Adult Bible Studies Fall 2023 Teacher/Commentary Kit

By Clara K. Welch

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.

The Kit includes a teacher’s book and a Concise Commentary that are supplementary and complementary to the Adult Bible Studies student book.

The teacher’s book provides biblical background, exposition, and suggestions for leading weekly group discussions and nurturing spiritual practices among class members. Small group leaders, teachers, and facilitators—both seasoned and just starting out—love the easy-to-use format and the wealth of information provided to prepare for each week’s discussion.

Based on the trusted Abingdon Basic Bible Commentary, the Concise Commentary provides expert biblical Commentary for the focal Bible passages used in Adult Bible Studies. The Commentary includes each Sunday’s focal Bible passages, unit introductions, and expert Commentary on each passage. Plus, you can pronounce everything correctly with the included pronunciation guide for Bible names and places.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to enhance your preparation and teaching with the help of these resources!

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 teacher book is Clara Welch.

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 peo

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cokesbury
• Release date: Jul 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9781791025250

Clara K. Welch

Clara K. Welch has served churches in Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia as a diaconal minister and an ordained deacon. She is certified in the areas of Christian education and older adult ministry through the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Following graduation from Lebanon Valley College with a bachelor s degree in music education, Clara taught music at Red Bird Mission in Kentucky. She then attended Scarritt College in Nashville, where she earned a master s degree in church music and Christian education. After several years of working in the local church, she returned to school and earned an MTS at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Clara and her husband, Brian, have one daughter, Rebecca Jo.

Book preview

Adult Bible Studies

Fall 2023 • Vol. 32, No. 1

Teacher

To the Teacher

Thank You, Teachers!

Technology Goes to Sunday School

The Spiritual Practice of Feasting

The Text in Context

Songs That Nourish Our Souls

The Spiritual Practice of Caring for Creation

Water Images in John’s Gospel

The Spiritual Practice of Hospitality

Editorial and Design Team

Jan Turrentine, Editor

Tonya Williams, Production Editor

Keitha Vincent, Designer

Administrative Team

Rev. Brian K. Milford,

President and Publisher

Marjorie M. Pon, Associate Publisher and Editor,

Church School Publications

ADULT BIBLE STUDIES TEACHER (ISSN 1059-9118). An official resource for The United Methodist Church approved by the General Board of Discipleship and published quarterly by Cokesbury, The United Methodist Publishing House, 810 12th Avenue, South, Nashville, TN 37203. Copyright © 2023 by Cokesbury. Send address changes to Adult Bible Studies Teacher, 810 12th Avenue, South, Nashville, TN 37203.

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For permission to reproduce any material in this publication, call 615-749-6268, or write to Permissions Office, 810 12th Avenue, South, Nashville, TN 37203..

Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Common English Bible, copyright 2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ are used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scriptures quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission (www.Lockman.org). Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 (Second edition, 1971) by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. Scripture taken from the Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version–Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission. Scripture taken from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version—Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

ADULT BIBLE STUDIES is available to readers with visual challenges through BookShare.org. To use BookShare.org, persons must have certified disabilities and must become members of the site. Churches can purchase memberships on behalf of their member(s) who need the service. There is a small one-time setup fee, plus a modest annual membership fee. At the website, files are converted to computerized audio for download to CD or iPod, as well as to other audio devices (such as DAISY format). Braille is also available, as are other options. Once individuals have a membership, they have access to thousands of titles in addition to ABS. Live-narrated audio for persons with certified disabilities is available from AUDIOBOOK MINISTRIES at http://www.audiobookministries.org/.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Meet the Writer

Clara K. Welch is an ordained deacon in the North Georgia Conference. She holds a bachelor of science degree in music education from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania. She also has a master’s degree in Christian education and church music from Scarritt College in Nashville, Tennessee, and a master of theological studies degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She has served United Methodist churches in Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia in the areas of Christian education, children’s music, and older adult ministry.

