Use one or both of these questions to introduce the lesson: 1. Nineteenth century American poet Emily Dickenson wrote this couplet: “A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day.” Paraphrase her thought into a single sentence. What evidence do you have that it is […]
Week 06 Character | The Greatest of These
Thousands if not millions of couples stand together and listen to a minister read 1 Corinthians 13 during their wedding ceremony. Many guests hold hands, cast sideways glances, and smile in memory of their own special moments. What a perfect statement for a wedding ceremony: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But […]
Power Phrases of Faith
The Bible talks a lot about faith. It defines faith: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). It stresses the critical nature of faith: “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (v. 6a). It teaches that there are two aspects of faith: […]
Week 05 Study | Faith Without Works Is Dead
We conclude our three-month study of faith this month. Two lessons come from the “blue jeans theology” of the New Testament, namely James. This small five-chapter letter lives close to the ground. It is New Testament wisdom literature and nitty-gritty. It is similar in content to the Sermon on the Mount and might just be […]
Week 05 Application | Practice, Practice, Practice
I took a lot of piano lessons when I was young, so I should be a better musician than I am today. In my teen years, though, my interests focused on girls and basketball, and my parents decided they didn’t want to pay for piano lessons if the lessons were the only time I actually […]