Past Anchored Bible Studies
Worship. Enjoy community. Be challenged. Grow in your faith.
Sound good to you? Join us Thursday nights at 7:00 p.m. in the Wesley UMC basement Youth Lounge. Most weeks we start with a little social time, then dive into worship, followed by studying the Word.
You'll find a list of past Anchored Bible studies below. Want to learn more about our current and upcoming Bible studies? Check out what we're currently studying.
Worship. Enjoy community. Be challenged. Grow in your faith.
Sound good to you? Join us Thursday nights at 7:00 p.m. in the Wesley UMC basement Youth Lounge. Most weeks we start with a little social time, then dive into worship, followed by studying the Word.
You'll find a list of past Anchored Bible studies below. Want to learn more about our current and upcoming Bible studies? Check out what we're currently studying.
Spring 2015
Digital Disciple
Real Christianity in a Virtual World
By Adam Thomas
This time in our society is unlike any other. People communicate daily without ever having to speak face to face, news breaks around the world in a matter of seconds, and favorite TV shows can be viewed at our convenience.
We are, simultaneously, a people of connection and isolation. As Christians, how do we view our faith and personal ministry in this culture? Adam Thomas invites you to explore this question using his unique, personal, and often humorous insight. Thomas notes, "[The Internet] has added a new dimension to our lives; we are physical, emotional, spiritual, and now virtual people. But I believe that God continues to move through every facet of our existence, and that makes us new kinds of followers. We are digital disciples." Digital Disciple on Amazon.com |
Winter/Spring 2015
Breaking the Code
Understanding the Book of Revelation
By Bruce M. Metzger
The book of Revelation contains passages of great beauty and comfort, as well as passages that strike the casual reader as bizarre, bewildering, and sometimes frightening.
How are readers today to discern God’s message in this peculiar part of the Bible? Breaking the Code provides a trustworthy guide to the rich symbolism of this important biblical book. Noted biblical scholar Bruce M. Metzger presents the fruits of solid scholarship in a nonacademic style. Breaking the Code serves as a key for understanding this powerful and puzzling book from the first century of the Christian Era. Breaking the Code on Amazon.com |
Fall 2014
The Prodigal God
Finding Your Place at the Table
By Timothy Keller
In six captivating sessions, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy 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.
Newsweek called New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller a "C.S. Lewis for the twenty-first century" in a feature on his first book, The Reason for God. In that book, he offered a rational explanation for why we should believe in God. Now, in The Prodigal God, Keller takes his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity and uses the parable of the Prodigal Son to reveal an unexpected message of hope and salvation. Within that parable, Jesus reveals God's prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. This book will challenge both the devout and skeptics to see Christianity in a whole new way. In this six-session small group Bible study, pastor and bestselling author Timothy Keller uses one of Jesus’ best-loved parables – the Prodigal Son – to illustrate the depth of God’s love and how his grace extends into some very unexpected places. Taking you beyond the traditional focus on the wayward younger son, Keller helps you glean insights from each of the characters in Jesus' parable: the irreligious younger son, the moralistic elder son, and the Father who lavishes his love on both. Inside this guide, you'll explore questions for group discussion and personal reflection, and exercises that will help you experience the truths of Jesus' parable in your own life. The gospel is neither religion nor irreligion, but something else entirely. Whether you're a devout believer or a skeptic, The Prodigal God will challenge you to see Christianity in a whole new way. Prodigal God on Amazon.com |
Spring/Summer 2014
Christianity and World Religions
Wrestling with Questions People Ask
By Adam Hamilton
At some point in our lives, each of us will be confronted with the claims of persons of other faiths - coworkers, neighbors, friends. Our society is more religiously diverse than ever. Yet many Americans know very little about Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and even Judaism.
