curriculum

Potential Studies for Fall 2011

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                                            Prayer

Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? By Philip Yancey (DVD) (6 Sessions)

In theory, prayer is the priceless point of contact between us and God. In practice, it's often frustrating, confusing,
and mysterious. Throughout this 6-session interactive journey, Philip Yancey explores this enigmatic intersection
where we meet God, asking---and answering---key questions: Is he listening? What's the point? Can prayer be
more satisfying?

When God's People Pray , Jim Cymbala (DVD) (6 Sessions)

Prayer can change lives and circumstances like nothing else can. What are the keys that unlock its power, that turn
prayer from a mere activity into a vital link with God and all his resources? In this DVD, Jim Cymbala, pastor of the
Brooklyn Tabernacle, shows you and your small group truths about prayer that God has used to turn his own church
from a tiny, struggling inner-city congregation into a vital, thriving community of believers who pray with passion,
focus, and faith. This wonderful teaching on the transforming power of prayer is divided into six sessions.

                                     Philip Yancey

What's So Amazing About Grace? Philip Yancey (DVD) (14 Sessions)
This grace is the true message of Jesus. All faiths have virtues and creeds and justice and truth, but Jesus speaks
merely of receiving the love that God has for us. Accepting it, not earning it or making ourselves worthy of it. And
frankly, accepting something we have not earned or are not worthy of is not an easy thing for most of us.
If you want to know how amazing grace really is, take a good look at the broken world it heals. In this ten-session
small group DVD curriculum, award winning author Philip Yancey takes you and your study group for interactive, gut-
level encounters with radical, life-changing grace. Includes interviews with Tony Campolo, Patricia Raybon, Ann
Spangler, Debbie Morris, Lewis Smedes, and Mel White.

The Jesus I Never Knew: by Philip Yancey (DVD) (6 sessions)
Take another look at the Lord you thought you knew so well! Based on the challenging and insightful bestseller The
Jesus I Never Knew, this rich visual study leads you through an examination of Christ in the Gospels. Led by Yancey
and featuring film clips of cinematic portrayals, it's certain to get you thinking and growing! This curriculum features
6 DVD sessions totaling 115 minutes in which Yancey provides insightful biblical teaching that challenges our
understanding of Jesus and calls us to a deeper life of discipleship.

                                           Tim Keller

The Prodigal God (6 sessions)
In six captivating DVD video sessions, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Tim Keller opens your eyes to
the powerful message of Jesus' best-known—and least understood—parable. The Prodigal God is a revelation of
the very heart of the gospel: God's radical love for sinners of every kind.   Keller has taught from this passage many
times over the years, and says, "I have seen more people encouraged, enlightened, and helped by this passage,
when I explained the true meaning of it, than by any other text."

The Reason for God, by Timothy Keller (DVD) (6 sessions)

Captured live and unscripted, pastor and author Timothy Keller meets with a group of people over six sessions to
address their doubts and objections to Christianity. Using literature, philosophy, real-life experiences, and the Bible,
Keller and the group explore the truth of Christianity. This DVD will help you think about and engage others in
dialogue on six common objections to Christianity.
Session:
* 1: Isn't the Bible a Myth? Hasn't Science Disproved Christianity?
* 2: How Can You Say There Is Only One Way to God? What About Other Religions?
* 3: What Gives You the Right to Tell Me How to Live My Life? Why Are There So Many Rules?
* 4: Why Does God Allow Suffering? Why Is There So Much Evil in the World?
* 5: Why Is the Church Responsible for So Much Injustice? Why Are Christians Such Hypocrites?
* 6: How Can God Be Full of Love and Wrath at the Same Time? How Can God Send Good People to Hell?

                                          John Ortberg

If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get
Out of the Boat, John Ortberg, (DVD) (6 sessions)

Out on life's choppy waters, Jesus is waiting to meet you in ways that will change you forever! In six sessions, John
Ortberg teaches you the skills essential to "water-walking" with God---how to discern his call, transcend fear, risk
faith, manage failure, and trust him. Six small-group sessions on DVD that include video clips and group
discussions.

When the Game is Over, John Ortberg, (DVD) (6 sessions)

Today is the day you choose . . . . . . which game you want to win. . . . which prize you want to collect. . . . which
priorities you want to set. t All Goes Back in the Box DVD and participant's guide help explain how, left to our own
devices, we tend to seek out worldly things, mistakenly thinking they will bring us fulfillment. But everything on Earth
belongs to God. Everything we 'own' is just on loan. And what pleases God is often 180 degrees from what we may
think is important. In the six sessions you will learn how to: * Live passionately and boldly *

God is Closer than you Think, John Ortberg, (DVD) (6 sessions)

Intimacy with God can happen right now if you want it. A closeness you can feel, a goodness you can taste, a reality
you can experience for yourself. That's what the Bible promises, so why settle for less? God is closer than you think,
and connecting with him isn't for monks and ascetics. It's for business people, high school students, busy moms,
single men, single women ... and most important, it's for YOU.

