Advertise on podcast: Bible Studies for Life | Adults

Session: 2  Date of First Use: October 25, 2026  Title: The Source of Forgiveness  The Point: Forgiveness reflects the character of God.  Life Connection: We don’t always understand the full meaning and scope of forgiveness. Our culture often wants to color forgiveness with conditions, “I’ll forgive if ...” “When he begs, I’ll forgive.” “I’ll forgive, but I definitely won’t forget.”What does forgiveness look like? When we look to God, we get a complete view of true forgiveness. God’s forgiveness arises from His love, grace, and mercy toward us.  Session Passage: Psalm 103:1-13  How this session connects to the overall study and the sessions that surround it: Our need for forgiveness can be met because forgiveness and grace flow from the heart of God.

Session: 1  Date of First Use: October 18, 2026  Title: The Cry for Forgiveness  The Point: When we sin, we sin against God so only He can forgive us.     Life Connection: Sometimes we want to downplay our sins as simply failures or mistakes, but we need to see them for what they are: sins. Those sins hang over our heads until we experience forgiveness, but forgiveness will elude us until we acknowledge our sin and look to God.  Session Passage: Psalm 51:1-13  How this session connects to the overall study and the sessions that surround it: A study on forgiveness needs to start with the “why” question. Why do we need to be forgiven? Because we have sinned against God!

Session: 6  Date of First Use: October 11, 2026  Title: God Speaks and We Respond  The Point: When we discover God’s will, we are to follow it.  Life Through a Biblical Lens: We often know what we should do, but we choose not to do it. For example, many of us can talk about the benefits of diet and exercise even though we never exercise nor eat right. Even more tragic is when God’s will is laid out before us, but we choose to do things our way instead. Ignoring God’s loving plan for our lives carries consequences, but obedience leads to great blessing.  Seeing the World Through a Biblical Lens: A key part of developing a biblical lens is an understanding of the PEOPLE and specifically who we are. Being a follower of Christ means living under His lordship in full obedience. As we discern God’s will, we are to obey it.  Session Passage: Psalm 119:30-40  Connection to the Previous Sessions:Understanding the ways God makes His will known to us is not enough. We are to respond with obedience to that will.

Session: 5  Date of First Use: October 4, 2026  Title: God Speaks Through His Church   The Point: God communicates to us through other believers.  Life Through a Biblical Lens: When you give your life to Jesus Christ, you don’t just come to Christ; you become a part of His church. While each of us has a direct connection and relationship to God, He uses His church to help us grow in that relationship. We’re taught, encouraged, and ministered to through other believers. It should come as no surprise, then, that God often uses other believers to help us know and follow His voice.     Seeing the World Through a Biblical Lens: A key part of developing a biblical lens is an understanding of the CHURCH. Just as God’s Spirit works in us and through us, He also works through other believers. God will use the body of Christ to help us see and affirm the plan God has for us.  Session Passage: Ephesians 4:11-16,25-29  Connection to the Previous Sessions: While God often orchestrates our circumstances to put us in line with His will, we can also misinterpret those circumstances to fall in line with what we want. The Holy Spirit can work through other believers to affirm and/or caution us as we seek to understand God’s voice.

Session: 4  Date of First Use: September 27, 2026  Title: God Speaks Through Circumstances   The Point: God uses circumstances to guide us in His will.  Life Through a Biblical Lens: We’ve all had those “random” encounters that we look back on and realize how life-changing they were. Did we just happen to be in “the right place at the right time,” or was it God’s way of helping us follow His plan. In the Book of Romans, Paul gave us insight into how we should view our circumstances in light of knowing and following God’s voice.   Seeing the World Through a Biblical Lens: A key part of developing a biblical lens is an understanding of the nature and work of GOD and the HOLY SPIRIT. The circumstances and situations we find ourselves in are never an obstacle for God. In His power and sovereignty, God can work through those very circumstances to help us see His plans for us.  Session Passage: Romans 8:26-35  Connection to the Previous Sessions: As the Holy Spirit helps us understand the Word of God and speaks to our hearts, He often confirms His will through the circumstances we find ourselves in.

Session: 3  Date of First Use: September 20, 2026  Title: God Speaks Through His Holy Spirit   The Point: The Holy Spirit guides us in knowing His will.  Life Through a Biblical Lens: It’s often easy to be led by our feelings or emotions. It just feels right. We know we can’t always trust our feelings, but are there times when that “inner voice” is right? God’s Holy Spirit is separate from our conscience. The Holy Spirit helps us discern God's voice from other voices competing for our attention.     Seeing the World Through a Biblical Lens: A key part of developing a biblical lens is an understanding of the nature and work of the HOLY SPIRIT. This session focuses on the Holy Spirit, who guides us in right thinking and illuminates the pages of Scriptures to give us clarity and understanding.    Session Passage: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16  Connection to the Previous Sessions: The previous session stressed the importance of the Bible in understanding God’s character and plans. Many people read the Bible but totally miss its beauty and revelation. We need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to the truths of Scripture.

