Life Step Bible Study Word of Life Local Church Ministries A division of Word of Life Fellowship, Inc. Don Lough Executive Director Jack Wyrtzen & Harry Bollback Founders Ric Garland VP of Local Church Ministries USA Canada P.O. Box 600 RR#8 Schroon Lake, NY 12870 Owen Sound, ON N4K 5W4 talk@wol.org lcm@wol.ca 1-518-494-6000 1-800-461-3503 Web Address: www.wol.org Publisher s Acknowledgements Writers and Contributors: Dr. Shawn L. Buice, Dr. Tom Davis, Dr. Dan DeWitt, Dr. Travis Kerns, Robert Gray, Greg Hauss, Matt McAlack, Troy Temple Editor: Dale Flynn Curriculum Manager: Don Reichard Design and layout: Chris Boire, Julie Auchtung Copyright 2014 Word of Life Fellowship, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of Word of Life Local Church Ministries. Page ii
Table of Contents Psalms James Genesis Titus/Philemon Habakkuk/Zephaniah Luke Revelation Isaiah Lesson Title Page # Introduction... iii 1. Strong Tree or Light Chaff... 1 2. A Small Part of the Big Picture... 7 3. To Live on the Holy Hill... 13 4. Boasting in God and Leaping Over Walls... 19 5. Unto Thee, O Lord... 25 6. Staying Clean: Springing the Traps of Temptation... 29 7. Can t We All Just Get Along?... 37 8. One Bad Apple (Bad Choices and Bad Consequences )... 43 9. Noah: The Ultimate Survivor (A Guide for Surviving a World-wide Flood )... 51 10. Obedience School (How to Be a Living Sacrifice in a Self-Centered World )... 57 11. Dishonest Abe and His Fibbing Family (Preventing a Lying Lifestyle)... 63 12. Together at Last (Steps for Vertical and Horizontal Reconciliation )... 71 13. Not an Average Joe: Part One (How to Build Integrity in Your Life)... 77 14. Not an Average Joe: Part Two (Maximizing Your God-Given Potential )... 83 15. The Power of Legacy (Review of the Genesis Study)... 89 16. Saved Fools... 95 17. My Questions for God... 99 18. Confident Christianity: An Historical Basis for What We Believe... 107 19. Why Jesus Understands Temptation but Models Obedience... 113 20. The Leper, the Man with Palsy, Saturday s Lunch, Why Jesus is Lord Over All... 119 21. The Alabaster Jar Filled by Amazing Grace... 123 22. Captain Obvious and the Clueless Cadets... 129 23. Whole Wheat: Praying for Daily Bread and Trusting God s Leadership... 135 24. The Darkness Within... 139 25. Lost!... 145 26. Are You Ready for Eternity?... 151 27. His Heart Grew Three Sizes that Day!... 157 28. Passover... 165 29. Famous Last Words... 171 30. The Lord Over the Churches... 179 31. Lion Over the Nations... 189 32. Hurry Up and Wait!... 195 33. Worship in Real Life... 201 34. How Christ Suffered for Us... 207 35. Remember?... 213 Page iii
Daniel 36. Be Real... 219 37. I Am Still Here... 227 38. Vindicating Virtue... 235 39. Scared Enough to Pray... 243 Esther/Song of Soloman 40. 41. 2 Corinthians 42. 43. 44. 1 Chronicles 45. 46. 47. 2 Chronicles 48. 49. 50. Galatians 51. 52. 53. Page iv
You can make a difference! Introduction In the year 2010, it was estimated that there were approximately 92 million young people in the United States who were born between the years of 1980 and 2001. What an awesome task awaits us: to be used of God to ignite a passion for God and His Word in the hearts and lives of students. With God s help we can team together to do just that! Just how do we begin such a daunting task? Perhaps you can start by meeting with a group of students in a Sunday school class or small group setting to teach the life-changing message of God s Word. The Word of Life Life Step study is a practical tool to help you effectively communicate God s truth on a weekly basis to the students God has placed in your care. This curriculum is not just a once-a-week teaching tool. Every lesson in this series is tied to our Word of Life Quiet Time journal, making Life Step different from most other Sunday school or small group curriculums. The hands-on participation in the lesson content each week by your students, as they journal daily from the prescribed Scripture passages in their quiet time journals, means that, in a sense, they will have already prepared for your weekly lesson before they even enter the door of your classroom. This allows us to be partnering with our young people to help them love, understand, and practically apply God s Word on a regular basis. Jesus said, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. (Matthew 22:29) You have the opportunity, with this Life Step series, to truly teach the Word of God with clarity and authority to the needs of young people. As you teach