Fall Theme: Encounter This fall, our lessons support the theme of "Encounter." The writer of the student book lessons is Chuck Aaron; the teacher book writer is David Mosser. So That You Can See The lessons in this unit help us focus on salvation and what it means through example and explanation. We move from the conversion of Paul to a number of Paul's writings, where he speaks out of his thoughtful understanding of salvation through Christ and out of his personal experience of receiving Christ. We are challenged to consider our own salvation and how we can live faithfully into it. Spiritual Practice - Mindfulness, Listening, Silence Remember Who You Are The lessons in this unit call us to consider who we are as children of God and followers of Christ. At the heart of who we are lies the important concept of covenant. The covenant that God made with Israel is a defining theological affirmation of the Old Testament. The covenant that God made with the church through Christ's blood is a defining theological affirmation of the New Testament. These lessons help us look more closely at those critical covenants and how they inform our thoughts, actions, and relationships. Spiritual Practice - Confession In This Place The daily readings in this unit call us to think more deeply and specifically about worship by looking at places where, in the Scriptures, worship takes place. We will look at ad hoc altars, synagogues, the church, and worship at the throne of God. In each case, we will be challenged to evaluate our worship and broaden our understanding of where and how worship can happen. Spiritual Practice -Worship Hundreds of thousands of people each week have transformative encounters with God through Adult Bible Studies—Bible-based, Christ-focused Sunday school lessons and midweek Bible studies endorsed by the Curriculum Resources Committee of the The United Methodist Church. In fall 2019, based on feedback from hundreds of readers, we made exciting changes designed to benefit Bible study groups. For 2020, in response to additional feedback, we are reintroducing printed focal Bible passages in both the Student and Teacher books. Lessons follow the church seasons, including Advent and Lent, and include suggestions for developing spiritual practices to help nurture your faith. Published quarterly, each week's Teacher Book provides small-group leaders with additional biblical background and exposition and suggestions for guiding group discussion. Visit AdultBibleStudies.com and sign up for the FREE weekly newsletter to automatically receive the FREE Current Events Supplement and other information about these resources and more!

Fall Theme: Encounter This fall, our lessons support the theme of "Encounter." The writer of the student book lessons is Chuck Aaron; the teacher book writer is David Mosser. So That You Can See The lessons in this unit help us focus on salvation and what it means through example and explanation. We move from the conversion of Paul to a number of Paul's writings, where he speaks out of his thoughtful understanding of salvation through Christ and out of his personal experience of receiving Christ. We are challenged to consider our own salvation and how we can live faithfully into it. Spiritual Practice - Mindfulness, Listening, Silence Remember Who You Are The lessons in this unit call us to consider who we are as children of God and followers of Christ. At the heart of who we are lies the important concept of covenant. The covenant that God made with Israel is a defining theological affirmation of the Old Testament. The covenant that God made with the church through Christ's blood is a defining theological affirmation of the New Testament. These lessons help us look more closely at those critical covenants and how they inform our thoughts, actions, and relationships. Spiritual Practice - Confession In This Place The daily readings in this unit call us to think more deeply and specifically about worship by looking at places where, in the Scriptures, worship takes place. We will look at ad hoc altars, synagogues, the church, and worship at the throne of God. In each case, we will be challenged to evaluate our worship and broaden our understanding of where and how worship can happen. Spiritual Practice -Worship Hundreds of thousands of people each week have transformative encounters with God through Adult Bible Studies—Bible-based, Christ-focused Sunday school lessons and midweek Bible studies endorsed by the Curriculum Resources Committee of the The United Methodist Church. In fall 2019, based on feedback from hundreds of readers, we made exciting changes designed to benefit Bible study groups. For 2020, in response to additional feedback, we are reintroducing printed focal Bible passages in both the Student and Teacher books. Lessons follow the church seasons, including Advent and Lent, and include suggestions for developing spiritual practices to help nurture your faith. Published quarterly, each week's Student Book lesson lists background Scripture, features key verses, provides reliable and relevant biblical explanation and application, and more, in a readable font size that is accessible to everyone. Visit AdultBibleStudies.com and sign up for the FREE weekly newsletter to automatically receive the FREE Current Events Supplement and other information about these resources and more!

