NASHVILLE (BP) — This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.
This week’s Bible study is adapted from the MasterWork curriculum.
Bible Passage: Matthew 6:33
Discussion Questions: What should be the main priority of a spiritually healthy believer? How would living by Matthew 6:33 change your life?
Food for Thought:
When you seek first, as a matter of top priority, the kingdom of God, you discover that life becomes unified. Instead of running here and there, trying to do everything and please everybody, you calmly face the challenges of each day without feeling pulled apart. You find it’s much easier to make decisions because life is centered on one thing: seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
At the same time life becomes simplified, which is essential in this busy, complex world. Activities that once were very important are seen to be trivial; and we find we don’t really need possessions previously we simply had to have. Jesus told Martha that “one thing is necessary” (Luke 10:42, HCSB). When you cultivate the inner person and put God’s kingdom first, your values and priorities change.
Without becoming stoic, you discover that circumstances don’t upset you as much as they used to. You find people’s words and actions no longer troubling. You experience what Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11: “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am” (HCSB). The Greek word translated content means “contained, self-sufficient, adequate.” Inner-directed believers are self-sufficient because they are Christ-sufficient. Their source of strength comes from the unchanging Christ within them, not from the changing resources of the world and people around them.
People who depend on circumstances and other people for the strength they need to keep going will be constantly frustrated and worried, like a pilot flying a plane with an empty fuel tank and having no place to refuel. But people who seek God first and depend on Jesus Christ to energize and motivate the inner person have all the adequacy they need for every circumstance of life.
MasterWork
MasterWork is an ongoing Bible study curriculum based on works from a variety of renowned authors and offers pertinent, practical messages that adults will find uplifting and enriching. The list of authors and their books to be studied in upcoming months can be found at www.lifeway.com/masterwork.
Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at www.LifeWay.com/SundaySchool.
