LIVING DISCIPLESHIP

E X P LO R I N G
THE BIBLE
Adult Facilitator Guide

Melody Wilson Shobe

Special thanks to David Creech for his contributions to The Path: A Journey through the Bible, which is used in this
curriculum.

The creation of the Living Discipleship curriculum has been supported by a generous grant from The Episcopal
Church’s Constable Fund.

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, © 1989 the National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the USA.

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

© 2016 Forward Movement

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 9780880284370

Printed in USA
Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................... v
Getting Started................................................................................. 1
1. God Saw That It Was Good....................................................... 9
2. The Sign of the Covenant . . ...................................................... 13
3. The Ancestor of a Multitude................................................... 17
4. Joseph Had a Dream................................................................ 21
5. I A m W h o I A m . . ........................................................................ 25
6. The Waters Were Divided....................................................... 29
7. The Wall Fell Down Flat.......................................................... 33
8. The Lord Raised Up Judges..................................................... 37
9. Speak, for Your Ser vant Is Listening........................................ 41
10. Determined to Have a King . . ................................................... 45
11. A Man after God’s Own Heart................................................ 49
12. The Wisdom of God Was in Him.. ........................................... 53
13. Here I Am; Send Me. . ............................................................... 57
14. Daniel, Ser vant of the Living God........................................... 61
15. Go Up and Rebuild.................................................................. 65
16. Good News of Great Joy . . ....................................................... 69
17. Follow Me................................................................................ 73
18. Proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom......................... 77
19. Crucify Him!............................................................................ 81
20. We Have Seen the Lord.. ......................................................... 85
21. Filled with the Holy Spirit. . ..................................................... 89
22. Grace May Abound.................................................................. 93
23. Be Doers of the Word............................................................. 97
24. The Alpha and the Omega..................................................... 101
Epilogue: Celebrate the Journey................................................... 105
Resources...................................................................................... 107
About the Author . . ........................................................................ 111
About Forward Movement............................................................ 111

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Introduction
In the midst of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is nestled one of the most beautiful prayers in the Christian tradition.
Paul is writing to his disciples, his students, those who have joined him on the path of following Jesus and who are
learning how to live in light of Christ’s love. To these early Christians, Paul writes, “I pray that the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that,
with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the
riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who
believe, according to the working of his great power” (Ephesians 1:17-19).

This prayer, written nearly 2,000 years ago, resonates through the ages. Now, perhaps more than ever, what
individual Christians need, what the Church needs, is to know “the hope to which God has called us…the riches
of his glorious inheritance among the saints…the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.” These
three things represent the content of the Christian faith: the hope of God proclaimed to us in the Bible, the witness
of the saints from ages past, and the great power God offers to each of us to live out our lives of faith here and now.
These ideas cannot be grasped in a single moment but must be learned, absorbed, and made real through a lifetime
of discipleship. They are not facts to memorize but realities to encounter and experience.

We can, as a Church and as individuals, live more deeply into the reality for which Paul so fervently prays. Spiritual
formation for all ages—adults, youth, and children—is one way we can seek the spirit of wisdom and revelation that
God offers.

Living Discipleship is a tool for churches and leaders, a resource for helping Christians come to know more fully God
in Christ: the hope, the glorious inheritance, and the immeasurable power. This all-ages curriculum is designed to
help individuals and communities know more fully the heart of what Paul prayed for the Ephesians to find: the God
revealed in Christ Jesus. Living Discipleship is structured in three years: one year on Exploring the Bible, one year on
Celebrating the Saints, and one year on Practicing our Faith.

Living Discipleship: Exploring the Bible takes participants on a journey through the scriptures, from Genesis to
Revelation. One of the main ways that we know and understand the hope to which God has called us is the gift
of God’s Word, the Bible. By focusing on the vast narrative of the scriptures, we can see the great story of God’s
love from the beginning of creation, through the life of Jesus Christ, and in our own time, guided by the Holy Spirit.
Through the stories of scripture, we can learn that the hope God offered to the faithful in ages past is the very same
hope to which God is calling us today.

Living Discipleship: Celebrating the Saints is an exploration of the riches of God’s glorious inheritance made real in
the lives of the saints who have gone before us. The saints witness to us what the life of faith looks like, lived out in
real time; they challenge us to live out our own discipleship more fully and fearlessly. In our journey with the saints,
we also learn something of our history as we look at monks, missionaries, prophets, doctors, evangelists, and more.
Through these stories, we learn how dozens of different people in different places and times, with different gifts and
backgrounds, have proclaimed the kingdom of God.

Living Discipleship: Practicing our Faith offers a survey of the basic beliefs and practices of The Episcopal Church,
focused especially on The Book of Common Prayer and our liturgical and sacramental traditions. These beliefs and
practices remind us that we are the inheritors of the immeasurable greatness of God’s power that transforms each
of us and strengthens us to serve the world in Christ’s name. In practicing our faith, we learn how to live as disciples,
not merely one day a week but every day of the week.

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Overview
Welcome to Li ving Discipleship: Exploring the Bible!
As Christians, we know that the Bible is important. We believe that it is holy, even if we are not sure what to do
with the parts we don’t like. We proclaim that it is God’s Word, even if we aren’t always sure what that means.
We remember certain favorite stories from our childhood. We hear scripture read aloud in our worship services
each week. Yet most of us have a nagging feeling that we don’t quite know the Bible like we should. Maybe we know
snippets, but we’re not sure how they fit together. Maybe we want to read the Bible, but we find it intimidating or
don’t know where to start. Maybe we think everyone else already knows the Bible, and we are embarrassed to
admit we have more to learn.

For many of us, the Bible itself is intimidating. The Bible is a big book, often with gold edges, paper-thin pages,
and leather binding; it looks formal and serious. And it’s long; the Bible is thousands of pages, some of which are
intricate genealogies full of unpronounceable names that we struggle to understand. It can seem inaccessible and
overwhelming.

Yet inside those gilded-edge pages, underneath that intimidating cover, between and through those lists of hard-
to-pronounce names, in the midst of those holy words is a story. It is the story of God’s extraordinary love that
overflowed into the creation of the world, the earth, and all that is in it, including humanity. It is the story of God’s
relentless, unwavering, unstoppable love for his people, people who are flawed and funny and ordinary, just like you
and me. It is the story of all-too-ordinary people who have tried, sometimes with glorious success and sometimes
with abject failure, to respond to God’s love. These holy words convey the story of how God keeps trying to call
us back to him, even when we have wandered and strayed. It’s the story of how, in the fullness of time, God came
among us, love incarnate, in the person of Jesus Christ. It’s the story of Jesus’ life, of his death, and of his resurrection.
In these holy words is the story of the founding of the Church, the followers of Jesus in the world, proclaiming
Christ’s word and continuing his work. It’s the story of you and me, the descendants of these flawed, broken, and
beautiful characters, the inheritors of the promise of God. The Bible is a story worth reading, worth knowing. And
Living Discipleship: Exploring the Bible is a chance to learn that story in an easy and accessible format.

Living Discipleship: Exploring the Bible was born out of the understanding that many of us are intimidated by the Bible.
It seems too distant, too difficult to understand, and too long. So this curriculum teaches the story of the Bible in
twenty-six sessions. Each week, people will read selections from the Bible, with passages excerpted and condensed
for easier reading. You will study all of the highlights of the biblical narrative—and learn how the pieces of the
story fit together. Through Living Discipleship: Exploring the Bible, participants receive an introduction to the Bible, an
overview of the amazing story of God’s extraordinary love for ordinary people.

This curriculum shares the overarching biblical narrative, from Genesis to Revelation. Designed for use in weekly
formation time, each session is approximately an hour long. With twenty-six sessions, Exploring the Bible is intended
to function as the formation curriculum in a church for an entire program year. Thus it can be used as the yearly
Sunday School curriculum or on whatever day of the week your community offers weekly formation programs.

Exploring the Bible is offered as an all-ages curriculum with corresponding lessons for adults and children on the
same topics each week. The curriculum is also designed to be used as a youth formation resource, and some
suggestions on adapting the adult curriculum are included in the appendix. This all-ages format allows people of all
ages to come to church and learn about the same general thing, each in their own class, and have a shared starting
point from which to go home and talk, discuss, and debate about what they learned. The hope is that this intentional
invitation to engage the Bible will form and foster intergenerational relationships, both within families and between
church members.

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Exploring the Bible is available as a free download to all Episcopal congregations. The download contains all necessary
materials, including PDFs of the weekly readings for easy printing and distribution. The companion book, The Path: A
Journey Through the Bible is available for purchase for those who want the ease and accessibility of having all of the
weekly readings in one beautiful book. A companion book for children, The Path: A Family Storybook, and an adult
coloring book, Pathways of Faith, are also available for purchase at FowardMovement.org or through Amazon or
other booksellers.

Through Living Discipleship: Exploring the Bible, you will discover anew the wonderful, rich, extraordinary, sometimes
mysterious story of the Bible: the story of how God creates, redeems, and sustains us, a story of hope. As people
join in reading the Bible together, as the whole Church listens for what God has to say to us, we deepen our life
together and live more fully into the people God intends us to be. Scripture is God’s word, God’s communication
to us. Through Living Discipleship: Exploring the Bible, our church engages in a faithful act of listening: listening to the
story of salvation, told from the beginning of time; listening to what God has said to faithful women and men
around the world and through the ages; and listening to what God is saying to us, here and now, through these
most holy stories.

Welcome to a year of Exploring the Bible

Format and Materials:

Exploring the Bible is largely a discussion-based rather than a lecture-based class. Each week, the group looks at one
part of the biblical story, which participants will be asked to read the week before in preparation
for the class.

Groups can choose to read the biblical story in two ways. The first is by using copies of the course companion book,
The Path: A Journey Through the Bible. Weekly class sessions correspond exactly to the chapters in The Path, and the
book provides an easy and accessible format for reading this wonderful story. Individual participants could be asked
to purchase copies of the book, or a church might choose to purchase copies of the book and provide them to
participants at low or no cost. Bulk pricing is available.

On the other hand, a PDF of the weekly chapters is available at www.ForwardMovement.org/ThePathPDF. Using this
file, the leader can print copies for each member of the class on a weekly basis. Groups would not need to purchase
copies of The Path but could instead distribute the material for the cost of printing (The book is about 350 pages.).
When choosing this option, leaders would need to be diligent about printing the weekly handouts and distributing
them to participants, so that even those who might miss a class have the readings.

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Class overview
With the exception of the first and final sessions, each class follows a similar structure:

Opening Collect (2 minutes):

The sessions begin with prayer; each class includes a suggested collect.

Review (5 minutes):
Each week will start by looking back at the story that has gone before. The goal of this course is to learn
the narrative of the Bible and to see that the Bible isn’t a bunch of different, isolated stories, but one, big,
interconnected story. So the first five minutes of class is a time to look back and retell the story from
previous weeks. A good way to do this is to ask a volunteer from the class who attended the week before
to retell the story from the previous session in a few sentences. Then you can invite other members of the
class to fill in key details to flesh out the story. You will have an image or icon for each week of the story.
We suggest that you put these icons on a wall at the end of the class to create a visual expression of the
Bible’s narrative. Direct the class to this timeline each week as they retell the story; looking at the image
might help jog some memories.

Encounter the story (20-25 minutes):

This is the part of the class where you encounter this week’s story. The hope is that those who are
gathered will have read the chapter from The Path in advance, so this is a time of retelling the story as a
group. Though this may seem redundant, the best way to learn a story is to retell it yourself. Invite those
who have read to summarize the chapter and encourage others to chime in and add salient details. Prompt
the conversation with leading questions. Some will be hearing the story for the first time, and that is okay.
When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

Engage the story (20-25 minutes):

This is a time to engage the story more deeply with some reflection and discussion questions. A list of
reflection and discussion questions is included for each week. Some general questions are the same every
week, and there are also some questions specific to the portion of the story from each week. These
questions are designed so that the class can discuss them all together or break up into small groups for
discussion, whatever best suits your church context. This is not a time to find a moral to the story but to
wonder about the story, to explore connections between the different stories heard over the course of the
year, and to make connections between the weekly story and our modern lives.