Currently, in addition to writing curriculum for The United Methodist Publishing House, Clara teaches piano lessons to children and adults. Her hobbies include baking and photography.

Clara and her husband, Brian, have a daughter, Rebecca Jo, and a son-in-law, Kody.

To the Teacher

For a time after my parents had moved into a skilled-care facility, I continued to stay in their house when I went for visits. While it was convenient and provided adequate lodging, it no longer felt like home. Familiar furnishings still filled the rooms; family pictures adorned the walls; dishes sat in the cabinets; and closets held clothes, shoes, and boxes, but it just wasn’t home anymore.

Like the protagonist in Sarah Dessen’s novel, What Happened to Goodbye, I was reminded that house and home are not the same, and a structure on a particular street does not equal shelter. Home, the character in Dessen’s novel realized, is wherever we are with people who love us. Home, she declared, is not a place but is instead a series of moments stacked like bricks over time to create a solid shelter that goes with us throughout our lives.

My family’s house is now home to another family, but the shelter that grew around me during the years I lived there still surrounds me and follows me wherever I go. To an even greater and deeper extent is the reality of God’s abiding and sheltering presence with each of us.

We tend to think of the Book of Exodus as the riveting account of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt—and it is. But a large portion of the book, one we may skim through, details the instructions for building the Tabernacle. There, we read that God told Moses, [The Israelites] should make me a sanctuary so I can be present among them (Exodus 25:8). And God’s sheltering presence, symbolized by that Tabernacle, traveled with the people as they moved toward the Promised Land and settled there. God even declared the reason for leading them out of Egypt: so that I could make a home among them (Exodus 29:46).

God’s commitment to live among us is everlasting, culminating in Jesus, the Word [who] became flesh and made his home among us (John 1:14). While God’s sheltering presence with us is unchanging, it changes us and changes how we live. In times of scarcity, we trust the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:11). In times of abundance, we extend our hands to those who lack what they need. In all things, we testify to the God who provides.

Our lessons this quarter, written in the student book by Greg Weeks and in this teacher book by Clara Welch, remind us of what we need, framed broadly as food, water, and shelter, and how God provides for our needs. And they remind us of God’s call to work to offer life’s essentials, physical and spiritual, to those who lack them.

Certainly, the Bible uses food, water, and shelter as metaphors for the spiritual, but it just as often employs those concepts in literal ways. As Jesus was teaching the crowds, the people grew physically hungry. You give them something to eat, he told his disciples (Mark 6:34, 37). Hagar’s flask of water was empty, and she knew that spelled death for her and her son. But God opened her eyes, and she saw a well (Genesis 21:19). John heard a loud voice from heaven’s throne that said, ‘Look! God’s dwelling is here with humankind. He will dwell with them, and they will be his peoples. God himself will be with them as their God’ (Revelation 21:3).

In all circumstances, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.¹

Jan Turrentine

[e-mail]

Thank You, Teachers!

Dear Teachers,

During the past few years, we as a global community and individuals have faced many unexpected challenges because of the pandemic. You as teachers of Sunday school classes and Bible study groups have not been immune to these challenges.

You have been called on to find new and creative ways to remain engaged with your class members, to offer times for fellowship and continued learning, and to reach out to those in your group who are sick, grieving, or lonely. You have been called on to do all this while observing guidelines for social distancing and experiencing concerns for your health and well-being and the health and well-being of your families.

Whew! When we put it that way, you can understand why there have been times when you may have felt overwhelmed, frustrated, or even discouraged. But I want to offer each of you a heartfelt thank you! If you have been teaching a class for a long time, thank you for your perseverance through difficult times and your continued service. If you are new to teaching, thank you for saying yes to a new endeavor.

When teaching God’s Word feels like a daunting and overwhelming task, it may help to remember that you are in good company! Moses resisted God’s call to take the Lord’s word to Pharaoh. He explained to the Lord that he could not speak well. Jeremiah resisted God’s call to proclaim the Lord’s word and explained that he was too young. But God strengthened Moses and Jeremiah. We remember them as great and faithful servants.

