(Adult Study)

Not much has changed since the time of Isaac, Esau, and Jacob. Families still experience conflict and confusion; younger generations don't always understand older generations. In every family there is an unknown history that influences interactions a...

(Adult Study)

Most of us know someone who is navigating the murky depths of love's ending. Divorce is very common in our culture: 41 percent of first marriages, 60 percent of second marriages, and 73 percent of third marriages end in divorce. There is nothing simp...

(Adult Study)

How do persons caring for those with Alzheimer's disease care for themselves? How can congregations support those persons responsible for the care of persons with Alzheimer's disease? Through a personal story of caregiving for a husband with Alzheime...

(Adult Study)

It's true: most people don't enjoy talking about death or funerals. They're such significant life experiences, that it can seem better to not mention them too often. Yet the rituals we practice and the prayers we say when someone dies aren't improvis...

(Adult Study)

Is friendship a dying art? Loneliness and isolation continue to increase in our culture. Yet, Christian values of community should provide an alternative to lives lived in isolation.The Bible teaches much about relationships that can help us be loyal...

(Adult Study)

Can't the United States work toward health-care reform that is just, affordable, and sustainable? With health-insurance costs rising and the number of uninsured Americans growing, at what level(s) of government does reform need to take place? What sh...

Loving the Stranger
(Adult Study)

Hospitality is a theme most Christians take very seriously. How do we welcome strangers in our community? Do we welcome outsiders? What are our obligations to strangers? Do guests also have obligations to hosts?This two-session study reviews the impo...

(Adult Study)

Interfaith marriage is and will continue to be a reality in our society. Regardless of how our various religious traditions regard it, men and women will fall in love and marry partners of different faiths. Such marriages offer challenges and opportu...

A History of Valentine's Day
(Adult Study)

If someone told you that our contemporary Valentine's Day was rooted in an ancient ruler's need to recruit soldiers for battle, a subsequent ban on the bond of holy matrimony, and the execution of a priest named Valentine, well, one might wonder wher...

(Adult Study)

How will you spend this Thanksgiving? In a traditional way? What does that mean, and where did that tradition come from? Do we celebrate Thanksgiving as it was first celebrated? Do we even know how it was first celebrated?This one-session study tells...

(Adult Study)

The complexities of medical care these days can be staggering. And much of the time decisions about medical treatment carry an inescapable sense of urgency. All kinds of potentially troubling situations arise regularly. When facing a potentially leth...

(Adult Study)

Is there anything inherently religious about the ways we celebrate New Year's? Should there be? In this one-session study, author Jason Byassee shares some ways Christians might celebrate New Year's. The Leader's Guide invites participants to reflect...

Caring for a Pet
(Adult Study)

We love our pets! Numerous studies suggest that pets can make us feel happier and more fulfilled, and they can even do things such as help keep our blood pressure down. But have you noticed the pet industry explosion in the last decade? In 2008, Amer...

Practical Steps
(Adult Study)

What do you want to happen to you if you are in an accident and wind up in a persistent vegetative state? Or if you have an illness and are placed on a respirator and are unable to live without it? Do you want to remain alive no matter what the cost?...

Seeking an Alternative
(Adult Study)

If you're anything like most Americans, the upcoming Christmas season will be a mixed blessing-along with time with friends and family and at least some attempt to focus on "the reason for the season," you will probably find yourself eating too much,...