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Preview (5 minutes):
As a way of exploring the greater arc of the Biblical story, at the end of each class the leader gives a
“preview of coming attractions.” The leader or a volunteer from the class places this week’s icon in the
correct place in the display timeline. (The icons are available as PDF downloads in the resource appendix).
As the image goes up, the leader will talk about the image. (e.g. “For this week’s story of creation, we have
an image of a moon and stars. The icon of the moon and stars reminds us that the same God who shaped
each one of us created the sun, moon, stars and the vast expanse of heaven and earth. All of the story that
will follow in the coming weeks is grounded in this moment, as God stretches the very heavens with his
hands and shapes and separates light from dark, night from day, waters from earth.) Then, very briefly, the
leader will say something like, “And the story of God doesn’t end here, with [creation]. Join us next week
as the story continues, as the children of Adam and Eve, the first human beings made in the image of God,
multiply and spread over the earth…” The leader will then summarize in two to three sentences the story
for the next week. Previewing the next lesson can increase excitement about attending the next class and
hearing what’s next and also help participants begin to see the story of God as a continuous narrative.

Display
This curriculum includes an “icon” representative of each week’s session. (The icons are available as PDF
downloads in the resource appendix. You should cut the chapter titles off of each icon before posting.)
These simple images are intended to facilitate learning the arc of God’s story. This is important so that
we don’t merely remember single, isolated stories within scripture, but we begin to see the way that the
stories connect to one another and develop through time. Images also help with memory; by using and
displaying the images for each week, you can help the students (children, youth, and adults) to have a visual
reminder of the stories that they have heard and learned.

We suggest that you make a “timeline” along one wall (or even around the entire room) in each of your
classrooms. Each week, as you study the assigned portion of the biblical story, put the corresponding image
up at the appropriate place on your timeline. This timeline will not contain dates but rather a sequence of
images, so that we can learn and remember the way that the biblical story, God’s great story of love and
redemption, builds from one week to the next. At the beginning and end of each class, we will turn to the
timeline as a way to reinforce the progression of the story we are hearing each week. By the end of the
year, members of the class will be able to tell the story of the Bible using the images in the timeline as a
guide.

Additional Classes
This curriculum is designed to cover twenty-six weeks: an introductory class, twenty-four sessions,
and a closing class. Because of time constraints, there are portions of the biblical story that are not included
in this curriculum: for example, there are only a few psalms, and the book of Job is not included. You are
welcome to use the class format to add additional classes, if that is important in your church context.

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Additional Resources
This curriculum is designed so that it can be led by any member of the congregation, clergy or lay. Most of
the class sessions are discussion-based and require no special knowledge beyond what is provided. All that
is needed is the free curriculum download and copies of The Path: A Journey Through the Bible (if desired).
If, however, the person leading the class would like some further information for background, the following
resources could be helpful:

The downloaded zip file includes including a PowerPoint presentation with

images for Exploring the Bible. Feel free to add and make the presentation
your own with additional images and resources.

The Path: A Family Storybook encourages children and adults to explore the Bible
together, published by Forward Movement, 2016.

Pathways of Faith, an adult coloring book with original art that explores the major
stories of the Bible, published by Forward Movement, 2016.

HarperCollins Bible Commentary by James L Mays, published by HarperOne, New

York, 2000.

HarperCollins Bible Dictionary by Mark Allan Powell, published by HarperOne, New

York, 2011.

An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination by Walter
Brueggemann, published by Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville & London,
2003.

Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey by Mark
Allan Powell, published by Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2009.

Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today by Adam
Hamilton, published by HarperOne, New York, 2014.

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LIVING DISCIPLESHIP
GETTING STARTED WITH
EXPLORING THE BIBLE

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:

• Copies of The Path: A Journey Through the Bible to distribute to

participants or for those who may have forgotten theirs.

• If you are not using the book, copies of next week’s chapter
handout.

OPENING COLLECT
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that
we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 236

Encounter the Bible (20-25 minutes)

This week, the first class, is different from the classes that follow. It is a brief introduction to the Bible to help people
get a little bit of background before the class dives in to the story itself. In future weeks, the class will mostly be
discussion oriented, but this week requires the leader to make a presentation. Talking points are included in this
guide, but leaders might also ask a member of the clergy or other knowledgeable leader to assist in the presentation
portion of this class, if they would like additional assistance.

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L E C T U R E N OT E S
These are also available as a PDF in the resource appendix, if you would like to distribute the notes
at the end of class. This is a guide with suggested notes but feel free to adjust the lecture for context and
teaching style.

The Bible is ever ywhere.

• 88 percent of Americans own a Bible, and each household has an average of 4.7 Bibles.
It’s the bestselling book of all time and probably would still top bestseller lists every week.

• Even if you don’t own or have never read a Bible, the Bible is referenced in culture all the time.

• We find the Bible throughout literature.

–– Dante’s Divine Comedy

–– Milton’s Paradise Lost
–– Steinbeck’s East of Eden
–– Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury
–– Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia
–– L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time
–– Rowling’s Harry Potter series
–– The works of Stephen King
–– Hundreds of other books, from high literature to bestselling page-turners

• The Bible also makes its way into the movies: Biblical epics like The Ten Commandments, The Passion of
the Christ, and Noah, and in much more unlikely places: Pulp Fiction, Saving Private Ryan, The Shawshank
Redemption, Wedding Crashers, Life of Brian, and hundreds of other famous movies all reference and
explore parts of the Bible

Yet although it is all around us, we don’t know the Bible very well.1

• Although 88 percent of Americans own a Bible, only 37 percent read the Bible regularly.

–– Biblical literacy is very low

–– Only half of American adults can name even one of the four gospels

–– Most Americans cannot name the first book of the Bible

–– A majority of Americans wrongly believe that the Bible says Jesus was born
in Jerusalem

–– When asked whether the New Testament book of Acts is in the Old Testament, one
quarter of Americans say yes. More than a third say they don’t know

–– Ten percent of Americans believe that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife

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 • Although we have Bibles, many of us don’t read them. Why?

–– We are busy; we don’t have time to read anything, much less the Bible

–– Reading the Bible is something for the priests to do, or perhaps others from different
Christian traditions

–– We learned the Bible stories in Sunday school, and we hear them in church, so we
don’t need to read the Bible

For many of us, these are just excuses. The real reason that we don’t read the Bible more is that we’re intimidated.

Opening the Bible and trying to read it can feel like being dropped off without a map in the middle of a remote
wilderness. We know certain major landmarks: Moses and the Ten Commandments, Jonah and the whale, Jesus
walking on water, but when we are down in the weeds, we can’t see how the stories connect to one another. We
want to read the Bible, but we aren’t quite sure how to navigate its pages. We search for God in the midst of the
Bible, but we aren’t sure which direction to turn. We yearn to follow Jesus more closely, but we don’t know where
to start that journey or how to find the trailhead.

For the next twenty-five weeks, we will go on a journey through the Bible together.

We will use The Path, a book that excerpts and condenses the Bible, making it easier to read. It’s a guidebook to
help us take this journey together.

This is a great way to get a sense of the overall story of the Bible, a good start if you’ve always wanted to read
the Bible but have felt intimidated. It will be a good refresher if you’re more familiar with the Bible but need some
reminders about how all the pieces fit together.

As we dive into reading The Path together, it is important to understand a little bit about what the Bible is, and what
the Bible isn’t.

There are a number of different images or metaphors people use (either explicitly or implicitly) for understanding
the Bible.

• Rule book

–– Focus on the “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots”

–– Understands the Bible as a list of hard and fast rules to follow

• Operating instructions/manual for life

–– Advice on everyday topics: How should I relate to the people around me? Honor my
mother and father, be reconciled to my brother, love my wife, etc. What does God
want from me?

–– With this perspective, the Bible becomes the answer book that you go to every time
you have a question

1
http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/religion101/2012/07/religious-illiteracy.html#ixzz32Z1uivlW

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 • Devotional/inspirational guide

–– Views the Bible as a place primarily to find comfort or inspiration: The Bible doesn’t
have guidelines so much as sage words of advice to help people feel better

–– Features stories of other people who have struggled and ultimately triumphed

• Love story/love letters

–– The Bible as God’s love letter to humanity: It tells the story (the ups and downs, the
ins and outs, the nitty gritty) of the tumultuous relationship between God and God’s
people

–– It’s intimate; it is God’s love story with humanity, but also, specifically, with me

The truth is, the Bible is all of those things (and more!)

• The Bible is a library or collection of books

–– The sixty-six different books that make up the Bible were written by different people
in different places in different times (and even in different languages)

–– Some were written in Hebrew, some in Greek (and even a smattering of Aramaic)

–– Some (like the Psalms and Isaiah) are poetry, and some are prose

–– Some are first-person accounts, and some are third-person narratives

• The Bible is not one kind of writing; it has many different genres. The Bible includes historical narratives,
laws, poetry, prophecy, narratives, and letters or epistles, among other forms of writing.

• We have to understand that the Bible is all of those different things, so that we can stop trying to read it
as only one thing.

–– If we read the laws as though they are prophecy, we will be confused

–– If we read the poetry as though it is law, we will be confused

–– If we read the letters as though they are narrative, we will be confused

–– We have to encounter each part of the Bible on its own terms in order to better
understand the whole

And yet, in spite of its breadth, we understand that the Bible also has unity.

• The diversity of the Bible reminds us that God can and does speak to people in many different ways.

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 • The common denominator in the Bible is not the form of speech but the inspiration of the speaker
(or writer)

• We believe that those different people in different times and different places who spoke different
languages and wrote in different genres were inspired to speak by God

–– We call [the Holy Scriptures] the “Word of God because God inspired their human
authors and because God still speaks to us through the Bible” (The Book of Common
Prayer, p. 853)

• So we understand the books of the Bible to be written by humans, but we believe the humans who
wrote the Bible were all inspired by God

• And we believe that God still speaks through them to us today

It is that unity that we will focus on in the coming weeks. We will try to get a sense of the big picture, the narrative
arc of the Bible. We will work to see how the different “pieces” of the Bible that we might have read or remember
from Sunday School fit together.

• In the midst of these holy words is an epic story, an amazing adventure

• It is the story of God’s extraordinary love that overflowed into the creation of the world, the earth, and
all that is in it, including humanity

• It is the story of God’s relentless, unwavering, unstoppable love for his people—people who are flawed
and funny and ordinary, just like you and me

• It is the story of the journey of those all-too-ordinary people who have tried, sometimes with glorious
success and sometimes with abject failure, to respond to God’s love

• These holy words convey the story of how God keeps trying to call us back to him, even when we have
wandered and strayed from God’s path

• It’s the story of how, in the fullness of time, God came among us, love incarnate, in the person of Jesus
Christ, to show us how to walk through this world with love and compassion

• It’s the story of Jesus’ life, of his death, and of his resurrection

• It’s the story of the founding of the Church, the followers of Jesus in the world,
the people of the Way, proclaiming Christ’s word and continuing his work

• It’s the story of you and me, the descendants of these flawed,
broken, and beautiful characters, the inheritors of the
promise of God

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Now, when we say that the Bible is a story, does that mean it isn’t true?

• Of course not!

• Truth is not the same as literal fact. Sometimes truth is much deeper than fact

• Have you ever heard a poem or song that encapsulated a truth more deeply than an encyclopedia or
dissertation?

• Christians (Episcopalians) absolutely believe the Bible is true. We believe that it contains a great deal of
historical truth and fact. And we also believe the Bible reflects and conveys a deeper truth—the truth
of God’s power, presence, and love

So, do we take every word literally?

• No one takes every word of scripture literally. Sometimes there are two stories that are told differently
that may even have contradictions. Noah’s story is a good example:

–– And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to
keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their
kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground
according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive.
(Genesis 6:19-20)

–– Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the
animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; and seven pairs of the birds of the air
also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth.
(Genesis 7:2-3)

• Sometimes there are things that are clearly meant as metaphors. For example, in Matthew 5:13, Jesus
says that we are the salt of the earth. We know that he does not mean we are literally salt!

• Though we might not take every word literally (again, no one does), we do take every word of the Bible
seriously

–– Christians say the Bible is the Word of God: not just the parts that we like, but also
the ones that are difficult for us

–– So we should read these stories, study them, listen to them, and see where the Word
of God might be speaking in and through them

–– As Christians, we are called to journey through the Bible,

again and again, to discover how God is speaking
in these holy stories

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Engage the Bible (20-25 minutes)
After the presentation, invite the group to engage in some discussion. Together or in small groups, discuss one or
more of the following questions:

• Have you ever (or recently) read the Bible? How did it go?

• What is your favorite biblical reference in books, movies, TV, or elsewhere?

• Do you typically approach the Bible as a rule book, a manual for life, an inspirational guide, or a love
letter? Is there some other way you see the Bible? How might it impact you to approach the Bible in
one of the other ways?

• Have you ever experienced something that was “true” even if it wasn’t factual? What does it mean to
you to say the Bible is “true”?