The Lord has strengthened countless others through the ages and has given each one what was needed to fulfill the call on their lives. We can trust God to give us all we need as we say yes to the call to serve as teachers.

Bible study is vital to the life of the church. The world around us changes, but the timeless truths of the Bible do not change. The Scriptures tell the story of God and God’s people, of God’s redeeming love and continuing faithfulness. We as twenty-first-century Christians have a place in that story. As teachers, we can proclaim this story of forgiveness, comfort, healing, salvation, hope, joy, and new life in Christ again and again.

As you prepare to teach these lessons, pray for God’s guidance and direction. Remember that you do not walk this road alone. God walks with you.

I hope these lessons will enrich your life and the lives of the ones you teach. It is a privilege and a joy to walk alongside others as we grow in faith, hope, and love.

Thank you for saying yes!

Technology Goes to Sunday School

One of the things we learned during the pandemic and times of social distancing is that Sunday school and Bible study classes can continue to meet without being in person and still enjoy the benefits of fellowship and learning together. Using technology that offers people the opportunity to join a Bible study or Sunday school group via video or telephone has advantages.

Even when your group returns to in-person gatherings, class members who cannot attend in person for one reason or another can still participate. I remember one Sunday morning when a member of our Sunday school class was away on vacation and joined us via video from her kayak on a river!

Some of the visual aids and activities suggested in the lessons this quarter were written with in-person gatherings in mind, but there are easy and effective ways to adapt these ideas to include participants who are joining via video and/or telephone.

Visual Focal Points

Each lesson in Unit One includes an idea for creating a focal point that illustrates the theme of Food. Following are suggestions for ways class members joining via video or telephone may create these focal points where they are.

Lesson 1. The suggested focal point is an empty plate with a piece of paper asking, Do you trust God to provide enough? As you welcome online participants, invite them to put an empty plate in front of them. Share the question, Do I trust God to provide enough?

Lesson 2. The suggested focal point recalls two miracles related to the lesson: (1) The Lord provided flour and oil that did not run out for the widow in Zarephath. (2) The Lord provided a meal of bread and water for Elijah in the wilderness. As you welcome online participants, invite them to gather one or more of these items and create their focal point for the lesson.

Lesson 3. The focal point recalls Jesus multiplying the five loaves and two fish to feed thousands of people. As you welcome online participants, invite them to create their focal point with two cans or packets of tuna, salmon, or other fish and five sandwich buns or other kinds of bread.

Lesson 4. This lesson suggests two focal points, a place setting in a prominent place in the room and a place setting in an out-of-the-way corner of the room. The purpose is to illustrate the places of more honor and less honor at a dinner party. During the opening discussion, invite online class members to share where they consider the seats of honor to be in their homes.

Lessons 5–9. These lessons are in Unit Two. The theme for this unit is Water. The suggested focal point for all five lessons in Unit Two is a collage with pictures of water and sources of water.

The water collage is designed to be a group project. Class members are invited to bring in relevant pictures each week to add to the collage. The purpose is to remind us of the many aspects of water, the ways water impacts our lives, and the necessity of water for our survival.

Here are two suggestions for ways to include online participants in creating the water collage.

Invite them to create their collage by taping or gluing photographs and pictures of water and sources of water to a large sheet of paper.

Invite them to mail or email pictures to be added to the class collage. Recruit someone to receive these pictures and then add them to the collage.

Lessons Based on a Psalm

The psalms are songs that express the deep feelings of the poets. We are invited to pray and sing the psalms as we express our feelings before God, feelings of joy, praise, and thanksgiving, as well as feelings of sorrow, fear, and pain.

Lesson 7 is based on Psalms 42–43. The lesson plan includes instructions for lectio divina, which is a special way of reading and meditating on Scripture. As you distribute paper and pens or pencils to in-person class members, suggest that online class members have paper and pen available so they may also participate.

