Hunger Study Guide

By Jon L Dybdahl and J D Croft

Are you looking for a study guide to help you, your small group, or your whole church understand and practice spiritual disciplines? If so, this is the book for you.

It is based on Dr. Jon L. Dybdahl's book Hunger: Satisfying the Longing of Your Soul. Each chapter contains goals, a story from scripture providing background, and activities to help develop your spiritual life.

"Human hunger for God is intense and universal. Even if suppressed or denied, it cries out silently from the depths. Such hunger is not a wish to know about God, but rather a quest to encounter Him. People want to touch, experience, and feel the divine - not just discover facets about God." - Dr. Jon L. Dybdahl

Humans have tried since the beginning of their creation to fill the hunger, or empty space, inside of themselves with all that they can find on their own. The desire for money, homes, cars, and various material possessions continues to fill our credit cards without filling our longing for "something."

Dr. Jon Dybdahl brings his passion for teaching into the second edition of his successful book, Hunger: Satisfying the Longing of your Soul, and from there into this study guide. Whether you are a seminary professor, a small group leader with 3-12 students or someone who seeks to move closer in your relationship to God, your Savior and Creator, you will find entrees that are biblically grounded to study and that are savory and healthy for your spiritual body.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Energion Publications
• Release date: Jul 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781631997501

Book preview

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Hunger Study Guide

Jon L. Dybdahl and J.D. Croft

Energion Publications

Gonzalez, Florida

2021

Copyright © 2020 Jon L. Dybdahl and J.D. Croft

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-63199-749-5

eISBN: 978-1-63199-750-1

Energion Publications

PO Box 841

Gonzalez, FL 32560

https://energion.com

[e-mail]

Acknowledgments

When it was suggested that a study guide should be written as a follow-up to the book Hunger, I knew that because of my recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease that I would need some help. God provided that help through Pastor JD Croft. Pastor Croft completed his undergraduate education at Calvin College and went on to earn a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. Because JD is also my grandson, I knew that he had a heart for God and a keen interest in theology and the spiritual life. Thankfully, JD was happy to be part of this project. His contributions were substantial and varied. I want to acknowledge his vital role and express my deep appreciation for all his time and all the ways he helped to bring this project to completion. Both JD and I would also like to thank our wives, Kathy Dybdahl and Maeghan Croft, for their input, support, and patience. Without their encouragement these pages would not have been written. Our corporate prayer is that this little book will be a blessing to all who read it.

— Jon Dybdahl

Note on Song Lyrics

The chapters in this book each include some song lyrics that connect with that chapter. When these songs are in the public domain, we have included lyrics. Where possible, we have also included links to lyrics, music, accompaniment, and/or a suitable listening track. Each link is accompanied by a QR code. If you have a smart phone, you can point your camera at the QR code and access these aids. If a song is not in the public domain, we have included links only.

Please adhere to copyright and public performance laws when using these materials in a public setting.

— The Publisher

Preface/Introduction

The book Hunger was meant to be a Biblical introduction to the Christian spiritual life. Now it’s time to dig deeper and broaden our understanding and experience. Since there are many different types of people and a variety of responses to the spiritual practices, I want to explore the avenues that help us go further in our experience of God. This little book can be used in many ways. It can be used by a small group for Bible study, or it can be used by an individual who wants to go deeper in his or her devotional time. We recommend that if you are reading this alone and not in a small group, to have a pen and journal handy, as many of the activities will ask you to write down your reflections if you are not able to share them with others. It can be read simultaneously with Hunger, chapter by chapter, or it can be read on its own after you have already read Hunger. You can use all of the suggestions in any given chapter, or you can pick one or two that particularly appeal to you. I am simply trying to point to the roads that can be taken as we move deeper into our relationship with God.

Each chapter will begin with an invitation for God’s presence to be in and among us. We invite God’s presence so that He may guide us while we try to discern His word and His will for our lives. This section will have a hymn or poem for you to reflect on to prepare your hearts. After the invitation for God’s presence, there will be a section reviewing the material from the corresponding chapter of Hunger, along with a few related questions to catalyze thought and conversation.

After reviewing the reading, you will encounter a Biblical story that is related to the chapter and topic at hand. The stories of the Bible have a profound way of meeting us where we are and touching our lives. More and more people are realizing that stories are instrumental in our understanding of Biblical truth; Jesus was a master storyteller and almost all of His teaching was in the form of stories or parables. One of the most beautiful things about the stories of the Bible is that they have many different layers — they can be understood on a very concrete, simple level, but they can also be unpacked in a way that stimulates and puzzles even the brightest theological mind. I hope that the stories that are retold will help model what it means to dig deeper into our relationship with God.

Each story will be followed by a section dedicated to application for life. I hope to show how the stories and spiritual disciplines found in the Bible are related to us today by presenting different activities that propel us towards new growth. As was mentioned earlier, feel free to participate in as many or as few of the application activities as you wish. God approaches us all where we are, and that often looks very different for each of us. The last section of each chapter is dedicated to the works of fellow travelers. Here you can