Spring Theme: Life This spring, our lessons support the theme of "Life." The writer of the student book lessons is Randy Cross; the teacher book writer is Taylor Mills. Wilderness Spiritual Practice - Fasting Scripture - Genesis 3:8-24 | Matthew 26:36-46 | Numbers 21:4-9 | Matthew 4:1-11 | 2 Kings 25:8-21 Suffering is a reality of life, and this unit takes us to five places in Scripture where suffering is a dominant theme: an Old Testament garden story and a New Testament garden story, an Old Testament wilderness story and a New Testament wilderness story, and the exile of the people of Judah. We examine these stories, not to wallow in misery, but to understand them as context for hope and salvation. Salvation Scripture - Mark 15:22-39 | Matthew 28:1-10 | Haggai 2:1-9 | Mark 1:1-8 Spiritual Practice - Generosity Suffering, the theme connecting the lessons in our first unit this quarter, is not the end of our story when God is involved with us. Thus, this second unit is about salvation. Over its four lessons, we will look at the new start for the people of Judah represented by the rebuilding of the Temple in Haggai's time and the new start for humankind announced by John the Baptist and accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus, —new starts made possible by God's initiative. Grace Scripture - Revelation 22:1-5 | Genesis 3:21; 4:10-16 | Exodus 16:2-15 | Luke 23:32-33, 39-43 | Acts 2:1-21 Spiritual Practice - Service The first unit in this quarter began with the expulsion from the garden of Eden, the loss of paradise. With this unit, in Lesson 10, we see the Bible's prophecy of the return to paradise, the kingdom of God, made possible by God's grace. The other four lessons of this unit identify points in Scripture at which God's grace was also operative, reminding us that grace is an ongoing force in life for the faithful today as well. Both supplementary and complementary to the Adult Bible Studies student book, the teacher book provides small-group leaders, teachers, and facilitators with additional biblical background and exposition and suggestions for guiding group discussion. Now, in response to feedback, we are introducing new features and benefits for teachers, and their students including: A comprehensive Bible study plan with more flexibility in terms of Scripture selection and topics. Additional information, as well as suggestions, designed to help leaders and facilitators lead with confidence. Observation of the church seasons, including Advent and Lent. Suggestions for developing spiritual practices (prayer, confession, worship, mindfulness, solitude, community, hospitality, neighboring, service, and celebration). Visit AdultBibleStudies.com and sign up for the FREE weekly newsletter to automatically receive the FREE Current Events Supplement and other information about these resources and more!

Beginning with the summer quarter, the focal Bible passages will again appear in print in both the student and teacher books. We will mostly use the Common English Bible (CEB) version of the text, while sometimes including the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) when it will better help students engage and appreciate the biblical texts. Summer Theme: Community This summer, our lessons support the theme of "Community." The writer of the student book lessons is Robert Gardner; the teacher book writer is Martha Myre. A New Thing Spiritual Practice - Study Scripture - Deuteronomy 8:1-10 | 1 Kings 18:20-39 | 2 Kings 22:8-20 | Hosea 1:2-11 If you look at the texts of this unit in the sequence they are laid out over the four lessons, it may not be immediately apparent why the unit theme is "A New Thing.” While Lesson 1 presents God's charge to ancient Israel to keep the commandments, Lessons 2 and 3 focus on incidents brought about by the people failing to keep the commandments, and Lesson 3 adds the note of divine judgment. It's only when we get to Lesson 4 that the new creation theme emerges. But after the journey the first three lessons takes us through, the need for a fresh start is obvious, and the message of restoration that God announces through Hosea is most welcome. A New People Scripture - Jeremiah 23:1-8 | Daniel 1:8-17 | Daniel 3:19-30 |Nehemiah 9:9-17, 32-33 Spiritual Practice - Prayer While the Lord invites all to be people of God, the Old Testament is essentially the story of God's dealings with a specific group of people, the Israelites. The four lessons of this unit give us an opportunity to look at some key stories related to those dealings: God and the remnant, the community's connection to God, God's care for the people in a time of great stress, and how God's love for the people continued despite their unfaithfulness. All these stories have applications to us today, but we begin to learn about God's ways through biblical stories about God and the Israelites. A New Way of Life Scripture - Luke 19:1-10 | John 4:7-30, 39-42 | Luke 10:25-37 | Matthew 15:21-28 | Mark 5:1-20 Spiritual Practice - Hospitality The Bible passages in the five lessons of this unit are all intended to enlarge our understanding of the word neighbor. Four of the five are incidents that directly involve Jesus, and the fifth is a parable Jesus told expressly to show what it means to be a neighbor, the parable we call the parable of the good Samaritan. All these passages are important, for they elucidate Jesus' summary statement of one of the two most important commandments: "You must love your neighbor as you love yourself" (Matthew 22:39). Both supplementary and complementary to the Adult Bible Studies student book, the teacher book provides small-group leaders, teachers, and facilitators with additional biblical background and exposition and suggestions for guiding group discussion. Now, in response to feedback, we are introducing new features and benefits for teachers, and their students including: A comprehensive Bible study plan with more flexibility in terms of Scripture selection and topics. Additional information, as well as suggestions, designed to help leaders and facilitators lead with confidence. Observation of the church seasons, including Advent and Lent. Suggestions for developing spiritual practices (prayer, confession, worship, mindfulness, solitude, community, hospitality, neighboring, service, and celebration). Visit AdultBibleStudies.com and sign up for the FREE weekly newsletter to automatically receive the FREE Current Events Supplement and other information about these resources and more!