Lesson 11 is based on Psalm 27. The lesson plan includes instructions for class members to make notes about the psalm, record their feelings during the lesson, and compose their own psalm based on Psalm 27 during the week.

Encourage online class members to have paper and pencil available to make notes during the lesson and then to compose a psalm during the week. Offer time the next week for volunteers to share the psalms they have written. Inviting online class members to read their psalms will be a great way to help them feel included.

Other Ways to Include Online Class Members

Some of the discussion questions lend themselves to conversations in pairs or small groups rather than in a large group. If you have a large group, you may want to create online chat rooms for small-group discussions among online class members.

When you write on a whiteboard, chalkboard, or chart paper, also say aloud what you are writing so that online class members are included. Invite online and in-person class members to read Scripture references aloud and contribute to discussions.

Closing Thoughts

Online class members offer us wonderful opportunities to stay connected, to be aware of prayer concerns and ministry needs, and to enjoy fellowship with those who are not able to gather in person. Thank you for serving as a teacher and meeting the needs of your group during challenging times.

¹The United Methodist Hymnal, 883.

Unit 1: Introduction

Food

What comes to mind when you think about food? Is it the memory of holiday meals or the experience of eating dinner at the end of the day? Perhaps it is a feeling of uneasiness about whether there will be enough or a concern for people who go to bed hungry. The four lessons in this unit invite us to consider food from several perspectives.

Lesson One invites us to ponder if we trust God to provide enough for us. The Israelites were concerned about finding food in the wilderness, and their fear of not having enough to eat led them to complain against Moses and God. They even longed for the days they had lived in slavery, saying that at least they had food to eat back in Egypt.

God responded to the Israelites’ concern and fear by providing manna and quail. With time, the Israelites learned to trust God as they received God’s faithful provision of enough food every day. This lesson also raises the issue of food insecurity and encourages us to become involved in outreach ministries that help alleviate hunger.

Lesson Two is based on the story of the prophet Elijah when he fled Jezebel after she threatened his life. He took refuge in the wilderness feeling dejected, depressed, and ready to give up; but God did not give up on Elijah. The Lord sent a messenger who prepared a meal for him. The gift of a meal reminded Elijah of God’s love and assured him of the Lord’s faithful provision.

This lesson invites us to consider how a seemingly small gift of food can speak volumes about God’s provision and care. How do we serve as God’s messengers and reach out to others to offer hope with reminders of the Lord’s faithful love?

Lesson Three takes us back to when Jesus fed the 5,000. We are awed by the miraculous abundance of food. The disciples found only five loaves of bread and two fish; but after Jesus blessed and broke the bread and fish, everyone ate until they were full. Jesus’ provision was so abundant that 12 baskets of food were left over.

This lesson shows us the care and concern Jesus had for those who followed him. We can see that Jesus was motivated by compassion when he fed the crowd instead of sending them away to find food for themselves. The story also raises questions for us: What do we do with the leftovers? How do we share our abundant blessings with others?

Lesson Four takes us to a dinner party at a Pharisee’s home. Jesus watched as the guests jostled for the best seats at the table. He challenged the host to invite guests who were poor, blind, and crippled—the outcasts of their society—instead of family members, friends, and rich people.

The Pharisees were concerned about status, so they did not choose to associate with the socially marginalized. Instead, they sought out the company of people who had the influence and connections to elevate their social standing in the community. Jesus used the setting of a banquet to teach a lesson about humility and generosity.

The spiritual practice connected to the lessons in this unit is feasting. This practice provides a time for us to remember and savor God’s faithful provision and generosity. As we consider this practice, we can ask ourselves, How can we create a feast that we can share with others? Who are we called to serve with generosity without expecting anything in return? When we follow Jesus, we have compassion for others and reach out to help with humility and generosity.

September 3 | Lesson 1

Who Is This God?

Focal Passage

Exodus 16:2-19, 31-32

Background Text

Exodus 16

Purpose

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