Session: 2  Date of First Use: September 13, 2026  Title: God Speaks Through the Bible   The Point: God’s Word is His primary means of speaking to us.  Life Through a Biblical Lens: The Internet is full of sites claiming to guide us and show us what to do. Pick a subject, and someone is ready to give you direction on the matter. This is nothing new. Solomon said, “There is no end to the making of many books” (Eccl. 12:12). The ultimate guidance we need comes from God, and the primary way He has revealed His will is through His Word.    Seeing the World Through a Biblical Lens: A key part of developing a biblical lens is an understanding of the nature and role of the BIBLE. This session focuses on how God has revealed His will for us through Scripture.   Session Passage: Psalm 19:7-14  Connection to the Previous Sessions: In the previous session, the emphasis was on the truth that God reaches out to us and speaks. In this session, we see that the primary way God reveals His will is through His Word.

Session: 1  Date of First Use: September 6, 2026  Title: God Speaks to His People  The Point: God loves us enough to speak to us.  Life Through a Biblical Lens: Many people who believe in the existence of God assume God is distant and uninvolved in our day-to-day lives. Even Christians can fall prey to this thinking when they think their prayers are unheard and unanswered. But God does care, and in His timing, He reaches out to us with a plan that calls for us to walk with Him.   Seeing the World Through a Biblical Lens: A key part of developing a biblical lens is an understanding of the nature and character of GOD. This session focuses on God’s initiative in reaching out to us.   Session Passage: Exodus 3:1-6,11-15; 4:28-31

Session: 7  Date of First Use: August 30, 2026  Title: A Love for Others  The Point: We are to love others as God loves us.   Life Connection: Love is an idea that we tend to apply to everything, and it’s often used flippantly. The love we are called to possess is something far greater than how our culture defines it. Love has its origin in God; consequently, the love we are to display is grounded in the character of God. The best way we can help and serve our neighbors is to love them as God loves them.   Session Passage: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Session: 6  Date of First Use: August 23, 2026  Title: A Way to Serve  The Point: God has empowered and equipped us to serve His church.  Life Connection: The world gravitates to people who are talented or highly skilled with unique abilities. The more talented a person is, the more popular that person is. But a multi-talented person does not necessarily make the world a better place. God has a different focus. His desire is for us to serve and support others, and He equips us for that very purpose.   Session Passage: 1 Corinthians 12:12-24   Connection to the Previous Sessions: We are all called to serve with a humble servant’s heart, but the specifics of our work can be quite varied because God has gifted and equipped each of us in unique ways.

Session: 5  Date of First Use: August 16, 2026  Title: An Outward Focus  The Point: Bring glory to God by seeking the welfare of others.  Life Connection: As Americans, we like to emphasize our individual rights. Christians also have rights that arise out of the freedom we’re given in Christ. We have the right not to be held to the convictions or preferences of others. But love dictates that we often need to set aside that “right” and freedom for the sake of others. In so doing, we can encourage others and honor Christ.    Session Passage: 1 Corinthians 10:23-33

Session: 4  Date of First Use: August 9, 2026  Title: A Humble Attitude  The Point: Humility calls for faithfulness to Christ.  Life Connection: “Notice me,” is the unspoken request behind so much of what we do. Whether through social media or face-to-face conversations, we find subtle and not-so-subtle ways for others to notice us and what we’ve done. Unfortunately, this is seen in the church too, but our lives and service are not to be about ourselves. Everything we do is to point to Jesus, and that calls for humility.    Session Passage: 1 Corinthians 3:18–4:7

Session: 3  Date of First Use: August 2, 2026  Title: A Servant’s Heart  The Point: Serve Christ with eternity in mind.   Life Connection: In the work environment, we often live in competition with one another. Who has the more important role or work? Who does it better? That mindset is not necessary when we work for the kingdom. “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:23) is the praise that awaits all believers who carry out their respective roles with diligence and faithfulness.” In fact, competition among believers is harmful because it takes our focus off the One we serve.      Session Passage: 1 Corinthians 3:5-15

Session: 2  Date of First Use: July 26, 2026  Title: Wisdom from God  The Point: Believers have the wisdom of God because we have the Spirit of God.   Life Connection: It’s often easy to be led by our feelings or emotions. It just feels right. We know we can’t always trust our feelings, but are there times when that “inner voice” is right? God’s Holy Spirit is separate from our conscience. God reveals His will through His Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul told us the role the Holy Spirit plays in revealing the will of God to us.   Session Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:20-25; 2:9-16

Session: 1  Date of First Use: July 19, 2026  Title: Fellowship with Believers  The Point: A life in Christ is a life of fellowship with other believers.  Life Connection: Many people say they hold to the Christian religion because they hold to certain tenets within the faith, but they have no connection to a local church. When we come to Christ, we also come to His body: the church. We are not to live in isolation from other believers. Far from it. Our faith is enhanced and strengthened through our fellowship and involvement with other Christians.  Session Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:1-13