Lesson 1 (Sept 24-30), The End

Is the story of Job meant to be taken completely literally, or could some parts be exaggerated for the sake of the story, wealth in cattle in exactly whole numbers, number of children in perfect proportions, characters of Job and his wife stretched to opposite extremes, etc?

Happily Ever After

1. Why does the record not tell of the healing that must have come to Job?
2. How would you rank the following in terms of importance: (1) public vindication of your innocence, (2) having a happy family again, (3) complete recovery from painful illness, (4) wealth, (5) knowing that you are at peace with God, (6) long life?
3. Why did God bless Job with double wealth after his trial?
4. Why were his children not double of those who died?
5. How long was Job's ordeal?
6. If Job knew the ending, would the ordeal be worth it?

Unhappy Endings

1. Why does God permit bad things to good people?
2. Could Abel have done things any differently to avoid being killed by Cain?
3. If Uriah had known the end from the beginning  would he have gone home to his wife and covered up David's deed?
4. Did Eli deserve his end?
5. Would it have been better for John the Baptist to not condemn a person who was not going to reform?
6. Should Stephen have kept quiet to avoid getting stoned?

The Partial Restoration

1. Why did God allow Job's children to be killed and can a new set of children replace the lost set?
2. Was Satan prevented from taking the life of Job's wife, or did he keep her to use her?
3. For fairness sake was it necessary for Job to find out the true cause of his misfortunes?

The Final Kingdom

1. Does Satan still have access to heavenly councils?
2. Can justice in the final judgement compensate for injustice in this world?
3. Did people of the New Testament understand more about God's kingdom that those in the Old Testament?

The Resurrection and the Life

1. Did the people of the New Testament understand the concept of resurrection better than those in the Old Testament? Is progressive revelation unfair to those to whom less was revealed? Are those who know more, more accountable?
2. Does anything in nature suggest resurrection is possible?
3. Does anything in nature suggest that resurrection is not possible?

Lesson 13 (Sept 17-23), How Shall We Wait?

While We Wait For Jesus

1. What is the connection between the destruction of the temple and the second coming of Jesus? Why did Jesus connect the two when the disciples asked about the end of time?
2. Of what use is it when signs in the heavens (stars falling, sun and moon becoming dark) are given to  one generation and Jesus' return is several generations later?
3. Have people of each generation imagined theirs to be the last?
4. What did Jesus mean by the phrase "Occupy till I come," in the parable of the talents, doing our own business, or doing His business? What are those talents that he has asked us to multiply?  How can we balance living a successful life, and doing His work?

Revival and Reformation While We Wait

1. Did the five wise virgins fail in any way because they went to sleep while waiting for the bridegroom? Should they have helped keep the others ready? How much are we responsible for helping others get ready for Jesus' return?
2. What is the lesson from the foolish virgins? What in our lives distinguishes us as wise or foolish?
3. Does the bridegroom intentionally delay his coming to help separate the wise from the foolish? How can we keep from getting complacent?

The Mission of the Church While We Wait

1. How many members are aware of the mission statement of the Adventist church? Is the statement for the administrators, church employees, or for all members?
2. If we had to make a mission statement for the Adventist church based on the reality of what we are actually doing, what would the statement look like?
3. Does our local church have a mission statement? How successful have we been in keeping it uppermost in our minds? How effectively have we lived it?

Preparing For the Final Harvest

1. Is sowing seeds of the gospel enough are are we expected to bring in a plentiful harvest? Is the Adventist emphasis on numbers justified?
2. What about the talk about the number of stars in a person's crown, how much credit should a person get for the salvation of another person?
3. In our zeal for the church do we drive some members away? Can we be held accountable for the departure of some members or is that their own responsibility?
4. Why does God involve humans in the gospel commission when angels could have done it?

The Wait is Over

1. How correct is this statement: "If you accept Jesus as the bridegroom, you have to accept the church as his bride? Can you reject the church and still have Jesus?
2. Why are tears wiped away only in the new earth and not in heaven?

Lesson 12 (September 10-16) Urban Ministry in the End

The Nature of Cities

1. What makes a place a city?
2. Why did Paul begin work in the cities with Jews when it got him into trouble every time?
3. Are we really reaching the cities when our work in them results in regional language churches that may not be the language of the state the city is in?
4. What makes city people harder to reach with the gospel?

A Hurting Place

1. Is it true that there is more suffering in the city? If so why do people keep moving there?
2. Is the criticism against Mother Theresa justified that her motive was conversion?
3. Should Adventists keep their churches open to the public everyday? What will it accomplish?

Sowing and Reaping in Cities

1. Does the parable of the sower instruct us to not waste seeds on ground where the yield is less? 
2. Since our resources (human and financial) are limited, isn't it prudent to use them where results are highest? Aren't Adventists justified in avoiding evangelising cities where results are less in number than in the rural areas?
3. How can bad soil be worked so that it will yield better?
4. Is witnessing enough or do we need to press people for a positive decision for Christ?

Make it Personal

1. Why are people in cities more impersonal than in villages or small towns? Why are people in the US less friendly with neighbours than in India?
2. Do divorcees have the same claim to our attention and care as widows? What does the silence of the Bible on this say to us?
3. If Bible authors were writing today would they include children from broken homes as deserving of equal attention as orphans? What other categories of people might they include as needing our personal care?

Reaching Out to the Cities

1. Should Adventists live in the cities also or witness from outside?
2. Can't we witness to people who live in cities more easily through TV and the internet? Do we have to contact each one personally?
3. Are some excused from witnessing personally? Is praying for the cities and supporting the outreach through our offerings enough?

Lesson 11 (Sept 3-9), Jesus Bade Them, "Follow Me"

They Know His Voice

1. Was it reasonable for people like Mahatma Gandhi to reject Christianity because of the lives of Christians?
2. Isn't it unwise for anyone to start attending a church just because the members were helpful in time of need? Is there anything more to that?
3. How can we distinguish the voice of Satan from the voice of Jesus knowing that Satan will do his best to imitate Jesus?
4. Did the multitudes follow Jesus for the wrong reasons?

We Are to Seek

1. Is it reasonable to pray that God would send honest seekers either to our church or to us as individuals? Or are we expected to go out and hunt for them? Where should we look?
2. How can we identify a lost sheep? Since we do not know th heart, how can we tell if it is really lost?
3. Why does God distinctly send some people to the Adventist church through dreams or visions, and others have to be sought out?

The Bridge

1. How should a visitor to church be welcomed without being over welcomed?
2. How can we discern the motives of a person like Zachaeus who might be just inquisitive?
3. What makes some people hunt out a new church to attend?

The Bidding

1. Did Jesus ever heal people just for the sake of healing, or was spiritual healing always the objective?
2. Is it infringement on other people's religious liberty to evangelise?
3. Why was what God did to Jonah or Paul on the road to Damascus not an infringement of their liberty?

Seek And You Shall Find

1. Are the thousands who die every day without a knowledge of Jesus, guilty of not seeking Jesus adequately?
2. How does Jesus knock at our door?
3. Is it acceptable to use emotions such as a song or impassioned appeal in evangelism?