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Neither Lent nor Advent is exactly “biblical,” of course. But the days they each await—Easter and Christmas—recall events central to the story of Jesus in the Gospels. Over the centuries, Christians have found it helpful to prepare for the keeping of these two central biblical feasts of the Christian year with seasons that offer a shared discipline to ready our hearts and minds to celebrate our Savior’s birth or resurrection. Lent, and originally Advent as well, has long been essentially penitential, that is, a time set aside for making sacrifices, for “giving things up for Lent,” for rigorous self-examination, for honest confession. In recent years, however, many Christian have focused their Advent and Lenten preparations more on study and prayer. Each year The Thoughtful Christian produces a new Advent and Lenten study pack for groups to use as they prepare, practice, and pray.
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| Advent |
| Advent Through the Eyes of Those Who Waited |
| Pausing on the Road to Bethlehem: A Spiritual Journey through Advent |
| Preparing the Way: An Advent Study for Youth |
| Rejoice! Reflections on Four Seasonal Hymns |
| Repentance, Faith, Holiness, and Love: An Advent Study |
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| Lent |
| Gospel Portraits of Jesus: A Lenten Study |
| Pausing on the Road to Jerusalem: A Lenten Study |
| Reflections on the Lord's Prayer: A Lenten Study |
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It's easy to create multi-week studies for your group by using this "Build-a-Pack" option. You can build study packs based on a theme or choose unrelated studies from any of our six categories, which include more than 300 adult, youth, and parenting studies. You could even let your group members build a pack based on individual interests. And best of all, you’ll be saving a little money too. However, if you're more concerned with saving time, check out our Editor's Picks section on this page to see the study packs our editor has thoughtfully put together to cover all of your congregation's educational needs.
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| Basic Study Pack |
Interested in more than one study, but not ready to commit to a subscription? Many of our Thoughtful Christians use this as their "starter kit." The Basic Study Pack allows you to pick ANY five studies, of any length. These five units may be downloaded at any time.
When using the Basic Study Pack, you will complete the purchase of your study pack before you select individual studies. You cannot use Basic Study Pack credits to download other Thoughtful Christian study packs on this page, however. |
| Basic Study Pack |
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| Partnership Study Packs |
These groups have supported The Thoughtful Christian and we want to support them. These Study Packs act like a smaller BASIC STUDY PACK—you get to pick ANY three studies, of any length, and we donate 10% back to the organization you select.
When using the Partnership Study Pack, you will complete the purchase of your study pack before you select individual studies. |
| Association of Presbyterian Christian Educators (APCE) Study Pack |
 | Association of United Church Educators (AUCE) Study Pack |
| Christian Educators Fellowship (CEF) Study Pack |
| Presbyterian Women (PW) Study Pack |
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| Thematic Study Packs |
Our Thematic Study Packs allow those not ready for an Annual Subscription to develop their own twelve-week program using movie studies (Movie Study Pack), spirituality studies (Spirituality Study Pack), or any combination of one-week studies (Summer Study Pack).
You must purchase the Thematic Study Pack of your choice before you select individual studies. You save $10 over purchasing the studies individually. |
| Movie Study Pack |
| Spirituality Study Pack |
| Summer Study Pack |
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At The Thoughtful Christian we strive to be your one-stop shop for all of your congregation's educational needs. Below are a number of study packs created by our editor that are designed to help your church organize and use the more than 300 adult, youth, and parenting studies on our site. We've created categories based on the most commonly found church school classes in your congregations to help educators pinpoint the lessons they'd like to use. Because they are so versatile, many of these Editor's Picks have been placed in multiple classes, or cross-listed. If you would like to create your own study pack or only want to use part of an Editor's Pick, you can do so in our "Build-a-Pack" section of this page. Though the ease of quickly downloading these study packs will only be available for subscribers, nonsubscribers can still purchase these studies individually. If you’re interested in taking advantage of our reduced subscription price, click here.
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| Adult Bible Study Class |
| Christmas Study Pack |
| Common Theological Questions |
| The Bible: Its Messengers, Missives, and Meanings |
| The Gospels |
 | What Our Christian Neighbors Believe |
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| Adult Contemporary Issues Class |
| Being Christian in the 21st Century |
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| Campus Ministry Group |
| Christianity on Campus |
| Men at Work and Worship |
| Women: Loving, Learning, and Leading |
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| Men's Group Study |
| Back to Church |
| Christianity on Campus |
| Men at Work and Worship |
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| New Members Class |
| Back to Church |
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| Parenting Group |
| Parenting: Not for the Faint of Heart! |
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| Women's Group Study |
| Back to Church |
| Christianity on Campus |
| Women: Loving, Learning, and Leading |
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| Youth Group |
| To Be Young and Christian |
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| Ready to tackle a longer multi-week series? Our Premium Studies allow users to spend several weeks on a single topic. Premium Studies are free for Annual Subscribers. |
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| Expanded Bible Basics Study Pack |
| Figures in the New Testament Study Pack |
| Figures in the Old Testament Study Pack |
| Interpreting the Bible Study Pack |
| Keeping the Sabbath Study Pack |
| Rediscovering Paul Study Pack: Understanding the Controversial Apostle |
| Religion and Politics Study Pack I |
| Religion and Politics Study Pack II |
| The Green Study Pack |
| The Racism Study Pack |
| What They Saw: Telling Biblical Stories through New Eyes |
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