Opening QuestionWhat value do you find hearing ancient stories?

IntroductionThis lesson focuses on two small books: Ruth (4 chapters) and Esther (10 chapters). These stories have been told in Christian and Jewish circles with much respect for these faithful women, holding them up as beautiful exemplars. The stories contain some surprises when read beyond the children’s books, but these only make the stories more complex and dramatic. I highly recommend reading through both books in their entirety, rather than reading a section here or there. We will find, as the quarterly addresses, that these stories have a future-focus as well.

RuthRead ...

Opening QuestionCan God affect human events without violating our freedom of choice?

IntroductionIn this study, the author examines stories from the Old Testament that in one way or another foreshadow, typify, or parallel some final events of the New Testament. The concept here is called typology. Essentially, typology is when an Old Testament historical person(s), place, event, or institution somehow prefigures Christ or last-day events. Many Old Testament stories find a parallel in Jesus Christ, such as the near-sacrifice of Isaac, and God’s substitution of a ram for the firstborn. 

An important question that may not find an easy answer is ...

Opening QuestionWhat is the greatest struggle you’ve endured?

IntroductionThe Psalms offer encouragement to God’s people as they journey through the struggle with sin and seek victory. One of the ways god encourages us is by painting pictures of a glorious future, providing hope of a world restored. This is a major theme of the Psalms, as well as the Hebrew Prophets and Revelation, too! 

Psalm 46The lesson this week asks us to meditate on this Psalm. Read Psalm 46, and for each verse or section, consider what experiences here and now are addressed by the lines. 

For the choir director. A Psalm ...

Opening QuestionDo you love poetry? Why or why not?

IntroductionThe figurative language of poetry allows us to not only express specific ideas, but also feelings, images and pictures in ways that prose cannot. The use of symbols, of metaphor, simile, parallelism, and chiasm all contribute to create literary pictures and emotions that resonate in the heart, that move and draw us. Revelation borrows much of the imagery of the Psalms. The lesson this week explores some of these connections. 

The Psalms as a WholeIt is helpful to consider the lyrics (sadly, most of the music is lost to us) of the ...

Opening QuestionHow do you think you would respond if you met God face to face?

IntroductionThis lesson directs us to the throne, and to the living beings and their activities around it. While not a tremendous amount can be known of the angelic world—indeed some angelology goes far beyond scripture!—several books of the Bible highlight their role and proximity to God. We can learn more about the purposes of God by examining these beings.

Angels in GenesisThroughout the Old Testament, when God sends a messenger to speak or meet with his people, that being is called “the angel of the Lord.” ...

Opening QuestionWhat would you give up for someone you love?

IntroductionThe lesson this week is how the concept of sacrifice found throughout the Bible plays a role in the prophetic literature. As an earlier lesson noted, Genesis is the starting point for most major topics in Scripture, and certainly in Revelation. Sacrifice is so much a part of Revelation, that if we miss the temple/sanctuary structure of the book and the various sacrifices that take place there, we will fail to grasp the big picture of the Great Controversy, and how God uses His own sacrifice and that of His ...

Opening QuestionWhat good does human-led government provide us, and are there potential pitfalls?

IntroductionScripture is clear about God wanting to be Israel’s sole leader; humans do poorly at ruling when they trust to their own abilities, thinking, plans, and effort. This is not to say that all humans have failed, but that leadership and rule inherently contain a power-dynamic that the broken, sinful heart can easily abuse. This can happen even when rulers believe in their causes or have the best of intentions. How does the history of Israel’s monarchy move power from their nation to others, and how does ...

Opening QuestionDo we ever see God working in obvious ways through the nations of the world or in secular governments?

IntroductionWhile every human is individually accountable to and beloved by God, we also see larger groups of people become the object of God’s regard or judgement, nations through which He can work, show His power, or choose as His special possession; or nations that reap the results of God’s wrath for their iniquity. The lesson this week explores the role that the Babylonians played in later prophetic literature, and how the call of and covenant blessings to Abraham finds fulfillment ...

Opening QuestionWhat use is there for “marriage” outside of a Judeo-Christian worldview? Why would anyone want such a commitment in our western world?

IntroductionGenesis 1-2 introduces God making humankind according to His own image. Reading Genesis 1:26-31 we find that image is contained in a male-female relationship with the possibility of producing offspring to fulfill God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply. Thus, the image of God is found in this special bond. Not surprisingly, it is also one of the most parodied, mocked and attacked social institutions of our society. But just what is being attacked? It's not just ...

Opening QuestionHow might the beginning of God’s story in the Genesis hint at how the Bible ends with Revelation?

IntroductionCommentators have frequently noted Revelation’s allusions to Genesis and the rest of the Torah (books of Moses). But provides much more than simply ideas for John to use in the apocalypse; it provides the context and origin from which the rest of the Bible’s farthest reaching and deepest issues are developed and concluded. Every major topic in theology has it’s roots here. Themes (systematic categories) such as God, Man, Creation, Marriage, Sabbath, the Fall, Sin, Death, Judgment, Destruction of Wicked, Prophecy, ...