• What do you hope for in the coming twenty-five weeks? Is there anything you are concerned about?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

For the next twenty-five weeks, we will be reading the Bible together.

We will be using The Path: A Journey Through the Bible. (If you are using books, explain to students where to get the
books. If you are using printed copies, explain the method for distribution and how to access the text if they miss a
week.)

The Path is the Bible. All of the regular text in this book is directly from the New Revised Standard Version of the
Bible. It is not a summary of the Bible, an interpretation of the Bible, or a story about the Bible. It is the Bible. On
very rare occasions, the editors substituted a noun for a pronoun for the sake of clarity; these are noted in brackets.
Other than that, the biblical text has not been edited or amended in any way, so that most of what you are reading
in The Path is the Bible itself.

But, of course, The Path is not the entire Bible. Instead, it presents excerpts from the Bible, selected texts that cover
most of the “greatest hits” from the Bible’s story. This is intended to give you an idea of the overarching narrative, the
sweeping story of God’s great love for us.

As you read this book, you will be walking, in chronological order, through most of the major moments of the biblical
narrative. This journey gives you a sense of how the smaller stories of the Bible, some that are familiar and some that
might be surprising, fit together to tell a bigger story. At the end of each chapter, there is a list of citations so that
you know exactly which parts of the Bible you have been reading.

You will be asked to read one chapter from The Path a week, and each week we will gather to recall and discuss the
chapter. In this way, we will walk together through this important story, sharing our observations and exploring our
questions as a group.

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We encourage everyone to do their very best to read the chapter each week. The chapters are
relatively brief and are designed to be easy to read. And if you do read them, then at the end of the
year, you’ll be able to say you have read the whole story of the Bible! You will be transformed by
experiencing and knowing to know this story in a new and intimate way.

We understand that life sometimes gets in the way. Even if you haven’t read the weekly chapter, please
still come and join us. You will be able to hear what’s happening and join in the discussion!

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CHAPTER 1
GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored,
the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of
him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 288

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter one from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible so this is a time of recalling the
story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story, encouraging
them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

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Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? What does God say? Then what happens next?
And what is next?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying “And then what happened?” to
prompt people to respond.

When you feel the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)

After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• The Bible tells the story of creation in two different ways. What might this tell us about the nature of
creation? What might it tell us about the Bible?

• According to Genesis 2, the human is put in the garden with a purpose: to till it and keep it. What does
this suggest about the relationship between humans and the earth? What does this passage suggest
about the relationship between humans and animals?

• Before God sends the people out of the garden, he makes clothes for them. How does this act of
tenderness relate to the punishment immediately preceding? What might we learn about God from
this action?

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 • Sin is often defined as “separation from God.” Although the word sin doesn’t appear in the Bible until
later, Adam and Eve’s actions in this story are traditionally seen as the entrance of sin into the world.
What does this story reveal about the nature and impact of sin?

• In this chapter, we hear the Bible’s story of how the world began. How might this story complement
and enhance scientific explanations for the origin of the universe?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities
are included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

This curriculum includes an “icon” representative of each week’s session. These simple images are intended to
facilitate learning the arc of God’s story. This is important so that we don’t merely remember isolated stories
within scripture but see the way that the stories connect to one another and develop through time. Images also
help to develop memory; by using and displaying the images for each week, you can help students (children, youth,
and adults) to have a visual reminder of the stories that they have heard and learned. The icons are available as
downloadable PDFs in the resource appendix.

We suggest that you make a “timeline” along one wall (or even around the entire room) in each of your classrooms.
Each week, as you study the assigned portion of the biblical story, put the image up at the appropriate place on your
timeline. This timeline will not contain dates but will instead simply be a sequence of images, helping us learn and
remember the way that the biblical story, God’s great story of love and redemption, builds from one week to the
next. At the beginning and end of each class, we will turn to the timeline as a way to reinforce the progression of
the story that we are hearing each week. By the end of the year, members of the class will be able to tell the story
of the Bible using the icons in the timeline as a guide.

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Since this is the first week, introduce the idea of the icons and the timeline to the students, using some of the text
in the preceeding paragraphs. You will need to prepare a space for the display in advance. Have a volunteer from the
class place the first icon at the beginning of the timeline.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s story of creation, we have an image of the
moon and stars. This reminds us of the way that, in the beginning, God created everything, the sun and moon and
stars and water and earth and animals and people and you and me. The story of God (and the story of people)
begins with God lovingly and joyfully creating everything in the world and calling it very good.”)

Then say, “And this is only the beginning of the story of God. Next week, the story continues, as we hear about
Cain and Abel, the children of Adam and Eve, and their legendary sibling rivalry. We will also hear the story of Noah,
which we often hear as children but are able to encounter in a new way as adults. Come join us as we continue our
exploration of these important stories.”

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CHAPTER 2
THE SIGN OF THE COVENANT

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Almighty God, you have placed in the skies the sign of your covenant
with all living things: Grant that we, who are saved through water and the
Spirit, may worthily offer to you our sacrifice of thanksgiving; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 289

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details to flesh out the story.

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The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter two from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of recalling the
story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story, encouraging
them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next? And what is next?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)

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After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about it. All together or in small groups, discuss one or
more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• Cain and Abel is the first of many stories in the Bible of sibling conflict. Why do you think this might be?

• The story of Noah is often told as a children’s story, yet it has some difficult parts. What do you notice
about this story, reading it again? Which parts are difficult for you? Which parts sound like good news?

• These stories balance God’s punishment with God’s mercy: God punishes Cain yet also protects him;
God destroys nearly all living creatures but saves Noah and a pair of each species of animal. What do
these things tell us about God? How do you understand the relationship between God’s judgment and
God’s mercy?

• In the Noah story, God’s anger at humanity has implications for all of creation; the animals die alongside
the wicked people. God’s final covenant is also with “every living creature.” What might these things tell
us about the relationship between God, humanity, and creation?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 15

 What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s story of Noah, we have an image of a
rainbow with a dove. This reminds us of God’s promise to Noah and to all creation, that God will never again
destroy the earth with a flood. Every time we see a rainbow, we are reminded both of the faithfulness of Noah and
of the faithfulness of God.”)

Then, very briefly, say something like, “And the story of God doesn’t end here, with Noah. Next week, the story will
continue, as we hear about two very special people who listened carefully to God named Abraham and Sarah.”

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CHAPTER 3
THE ANCESTOR OF A MULTITUDE

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
God and Father of all believers, for the glory of your Name multiply, by
the grace of the Paschal sacrament, the number of your children; that your
Church may rejoice to see fulfilled your promise to our father Abraham;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 289

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 17

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter three from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of recalling
the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• Our story begins with God appearing to a man named Abram. What does God say?
Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 18

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• What connections did you hear between this week’s story and the stories from previous weeks?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• Abraham’s journey with God involves leaving behind his home and everything he has ever known. What
might you have to leave behind or let go of in order to follow God’s call?

• When Abraham begins his journey with God, he doesn’t know where the path will lead or what his
destination will be like. How does Abraham’s example challenge you in your journey with God? How
does it comfort you?

• Abraham encounters God in some very different or unusual ways: He hears God command him to
leave his home and sacrifice his son; he argues with God at Sodom and Gomorrah; he has visions
from God about his future. Does this seem different from the way that we are used to thinking about
humanity’s encounters with God? When have you encountered God in an unusual or different way than
you expected?

• Abraham argues and bargains with God, calling on God to show mercy to the people of Sodom and
Gomorrah. In fact, many of the faithful people in the Bible argue with God. What might that teach us
about faith? Have you ever argued or bargained with God? Why or why not?

• The story of Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac is painful to read and defies simple explanations. How do
you wrestle with this story?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 19

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (5 minutes)
Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s story of Abraham, we have an image of two
camels. People used camels in Abraham’s time to travel, so the camel reminds us of Abraham, who traveled very far
to follow the call of God and of our journey as we travel this week in faith.”)

Then say, “And the story of God doesn’t end here with Abraham. Next week, the story will continue, as we hear
about the covenant God makes with Abraham continued through two of his descendants: Jacob the trickster and
Joseph the dreamer.”

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CHAPTER 4
JOSEPH HAD A DREAM

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through
Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take
away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the
walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our
struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your
good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your
heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 815

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

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Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter four from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of recalling the
story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story, encouraging
them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 22

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• Jacob, who inherits God’s promise to Abraham and becomes Israel, the one after whom God’s faithful
people is named, is not always an admirable character. A liar and a trickster, Jacob is an unlikely exemplar
of faith. What might we learn from his inclusion in God’s story?

• After his dream at Bethel, Jacob says, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” Where
are some of the places that you feel God’s presence most clearly? Have you ever experienced God’s
presence in a particularly unlikely place? What was that like?

• One of the pivotal moments in Jacob’s life is when he wrestles with the man at Penuel. After that
moment, Jacob believes that he has seen God face to face. How is wrestling a good metaphor for the
life of faith? What other metaphors help describe your relationship with God?

• Joseph says to his brothers that God used for good what they had intended for harm. What does this
tell us about how God works in Joseph’s life? What might it say about the presence of God in our lives?

• Joseph’s journey with God involves a lot of ups and downs, but Joseph sees God present with him at
all times. What are some of the high points and low points in your journey with God? How do you see
God present in those moments?

• What connections did you hear between Jacob and Joseph’s stories and the stories from
previous weeks?

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Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)
As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this
week’s story of Joseph, we have an image of pyramids. These
pyramids remind us of Joseph’s journey to Egypt. Even though his
brothers’ jealousy sent Joseph to Egypt as a slave, he experienced
God’s faithfulness, even in a foreign land. God used even the bad
things that happened in Joseph’s life for good, and Joseph rose up
to be second-in-command to Pharaoh.”)

Then say, “And the story doesn’t end with Joseph. Next week we
will hear what happens after Joseph dies, when a new Pharaoh,
one who does not remember the deeds of Joseph, comes to
power. It’s a hard time for the people of God but also a great
time, as God calls a man named Moses to lead the people. Stay
tuned to see what happens next!”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 24

CHAPTER 5
I AM WHO I AM

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
O God, whose wonderful deeds of old shine forth even to our own day,
you once delivered by the power of your mighty arm your chosen people
from slavery under Pharaoh, to be a sign for us of the salvation of all
nations by the water of Baptism: Grant that all the peoples of the earth
may be numbered among the offspring of Abraham, and rejoice in the
inheritance of Israel; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 289

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 25

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter five from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of recalling the
story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story, encouraging
them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 26

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• Moses is one of the most important biblical figures, yet one of the first things we learn about Moses
is that he killed an Egyptian and hid the body. How does this fit with your childhood image of Moses?
What might we learn from this part of Moses’ life story?

• Moses is taking his usual, daily walk with his sheep when God appears to him in the burning bush.
The Bible tells us that Moses had to “turn aside” to see and encounter God. What might this say to us
about how we see and encounter God? Have you ever had to step off your normal path in order to
experience God more fully? What was that like?

• Moses has an amazing encounter with God, but he still doesn’t feel “good enough” to answer God’s call.
Moses worries that he isn’t eloquent in speech, and he asks God to send someone else. Have you ever
felt “not good enough” to serve God? How might God’s response to Moses speak to you?

• Throughout the story of the plagues, the Bible tells us again and again that Pharaoh’s “heart was
hardened.” What do you think that means?

• Sometimes it is Pharaoh himself who hardens his heart, and sometimes the Bible says that God hardens
Pharaoh’s heart. What do you think the difference might be between those two descriptions? What are
the effects of a hardened heart in the Bible? What effects do you see today of hardened hearts?

• This chapter tells of the first Passover, and the institution of the Passover meal that Jews observe to
this day. You may see some similarities in this story to that of Jesus’ final days. The Last Supper that Jesus
shared with his disciples was likely a Passover meal (Mark 14:12-25), a branch of hyssop is used to feed
Jesus sour wine when he is crucified (John 19:29), and Jesus is referred to in John 1:29 as the Passover
Lamb. How might we understand those parts of the life of Jesus in light of this story?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 27

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s story of Moses, we have an image of the
burning bush, a reminder of Moses’ incredible encounter with God. Speaking through the burning bush, God
revealed his name to Moses: “I Am Who I Am.” God called Moses to lead his people to freedom.”)