God s powerful Word, you will be equipping each of your students to make a difference in their world! Anything That s Worth Doing...... is worth doing RIGHT! To think clearly about impacting this generation of students through the teaching of God s Word, consider six steps that will help make each of your lessons the best they can be. Here are six suggestions for lesson preparation that will enable you to have the most I.M.P.A.C.T. in the lives of the students: Immerse yourself. Plan to read through the Bible study lesson for the week two or three times (better yet, everyday) to get the flow of the lesson. Do this five or six days prior to actually teaching that lesson and you will have plenty of time to absorb it and apply it to your own life. Make the most of research and referencing. Set aside time to conduct your own research on the lesson. Be sure to look up all of the Scripture references used in the Bible study. You may want to consult some of the listed reference materials. The more you understand the topic at hand, the greater your confidence will be when you teach it to your students. They need to hear someone who speaks with authority from the Word of God. Personalize the lesson so that it is your own. While the notes and helps given in each lesson are thorough and helpful, it is important that you make them your own. Many have found it best to take the information given in each lesson and develop their own set of teaching notes or PowerPoint presentations. Page v
Aim to spend time in daily review. Spend a few minutes each day reviewing the lesson. Teaching the Word of God should demand our best and a daily review is a good way to give it your best. Call on others to help. (Don t be a one-man show. ) Be sure to recruit the people and obtain the props to effectively communicate the truth to be taught. Group dynamics and various props are written into the lesson for a reason. They are designed to make the lesson come alive for everyone involved. Take it to God in Prayer. Since it is God s Word you are teaching; you certainly want to request His help. Plan to pray daily over each lesson you will teach. Pray for your understanding, pray for the individual students who will hear the lesson, and pray that you will teach the Scriptures with power and simplicity. Nine Dynamic Elements in Each of our Life Step Lessons We like to think of each Bible study lesson as a well-oiled machine, primed to move the student to action based on the truth and power of God s Holy Word. Familiarize yourself with these nine Life Step lesson sections below: Power Passage This section lists the key Scripture text(s) upon which the lesson is built. Point of Impact This section gives focus objectives that you want to see accomplished in the students hearts and lives through this lesson content. Notch It Up This section gives suggestions and teaching tips to help you teach with excellence and effectiveness. Investment This section gives a list of props and preparation suggestions that will be to execute the lesson effectively. Page vi
Connection Point This part of the lesson is an object lesson, skit, discussion topic, suggested video clip, illustration, or icebreaker to help you capture the student s attention and get them thinking. Clicking In This section is where the lesson theme and Biblical passages are introduced, directing the students into the lesson itself Truth Fusion This is the actual expository content of the lesson to be taught. Life Imprint This section delivers the main focus of the lesson: the practical application of God s truths to the students lives in a clear, meaningful and concise way. Sneak Preview This part of the lesson is designed give the students a particular focus for next week s lesson something specific to look for as he/she does their Word of Life Quiet Time in the assigned passages for the coming week. [Some, but not all of, the lessons will be accompanied by student notes, worksheets, quizzes, or activities. These will always be found at the end of the lesson.] Let s Get Started! So, let s get started impacting the hearts and lives of students! You have 52 lessons to be taught to your students. In order for these lessons to have the greatest impact, you will want to use them in conjunction with our Word of Life Quiet Time journals. Every one of your students will benefit spiritually from using this daily devotional tool. You can order quiet times online at www.wolstore.org or call 1-888-932-5827. Page vii
LifeStep Lesson 1 (Worksheet)