Adult Bible Studies Fall 2023 Student

By Gregory M. Weeks

Grow your faith. Transform your life.

Cultivate a deeper relationship with God through Adult Bible Studies. This resource, endorsed by the Curriculum Resources Committee of The United Methodist Church, offers a year-round, weekly Bible study plan for Sunday school classes and other small groups.

Each weekly lesson offers background and focal Scriptures, key verses, and doctrinally sound and relevant biblical interpretation and application in a readable font size. Annual plans provide comprehensive coverage of the Bible, special lessons during the church seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter, and suggestions for developing spiritual practices such as prayer, worship, community, and service, among many others. Adult Bible Studies is a reliable companion and guide for learning and growing in Christian faith.

With the help of the Adult Bibles Studies Student Book, Teacher/Commentary Kit, and DVD, your group will embrace that it’s not just about learning - it’s about living out biblical teachings.

Additional information about Adult Bible Studies, Fall 2023
Theme: God Provides
This fall, our Bible lessons follow the theme “God Provides” and remind us of the ways God meets our needs and of God’s call to us to help those who lack life’s essentials of food, water, and shelter. The writer of the student book Greg Weeks.

Unit 1
Food
Scripture recognizes that hunger, famine, and food insecurity make people vulnerable to a variety of threats. It also testifies to God’s generous provision of food for humans and wild creatures and to human responsibility to help those who are hungry and in need. From God’s provision of manna in the wilderness to divine provision during famine, from Jesus’ feeding of crowds to his teaching of a new way of being with the poor and marginalized through table fellowship, Scripture bears witness to God’s graciousness and our responsibility as its recipients. Bible lessons in this unit are based on Exodus 16, 1 Kings 19, Mark 6, and Luke 14.
Spiritual Practice: Feasting

Unit 2
Water
Like food insecurity, water insecurity threatens human life and the earth’s species of plants and animals. Scripture uses the water motif in many ways. Water is dangerous as it represents a metaphor for chaos, historical enemies, God’s judgment, devastation of drought-stricken land, and personal distress. As well, water is a gift from God for the flourishing of all creation, refreshment for body and soul, and source of eternal life embodied in Jesus. Thirst for water and provision of water are metaphors for the human relationship with God. Bible lessons in this unit are based on Genesis 21, Exodus 17, Psalm 42, John 7, and Matthew 25.
Spiritual Practice: Creation Care

Unit 3
Shelter
In major cities and small towns across the country, many people have lived experience with homelessness. One of the major causes of homelessness is rooted in childhood trauma. Mental illness, sometimes stemming from such trauma, is another contributing factor, among others. Exploring the theme of shelter in Scripture cannot find ancient analogies for what today is becoming a crisis compounded by economic and social vulnerabilities. Even so, we can imagine and extrapolate, based on related themes and texts, that the physical security of home is a relevant theological construct then as now. Although various texts may make it easy to rush to focus our attention on spiritual shelter in God’s presence, those who experience such a home in God find resources to extend hospitality and care through various means with those who today are experiencing homelessness. Bible lessons in this unit are based on Exodus 29, Psalm 27, Deuteronomy 8, and John 1.
Spiritual Practice: Hospitality

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Cokesbury
• Release date: Jul 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9781791025205

Book preview

Editor’s Perspective

Sunday lunches at my grandmother’s house were absolute feasts: roast, fried chicken, corn, green beans, tomatoes, greens, squash, hot biscuits, pies, and cakes. All the vegetables came straight from my grandmother’s garden. She prepared the soil, planted the seeds, watered and weeded the growing plants, and harvested by hand, usually all by herself. This she did well into her 80s. She never knew exactly who or how many would line up in her kitchen to fill their plates, but she was always prepared, and there were always leftovers.

Meals at her house were about more than feeding our bodies. They brought us together—grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and even strangers. They reminded us of our roots and connections. No one took a bite before someone offered thanks to God for what we were about to eat. Our souls were nourished as we were reminded that every good thing comes from the hand of God. Not everyone has such memories, abundance, or connections. Many people around the world live with food insecurity, water scarcity, and insufficient or no shelter.

Food. Water. Shelter. Few of us would deny that these are basic to survival, but they are beyond the reach of many people. We can tell them that God loves them, but they will best understand that love when God’s people help them get what they need to live: sufficient food, clean water, and safe shelter.

We find these three concepts throughout Scripture in literal and metaphorical terms. The Bible affirms them as genuine physical needs and acknowledges God as provider. Biblical writers also use these concepts to illuminate our relationship with God. Our lessons this quarter, written by Greg Weeks, unpack these concepts and help us encounter the God who provides and shelters physically and spiritually. They challenge us to join in God’s life-giving work, welcoming others to the abundant feast at the table in God’s house.

God is my helper; my LORD sustains my life (Psalm 54:4).

Jan Turrentine

[e-mail]

Daily Bible Readings

Unit 1

Food

Jesus emphasized the holiness connection to food when he included the request for daily bread within his prayer. He taught and modeled for us that it was something to be blessed and to be shared with others. Consequently, in the Bible, food isn’t just a bodily necessity. It’s tied to our emotional, spiritual, and communal well-being.

How we relate to food reflects our relationship with the world and those around us. The lessons in this unit allow us to enjoy food. They can help us be more mindful of the important relationship between the health of our body and the nourishment of our souls.

Lesson 1 introduces food at the beginning of Yahweh’s relationship with the freed Hebrew slaves. It presents manna and quail as symbols of a God who tenderly cares and abundantly provides. Would Israel live by trusting such a God?

Lesson 2 shows that food, offered at a time of crisis, may speak louder than words. Bread provided fuel for Elijah to seek God in a deeper way.

Lesson 3 links compassion with abundance. The story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people demonstrates that at the center of God’s heart is a care for us that knows no limit.