Then say, “And this isn’t the end of the story of God, or even the end of the story of Moses! Moses and the people
have a long way to go, as they leave behind Egypt in response to God’s call. There will be wandering and wailing in
the wilderness, but there will also be some remarkable revelations of God’s power and love. Come back next week
to hear what happens with Moses, with the Israelites, and with God, who loves them and leads them.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 28

CHAPTER 6
THE WATERS WERE DIVIDED

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Eternal God, who led your ancient people into freedom by a pillar of
cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night: Grant that we who walk in the
light of your presence may rejoice in the liberty of the children of God;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 111

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences. Then invite
other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 29

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)
Participants should have read chapter six from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of recalling the
story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story, encouraging
them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)

After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 30

 • Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• The journey of the people of God features amazing deliverance, but it also involves wandering in the
wilderness for forty years. When has your journey with God felt more like wandering? How has the
experience of wandering impacted your faith?

• In spite of God’s presence and promise to them, the people struggle to trust God, and it doesn’t take
long after their miraculous deliverance for the people to begin complaining, quarreling, and fighting
against God and one another. Why do you think that is? When have you struggled to trust God? How
might you focus on the glorious things that God has done rather than complain about the things you
don’t have?

• When God rains down manna from heaven, the people are instructed to only take enough for food
each day, and nothing more, but they find it difficult to do. Why do you think God asks them to do that?
Why do you think it’s so difficult? Compare this to Matthew 6:9-13. What might these passages say to
us today?

• In Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, God is very specific, describing in great detail the tabernacle and
vestments and what to eat and what to wear. What might God be saying to us about our lives by listing
the laws so specifically? Even though we live in a different time, how might those laws speak to us today?

• Moses leads the people for forty years, sticking with them even when they grumble, complain, and sin.
Yet he doesn’t get to see the people make it all the way into the promised land. What do you think
about that? What might that say to us about our own service to God?

• The Bible retells the story of Moses and the people in the wilderness again and again; it becomes a
touchstone for the story of the people of God. Look at the way the story is told in Psalm 78. How does
it compare with the story in this chapter? What do you notice about that version of the story?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 31

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s story, we have an image of the two tablets
of the law. These tablets remind us of the commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. Even as they
wandered in the wilderness, God was with the people of Israel, giving them the gift of the Law, written by God’s
own hand on two tablets of stone. These tablets taught God’s people about how to live holy and faithful lives, and
they continue to teach us today.”)

Then say, “Although Moses is a pivotal leader of the people of Israel, he isn’t their only leader. Next week the story
continues with Moses’ successor, Joshua, who will be the one to finally lead the people into the land that God
promised them. But what the people find in that land isn’t quite what they had expected. Stay tuned to see what
happens next!”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 32

CHAPTER 7
THE WALL FELL DOWN FLAT

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal
life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants,
in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may
not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 99

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 33

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter seven from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of recalling
the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 34

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• Joshua contains a lot of violence and descriptions of “holy wars,” reminding us that it is not only “other
people” who engage in holy war; in our Bible we are implicated in holy war. How can we wrestle with
this difficult part of our holy scriptures? What might the presence of these stories say to us about our
history? What might we learn from them?

• At the end of each of the conflicts in Joshua, the biblical text says, “And the land had rest from war.”
How do wars impact the people as well as the natural world and the land? What might the presence of
these verses tell us about humanity’s impact on and responsibility for the land?

• In his final speech to the people, Joshua tells them that they can serve either God or foreign gods, and
they must “choose this day whom you will serve.” What do you think about his description of following
God as a choice about whom you will serve? What are some of the other “gods” that you might be
tempted to serve in today’s world?

• The Collect for Peace in The Book of Common Prayer says, “O God, the author of peace and lover of
concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom…” How might serving God,
instead of the gods of this world, bring you deeper freedom?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 35

 How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s icon, we have an image of a person blowing
a ram’s horn. These horns remind us of the story of Jericho, where God instructed the people to conquer the city,
not by battle and bloodshed but by walking around the city and blowing their horns until the walls came tumbling
down. When we see the ram’s horn, we are reminded of the way that God led the people of Israel into the
promised land.”)

Then say, “And the story doesn’t end with Joshua. As the people settle into their new land, God calls a variety of
different judges to lead them. The stories of the judges often sound more like soap operas than Bible stories, as the
people struggle to learn what faithfulness looks like in their new land. Come next week to hear what happens next.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 36

CHAPTER 8
THE LORD RAISED UP JUDGES

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword
of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily
spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the
banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be
dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 815

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 37

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter eight from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of recalling the
story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story, encouraging
them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 38

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• The book of Judges tells the story of a continuous cycle of sin-judgment-repentance-forgiveness-sin,

which gets played out over and over. What does this cycle tell us about the people of Israel? What does
it tell us about God? Where have you seen this cycle in your life or in the world today?

• When the people have a leader in their lives, like Moses or Joshua or some of the judges, they find it
easier to follow God. Who are some of the spiritual leaders in your life who have helped you to
follow God?

• God yearns for the people to turn to him as their leader, their judge, and their king, rather than needing
earthly judges and kings to tell them how to live. Why do you think that is so difficult for the people?
How do we struggle with this same challenge in our day and time?

• The book of Judges has many stories that might seem more at home in a soap opera or blockbuster
film: Ehud kills Eglon in the bathroom, then sneaks out the window; Jael kills the king after lulling him to
sleep in her lap, and Samson falls for Delilah’s ridiculous tricks again and again. How do you wrestle with
these stories as part of our holy scriptures? What might the presence of these kinds of stories (and
these kinds of people) tell us about salvation history?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 39

 Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s icon, we have an image of scales, a reminder
of the Judges that God sent to weigh truth and justice. The judges that God appointed were not perfect people, but
they tried to listen to God and to lead God’s people faithfully. When we see these scales, we can remember the
Judges that led God’s people: Deborah, Samson, and many others.”)

Then, say, “At the end of Judges, it is obvious that the people of God are spiraling out of control. Yet even as the
people fall into unfaithfulness, there are still glimpses of hope: those who love and serve God in the midst of
difficulty. Join us next week as we hear the stories of a few of those faithful people: Hannah, Samuel, and Ruth.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 40

CHAPTER 9
SPEAK, FOR YOUR SERVANT
IS LISTENING

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always
resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake
those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 233

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 41

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter nine from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of recalling the
story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story, encouraging
them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 42

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• Ruth famously says, “For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall
be my people, and your God my God.” This passage is often understood in the context of marriage, but
that misses the larger meaning. What do you imagine it was like for Ruth to make this declaration and to
do what it says? What was she giving up? What was she gaining?

• Ruth chooses to be a part of Naomi’s family, even though they are not related by blood, and their social
ties have been broken. Who are some of the people in your “family” who are related, not by blood but
by choice? What might these relationships teach us about the family of God?

• Hannah prays and longs for a son for many years. When he is finally born, she gives him up to serve
God, and it brings her deep joy. What might we learn from her faithful example?

• When Samuel hears the voice of God calling him, at first he thinks it is the voice of Eli, his trusted
mentor. What does the voice of God sound like to you? Has the voice of God ever spoken to you
through other people? What was that experience like?

• It takes four tries for the Lord to reach Samuel. Have you ever experienced God speaking to you
persistently? Has it ever taken a few attempts for God to get through?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 43

 Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s story, we have an image of the ark of the
covenant, which held the laws of Moses. Samuel and Eli served the temple, and part of their job was to care for the
ark and to offer prayers and worship in its presence. The ark was an important symbol of God’s presence with the
people of Israel.”)

Then say, “Next week we will hear about the child Samuel, born to faithful Hannah. He grows up to be prophet
and priest to kings. And in a few weeks, we will hear more of the story of one of Ruth’s descendants, who is an
even more important priest and prophet. Join us next week because you won’t want to miss what happens next.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 44

CHAPTER 10
DETERMINED TO HAVE A KING

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your
well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that
the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and
brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 236

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 45

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter ten from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of recalling the
story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story, encouraging
them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 46

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• Again and again, God gives Saul specific directions to follow, and each time, Saul fails to do precisely as
God asks. What might we learn from Saul about the importance of listening closely to God? What might
we learn about obedience?

• Saul is possessed by the spirit of God when he is first chosen by Samuel, and the spirit causes him to
praise and prophecy. At the end of Saul’s story, the evil spirit that seizes him is also said to come from
God. What do you make of this?

• Do you find Saul to be a sympathetic character? Why or why not?

• Samuel grieves deeply over Saul’s failure as a leader; he had hoped Saul would be more than merely
a successful ruler, but that he would help lead the people closer to God. When have you been
disappointed in one of your spiritual or civic leaders in whom you had put a tremendous amount of
hope and trust?

• In spite of his grief, Samuel remains faithful to God and is willing to try again with the leadership of
David. When have you moved through grief and disappointment to choose to trust and follow another
leader?

• The stories of Israel’s kings raise questions about the relationship between human authority and divine
authority. How do you see the relationship of those two things? When have you needed to balance
obedience to God with obedience to earthly leaders?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 47

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s icon, we have a picture of a crown. This
crown reminds us of the first kings of Israel: Saul and David. The people of Israel were determined to have a king, so
God sent them Saul. But Saul failed to follow God’s commands. So God sent them their second king, David, a man
after God’s own heart.”)

Then say, “Next week we will hear about the rise of King David. Yet in spite of his faithfulness, David is far from
perfect, and his actions will have repercussions. Stay tuned to see what happens next in the unfolding saga of God’s
people.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 48

CHAPTER 11
A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and
affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command
and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of
the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be
found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 236

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 49

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter eleven from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of recalling
the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 50

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• The story of David and Goliath is familiar, and yet most of the time we barely scratch the surface when
reading it. What did you notice, reading the story this time, that you might not have noticed before?

• What does David’s relationship with God look like? What impact might the example of his life and
relationship with God have on our relationship with God?

• In what ways are Saul and David similar as leaders? In what ways do they differ? What does each king’s
reign teach us about God?

• Nathan tells David a story that helps David see his own life and actions more clearly. Have you ever had
a story (from books, movies, or history) that helped you see your life more clearly? What was it and
what did it teach you?

• In our journey with God, there are times when we make a wrong turn, as David does in this story.
Repentance means “turning around” and getting back on track. What does turning around look like in
David’s story? When are some times when you have taken a wrong turn and needed to turn around?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 51

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)
As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s icon, we have an image of a slingshot and
a bag of stones. This is a reminder of the way that David trusted the faithfulness of God and used his own small
slingshot instead of a mighty sword to defeat Goliath. The slingshot is a reminder both of David’s bravery and of
God’s power. “)

Then say, “David’s legacy continues with his son Solomon, who will be famed for his wisdom and who will finally
build a house for God. Yet like his father before him, Solomon will be far from perfect. Join us next week as we see
how the story of God’s people unfolds.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 52

CHAPTER 12
THE WISDOM OF GOD WAS IN HIM

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before
we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness,
and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare
not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your
Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 231

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 53

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter twelve from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of recalling
the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 54

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• When God appears to Solomon at Gibeon, he says, “Ask what I should give you.” What would you ask
God for if he appeared to you in a dream?

• Solomon is renowned for his wisdom. Who are some of the wise people in your life? What words of
wisdom have they spoken to you?

• Solomon is responsible for building the temple, the sacred place of worship where God chooses to
dwell among the people. What do you notice about the temple? How does it compare to the places
where you have worshiped God?

• The story says that “the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” Where are some of the places that you
have seen “the glory of the Lord”? What was that like?

• So far, we have heard the stories of many different leaders: Abraham, Moses, Deborah, Saul, David, and
Solomon. How do these leaders compare to one another? What similarities have you seen, and what
differences have you noted?

• The people of Israel repeatedly beg God for a king, like other nations have, and God gives them what
they ask for. How does the reality of kingship compare to what they might have wanted? What might
we learn from their experience?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 55

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s icon, we have an image of the temple. The
wise King Solomon led the people to build this amazing house for God so that God’s glory would have a place to
dwell among the people and so that the people would have a place to come worship and praise God. The temple
is a reminder that the God of heaven and earth comes to be among us, in our midst, and that we were made to
praise and worship God.”)

Then say, “As the kingdom of Israel becomes divided and the people of Israel wander farther and farther from God,
the future seems bleak. But God does not forsake the people. God continues to send prophets, to call the people
back to relationship with him. And through the prophets, God promises that someday the people will be delivered.
Join us next week to hear what happens next.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 56

CHAPTER 13
HERE I AM; SEND ME

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repen-
tance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their
warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of
Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 211

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 57

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)
Participants should have read chapter thirteen from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of
recalling the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)

After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 58

 • What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah each encounter and are called by God. How are their encounters with God
similar? How are they different? What might we learn about God’s presence from these stories?

