When you submit your life to Christ, your spirit comes to life. You are born anew, and your spirit is connected to God’s Spirit. From that moment on, there is a war going on within you. Paul calls it a battle between your flesh and your spirit. By flesh, he’s not talking about your skin.…
The Books of the New Testament
Anyone who picks up the New Testament will find, if they give it a chance, that it is one of the most explosive books ever written. ~ N. T. Wright INTRODUCTION There is a massive difference between being familiar with something and understanding it. Having an acquaintance and building a deep friendship are radically different…
You Are the Girl for the Job: Let’s Quit
GROUP STUDY WELCOME NOTE FROM JESS (2 MINUTES) Leader, read Note from Jess aloud to the group. Friends! I am so excited to be with you, to grow with you, over the next six weeks. There’s no getting around it. I believe God is going to change each of us, change our lives, and change…
What Is Surrender Anyway?
I don’t know what you are facing today, but I know what it’s like to face circumstances that are out of your control. Life can be swirling around us, it can be overwhelming and hard. We long for peace over a situation, but we try to hold on tightly for control because we feel we…
How Happiness Happens: Accept One Another
It’s hard to know the best way to respond to people who represent your “opposite you.” Do you ignore them? Leave the room when they enter so you don’t say something you later will regret? Share a meal and discuss your differences? Dismiss your differences? How do you find and show acceptance toward someone when…
Boasting in Weakness
Editor’s note: Today’s reading comes from the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, a powerful tool for helping you understand the context in which Scripture takes place. When you understand the time and place in which events occur, you gain all new insight into the truths of God’s Word. Imagine reading the Bible with a behind-the-scenes…
Even If You Don’t Know a Lot About the Bible
Give us today our daily bread. — Matthew 6:11 My short-term memory and my long-term memory could not be more different. I can remember minute details of stuff that happened in the 1980’s. I’m one of those weirdos who has really distinct memories of things I shouldn’t be able to remember. I can describe houses…
Why Are You Even Here?
Group Time Leader read Kat’s message to group: It’s no accident that your attention is here for the moment. Cast aside those nagging fears that you won’t give this study the time it deserves, and you should just quit while you’re ahead. Reject the notion that this can wait. Because now is always the right…
Quiz: How Much of a Bible “Foodie” are You?
Test your knowledge of foods in the Bible! From manna to the mustard seed, there is so much spiritual significance to the foods and meals in the Bible! Maybe you’ve never considered the Bible a book about food. I hadn’t for most of my life. Yet there are more than a thousand references to food…
Waking the Dead: Listening in Prayer and in Life
Stay Close to his Friends We get alongside those who walk with God. Put simply, that is what church is supposed to be about. Would that it were. I hope you will find a few folks who walk with God to also walk with you through the seasons of your life. But honesty — and…