                               Christian Growth Variety
                                   of Authors & Topics

Mayberry Bible Study (VHS) (4 – 12 sessions)
Many stories transcend social, racial and cultural barriers because they contain spiritual truth for which all people
have a God-given hunger. Primetime Parable Ministries' Bible studies use popular entertainment to engage a
Christian worldview. These studies will provide a time of good fellowship as you gather around the TV with familiar
friends Andy, Barney, Aunt Bea, Floyd and others. Lessons on four episodes per VHS tape are included. The
Mayberry Bible Study will help you refresh the world weary souls of believers. With practical applications for daily
living, these videos feature classic Mayberry episodes with relevant scriptures for you to use as modern parables on
the teachings of Jesus.   (We have the VHS version, DVD may be available for order.)

Becoming a Contagious Christian (DVD) (6 sessions)
This revised and updated training DVD avoids common mistakes some Christians make when introducing others
to Christ. Avoid stereotyped approaches that feel intimidating to your friends with this six-session course. Learn to
share your faith in a natural and effective way while being the person God made you to be. Join teachers Mark
Mittelberg and Lee Strobel in a journey that will encourage you to reach your community for God.

Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No,
to Take Control of Your Life. (DVD) ( 8 sessions)
Having clear boundaries is essential to a healthy, balanced lifestyle. A boundary is a personal property line that
marks those things for which we are responsible. In other words, boundaries define who we are and who we are
not. Boundaries impact all areas of our lives: Physical boundaries help us determine who may touch us, mental
boundaries give us the freedom to have our own thoughts, emotional boundaries help us to deal with our own
emotions and spiritual boundaries help us to distinguish God's will from our own.
30 minutes of DVD per session for 8 sessions.

I Saw the Lord, by Anne Graham Lotz (DVD) (8 Sessions)

In this eight-session ZondervanGroupware™ small group DVD curriculum, award-winning author Anne Graham
Lotz along with pastor Crawford Lorritts and author Henry Blackaby share their insights on revival lessons from
Scripture, showing you how you can experience an authentic, deeper, and richer relationship with God in a life-
changing, fire-blazing revival.
Christians who feel they are missing something will wake up to how much Jesus loves them and passionately
desires to revive their lives through a fresh commitment to holiness. A revived faith means a life totally dedicated to
God and totally committed to the Word of God. Relationship with God takes first priority; service and mission flow
from this deepened, intimate, personal relationship with God.

Questions God Asks Us, By: Trevor Hudson (This is a book study, not a DVD. A 10 week study)

People often look to the Bible for answers, but Trevor Hudson notes that there are also questions God asks -
questions that provide a starting point for a deep dialogue between God and human beings. In Questions God Asks
Us, Hudson points to 10 questions God asks us. The question, "Where are you?" invites us to "come out of hiding"
and be honest with God about our thoughts, feelings, and concerns. "What are you looking for?" invites us to
discover the desires of our hearts and let God help us sort the healthy from the unhealthy. Often the question serves
as a starting point for genuine conversation with the Creator. Hudson assures us, "We are not starting the
conversation with God from scratch. He has already begun it. We just need to plug into the conversation that is
already going on."

Fearless, by Max Lucado (DVD) (6 sessions)

Can you imagine your life without fear? Max Lucado presents six DVD sessions that offer hope and calm in a time of
unprecedented fear in our nation and the world. Fearless draws from Jesus' encounters with people in frightening
situations giving evidence that we can trust God through these scary times.

Five Things God Wants You to Know, by Andy Stanley (DVD) (6 sessions)

Imagine how different your outlook on life would be if you had absolute confidence that God was with you. Imagine
how differently you would respond to difficulties, temptations, and even good things if you knew with certainty that
God was in all of it and was planning to leverage it for good. In other words, imagine what it would be like to have
PERFECT faith. In this new DVD study, Andy Stanley builds a biblical case for five things God uses to grow BIG faith.
In six video sessions, Andy covers the following topics: * Big Faith * Practical Teaching * Providential Relationships *
Private Disciplines * Personal Ministry * Pivotal Circumstances This tremendous DVD resource will equip anyone
that watches it to be a more mature follower of Jesus Christ. Each curriculum session includes 15-20 minutes of
teaching from Andy Stanley. In addition to the small group sessions, this DVD is enhanced with six full-length
messages from Andy Stanley.

Start: Becoming a Good Samaritan, (DVD) (6 sessions)

In a world struggling with poverty, AIDS, racism, genocide, child slavery, the disenfranchised (widows, orphans, and
the disabled), and the environment, how can churches motivate the millions of potential Good Samaritans sitting in
their pews to get involved? John Ortberg encourages "front-line" experts including Gary Haugen, Bishop Desmond
Tutu, and Chuck Colson to weigh in.

The Shack (12 sessions)

Mackenzie Allen Phillips's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that
she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years
later, in this midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to
that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on wintry afternoon and walks back
into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change his life forever.
This study is not intended to promote all the ideas of this book as biblical or orthodox, but to open a place for
discussion concerning the problem of evil in the world, how we view God and to ask the questions where is God;
and, who is God?

Nooma (up to 24 sessions)

When Jesus taught about life's toughest issues, he used short, simple stories. Rob Bell's modern "parables" on
film follow his lead. Concise, powerful 10- to 14-minute DVDs tackle topics like forgiveness, discipleship, and
unconditional love, making biblical truths vivid and relevant for today's generation. A great way to spark meaningful
discussion in your small group! Each DVD comes with a 32-page discussion guide.