July 3, 2023
July 9 | Discovery
Questions for group discussion for use with this week’s lesson titled “Hope in God's Plans” (Jeremiah 29:1-23).
Articles for tag: Exile
November 22, 2021
Crushing God
We often ponder the impact of our sinful choices on our lives and spirits, but do we consider the impact of our sin on God?
August 15, 2020
‘I Will Bring You Back’
Lessons from the Babylonian Captivity for Modern-Day ‘Exiles’ By Arron Chambers During this pandemic, quarantine, and sheltering at-home orders, I’ve found myself drawn to Bible stories of liberation and freedom from captivity. We were created to be free—not isolated, alienated, held in captivity, or exiled indefinitely. Even so, such things happen, and it happened to the people of God during a period of 70 years we call the Babylonian captivity. They’d been warned. Warning In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump and a team of doctors gave daily briefings. Day after day they presented numbers and charts
December 29, 2019
Lesson for Jan. 5, 2020: The Deliverer Runs Ahead (Exodus 2:11-25)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 1 (weeks 1-4; January 5-26, 2020) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ________ Lesson Aim: Resist the urge to do God’s will in worldly ways. ________ By Mark Scott Warren Wiersbe said, “Whenever God works, he chooses the right worker, uses the right plan, and acts at the right time” (Expository Outlines on the Old Testament). But what happens if the right worker needs a
June 26, 2015
From Generation to Generation
By Jon Weatherly How can the older generation pass along its faith to the younger? History””even biblical history””shows this is always a perilous proposition. And yet here we are, all these millennia later, still lifting up his name. A review of the Bible”s record can encourage us that it will be true again long after we have passed. I am a baby boomer, barely. Too young for Woodstock or the Vietnam draft, I watched from the safety of childhood and early adolescence as older boomers turned on, tuned in, and dropped out to create the infamous generation gap. Today, as
Immigration: What Does the Bible Say?
By M. Daniel Carroll R. The immensity of this human dilemma should drive Christians to the Scriptures to see what God might have to say about engaging the stranger. Immigration has been a hot political issue in this country for the last several years. Some in the media can be a bit shrill, labeling newcomers as part of a “tidal wave” or an “invasion” of foreigners. Heated and exaggerated rhetoric, of whatever persuasion, is not helpful and is not becoming for Christians. What might a self-consciously Christian position on the topic look like, one that doesn”t consist simply of a
January 10, 2011
Lesson for Jan. 16, 2011: Reassurance for God”s People (Isaiah 48:12-22)
Matt Schantz reflects on Isaiah 48, Israel’s unfulfilled potential, God’s pursuit of his people, and the call to leave spiritual compromise behind.
December 20, 2010
Lesson for Dec. 26, 2010: God Is with Us (Isaiah 43:1-7, 10-12)
God with You in Turmoil God with you is Isaiah’s message to fearful people living through unrest, exile, and spiritual distance. Tom May reflects on Isaiah’s reminder that the Lord created, chose, saved, and secured his people—and that his presence is not merely near, but with them. Isaiah’s ministry unfolded during political crisis, relational strain, and spiritual unfaithfulness. God reminded Israel that he had created, chosen, and redeemed them. The promise of God’s presence speaks directly to fear, suffering, uncertainty, and exile. This week’s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for December 26) is written by Tom May who
