We’re in mid-Summer, so it’s a good time to start thinking about what your small groups will study in the Fall. There are six new video-based studies that will be published soon. Request one for your group now, and we will mail it to you when it is available.
The One
The One: Reaching the Lost with the Love of Christ by Jim and Jennifer Cowart. Jesus tells stories about rejoicing when lost things are found–specifically, a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost child. The One uses these parables to teach us how to become passionate about sharing the love and message of Jesus to reach those who don’t know God. The four-session DVD features United Methodist pastors Jennifer and Jim Cowart guiding participants through the study. A leader guide and participant book are also available.
This study will be published on August 3rd. Cokesbury is currently offering 25% off pre-orders, or you can request to borrow the leader’s materials from the NC Conference Media Center.
The Difficult Words of Jesus
The Difficult Words of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to His Most Perplexing Teachings by Amy-Jill Levine. Jesus provided his disciples with teachings on how to follow Torah, God’s word, but sometimes Jesus spoke words that followers then and now have found difficult. He instructs disciples to hate members of their own families (Luke 14:26), to act as if they were slaves (Matthew 20:27), and to sell their belongings and give to the poor (Luke 18:22). He restricts his mission (Matthew 10:6); he speaks of damnation (Matthew 8:12); he calls Jews the devil’s children (John 8:44).
In The Difficult Words of Jesus, Amy-Jill Levine shows how these difficult teachings would have sounded to the people who first heard them, how have they been understood over time, and how we might interpret them in the context of the Gospel of love and reconciliation. The six-session DVD features Dr. Amy-Jill Levine guiding participants through the study. A leader guide and participant book are also available.
This study will be published on August 3rd. Cokesbury is currently offering up to 30% off pre-orders, or you can request to borrow the leader’s materials from the NC Conference Media Center.
Reading the Old Testament Through Jewish Eyes
Reading the Old Testament Through Jewish Eyes: A Study of the Scriptures Jesus Read by Rabbi Evan Moffic. Rabbi Evan Moffic has a passion for sharing Jewish faith and traditions with Christian audiences. In Reading the Old Testament Through Jewish Eyes, Rabbi Moffic explores the first five books of the Hebrew Bible and highlights the key points of interest to Christians. He presents the biblical text and interpretations of it in the way Jewish leaders during the time of Jesus would have studied it while examining different commentaries from thousands of years of Jewish sources. The six-session DVD features Rabbi Evan Moffic guiding participants through the study. A leader guide and participant book are also available.
This study will be published on August 17th. Cokesbury is currently offering 40% off pre-orders, or you can request to borrow the leader’s materials from the NC Conference Media Center.
Subversive Witness
Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege by Dominique DuBois Gilliard. Instead of denying the existence of privilege or feeling incapacitated by it, Christians can learn to wield privilege as an instrument to advance the kingdom and sacrificially love our neighbors. Gilliard illustrates how the faithful witness of biblical figures, from Esther to Zacchaeus, provides a blueprint for modern believers. By embodying Scripture’s subversive call to leverage–and at times forsake–privilege, you will learn to love your neighbors sacrificially, enact systemic change, and grow more Christlike as a citizen of God’s kingdom. This DVD study is 8 sessions and includes the book.
This study will be published on August 1st. Cokesbury is currently offering up to 40% off pre-orders, or you can request to borrow the leader’s materials from the NC Conference Media Center.
Help is Here
Help Is Here: Face the Challenge of Today with the Strength and Hope of the Spirit by Max Lucado. In this five-session video Bible study, bestselling author Max Lucado pulls back the curtain on the third member of Trinity. He shows how Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to his disciples because they needed to be equipped for the work he had in store for them. Jesus knew they needed the Holy Spirit’s power–to make good choices, keep promises, silence voices of fear, and get on with life. Jesus promised to provide this power to his followers. He still promises to provide this power today. The Bible reveals that the Holy Spirit–far from being an impersonal force–is always close, always active, and always at work within our lives.
This study will be published on September 1st. Cokesbury is currently offering up to 40% off pre-orders, or you can request to borrow the DVD and study guide from the NC Conference Media Center.
So Long, Normal
So Long, Normal: Living and Loving the Freefall of Faith by Laura Story. This five-session study helps us recognize that our attachments to so many varied things in our daily lives can be the exact things keeping us from experiencing the kind of life God intends, and actually defines in Scripture. So many characters in Scripture wanted to hold onto something or have assurances, but ultimately, the abundant life comes down to wanting the life God intends and being willing to go after it or step into it with excitement. Laura Story looks at the obstacles of attachment to comfort and sameness we all grip with two hands when our circumstances change. She leads the way to the starting line where we begin to view our changes of plans as opportunities for adventure, rather than pitfalls of anxiety, and together we learn to further trust our unknown future to a faithful God.
This study will be published on September 1st. Cokesbury is currently offering up to 40% off pre-orders, or you can request to borrow the DVD and study guide from the NC Conference Media Center.
Back to Basics
Cokesbury is also offering a special “back to basics” curriculum series recommended for the Fall. To help you energize and build excitement in your congregation as you regather and relaunch this fall, Adam Hamilton shares three back-to-basics studies that he has successfully used in his own church and that reflect on the essentials of our faith.
Words of Life focuses on the Ten Commandments and how they still speak to us today; The Walk outlines five essential practices that help us daily follow, grow in, and faithfully serve Christ; and the Creed series explores what Christians believe, why they believe, and why it matters through the Apostles Creed.
If you purchase 35 or more books from one of these studies by August 15th, you can join Adam Hamilton for a special virtual conversation sponsored by Amplify Media where he will discuss how you can use these three studies to build excitement in your congregation for a churchwide, back-to-basics fall program.
The DVDs, leader guides, and additional books for these studies can be borrowed from the NC Conference Media Center or purchased at a discount from Cokesbury.