At times, all of us could use a little encouragement as we seek to live a life worthy of the title Christian. A great way to receive that encouragement is by meeting regularly in small groups or Bible study classes. I’ve recently catalogued a handful of new resources that might help as your group grows closer to each other and to God.
Simplify - Unclutter Your Soul: “Exhausted. Overwhelmed. Overscheduled.” Today’s velocity of life can consume and control us until a breakneck pace begins to feel normal and expected. That’s where the danger lies: When we spend our lives doing things that keep us busy but don’t really matter, we sacrifice the things that do. If you crave a simpler life anchored by the priorities that matter most, roll up your sleeves: Simplified living requires uncluttering your soul. In this four-session study, author Bill Hybels identifies the core issues that lure us into frenetic living, and offers practical steps for sweeping the clutter from our souls.
Too Busy Not To Pray - Slowing Down to Be With God: The urgent need for prayer in today’s broken world is clear, but busyness still keeps many of us from finding time to pray. So Bill Hybels offers us his practical, time-tested ideas on slowing down to pray. In this four-session study Hybels conveys that each of us can become a person of prayer and calls both young and old to make prayer a priority, broadening the vision for what our eternal, powerful God does when his people slow down to pray.
Satisfied - Discovering Contentment in a World of Consumption: Why is a contented, satisfied life so evasive? What deep hungers drive the reckless purchasing habits, out of control accumulation, and crazy consumer lifestyle for so many of us? And why are we often driven more by what our neighbors own than what will truly make us happy? In this six-session study, Jeff Manion provides an inspiring and transformative vision for living a deeply contented life in the midst of our consumer-driven, materialistic, and often shallow culture.
Ask - Faith Questions in a Skeptical Age: We live in a skeptical age. People — especially young people — express doubts about Christian faith. In this thoughtful eight week study, Bishop Scott J. Jones partners with his son, Rev. Arthur Jones, to address hard questions that all of us face when considering faith, religion, and the church.
