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Bible Study: September 11, 2016


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 Bible Studies For Life curriculum.

Bible Passage: Isaiah 43:1-7

Discussion Question: When was a time you asked yourself, “What am I doing here?”

Food for Thought by Blake Gideon:

What is the meaning of life?

Countless philosophers have discussed that question through the ages. They’ve drawn as many conclusions as the number of people who have asked the question. Take the conclusion of one celebrity, for example. After enduring cancer and 17 months of chemotherapy and radiation, she said, “What I learned is very simple: that your life belongs to you. And it really doesn’t matter what you do with it, but it should be what you want to do with it. Not what your mother or father or friends or society want. It should be ‘I’ directed. And that’s the only purpose for being here.”

Sadly, I also lived for a long time with a worldly misunderstanding of purpose. I was a very selfish person. My life was “I”-directed. This resulted in a nagging sense of emptiness. I sought fulfillment in materialism, relationships and money. These things resulted in momentary satisfaction, but the emptiness always returned. I know now it was because I was living my life without real purpose.

Thankfully, I discovered the purpose of my life — our lives — and that purpose is given in the pages of Scripture. Isaiah 43 addressed God’s relationship with Israel, and it still holds great meaning for us today.

Consider what verses 1-2 tell us about God’s relationship with Israel:
— God created and formed them;
— God redeemed them out of bondage in Egypt;
— God called them by name and they were His possession.

See the intimacy and purpose in the words the Lord used to speak of Israel: created, formed, redeemed and called. God created you as well — and He created you to live in relationship with Him. If you have a relationship with the Lord, He is forming you each day to become more like Him, much as a potter forms clay (Isaiah 64:8). If you are a Christian, then God has redeemed you through Jesus Christ. He has set you free from the penalty and power of sin. He called you by name and brought you to Himself. He saved you to be in relationship with Him.

God created us and has called us to know Him, walk with Him, and bring Him glory. Our ultimate purpose in life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We are created, called, and redeemed for this purpose.

Bible Studies For Life

Bible Studies for Life connects the Bible to life for adults, students and kids. Bible Studies for Life helps individuals and groups know God’s Word through trustworthy content, creates biblical community through engaging and conversational group studies, and helps people engage the culture missionally by unpacking what the Bible says about real-life issues. More information can be found on the Internet at
LifeWay.com/BibleStudiesforLife.

Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay.com/SundaySchool.

    About the Author

  • Staff/Lifeway Christian Resources