Do you realize that you currently have a sword in your chest? Sounds uncomfortable, doesn’t it? Actually it’s quite normal to have this kind of sword in our chests, and most of the time it doesn’t hurt at all. I’m talking about a small bony structure located at the base of the sternum. In anatomical […]
Use one or both of these questions to introduce the lesson: 1. In international politics, the phrase “red line” refers to an action taken by a nation that requires other nations to treat it as an enemy. What examples of a political “red line” can you think of? What actions by a nation, in your […]