• Through the prophets, God speaks words of judgment about how the people of God are living. Which
parts of the prophecies stand out to you? What seems to anger God the most? How can we hear the
words of these prophets in our time?

• The prophets often speak about the relationship between worship and living justly. What are some of
the things that you notice from their words? How do you wrestle with the relationship between how
you worship and how you live?

• The prophets speak persistently to the people, calling them to return to God, but they refuse to hear.
What might we learn about God from this persistence? What might we learn about ourselves?

• What connections do you hear between this week’s story and the stories of previous weeks?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 59

Preview (2-3 minutes)
Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s story, we have an image of whirlwind. This
reminds us of the way that Elijah encountered God on the mountaintop. First Elijah heard a whirlwind, then an
earthquake, and then a fire. But Elijah did not meet God in the whirlwind, or the earthquake, or the fire. Elijah
heard God in the sound of silence. Prophets encountered God in all different ways: sometimes in visions or the
appearance of angels or in natural events or even in silence.”)

Then say, “Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah are only a few of the many prophets who call the people to repent and
return to God. Although the people resist, they will not stay away from God forever. Join us next week to see what
happens next.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 60

CHAPTER 14
DANIEL, SERVANT OF
THE LIVING GOD

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who
have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent
hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable
truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy
Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 218

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 61

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)
Participants should have read chapter fourteen from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of
recalling the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)

After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 62

 • Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel all have to make difficult choices about obeying God’s
command instead of worldly authorities. When have you had to make a choice about following God,
even when it might have brought you into conflict with others? What were the consequences of that
choice? How did you experience God’s presence during that time?

• Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Daniel each have visions of the salvation of God. How do those visions compare to
one another? What might we learn about God and God’s salvation from each vision? What about these
visions do you find challenging? What do you find comforting?

• The prophet Isaiah writes about “the way of the Lord…a highway for our God.” Look carefully at that
portion of today’s chapter. What does God’s pathway look like? What implication does this have for our
walk with God?

• The prophets alternate words of judgment with words of comfort. What is the relationship between
these two different kinds of speech? What does each of them teach us about God?

• In their darkest hour, the people of Israel cling to the promises of God and repeat the verses of their
holy scriptures to find comfort and hope. What verses from the Bible have brought you comfort and
hope in difficult times? How might some of these comforting words speak to you today?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 63

Preview (2-3 minutes)
Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s icon, we have an image of a lion. This lion
reminds us of the story of Daniel, who was thrown into the lion’s den because he refused to worship the king. God
closed the mouth of the lion, so that it didn’t harm Daniel. And Daniel’s commitment to God, even in the midst of a
lion’s den, helped other people to know and worship God.”)

Then say, “The words of the prophets, promising deliverance and new life, seem like an impossible hope. But with
God, all things are possible. Next week we will hear the fruition of God’s promises and witness the people of Israel’s
return from exile. It is not always what they expected, but God will be present with them in new and exciting ways.
Join us next week to hear more.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 64

CHAPTER 15
GO UP AND REBUILD

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be
saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength: By the might of
your Spirit lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and
know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 832

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 65

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)
Participants should have read chapter fifteen from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of recalling
the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 66

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• King Cyrus, King Darius, and King Artaxerxes are outsiders. They are not Israelites, yet they help the
Israelites fulfill what God asks of them. Who are some of the other “outsiders” that we have heard
about in the biblical story? What might their presence and action tell us about God’s salvation?

• The people of Israel face numerous obstacles to rebuilding the temple and the wall around Jerusalem,
yet they persevere over many years. When have you faced obstacles in what God was calling you to do?
How have you found the strength to persevere?

• Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah speak the truth to the people, even when it is hard for them to
hear. Who are some people in your life who have spoken truth to you, even when it was hard? When
have you been the person speaking truth, even when it was hard?

• When Ezra reads the people the scriptures for the first time, they are overcome with both joy and
conviction. Have you ever been deeply touched by a passage of the Bible? What was the passage, and
what has it meant to you?

• Esther is one among many of the female leaders we have read about in the Hebrew Bible. How does
her story and kind of leadership compare to some of the other biblical women we have encountered
(Miriam, Sarah, Deborah, Ruth, etc.)?

• The journey of the people of God has involved a great detour: a time of strife and conflict followed
by years of exile. They have finally made their way back home, home to their holy land but also home
to the heart of God. What detours have you experienced in your life’s journey? Have you made your
way back home yet? If so, what was that homecoming like? If you’re not home, what steps might you
take to return?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 67

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)
As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities
are included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s icon, we have an image of a rolled-up scroll.
This is a reminder of the scrolls of the law, the stories of God that Ezra shared with the people when they returned
to Jerusalem. Nehemiah led the people as they rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem and the temple in the midst of
Jerusalem. And Ezra worked to help rebuild the people, reading to them from the scroll of the law, so they learned
again how to be the faithful people of God.”)

Then say, “So the people return to their land and begin to resettle. It is a time of relative peace as the people
attempt, yet again, to faithfully follow God. We know that their faithfulness will be imperfect, and they will follow only
in fits and starts. But next week we hear of a new way that God speaks to the people. It’s a surprise twist that you
won’t want to miss. So join us!”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 68

CHAPTER 16
GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF.
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature
upon him, and to be born of a pure virgin: Grant that we, who have been
born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be
renewed by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with
you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 213

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 69

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter sixteen from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of
recalling the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)

After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 70

 • Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as an
individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• What connections do you hear between this week’s story and previous weeks?

• Dreams and fulfillment of prophecy loom large in stories about Jesus’ birth. Why do you think the gospel
writers tell the stories in this way?

• How is God doing a new thing in Christ? How is God doing the same thing?

• How does Mary model faithfulness for us? What can we learn from her story?

• How does Joseph model faithfulness? What can we learn from his story?

• The early stories of Jesus are full of hymns; in this chapter we hear the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), the Gloria
(Luke 2:14), and the Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29-32). How can music help us remember prayers and worship
God? What hymns or prayers have been important in your life of faith?

• In this chapter, we hear many different people respond to the news of Jesus’ birth: Mary and Joseph,
the shepherds and wise men, Simeon and Anna, and King Herod. What do we learn from each person’s
response? Which response resonates most deeply with you, and why?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 71

Preview (2-3 minutes)
Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s icon, we have an image of a manger. This
manger reminds us of the story of Jesus’ birth in a manger in Bethlehem. Jesus, who had been with God since the
very beginning of creation, came into the world in the form of a tiny, vulnerable baby. This is an incredible reminder
of God’s great love for us.”)

Then say, “Of course, Jesus’ birth is just the beginning—a new beginning. Next week we will hear what happens as
he begins his ministry, which is founded on the prophets of old. Some of it will be very familiar, but I invite you to
join us as we hear this story in new ways and appreciate how it connects to all that has gone before.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 72

CHAPTER 17
FOLLOW ME

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world:
Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may
shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped,
and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 215

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 73

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter seventeen from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of
recalling the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 74

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as
an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• What connections do you hear between this week’s story and previous weeks?

• What common themes emerge in this selection of Jesus’ teachings? How are they different from what
you remember? How are they the same?

• Jesus’ actions and teaching led to a lot of conflict with the religious authorities of the day. What is at the
heart of their disagreement in these texts?

• Do you think Jesus focuses more on behavior or belief? Which do you think is more important? Why?

• The last two parables depict scenes of judgment. Many are surprised to learn that Jesus spoke more
about hell than Paul the Apostle. Does this surprise you? Why or why not?

• The interpretation of the parable of the sower seems to suggest that Jesus sometimes taught in
parables so that people would NOT understand. What do you think of this explanation? Do you find it
problematic? Why or why not?

• In response to questions or criticism, Jesus often tells stories. Why do you think Jesus teaches in this
way? What stories (biblical or otherwise) have been important in your life of faith?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities
are included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 75

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is available
as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s story, we have an image of a shell. The shell is
an ancient symbol of baptism and reminds us of Jesus’ baptism in the river Jordan by his cousin John. The moment of
Jesus’ baptism is the beginning of his adult ministry, and it is from that moment that his preaching and teaching and
healing will flow. When we see the image of a shell, we can be reminded both of Jesus’ baptism and of our own.”)

Then say, “This week we heard about Jesus’ teaching and preaching and read a number of his most famous
parables. Yet Jesus was not only a person of words, but he was also a person of action. Join us next week as we
hear about some of his most amazing miracles: healing those who were sick, feeding those who were hungry, and
raising those who were dead. The adventure continues as Jesus shows the world, and us, the power and love of
God. Don’t miss it!”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 76

CHAPTER 18
PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS
OF THE KINGDOM

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for
sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully
the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of
his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 232

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell
the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they
remember to flesh out the story.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 77

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter eighteen from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of
recalling the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 78

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss one
or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you as an
individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• What connections do you hear between this week’s story and previous weeks?

• Is belief necessary for miracles or do miracles lead to belief? Are both somehow true at the same time?

• Which miracle is most important to you for understanding who Jesus is?

• Is there a miracle story not in this chapter that has been significant for you in your faith journey? What
made it important for you?

• Which story in this chapter is most difficult for you to accept? Why?

• Why do you think the feeding of the 5,000 is one of the only stories to be included in all four gospels?
Why do you think the evangelists considered this an important story about Jesus?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 79

Preview (2-3 minutes)
Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s icon, we have the image of a basket with
loaves and fish. These symbols remind us of the day when Jesus took a small offering of a few loaves and fish and
offered them to God. After blessing and breaking the bread, Jesus had enough to feed 5,000 people, with food
leftover to spare.”)

Then say, “Jesus’ birth, life, and ministry have been full of miraculous moments. Jesus taught and preached, healed and
fed people. But his activities threatened the powerful people of the world, and there were consequences for his
message of radical love and acceptance. Join us next week to learn about what happens as Jesus heads to Jerusalem
and his final days.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 80

CHAPTER 19
CRUCIFY HIM!

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first
he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none
other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 220

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 81

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter nineteen from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of
recalling the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 82

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking to you as an individual?
Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• What connections do you hear between this week’s story and previous weeks?

• Jesus accuses the scribes of devouring widows’ houses but praises the woman who pours nard
worth a year of wages on his feet. Do you see a contradiction here? Why do you think the woman
receives praise?

• This is the story of how Jesus spent his final days and hours on this earth. What do we learn about what
he valued most from the story—what he did, where he went, and who he spent his time with in these
final moments? What might that teach us?

• According to the text, why does Jesus have to die? What other explanations have you heard for why
Jesus had to die?

• In his final days Jesus is denounced by religious leaders, betrayed and denied by two of his disciples, and
abandoned by almost all of his followers. What might we learn from these difficult parts of Jesus’ story?

• The liturgies of Holy Week developed as a way of mystically transporting Christians to Jerusalem so
that we could walk with Jesus through his final days. How does the liturgical journey that we take during
Holy Week connect to these stories? How has walking with Jesus through Holy Week impacted your
faith journey?

• In church, we share Holy Communion as a way to remember and connect to Jesus’ Last Supper with his
disciples. What connections do you hear between the stories we read and your church’s celebration of
Holy Communion? How do worship and communion nourish you for your journey with God?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 83

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is available
as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s icon, we have an image of a cross. The cross
is an important symbol of Jesus’ death. Jesus stretched out his arms of love on the cross as a way to show the whole
world his love. When we see this cross, we remember Christ’s sacrifice for each of us.”)

Then say, “Jesus’ death on the cross seems like the worst thing that could happen. It looks like the end of the story of
God. But of course, it isn’t the end. It is a new and amazing beginning. Join us next week as we hear about how Jesus
defeats everything, even death, in order to reveal God’s great love for the world.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 84

CHAPTER 20
WE HAVE SEEN THE LORD

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ
overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that
we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be
raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ
your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 222

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 85

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter twenty from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of
recalling the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 86

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you
as an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• What connections do you hear between this week’s story and previous weeks?

• In this chapter, we hear the stories of a number of different people who experience the death and
resurrection of Jesus: the women who visit the tomb, Peter, Thomas, the disciples on the road to
Emmaus, and others. Who do you most identify with in this story, and why?

• The women are the first to proclaim the good news of the resurrection. What might this mean for
us today?

• In many of Jesus’ resurrection appearances, his disciples do not immediately recognize him. Why do you
think this is? What might this say to us about God? What do you notice about how Jesus is made known
to them?

• Each time Jesus appears to the disciples after his resurrection, he gives them instructions and
commissions them. Look back at each of Jesus’ appearances. What are the specific things that Jesus tells
his disciples to do each time? What might these instructions say to us about our job as Jesus’ disciples?