It is essential that Christians seek to understand the faiths of others – to know how these faiths are similar to and different from their own faith. Jesus Christ told his followers to go into the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:16-20). How can we as Christians do that effectively with persons of other faiths if we have no idea what they believe? How can we share Christ in a sensitive way if we have no idea what someone else’s idea of truth is? In this book we will be examining Christianity and four of the other major world religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism. This six-week study deals openly and honestly with questions people ask about other religions, including why we should believe the claims of Christianity over those of other faiths. As part of the study, Adam Hamilton interviews a religious leader from each tradition. He treats the world religions with great respect, recognizing the unique contributions of each. In examining these major world religions and the beliefs of their followers, the Reverend Hamilton urges us as Christians to build bridges with others so that we might grow in our faith, seek peace in our world, love our neighbor, and find positive ways to share the gospel. Christianity and World Religions on Amazon.com |
Winter 2013 - 2014
When Christians Get It Wrong
Politics. Judgment. Salvation. Sexuality. Tragedy. Science.
By Adam Hamilton
More and more young adults have opted out of Christianity and the church.
The reason? Christians. When young adults talk about the problems they have with Christianity and the church, they often name certain attitudes and behaviors they believe are practiced too often by Christians: judging others, condemning people of other faiths, rejecting science, injecting politics into faith, and being anti-homosexual. With his familiar style, Adam Hamilton tackles these issues and addresses the how’s and why’s of Christians getting it right when it comes to being Christ in the world. Those who read When Christians Get It Wrong will gain a different way of understanding the issues that keep people away from Christianity and keep Christians from living a more compelling faith. Because, honestly, if we don’t start getting it right, we may lose an entire generation. Description from Amazon.com |
Fall 2013
For Everything A Season
Simple Musings on Living Well
By Philip Gulley
Filled with a cast of lovable, quirky characters, punctuated with simple wonders, the everyday truths found in this book offer much needed clarity to our own befuddled world. No matter where you live, no matter what your season, come along for the journey.
When Philip Gulley began writing newsletter essays for the twelve members of his Quaker meeting in Indiana, he had no idea one of them would find its way to radio commentator Paul Harvey Jr. and be read on the air to 24 million people. Fourteen books later, with more than a million books in print, Gulley still entertains as well as inspires from his small-town front porch. Visit Philip Gulley online. For Everything A Season on Amazon.com |
Summer 2013
James: Faith to Live By
Live well. Live wisely.
James has filled the pages of his book with instructions for pursuing a holy life. Not just thinking about or talking about what a holy life looks like, but actually living a holy life.
James tells us that true faith produces change and inspires action and gives us real-life examples of what this looks like. Join us in studying the book of James and examine how to apply what we read - in living well...and living wisely. |
April - May 2013
Forgotten God
Reversing our tragic neglect of the Holy Spirit
By Francis Chan
In the name of the Father, the Son, and … the Holy Spirit. We pray in the name of all three, but how often do we live with an awareness of only the first two?
As Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to send the Holy Spirit—the Helper—so that we could be true and living witnesses for Christ. Unfortunately, today’s church has admired the gift but neglected to open it. Breakthrough author Francis Chan rips away paper and bows to get at the true source of the church’s power—the Holy Spirit. Chan contends that we’ve ignored the Spirit for far too long, and we are reaping the disastrous results. Thorough scriptural support and compelling narrative form Chan’s invitation to stop and remember the One we’ve forgotten, the Spirit of the living God. Forgotten God on Amazon.com |
February - March 2013
Using historical information, archaeological data, and stories of the faith, Hamilton follows in the footsteps of Jesus from his baptism to the temptations to the heart of his ministry, including the people he loved, the parables he taught, the enemies he made, and the healing he brought. Enter Jerusalem, where Jesus was arrested and crucified. Epilogue: Continue the journey with Jesus' death and Resurrection.
The Way on Amazon.com
The Way on Amazon.com
January - February 2013
Mentoring
Build your faith. Grow the church.
Be a Barnabas
How are you supporting the church (universal and your local community of believers) with your encouragement, presence, and gifts? Pursue a Paul Seek a mentor who will invest in you and challenge you to grow in your faith. Train a Timothy Invest in someone to build them up and challenge them the way you’ve been challenged by your Paul. |
Last updated June 2015
© 2015 Anchored Young Adult Ministry
Wesley United Methodist Church
502 E. Front St. Bloomington, IL 61701
© 2015 Anchored Young Adult Ministry
Wesley United Methodist Church
502 E. Front St. Bloomington, IL 61701