Bible Studies for the New Year

Who’s ready for 2021? This question might have the most unanimous answer we’ve heard this year.

Instead of focusing on the challenges, loss, and grief of 2020, we want to look ahead. What might 2021 bring? How can we take positive steps in what we can impact even if what we cannot control still seems chaotically out of control?

We’ve done some work for you.

Here is our round up of our top studies for the New Year. Studies that will help you make a fresh start. Studies that will guide you in going deeper into God’s word. Studies that show you Jesus in scripture’s storyline or teach about specific biblical figures–all year long.

Let’s choose to grow in our faith in 2021.

Bible Studies to give you a fresh start

My New Life
A New Christian’s Guide to Building Your Life on God’s Word
The new Christian can become easily overwhelmed trying to figure out how to be a Christ-follower. For the believer to grow, it’s necessary to have an understanding of God’s Word, God’s character, prayer, the gospel, and so much more. This study explains these deep truths in short and simple to understand chapters. Whether completed individually or with a mentor, this study, it will help a new believer grow in knowledge of God’s Word and provide a foundation on which daily trust in Jesus will grow for the rest of their lives. (6 sessions)

The Good Life (Derwin Gray)
What Jesus Teaches about Finding True Happiness
Everyone wants to be happy. We spend our money, time, and energy chasing our version of the good life. And on the way, we run ourselves into physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. But what if the happiness we’re all striving for isn’t the happiness we were created for? In the Beatitudes, Jesus revealed the shocking, countercultural path to true flourishing. It comes not through wealth, fame, or laughter but through poverty, obscurity, and mourning. True happiness comes from a heart directed toward the kingdom of God and satisfied in Jesus the King. This study demonstrates how Jesus taught us to search for, find, and hold on to the good life. (8 sessions)

Bible studies by popular and trusted authors

James (Matt Chandler)
Faith Works
This 13-session study examines the core message of James: the relationship between faith and works. In our own ability, we cannot stand in the face of adversity. Without faith we could never find the strength to trust God. We would never be able to see above the trials we meet and to keep our eyes focused on the King while counting our trials as joy. This is the essence of James. We don’t work to be saved; we work because we are saved. Faith apart from works can never be sustained. (13 sessions)

Something Needs to Change (David Platt)
A Call to Make Your Life Count in a World of Urgent Need
When David Platt took a trip to the Himalayan mountains, the staggering hardship he witnessed transformed the trajectory of his life. Now, in this study, he’s inviting you to reflect and wrestle with him as he describes his life-altering trek through the Himalayas. You’ll ask hard questions alongside Platt about human need, suffering, faith, the gospel, and our role. For Christians, ignorance of profound human need is not an option. Neither is indifference. It’s time to explore what it means to follow Jesus in a world of urgent physical and spiritual needs. (8 sessions)

No More Excuses (Tony Evans)
Be the Man God Made You to Be
Sometimes circumstances in life make it difficult for men to be all God wants them to be. But Tony Evans urges men to stop looking at their circumstances as excuses and instead to see them as challenges and opportunities for success. Exploring the examples of men of God throughout the Bible, this study will challenge you to lay down your excuses, stop compromising, and fight to be a man of character and commitment. Despite your setbacks, failures, and pressures, you can still find purpose, meaning, and direction in life and become the man God has called you to be. (8 sessions)

Bible studies to keep you learning all year

Characters
A Year-Long Exploration of the Bible Through the Lives of Its People
This new seven-volume series progresses through the Bible by focusing on key characters in Scripture. By studying these individuals, we can learn from their examples and see God loves His people and works through us for His glory in the world. Each volume contains six-sessions.

Gospel Foundations
A One-Year Journey through the Storyline of Scripture
From cover to cover, the Bible is the story of God’s plan to redeem sinners through Jesus—the gospel. Gospel Foundations tells that story. From the creators of The Gospel Project, this six-volume resource is comprehensive in scope yet concise enough to be completed in just one year. Each seven-session volume is video-enhanced to help your group engage in discussion with a clear understanding of how each text fits into the storyline of Scripture.

One choice at a time, we can strive to have a Christ-centered 2021. Here’s to the new year (and the same, life-giving, awe-inspiring gospel)!