• Jesus appears on the road to Emmaus and walks alongside the disciples as a companion on their
journey. When have you especially felt Jesus “walking with you” in your journey? What was that like?
Did you recognize Jesus while you were walking, or did you notice his presence only in hindsight?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 87

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so
or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is
available as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s story, we have an image of an empty tomb.
This is a reminder of Jesus’ power to break through death and the grave in order to rise to life again. When the
disciples approached the tomb, they expected to see a dead body. Instead, they encountered their Risen Lord. The
empty tomb reminds us, both of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, and of God’s promise to all of us of eternal life.”)

Then say, “And the story of God doesn’t end here, with Jesus’ appearance to his disciples. Next week, the story will
continue, as we hear about the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and the way that Jesus’ followers are inspired
to share the Good News of his resurrection all over the world. Come back next week to hear what happens!”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 88

CHAPTER 21
FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on
your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual
working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation;
let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are
being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and
that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom
all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 291

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in
a few sentences.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 89

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter twenty-one from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of
recalling the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 90

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you
as an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• What connections do you hear between this week’s story and previous weeks?

• What do you think of Acts’ description of the believers sharing everything? Is this a helpful model for us
today? Why or why not?

• Acts depicts a lot of conflict but always returns to positive summaries about the Church. Do you think
the same could be true of the Church today? How so?

• Saul had a radical encounter with the risen Christ, and his whole life changed. Have you ever had an
encounter that changed you in a significant way? What was it like?

• Acts calls followers of Jesus “those who belonged to the Way.” What does it mean to you to be
someone who “belongs to the Way”? What might that description teach us about what it means to
be a Christian?

• In this chapter, we hear two important stories of journeys: the Ethiopian eunuch is converted and
baptized while traveling on the Wilderness Road and Jesus appears to Saul on the road to Damascus.
How do these stories speak to you about your journey with God?

• Both Peter and Paul change their minds about certain religious beliefs or practices: They came to see
that both Jews and Gentiles could follow Jesus, and they changed their understanding about religious
practices surrounding which foods were unclean. Have you ever changed your mind about a religious
belief or practice? What precipitated that change?

• Peter and Paul engage in lively debate with one another about matters of faith and practice. Their
debate and exchange of ideas helps to shape the belief of the Church. Who are some people who have
challenged aspects of your faith? How has that debate and exchange helped shape your beliefs?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 91

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is available
as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s icon, we have an image of a dove. The dove
is the symbol of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who was present at the creation of the world and who descended
on Jesus at his baptism. Here, the dove reminds us of the way the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles at the first
Pentecost. The presence of the Holy Spirit in their midst was a reminder that God would be present with them, even
though Jesus had ascended to heaven.”)

Then say, “Even after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, the story continues. It continues in the
followers of Jesus, who are filled with the Holy Spirit so that they can spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the
ends of the earth. Next week we will hear more about Paul, one of the followers of Jesus, who has an enormous
impact on spreading the Church in the years following Jesus’ death and resurrection.”

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 92

CHAPTER 22
GRACE MAY ABOUND

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of
the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having
his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful
to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 238-39

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

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Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter twenty-two from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of
recalling the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 94

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you
as an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• What connections do you hear between this week’s story and previous weeks?

• Paul and Silas find themselves in jail, and use that experience as an opportunity to sing hymns of praise
to God and to share the good news of Jesus with their jailer. Would you have done the same in their
situation? Why or why not?

• This is only a small sample of Paul’s writing. What important teachings are missing?

• Paul often speaks of his gospel (literally, “good news”). Which passage was especially good news
to you? Why?

• Which text(s) do not represent good news to you? Why?

• Paul has great confidence in his understanding of God’s activity in his life and in the world around him.
Is this inspiring or challenging for you? Why?

• Paul’s letters are very situational; they are written to specific people in specific communities to address
specific concerns. Why might this be important for us to remember as we now read them as scripture?

• Much has been made about the differences between the teaching of Jesus and of Paul. How are they
similar? How are they different?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 95

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is available
as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s story, we have the image of a broken chain. This
is a reminder of the story of Paul, who was sent to prison for healing a slave girl. God set him free, breaking his chains,
but Paul stayed behind to tell other people about Jesus. Even in prison, Paul was free through Jesus; even if his body
was held by chains, his soul was free in Christ.”)

Then say, “Paul was, far and away, the most influential leader in the early Church. But he was certainly not the only
leader; other writers and teachers added to his teachings. Join us next week as we hear from some of those voices,
who also help shape what we believe today.”

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CHAPTER 23
BE DOERS OF THE WORD

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
We give thanks to you, O Lord our God, for all your servants and witnesses
of time past: for Abraham, the father of believers, and Sarah his wife; for
Moses, the lawgiver, and Aaron, the priest; for Miriam and Joshua, Deborah
and Gideon, and Samuel with Hannah his mother; for Isaiah and all the
prophets; for Mary, the mother of our Lord; for Peter and Paul and all the
apostles; for Mary and Martha, and Mary Magdalene; for Stephen, the first
martyr, and all the martyrs and saints in every age and in every land. In your
mercy, O Lord our God, give us, as you gave to them, the hope of salvation
and the promise of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, the first-born
of many from the dead. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 838

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

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Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter twenty-three from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of
recalling the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 98

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you
as an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• What connections do you hear between this week’s story and previous weeks?

• Which part of James’ letter is most meaningful to you? Which part is the most difficult?

• How do you understand James’ assertion that “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the
Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the
world”?

• Some people see James and Paul to be in conflict: James says that faith without works is “dead”
(James 2:17), but Paul says that we are saved by faith alone, apart from works (Romans 3:28). How
do you understand the relationship between faith, works (good deeds), and salvation? How does that
understanding impact your life and actions?

• Hebrews gives a stirring account of people who showed us what living “by faith” looks like. Think back
on what you have read so far. Which faithful people from our story does the author fail to mention?
Which biblical example of faith is most important to you? Who are some people in your life whose
faithfulness has inspired you?

• Many of the epistles are either anonymous or attributed to an important figure in the early Church but
not necessarily written by that person. Does their anonymity change the way you think about them?
Why or why not?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 99

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is available
as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s story, we have an image of a quill pen. This is
a reminder of James, the author to the Hebrews, and many other founders of the early Church who wrote letters
of instruction, encouragement, exhortation, and prayer. These authors helped build up churches, and their letters
continue to shape what Christians believe and how we live to this day.”)

Then say, “We are nearing the end of the Bible, though we are far from the end of the story. Next week, we
will hear something very different: a fantastical vision given to John of Patmos of what the end of time will be like.
John’s Revelation is full of beauty and majesty, but it can also be scary and confusing. Come join us as we explore
it together!”

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CHAPTER 24
THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:
• The Path: A Journey through the Bible.
• A copy of the icon for this week, printed from the provided PDF .
• Extra copies of this week’s chapter from The Path, for those who
may have forgotten theirs.
• If you are not using the The Path book, copies of next week’s
handout.
• Images for discussion, available from the resource section of
the curriculum and PowerPoint file (optional)
• Projector (optional)

OPENING COLLECT
Eternal Lord God, you hold all souls in life: Give to your whole Church
in paradise and on earth your light and your peace; and grant that we,
following the good examples of those who have served you here and
are now at rest, may at the last enter with them into your unending joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity
of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 253

Review (5 minutes)
Begin by looking back at the story that has gone before.

Point to the icon from last week.

Ask a volunteer from the class who was there the previous week to retell the story in a few sentences.

Then invite other members of the class to fill in key details that they remember to flesh out the story.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 101

The retelling should take about five minutes; you don’t need to cover all the details of the previous week, but you
want to be sure that people mention all of the main points so that they are better able to hear connections from
one week to the next.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

Participants should have read chapter twenty-four from The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, so this is a time of
recalling the story as a group. The leader(s) should not tell the story themselves; allow the group to retell the story,
encouraging them with leading questions and offering corrections when necessary.

Though this may seem redundant, retelling the story as a group helps individuals learn the story. The intention is to
simply retell the story rather than moralize or jump to what people believe is the “point” of the story. During this
time, help people stick to the facts and what the story says rather than what they think it means.

Invite those who have read to summarize the chapter, and then encourage others to chime in and add salient details.
You can prompt the conversation with leading questions such as:

• What is happening in the beginning of the story? Then what happens next?

• Where are we when our story begins?

• What are the highlights of this week’s story? What are the low points?

• Who are the important people in this week’s story? Who are some of the people we might be tempted
to overlook or forget?

• Which moment or quotation do you most remember from this week’s story?

• What did you read or hear in this week’s story that you don’t remember hearing before or that struck
you in a new way?

• What three words would you use to describe this week’s story? How would you summarize this week’s
story in one sentence (or a Facebook post)?

Resist the temptation to cut the story short; you want to capture the fullness of the story. If people are struggling
to remember the story, say, “Okay, let’s look at the story together,” and invite everyone to pull out their books or
handouts. Beginning on the first page, go step by step through the narrative, saying, “And then what happened?” to
prompt responses.

When you feel that the group has captured the story, you can move to discussion.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 102

Engage the story (20-25 minutes)
After the group has summarized the story, reflect together about the story. All together or in small groups, discuss
one or more of the following questions:

• What was surprising (or interesting or exciting) to you in this week’s chapter?

• What challenges you about this week’s story?

• Was there anything that you found confusing from this week’s chapter?

• Where does this story connect with your life? Where do you hear God speaking in this story to you
as an individual? Where is God speaking to us as a community?

• What connections do you hear between this week’s story and previous weeks?

• Many early Christians believed that Jesus would return in their lifetime. Is it problematic to you that he
did not? What expectation do you have for Christ’s return?

• Which images from Revelation are hardest for you to consider? Why?

• Which images offer you the most hope? Why?

• Portions of Revelation are often read during funerals, in large part because of the images of heaven.
How does heaven as John describes it relate to your visions of heaven? What might you learn from the
similarities and differences?

• The Book of Revelation (and the Bible as a whole) concludes with an image of a renewed earth. In what
ways is the earth in need of renewal? What might your role be in that renewal?

• The final sentences of the Bible are: “The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming
soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.” What do you
think about this ending? Is this how you would have ended the Bible? Why or why not?

Images (optional; 10-15 minutes)

As part of the class, you might want to research and share some artistic representations of the story. Possibilities are
included in the PowerPoint file, or you can substitute others that are meaningful for your community.

The images can be displayed during the conversation, or you can use them as a focus for discussion during the
engagement time.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 103

Possible discussion questions include:

What moment from today’s story does this image represent?

Does this image look like the scene you pictured in your mind? How so or why not?

How does this image enhance your understanding of the biblical story?

Is this depiction faithful to the biblical story? How so or why not?

What is missing from this image? What is added?

What surprises you about this depiction?

What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying this story?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

Have a volunteer from the class place this week’s icon in the correct place in the display timeline. The icon is available
as a PDF in the resource appendix.

As the image goes up, talk briefly about the icon. (e.g. “For this week’s icon, we have the Alpha and the Omega, the
Greek letters at the beginning and end of the alphabet (like the English letters A and Z). In John’s vision described in
Revelation, Jesus says that he is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. This is a reminder that the same
God who was there at the beginning of creation is here with us today and will be present with us until the very end.”)

Then say, “This week we heard the end of the Bible, but it is by no means the end of the story. Join us next week as
we look back over this great story of God’s love, and as we hear how the story that begins in the Bible continues
even to this day.”

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EPILOGUE
CELEBRATE THE JOURNEY

SUPPLIES FOR THE JOURNEY

For this week’s class you will need:

• Handouts, depending on your final activity.

OPENING COLLECT
Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to
yourself: We praise and bless you for those whom you have sent in the
power of the Spirit to preach the Gospel to all nations. We thank you that
in all parts of the earth a community of love has been gathered together
by their prayers and labors, and that in every place your servants call upon
your Name; for the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours for
ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 838

Review (15-20 minutes)

Begin by looking back at the whole arc of the story.

Starting with the first icon, ask a volunteer to summarize in two to three sentences that week’s story.

Continue for each story in the timeline, pointing to the icon and asking for a different volunteer to summarize each
one. Try to get as many people as possible to participate, rather than relying on the same volunteer.

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Move slowly from one icon to the next, letting people add in details to connect the stories to one another.

Be prepared with a few ideas of your own, in case people struggle to remember one (or a few) of the weeks’
stories.

