Current Bible Study

Our Encounter Bible Study meets Sundays at 9AM and Wednesdays at 7PM; choose the time that works best for you and join us; each week's two classes are identical!

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September–December 2024

September: Lesson Plans

In any Christian community, Bible references in worship, in Bible study, and in discipleship classes tend to focus on the sayings and teachings of Jesus. While the teachings in this five-lesson unit may be familiar, they are not easy to understand. With texts from Mark’s Gospel and the letter of James, we will consider how we are to follow God’s commands, who Jesus includes in his community, and how his disciples understand and misunderstand him. We will also consider how they relate to one another and to other followers, both in Jesus’s own lifetime and in the life of the later Christian community. Over four lessons, we will not only study discipleship but also practice it together as we learn from Jesus.

October: In Right Paths

In this unit, we will explore how we can walk in right paths with God and with our communities of faith. Our first session, will focus on Psalm 26 and Genesis 2 to help us understand our need for companionship and what it means to walk faithfully with God and with one another. Session 2 will use excerpts from Psalm 22 and the prophet Amos to explore faithfulness in the face of loneliness and isolation. Psalm 91 and Isaiah 53 will help us to express faith in God’s protection in the midst of trouble. Finally, Psalm 126 and Jeremiah 31 will remind us that times of sorrow will not last forever because God is at work in our lives to bring us joy.

November: Once for All

This unit takes on two very different perspectives to emphasize the centrality of Jesus Christ and his saving actions for the faith community. The first three sessions will draw on the early believers’ connection with their Jewish roots to expand their understanding of God’s work in Christ. Through texts in Hebrews, these lessons will contrast Jesus’s covenant with the one found in the Jewish Scriptures and will show how Jesus’s death and resurrection demand new worship practices and places. They will also outline our means of obtaining forgiveness through Christ. The final session, on Reign of Christ Sunday, will consider the role and responsibilities of God’s anointed king from the point of view of two Old Testament texts.

December: Preparing the Way

The season of Advent is an invitation to ground ourselves in hope, peace, love, and joy as we prepare the way for Jesus’s arrival. Our texts this month from both the Old and New Testaments will remind us that God’s people have always faced trouble, but we can wait on God with hope and trust. Waiting, however, is not passive. As we wait for God’s promised day, we are to be faithful messengers who proclaim God’s presence and the promise of salvation, living joyfully in the time between Jesus’s first coming and his return. As we accept God’s offer of hope, peace, love, and joy in our own hearts, we will be able to tend to a weary world that cries out for salvation.