As the result of your feedback, beginning with the winter quarter (December-February) and continuing with the spring (March-May), we will post each lesson’s Focal Bible Passages from the Common English Bible (CEB) on www.adultbiblestudies.com for easy downloading. It will also be linked in the AdultBibleStudies.com Newsletter each week. Beginning with the summer quarter (June-August), the Focal Passages will again appear in print in both the Student and Teacher books. We will mostly use the CEB version of the text, while sometimes including the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) when it will better help students engage and appreciate the biblical texts. Winter Theme: Promise Genesis | Hebrews | Isaiah|Matthew | Acts | Ruth | 2 Samuel | Jeremiah | Exodus This winter, our lessons support the theme of "Promise." The teacher book writer is Von Unruh. Hope The five lessons in this unit center on one of the things promise gives us: hope. Hope––the expectation that, regardless of what is happening in the present, God has a good future for us––is an underlying and uniting theme in these lessons. Lesson 1 follows Abraham, who left his homeland and moved to Canaan, trusting that God had something good ahead for him. Lesson 2 recalls how Abraham's trust that God was going to give him a place as an inheritance motivated him to make the move. Lesson 3, based on one of the servant songs from Isaiah, speaks of the hope of a servant who "will bring justice to the nations" (Isaiah 42:1). Lesson 4 focuses on the angel's announcement to Joseph that Mary would bear God's Son, declaring that Jesus is the fulfillment of "God with us." Lesson 5 looks at Jesus' final words to his disciples before ascending into heaven, planting in them the hope of the Holy Spirit's coming and the reality of Spirit-filled living. Spiritual Practice: Scripture Covenants: The Basis for Committed Relationships The four lessons in this unit focus on covenants and the promises they include. God's covenant with Abram, Ruth's covenant with Naomi, God's covenant with David, and God's new covenant announced through Jeremiah and extended to us remind us of God's faithfulness in keeping promises. Spiritual Practice: Anam Cara (Soul Friend) Holiness Expressed The four lessons in this unit call us to live into the promise God gives us to be holy people. Holiness, a primary attribute of God, is also present in the world God has created; these lessons invite us to look at holiness in four of the ways in which it is expressed: holy place, holy presence, holy people, and holy purpose. Spiritual Practice: Works of Justice Both supplementary and complementary to the Adult Bible Studies student book, the teacher book provides small-group leaders, teachers, and facilitators with additional biblical background and exposition and suggestions for guiding group discussion. Now, in response to feedback, we are introducing new features and benefits for teachers, and their students including: A comprehensive Bible study plan with more flexibility in terms of Scripture selection and topics. Additional information, as well as suggestions, designed to help leaders and facilitators lead with confidence. Observation of the church seasons, including Advent and Lent. Suggestions for developing spiritual practices (prayer, confession, worship, mindfulness, solitude, community, hospitality, neighboring, service, and celebration). One font size in the student edition to accommodate all readers. No printed Scripture text allowing you to choose your own Bible translation. Visit AdultBibleStudies.com and sign up for the FREE weekly newsletter to automatically receive the FREE Current Events Supplement and other information about these resources and more!