Encounter the story (15-20 minutes)

This final class offers an opportunity to celebrate that your community has read the whole story of the Bible
together. Here are some possible suggestions for your celebration, but the possibilities are endless. Use your
creativity to come up with a way for your community to celebrate this amazing journey!

Bible trivia: Divide the people gathered into teams and give each team copies of the Bible trivia page (a PDF in
the resource appendix). Have teams work together to answer the questions. The first team to answer all of the
questions correctly wins!

Timeline trivia: Remove the icons from the wall of the classroom. Divide the people gathered into teams and give
each team copies of all the icons, in random order. Have teams put the icons in the correct order as fast as possible.
The first team to put the icons in the correct order and tell the whole story wins!

Bible character parade: Invite every person to come to the final class dressed as a person from the biblical
narrative. Have a parade where each person comes to the front and every tries to guess which biblical character
they are. You could give prizes for best costume in different categories (Old Testament, New Testament, male,
female, etc.).

After doing one or more of the above options, have cake or refreshments and make it a party!

Final discussion (10-15 minutes)

All together or in small groups, discuss one or more of the following questions:

• What was the most interesting or surprising thing that you learned this year?

• Which week’s story was the most memorable for you, and why?

• Has your understanding of the Bible changed over the course of this time? How so or why not?

• Has this made you want to read more of the Bible? Why or why not?

Closing reflections (10-15 minutes)

Distribute copies of the concluding resources pages to all participants.

If possible, have copies of a variety of different translations of the Bible and invite people to come forward and
look at them.

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 Resources for Participants

RESOURCE APPENDIX

Adaptation for Youth

The Exploring the Bible curriculum is designed so that it can be used with adults or youth, and the engagement
activities and discussion questions are written so that they are accessible for both adults and youth. For most weeks,
little or no adaptation should be necessary to the existing curriculum to use it with youth. However, the youth
leader(s) of your church know your individual youth and are the best judge of what will work in your church. There
may be particular activities or discussion questions that would not be successful in your specific context. The youth
leader(s) should read each week’s lesson well in advance, to determine if any adaptation or substitution is necessary.
Here are some engagement activities and discussion questions that could be substituted for youth sessions.

Additional engagement activity possibilities for use with youth:

• Make it a movie—Ask students or groups to imagine making this week’s chapter into a movie. Ask them
to “cast” the main parts and choose which scenes they would portray. Where would they shoot the
movie? What special effects would they need? Is there anything they would change or leave out? Why?

• Modern-Day Remix—Break into groups of two. Spend time having the groups come up with a modern-
day version of this week’s Bible story. Ask each group how they would tell this week’s story in an email
or even in a tweet! Most groups will do better if they spend time writing down their thoughts before
sharing them with the larger group.

• Story Commercial—Have participants divide into pairs and come up with a retelling of this week’s story
in thirty seconds or less, like a commercial that grabs your attention. What qualities or characteristics
would they highlight in sharing this week’s story?

• News Report—Have your group put together a mock news report retelling the week’s Bible story,
including eyewitness interviews. Have someone be the newscaster, some people characters from the
story, others “eye witnesses.”

• Newspaper Headline—Break into pairs and have each group come up with a newspaper headline and
the first sentence of a news article about this week’s story. What section of the paper would this week’s
story appear in?

Additional discussion questions for use with youth

• Pick one of the main characters from this week’s story. What one question would you ask her/him if you
encountered him/her today? How do you imagine s/he might respond? Did the characters in this week’s
story remind you of anyone you know? How so?

• This Bible story took place in a different time and a different place than ours. How is the world we hear
about in this story like ours? How is it different?

• What might this week’s Bible story teach us about how we live out our faith in our daily lives? What
part of this week’s story most closely connects to something you’ve experienced in your life?

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 Resources for Participants

Resources for Participants

The Exploring the Bible curriculum uses The Path to walk, step by step, through the Bible in twenty-four chapters.
What you have read in The Path is the Bible; all of the regular text is directly from the Bible. But, of course, The
Path is not the entire Bible. It has been excerpted to make it easier to read, to give you the sense of the sweeping
narrative. If you have enjoyed The Path and would like to read more, the next step is to get a Bible of your own and
read it!

To read the Bible, you first need a Bible you can read. If you already own a Bible that you love to read, then that is
wonderful: Start reading! If you don’t own a Bible, or if the one you have seems confusing or boring, then the first
thing you need to do is find a Bible that works for you. The good news is that there are many Bibles to choose from:
There are dozens of different translations and many different kinds of Bibles: study Bibles, devotional Bibles, journaling
Bibles, and many more. The difficult news is that picking a Bible is very personal. Some people love the poetry of the
King James Version; others find it difficult to read and understand. Some people want to read the same translation
that is read aloud in their church; others want a fresh way of looking at things. Finding a Bible that you like, and that
you will want to read, is incredibly important.

If you can, go to a store that sells a variety of different Bibles, and set aside time to look through and compare them.
It can be helpful to select one passage and look at it in a variety of different Bibles (Psalm 121 , Ephesians 3:14-21,
and Luke 15:1-7 are good possibilities, or choose your favorite Bible story!) If you are unable to go to a store, many
websites have a “look inside” function, where you can see a few pages to get an idea of what the Bible might be like.
Or, your church library, your minister, or even your public library might have a selection of different Bibles that you
can look at and compare.

Here are a few possible Bibles that you might consider:

• The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). This is the translation that we used for the excerpts in The
Path: A Journey through the Bible. There are lots of different NRSV Bibles. An NRSV study Bible, such
as The New Oxford Annotated Bible or The Access Bible, is a great choice. These study Bibles contain
introductions to each book of the Bible, as well as notes about the culture and background of the Bible.

• The Message by Eugene Peterson. This is a modern rendering of the Bible that can be easier to read
than other translations. It can be a good place to start if you find the language of the Bible intimidating
or difficult to understand.

• The Common English Study Bible (CEB). This is a modern translation that gives a fresh perspective to the
words of the Bible while remaining faithful to the original text. The notes, maps, and charts are easy to
read and understand.

• The New Jerusalem Bible. If you like poetry, this translation does a wonderful job of rendering the
beautiful poetry of the Biblical texts while still being easy to read.

Additional Resource Suggestions

All you need in order to read the Bible is a Bible. Nothing can replace reading God’s Word for yourself, and that is
the most important thing to do. However, if you are interested, there are lots of books that you can read in addition
to the Bible that might help deepen your understanding of the text. Below are just a few possibilities of the many
great books that can help enhance your understanding of scripture.

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 Resources for Participants

Introductions to the Bible

The Bible Makes Sense by Walter Brueggemann, published by St. Anthony Messenger Press, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1989.

Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today by Adam Hamilton, published by HarperOne,
New York, 2014.

Bible Babel: Making Sense of the Most Talked About Book of All Time by Kristin Swenson, published by Harper Perennial,
New York, 2010.

Opening the Bible: The New Churches Teaching Series, Volume 2 by Roger Ferlo, published by Cowley Publications,
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1997.

HarperCollins Bible Commentary by James L Mays, published by HarperOne, New York, 2000.

HarperCollins Bible Dictionary by Mark Allan Powell, published by HarperOne, New York, 2011.

Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter by Lindsay Hardin Freeman, published by Forward Movement,
Cincinnati, 2014.

How to Read the Bible

The Bible Challenge: Read the Bible in a Year, edited by Marek P. Zabriskie, published by Forward Movement, Cincinnati,
Ohio, 2012.

Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today by N.T. Wright, HarperCollins, New York, 2013.

Sensing God: Reading Scripture with All Our Senses by Roger Ferlo, published by Cowley Publications, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, 2002.

Conversations with Scripture and with Each Other by M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE, published by Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, Lanham, Maryland, 2008.

Writing in the Margins: Connecting with God on the Pages of Your Bible by Lisa Nichols Hickman, published by Abingdon
Press, Nashville, Tenessee, 2013.

New Testament
Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey by Mark Allan Powell, published by Baker
Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2009.

The New Testament: a Very Short Introduction by Luke Timothy Johnson, published by Oxford University Press,
Oxford, 2010

An Introduction to the New Testament by Raymond E. Brown, published by Yale University Press, New Haven, 1997.

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 Resources for Participants

Old Testament
Getting Involved with God: Rediscovering the Old Testament by Ellen Davis, published by Cowley Publications,
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2001.

An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination by Walter Brueggemann, Westminster John
Knox Press, Louisville and London, 2003.

This Strange and Sacred Scripture: Wrestling with the Old Testament and Its Oddities by Matthew Schlimm, published by
Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2015.

The Old Testament: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Coogan, published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2008.

Specific Books of the Bible

If you are interested in learning more about a certain book or facet of the Bible, it can be helpful to get a
commentary that is focused specifically on that book. Below are a few good commentary series that have resources
on many, if not all, the books of the Bible.

• The 50 Day Bible Challenge: Series includes volumes on each of the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John. Edited by Marek P. Zabriskie and published by Forward Movement, these books include the full
text of each gospel, with daily reflections, prayers, and questions.

• Conversations with Scripture is a good, easy to read and understand series that has volumes on many of
the Biblical books. These books are written specifically in the Anglican tradition.

• Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching has volumes for almost every Biblical book.
These are a little more in-depth, but still easy to read and understand.

• The New Testament for Everyone series is written by N.T. Wright, a Bishop in the Church of England.
The commentary series has small, easy to read volumes on each of the books of the New Testament.
There is also a companion series, The N.T. Wright for Everyone Bible Study Guides, that offers a chapter by
chapter survey of each book with accompanying reflection questions.

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 Session 1: Lecture Notes

Session 1: Lecture Notes

The Bible is ever ywhere.

• 88 percent of Americans own a Bible, and each household has an average of 4.7 Bibles.
It’s the bestselling book of all time and probably would still top bestseller lists every week.

• Even if you don’t own or have never read a Bible, the Bible is referenced in culture all the time.

• We find the Bible throughout literature.

–– Dante’s Divine Comedy

–– Milton’s Paradise Lost
–– Steinbeck’s East of Eden
–– Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury
–– Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia
–– L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time
–– Rowling’s Harry Potter series
–– The works of Stephen King
–– Hundreds of other books, from high literature to bestselling page-turners

• The Bible also makes its way into the movies: Biblical epics like The Ten Commandments, The Passion of
the Christ, and Noah, and in much more unlikely places: Pulp Fiction, Saving Private Ryan, The Shawshank
Redemption, Wedding Crashers, Life of Brian, and hundreds of other famous movies all reference and
explore parts of the Bible

Yet although it is all around us, we don’t know the Bible very well.1

• Although 88 percent of Americans own a Bible, only 37 percent read the Bible regularly.

–– Biblical literacy is very low

–– Only half of American adults can name even one of the four gospels

–– Most Americans cannot name the first book of the Bible

–– A majority of Americans wrongly believe that the Bible says Jesus was born
in Jerusalem

–– When asked whether the New Testament book of Acts is in the Old Testament, one
quarter of Americans say yes. More than a third say they don’t know

–– Ten percent of Americans believe that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife

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 Session 1: Lecture Notes

• Although we have Bibles, many of us don’t read them. Why?

–– We are busy; we don’t have time to read anything, much less the Bible

–– Reading the Bible is something for the priests to do, or perhaps others from different
Christian traditions

–– We learned the Bible stories in Sunday school, and we hear them in church, so we
don’t need to read the Bible

For many of us, these are just excuses. The real reason that we don’t read the Bible more is that we’re intimidated.

Opening the Bible and trying to read it can feel like being dropped off without a map in the middle of a remote
wilderness. We know certain major landmarks: Moses and the Ten Commandments, Jonah and the whale, Jesus
walking on water, but when we are down in the weeds, we can’t see how the stories connect to one another. We
want to read the Bible, but we aren’t quite sure how to navigate its pages. We search for God in the midst of the
Bible, but we aren’t sure which direction to turn. We yearn to follow Jesus more closely, but we don’t know where
to start that journey or how to find the trailhead.

For the next twenty-five weeks, we will go on a journey through the Bible together.

We will use The Path, a book that excerpts and condenses the Bible, making it easier to read. It’s a guidebook to
help us take this journey together.

This is a great way to get a sense of the overall story of the Bible, a good start if you’ve always wanted to read
the Bible but have felt intimidated. It will be a good refresher if you’re more familiar with the Bible but need some
reminders about how all the pieces fit together.

As we dive into reading The Path together, it is important to understand a little bit about what the Bible is, and what
the Bible isn’t.

There are a number of different images or metaphors people use (either explicitly or implicitly) for understanding
the Bible.