Finally, in Lesson 4, Jesus modeled around the dinner table how his followers were to be known by their eating habits. Humility of heart and a passion for inviting diverse guests as dinner companions were to characterize the early church.

Paying attention to the place of food in our discipleship is vital. Through it, we become better aware of Christ’s presence, the One who greeted his disciples with, Come and have breakfast (John 21:12).

September 3

Lesson 1

Who Is This God?

Focal Passage: Exodus 16:2-19, 31-32

Background Text: Exodus 16

Purpose Statement: To discover how God’s provision deepens our faith and draws us closer to one another

Exodus 16:2-19, 31-32

²The whole Israelite community complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. ³The Israelites said to them, Oh, how we wish that the LORD had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt. There we could sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread. Instead, you’ve brought us out into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death.

⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, I’m going to make bread rain down from the sky for you. The people will go out each day and gather just enough for that day. In this way, I’ll test them to see whether or not they follow my Instruction. ⁵On the sixth day, when they measure out what they have collected, it will be twice as much as they collected on other days. ⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, This evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ⁷And in the morning you will see the LORD’s glorious presence, because your complaints against the LORD have been heard. Who are we? Why blame us? ⁸Moses continued, The LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning because the LORD heard the complaints you made against him. Who are we? Your complaints aren’t against us but against the LORD.

⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, Say to the whole Israelite community, ‘Come near to the LORD, because he’s heard your complaints.’ ¹⁰As Aaron spoke to the whole Israelite community, they turned to look toward the desert, and just then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

¹¹The LORD spoke to Moses, ¹²I’ve heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat. And in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’

¹³In the evening a flock of quail flew down and covered the camp. And in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. ¹⁴When the layer of dew lifted, there on the desert surface were thin flakes, as thin as frost on the ground. ¹⁵When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, What is it? They didn’t know what it was.

Moses said to them, This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. ¹⁶This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Collect as much of it as each of you can eat, one omer per person. You may collect for the number of people in your household.’ ¹⁷The Israelites did as Moses said, some collecting more, some less. ¹⁸But when they measured it out by the omer, the ones who had collected more had nothing left over, and the ones who had collected less had no shortage. Everyone collected just as much as they could eat. ¹⁹Moses said to them, Don’t keep any of it until morning. …

³¹The Israelite people called it manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and tasted like honey wafers. ³²Moses said, This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept safe for future generations so that they can see the food that I used to feed you in the desert when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’

Key Verse: But when they measured it out by the omer, the ones who had collected more had nothing left over, and the ones who had collected less had no shortage. Everyone collected just as much as they could eat (Exodus 16:18).

Dating should be a time of exploration. Does my relationship with this person have the potential for a long-term, deeper commitment? It may take months, or even years, to answer that question. Society, though, may not share the importance of such soul-searching preparation. Reality TV programs such as Ninety-Day Fiancé and Married at First Sight make the chance of a deeply committed relationship that lasts a lifetime resemble the throw of dice.

In terms of marriage, Christian tradition frowns on taking such a covenant between two people so lightly. However, today’s Focal Passage could be viewed as a description of a relationship that went straight to marriage before the dating even began!

It took place early in Israel’s history, just after the Exodus, which has been dated between 1400–1200 bc. God covenanted to be in a special, committed relationship with the Hebrews. This resulted in their dramatic liberation from Egypt and initiated a divine-led trek to the Promised Land. As the Israelites wandered through the Sinai Peninsula northward toward Canaan, they wrestled with an important question: Who is this deity who has chosen us?

The Egyptian gods had names and were represented visually. This invisible God for whom Moses spoke had an unpronounceable name, YHWH, which we render Yahweh. The Egyptians chose their idols. YHWH, though, chose the Hebrew people. The freed slaves had seen miracles and had heard Moses, but who was this being?

In a committed relationship, a crisis may allow better communication. Similarly, the crisis of hunger in the Sinai desert allowed Israel and God to get better acquainted.

Murmuring Against God

While a crisis may bring out the best in people, it may also bring out the worst, as was the case with the fearful, hungry Hebrews. When the text says they complained (Exodus 16:2), that conveys the sense of stubbornly and angrily murmuring among themselves. Specifically, that murmuring took two forms.

First, they idealized the past. Slavery in Egypt was brutal. Exodus 1:8–2:12 describes hard labor, beatings, and the murder of infant sons. Yet, given their immediate hunger, the Hebrews remembered only pots of meat and loaves of bread. Considering their harsh treatment, whether the Egyptians would have allowed them to eat their fill of such food was questionable. Regardless, in the Sinai wilderness, the horrors of slavery turned into the good old days in Egypt.

Second, they refused to take responsibility for their actions. Earlier, they had expressed excitement at the prospect of liberation. The people believed. When they heard that the LORD had paid attention to the Israelites and had seen their oppression, they bowed down and worshipped (Exodus 4:31). In the wilderness, though, such faith quickly devolved into finger-pointing. Empty stomachs prompted them to blame Moses for leading them to death by starvation.

Ultimately, these complaints reflected a hesitancy to move forward into an unknown future with an unknown God. A parallel account of the people’s murmuring, in Numbers 11:4-34, adds additional details regarding their strong resistance.

It may be easy for us to criticize their lack of faith, but such criticism comes from our vantage point. If we didn’t have the revelation of God through the testimony of Scripture and Jesus, what would we have done if we were starving in the Sinai desert? The crisis in the wilderness provided the setting for the next step in building trust with the people to whom Yahweh had committed.

How does a time of crisis affect how you relate to others and God? What would help turn a stressful situation into a positive one for you?

God Provides but With a Catch

Just as Yahweh heard the cries of the Hebrews when they were slaves, so did