Winter Theme: Hope This winter, our lessons develop the theme of “Hope.” The writers of the student book lessons are Taylor Mills and Bruce Batchelor-Glader; the teacher book writer is Stan Purdum. The Good News These lessons continue a unit that began with the last Sunday in the fall quarter, encompassing the Sundays of Advent and the first Sunday after Christmas. They call us to consider the Incarnation and what it means that God sent Jesus into the world in human form, as one of us. Thus, the lessons invite us to think about the relationship God wants to have with us and how God’s sending Jesus makes that relationship possible. The Hypocrites and the Holy The lessons in this unit challenge us to examine ourselves in light of the examples we see in the individuals in Scripture. Where do we find instances of hypocrisy or holiness? And how do these tendencies contribute to or diminish our hope? Lesson 5 focuses on John the Baptist, preparing the way for Jesus, the hope of the world. Lesson 6 tells of Jesus commenting on John’s ministry and announcing the good news. Lessons 7 and 8 help us think about how the hope Jesus brought functions in our lives. And Lesson 9 looks toward the ultimate fulfillment of that hope, with the full coming of the kingdom of God. Holy Living This unit embraces all the Sundays of February and March; and, as such, it continues into the next quarter. The eight lessons of the unit invite us to think about what it means to be the people of God and to pursue holy living. The four lessons in this quarter help us look at how we deal with one another; how faith is expressed action; the sort of “fasting” God wants from us (whether or not we abstain from certain foods); and how, in fact, Christians are the temple of God. During this unit, Lent begins, which is an especially appropriate time to think about holiness. Hundreds of thousands of people each week have transformative encounters with God through Adult Bible Studies—Bible-based, Christ-focused Sunday school lessons and midweek Bible studies endorsed by the Curriculum Resources Committee of the The United Methodist Church. In fall 2019, based on feedback from hundreds of readers, we made exciting changes designed to benefit Bible study groups. For 2020, in response to additional feedback, we are reintroducing printed focal Bible passages in both the Student and Teacher books. Lessons follow the church seasons, including Advent and Lent, and include suggestions for developing spiritual practices to help nurture your faith. Published quarterly, each week's Student Book lesson lists background Scripture, features key verses, provides reliable and relevant biblical explanation and application, and more, in a readable font size that is accessible to everyone. Visit AdultBibleStudies.com and sign up for the FREE weekly newsletter to automatically receive the FREE Current Events Supplement and other information about these resources and more!

Hundreds of thousands of people each week have transformative encounters with God through Adult Bible Studies—Bible-based, Christ-focused Sunday school lessons and midweek Bible studies endorsed by the Curriculum Resources Committee of the The United Methodist Church. In 2020, we reintroduced printed focal Bible passages in both the Student and Teacher books. Lessons follow the church seasons, including Advent and Lent, and include suggestions for developing spiritual practices to help nurture your faith. Adult Bible Studies Fall 2021 Theme: Belong Unit 1: Outside In Sociologists studying the story of the early church often attribute the growth of the church to the sense of belonging that it offered people in a world where belonging was limited to those with things such as property, high status, and/or birthright. This unit of lessons looks at the various ways that the Bible makes clear how we belong to God’s people even when we appear to be outsiders. Several of the lessons point out where we as human beings insert distinctions that restrict membership within the community of Christ. Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:1-23; Luke 7:36-50; Galatians 2:11-21; Philippians 3:2-21; Ephesians 2:19-21 Spiritual Practice: Hospitality Unit 2: Into the Future After over 2000 years of existence as an institution, we can easily take for granted that we know what the church is. This unit invites readers to look at it from the view of the community living into the future. The Greek word for church, ekklesia, is not a word that the first members of the church associated with a religious activity. The word signifies the assembly of the people of God. It is instructive to look at what their understanding of the purpose of assembling as a group signified, how it has shaped our understanding of church, and how reading these texts might renew and expand our understanding. Scriptures: Acts 2:37-47;1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Matthew 16:13-19; Revelation 3:1-6, 14-20; Deuteronomy 29:10-29 Spiritual Practice: Community Unit 3: The Fellowship of the Table Once one enters the Church through baptism, the central identity marker for membership in the church is participation in Communion. The opening of God’s people to both Jews and Greeks, men and women, masters and slaves required people previously unaccustomed to eating together to sit down at a common table. When we look at the Gospel narratives, we see Jesus modeling open table fellowship. In this unit, we will look at the significance of the practice of open table fellowship in the church as a sign of God’s shared abundance, ministry of reconciliation, and celebration. Scriptures: John 6:1-15; 1 Samuel 25:2-39; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Isaiah 25:6-10a; 55:1-3 Spiritual Practice: Open Table Fellowship Adult Bible Study components include: Student Book Published quarterly, each week's Student Book lesson lists background Scripture, features key verses, provides reliable and relevant biblical explanation and application, and more, in a readable font size that is accessible to everyone. Teacher Book The Teacher Book provides small-group leaders with additional biblical background and exposition and suggestions for guiding group discussion for each quarterly theme. Video-DVD Does your group enjoy watching videos to generate conversation around Bible studies? Video sessions directly correspond to the Adult Bible Studies quarter’s theme and content and features a segment for each Bible lesson. Visit AdultBibleStudies.com and sign up for the weekly newsletter to automatically receive the FREE Current Events Supplement and other information about these resources and more!