NASHVILLE (BP) — This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.
This week’s Bible study is adapted from the Explore the Bible curriculum.
Bible Passages: Proverbs 13:4, 14:23, 20:4, 24:30-34, 26:13-14, 28:19, 6:6-8, 10:5, 14:4, 21:20, 24:27, 11:24-25, 19:17, 22:9, 28:7
Discussion Questions: What image would you hope comes to mind when someone mentions your name to your boss? How would that image compare to the image family members and friends have of you?
Food for Thought:
Flying over farmland can be fascinating. The fields of crops seem to draw you in as you look for identifiable patterns. The fields with center pivot irrigation (the ones plowed in a huge circle) almost beg for a mental game of connect the dots. A farmer working on these circular fields always draws attention since the inner part of the circle is a different shade or color than the outer part of the circle. Occasionally, you see a tract of land sitting dormant with tractors collecting dust. You almost wonder what keeps the owners from selling the land to someone who could make it productive.
Solomon characterized as slackers people who ignored the opportunity of planting season (Proverbs 24:30-34). Most view this term as a way of defining someone who is lazy. The term was used during World War I to describe draft dodgers. These men were not lazy; they worked hard at not being found. They were slackers in the sense that they avoided their responsibility to serve. Solomon was reminding his readers that work is a stewardship of opportunity that benefits us.
We have a responsibility to act on our God-given opportunities to provide. Work is about being a good steward of those responsibilities. While the opportunities may be different, we have a responsibility to ourselves, our families and our God to act on what He gives us to do. The value is not found in how much we produce, but rather in the fact that God is gracious in giving us a means to provide and contribute. As such, our work is an expression of gratitude to God for His grace.
Explore the Bible
Explore the Bible is an ongoing Bible study curriculum that helps groups dig into the key truths of each Bible book, while keeping the group on pace to study through the Bible books in a systematic way. More information can be found on the Internet at LifeWay.com/ExploreTheBible
Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay.com/SundaySchool.
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Dwayne McCrary is the adult Project Team Leader for Explore the Bible and can be followed on twitter @gdwayne.