Fall brings many “returns”– the return of beautiful leaves, scarves, afternoons watching football, and pumpkin spice-flavored everything. Here at HCR, we are eagerly anticipating the return of some of your favorite authors and Bible studies. Lysa TerKeurst, Dallas Willard, Sarah Young, John MacArthur, and Max Lucado all have Bible studies releasing this month. Keep reading to learn more, and see if you find a new study you’ll return to again and again!
Jesus Calling Practicing Thankfulness Bible Study by Sarah Young
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is rich with expressions of joy and thankfulness. Think of Joseph, giving his two sons names that celebrated the Lord’s redemption. Hannah rejoicing over God’s answer to her years of prayers for a son. Nehemiah leading the people of God in a huge dedication service at the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. God’s Word bears witness of expressions and examples of the opposite too—of ungrateful or resentful attitudes surfacing among His people. And it wasn’t just the Israelites in the wilderness either! A close look at the lives of men and women like Moses, Sarah, Rachel, Naomi, Elijah, and some of Jesus’ disciples indicates that even they struggled to be thankful at times, just as we all do. Yet as their stories (and ours) unfold, we see the truth: practicing thankfulness is a means to the renewed mind and life that God makes possible for everyone who puts their faith in Christ.
This six-week Bible study is perfect for small groups or a personal thankfulness journey.
I Want to Trust You, But I Don’t by Lysa TerKeurst
Where there’s a lack of trust, there’s a lack of peace. Broken trust can send us spiraling: Can anyone really be trusted? What if distrust is actually the wisest choice to make? What do I do with my doubts about God when He allows bad things to happen? Are there biblical answers for any of this? Lysa TerKeurst understands this kind of deep wrestling and has asked these same hard questions in the midst of her own relational heartbreaks and uncontrollable circumstances.
But after thousands of hours of counseling intensives and theological research, Lysa has discovered how crucial it is to develop the stability you long for within yourself and with God, so you don’t become cynical and carry a broken belief system into every new relationship.
The Scandal of the Kingdom by Dallas Willard and Jan Johnson
There is a striking difference between the way that most churches operate today and the way Jesus the conducted his ministry when he was on earth. Most churches today spend their time and resources trying to get people to come into their doors and join their fellowship. But Jesus didn’t concern himself with trying to get followers.
Instead, what we find in the Gospels is that the message Jesus taught—and in fact the sole message of the New Testament—was the nature and availability of the kingdom of God. It was now accessible to all people, both Jews and Gentiles alike. Jesus revealed much of these scandalous truths about God’s kingdom through parables. Yet while these parables constitute some of his best-known teachings, they are also some of the least understood. Even the disciples weren’t always sure what they meant.
The Scandal of the Kingdom Workbook, which accompanies the book of the same name, presents carefully curated new material from the late Dallas Willard to help readers understand the heart of Jesus’ key parables, why Jesus chose story to communicate life’s deepest truths, and how these stories are still revolutionary (and even shocking) in showing us how to live out God’s kingdom on earth today.
Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Joel, & Obadiah by John MacArthur
These prophets are all relatively obscure figures in history. They are important today not because of their wealth or power or volumes of prose they created. Rather, they are important because they faithfully delivered God’s messages at crucial times in the history of Israel and Judah. They called out God’s people for their sins and spoke of the Lord’s impending judgments. Yet they also spoke faithfully of the restoration that God was offering—if only they repented and turned from their sins.
Join John MacArthur on an exploration of these “minor prophets” and the messages of divine judgment and future restoration—including the promise of a future reign of Christ on earth during the millennial kingdom—that they gave to God’s people. By working through this study, you will learn that while there are consequences for sin, God always extends His grace and forgiveness.
Ten Men of the Bible Updated Edition by Max Lucado
The men depicted in the Bible were not perfect by any means. We find story after story marked by scandal, failure, and intrigue. Yet we also find many stories of men who were able to look beyond their circumstances, completely trust in the Lord, and follow Him wherever He chose to them. Like us, these men made both good and bad decisions along the way—and experienced both good and bad consequences—and we find our struggles and hopes in the pages of the Bible that tells their stories.
In this ten-session workbook, Max Lucado tells some of his favorite stories of these men in the Bible.