• Rule book

–– Focus on the “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots”

–– Understands the Bible as a list of hard and fast rules to follow

• Operating instructions/manual for life

–– Advice on everyday topics: How should I relate to the people around me? Honor my
mother and father, be reconciled to my brother, love my wife, etc. What does God
want from me?

–– With this perspective, the Bible becomes the answer book that you go to every time
you have a question

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 Session 1: Lecture Notes

• Devotional/inspirational guide

–– Views the Bible as a place primarily to find comfort or inspiration: The Bible doesn’t
have guidelines so much as sage words of advice to help people feel better

–– Features stories of other people who have struggled and ultimately triumphed

• Love story/love letters

–– The Bible as God’s love letter to humanity: It tells the story (the ups and downs, the
ins and outs, the nitty gritty) of the tumultuous relationship between God and God’s
people

–– It’s intimate; it is God’s love story with humanity, but also, specifically, with me

The truth is, the Bible is all of those things (and more!)

• The Bible is a library or collection of books

–– The sixty-six different books that make up the Bible were written by different people
in different places in different times (and even in different languages)

–– Some were written in Hebrew, some in Greek (and even a smattering of Aramaic)

–– Some (like the Psalms and Isaiah) are poetry, and some are prose

–– Some are first-person accounts, and some are third-person narratives

• The Bible is not one kind of writing; it has many different genres. The Bible includes historical narratives,
laws, poetry, prophecy, narratives, and letters or epistles, among other forms of writing.

• We have to understand that the Bible is all of those different things, so that we can stop trying to read it
as only one thing.

–– If we read the laws as though they are prophecy, we will be confused

–– If we read the poetry as though it is law, we will be confused

–– If we read the letters as though they are narrative, we will be confused

–– We have to encounter each part of the Bible on its own terms in order to better
understand the whole

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 113

 Session 1: Lecture Notes

And yet, in spite of its breadth, we understand that the Bible also has unity.

• The diversity of the Bible reminds us that God can and does speak to people in many different ways.

• The common denominator in the Bible is not the form of speech but the inspiration of the speaker
(or writer)

• We believe that those different people in different times and different places who spoke different
languages and wrote in different genres were inspired to speak by God

–– We call [the Holy Scriptures] the “Word of God because God inspired their human
authors and because God still speaks to us through the Bible” (The Book of Common
Prayer, p. 853)

• So we understand the books of the Bible to be written by humans, but we believe the humans who
wrote the Bible were all inspired by God

• And we believe that God still speaks through them to us today

It is that unity that we will focus on in the coming weeks. We will try to get a sense of the big picture, the narrative
arc of the Bible. We will work to see how the different “pieces” of the Bible that we might have read or remember
from Sunday School fit together.

• In the midst of these holy words is an epic story, an amazing adventure

• It is the story of God’s extraordinary love that overflowed into the creation of the world, the earth, and
all that is in it, including humanity

• It is the story of God’s relentless, unwavering, unstoppable love for his people—people who are flawed
and funny and ordinary, just like you and me

• It is the story of the journey of those all-too-ordinary people who have tried, sometimes with glorious
success and sometimes with abject failure, to respond to God’s love

• These holy words convey the story of how God keeps trying to call us back to him, even when we have
wandered and strayed from God’s path

• It’s the story of how, in the fullness of time, God came among us, love incarnate, in the person of Jesus
Christ, to show us how to walk through this world with love and compassion

• It’s the story of Jesus’ life, of his death, and of his resurrection

• It’s the story of the founding of the Church, the followers of Jesus in the world,
the people of the Way, proclaiming Christ’s word and continuing his work

• It’s the story of you and me, the descendants of these flawed,
broken, and beautiful characters, the inheritors of the
promise of God

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 Session 1: Lecture Notes

Now, when we say that the Bible is a story, does that mean it isn’t true?

• Of course not!

• Truth is not the same as literal fact. Sometimes truth is much deeper than fact

• Have you ever heard a poem or song that encapsulated a truth more deeply than an encyclopedia or
dissertation?

• Christians (Episcopalians) absolutely believe the Bible is true. We believe that it contains a great deal of
historical truth and fact. And we also believe the Bible reflects and conveys a deeper truth—the truth
of God’s power, presence, and love

So, do we take every word literally?

• No one takes every word of scripture literally. Sometimes there are two stories that are told differently
that may even have contradictions. Noah’s story is a good example:

–– And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to
keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their
kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground
according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive.
(Genesis 6:19-20)

–– Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the
animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; and seven pairs of the birds of the air
also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth.
(Genesis 7:2-3)

• Sometimes there are things that are clearly meant as metaphors. For example, in Matthew 5:13, Jesus
says that we are the salt of the earth. We know that he does not mean we are literally salt!

• Though we might not take every word literally (again, no one does), we do take every word of the Bible
seriously

–– Christians say the Bible is the Word of God: not just the parts that we like, but also
the ones that are difficult for us

–– So we should read these stories, study them, listen to them, and see where the Word
of God might be speaking in and through them

–– As Christians, we are called to journey through the Bible,

again and again, to discover how God is speaking
in these holy stories

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 Session 1: Lecture Notes

Engage the Bible (20-25 minutes)

After the presentation, invite the group to engage in some discussion. Together or in small groups, discuss one or
more of the following questions:

• Have you ever (or recently) read the Bible? How did it go?

• What is your favorite biblical reference in books, movies, TV, or elsewhere?

• Do you typically approach the Bible as a rule book, a manual for life, an inspirational guide, or a love
letter? Is there some other way you see the Bible? How might it impact you to approach the Bible in
one of the other ways?

• Have you ever experienced something that was “true” even if it wasn’t factual? What does it mean to
you to say the Bible is “true”?

• What do you hope for in the coming twenty-five weeks? Is there anything you are concerned about?

Preview (2-3 minutes)

For the next twenty-five weeks, we will be reading the Bible together.

We will be using The Path: A Journey Through the Bible. (If you are using books, explain to students where to get the
books. If you are using printed copies, explain the method for distribution and how to access the text if they miss a
week.)

The Path is the Bible. All of the regular text in this book is directly from the New Revised Standard Version of the
Bible. It is not a summary of the Bible, an interpretation of the Bible, or a story about the Bible. It is the Bible. On
very rare occasions, the editors substituted a noun for a pronoun for the sake of clarity; these are noted in brackets.
Other than that, the biblical text has not been edited or amended in any way, so that most of what you are reading
in The Path is the Bible itself.

But, of course, The Path is not the entire Bible. Instead, it presents excerpts from the Bible, selected texts that cover
most of the “greatest hits” from the Bible’s story. This is intended to give you an idea of the overarching narrative, the
sweeping story of God’s great love for us.

As you read this book, you will be walking, in chronological order, through most of the major moments of the biblical
narrative. This journey gives you a sense of how the smaller stories of the Bible, some that are familiar and some that
might be surprising, fit together to tell a bigger story. At the end of each chapter, there is a list of citations so that
you know exactly which parts of the Bible you have been reading.

You will be asked to read one chapter from The Path a week, and each week we will gather to recall and discuss the
chapter. In this way, we will walk together through this important story, sharing our observations and exploring our
questions as a group.

We encourage everyone to do their very best to read the chapter each week. The chapters are relatively brief and
are designed to be easy to read. And if you do read them, then at the end of the year, you’ll be able to say you have
read the whole story of the Bible! You will be transformed by experiencing and knowing to know this story in a new
and intimate way.

We understand that life sometimes gets in the way. Even if you haven’t read the weekly chapter, please still come
and join us. You will be able to hear what’s happening and join in the discussion!

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 Final Session

Bible Trivia
1. On the fourth day, God created the ___________, ____________ and ____________.

2. I am Adam and Eve’s third son. Who am I? ___________________.

3. Abraham and Sarah named their son Isaac, which means ___________________.

4. Jacob tricked his brother Esau out of his _________________________ and his __________________.

5. The tenth plague of Egypt is the death of the ________________________.

6. In the wilderness, God provided _______________________ for the people to eat.

7. I hid the Israelite spies who came to visit Jericho. Who am I? ____________________.

8. I killed King Sisera with a tent peg to the temple. Who am I? __________________

9. When Hannah prayed at Shiloh, Eli thought she was _______________________.

10. The people of Israel wanted to be like other nations, so they asked God for a ______________.

11. When the _____________ was finally brought into Jerusalem, King David danced and leaped with joy.

12. When Solomon was given the opportunity to ask God for anything in the world, he asked for _____________.

13. When Elijah met God at Horeb, the Lord was not in the __________________ or the _______________ or
the _________________, but in the ____________________.

14. We are Daniel’s three friends, who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to worship a golden statue.
Our names are ____________________, ________________________, and ________________________.

15. When the people of Israel finally return to Jerusalem after their exile, they begin rebuilding the _____________.

16. When Jesus is presented in the Temple, ______________________ and _________________ recognize him
and praise God.

17. Jesus said, “Do not think I have come to abolish the ______________ and the ___________; I have come not
to abolish but to fulfill.”

18. One day Jesus feeds a large crowd of people with only five____________ and two___________.

19. When Jesus enters Jerusalem, the people spread _______________ and _________________ on the ground.

20. After his resurrection, Jesus appears to some of his disciples on the road to _______________.

21. Jesus appears to Saul on the road to ___________________.

22. The letter to the Galatians tells us that, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there
is no longer _______________ or _____________; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

23. James write that “_____________ by itself, if it has no ______________, is dead.”

24. In John’s vision described in Revelation, Jesus looks like a ________________.

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Bible Trivia Word Bank
Abednego Prophets

Anna Rahab

Ark of the covenant Seth

Barley loaves Shadrach

Birthright Simeon

Blessing Sound of sheer silence

Bread from heaven Stars

Cloaks Sun

Damascus Temple

Drunk Wind

Earthquake Wisdom

Emmaus Works

Faith

Female

Fire

Firstborn

Fish

Jael

King

Lamb that has been slaughtered

Laughter

Law

Leafy branches

Male

Meshach

Moon

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Chapter 1: God Saw That It Was Good

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Chapter 2: The Sign of the Covenant

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Chapter 3: The Ancestor of a Multitude

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Chapter 4: Joseph Had a Dream

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Chapter 5: I Am Who I Am

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Chapter 6: The Waters Were Divided

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Chapter 7: The Wall Fell Down Flat

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Chapter 8: The Lord Raised Up Judges

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Chapter 9: Speak, For Your Servant Is Listening

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Chapter 10: Determined to Have a King

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Chapter 11: A Man After God’s Own Heart

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Chapter 12: The Wisdom of God Was in Him

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Chapter 13: Here I Am; Send Me

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Chapter 14: Daniel, Servant of the Living God

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Chapter 15: Go Up and Rebuild

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Chapter 16: Good News of Great Joy

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Chapter 17: Follow Me

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Chapter 18: Proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom

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Chapter 19: Crucify Him!

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Chapter 20: We Have Seen the Lord

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Chapter 21: Filled with the Holy Spirit

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Chapter 22: May Grace Abound

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Chapter 23: Be Doers of the Word

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Chapter 24: The Alpha and the Omega

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Chapter 25: Celebrate the Journey

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About the Author
Melody Wilson Shobe is an Episcopal priest who has served churches in Rhode Island and Texas. A graduate of Tufts
University and Virginia Theological Seminary, Melody is currently working on curriculum development for Forward
Movement. Melody, her husband, and their two daughters live in Dallas, Texas, where she spends her spare time
reading stories, building forts, conquering playgrounds, baking cookies, and exploring nature.

About Forward Movement

Forward Movement is committed to inspiring disciples and empowering evangelists. While we produce great
resources like this book, Forward Movement is not a publishing company. We are a ministry.

Our mission is to support you in your spiritual journey, to help you grow as a follower of Jesus Christ. Publishing
books, daily reflections, studies for small groups, and online resources is an important way that we live out this
ministry. More than a half million people read our daily devotions through Forward Day by Day, which is also available
in Spanish (Adelante Día a Día) and Braille, online, as a podcast, and as an app for your smartphones or tablets. It
is mailed to more than fifty countries, and we donate nearly 30,000 copies each quarter to prisons, hospitals, and
nursing homes. We actively seek partners across the Church and look for ways to provide resources that inspire
and challenge.

A ministry of The Episcopal Church for eighty years, Forward Movement is a nonprofit organization funded by sales
of resources and gifts from generous donors.

To learn more about Forward Movement and our resources, please visit us at www.ForwardMovement.org
(or www.VenAdelante.org).

We are delighted to be doing this work and invite your prayers and support.

FORWARD MOVEMENT | LIVING DISCIPLESHIP: EXPLORING THE BIBLE | page 144