Active Learning Bible Studies
Lent:
Jesus, Sacrificed
These weekly active learning studies aim for growth in leaders and learners alike. Each onscreen study has a link beneath it to a printable version, leaving these flexible for in-person studies, groups studying remotely, or people studying solo.
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"I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips." —Isaiah
"I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.' And you forgave the guilt of my sin." —David
Lent 1
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Lent is a 40-day season emphasizing the great weight of sin—and our greater Savior. Church customs, such as ashes, fasting, or giving up something during Lent, can help us focus as we in Scripture follow Christ to the cross. But it is only Jesus who gives this season meaning—and only his sacrifice that atones.
Do we bear those fruits of repentance once we recognize our own sin? Discuss why we do/don't do so.
Our Lord cares about small sins, too; they reveal the thoughts of the heart. Consider the white lie that Ananias and Sapphira told. What might fruits of repentance from them have looked like?
God calls all to repent: the wicked, who reject him—and his children of faith, for we still sin daily. Repentance is a change of heart, a turning to God. Read the context of each passage below: whom is God addressing?
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"Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!"
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"The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins."
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"Repent and believe the good news!"
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"Remember... what you have received... hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief."
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"Be earnest and repent."
This Lent's exercises are studies in repentance.
Read Hosea 14. Think how you can encourage yourself and others to live repentantly. What might be effective around believers? Around unbelievers?
Trying to cover sin ourselves instead of turning to our Savior for cover involves lying—to others, ourselves, and/or the LORD.
Imagine yourself speaking with unclean lips (spreading gossip; misusing God's name; being nasty when angry; in pride, not owning your error; flattering others; etc.). How quickly can we think of excuses to "justify" these ordinary sins?
Which phrases in Psalm 32 describe this spiritual turning of repentance?
"Whoever comes to me I will never drive away," Jesus promises (Jn 6:37). Both the Old and New Testaments pledge that God forgives repentant sinners, no matter how _____ the sin.
God covers sin with ________: see Isaiah 61:10, Galatians 3:27, 1 Corinthians 1:30.
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Jeremiah the priest was one of God's last OT prophets, warning Judah to repent before God destroyed it for loving sin. We hear Jeremiah's grief in 15:10: "Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth, a man with whom the whole land strives and contends! ...Everyone curses me."
Lent 2
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Understanding the grief that came with Jeremiah's calls to believe and to prophesy, read this week's study in repentance: Jeremiah 15:15–21.
1. What was Jeremiah's sin(s) in verse 18?
2. How did God respond?
3. Why is it helpful that the Holy Spirit recorded this/these sin(s) and God's response in Scripture?
We who are called to faith are also called to testify of the Holy One who saves. Yet the Holy One doesn't save the way we often think would be best.
1. Why do we sometimes picture salvation as earthly happiness?
2. Why do we, like Jeremiah, at times doubt that God really is all he says he is?
3. We know Jeremiah repented. What evidence does Scripture show of his faith after this incident?
4. The Bible says that God's restoration of repentant sinners (Je 15:19–21) is certain. Find one such passage.
Find two instances when Jesus overcame the same temptation(s) faced by Jeremiah, you, and me.
1. What's a Bible verse assuring us that Jesus has given us his perfect obedience?
2. Consider the example Jesus set for us to follow: what did he do instead of falling prey to this temptation?
People often want a god who thinks their way: "Tell us pleasant things... Stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!" (Is 30:9–11)
Isaiah was sent 100+ years before Jeremiah to confront people with God's message of repentance. Read Isaiah 30:8–18.
1. What is the LORD's response here to rejection?
2. What makes one wall weak (Is 30:13) but the other strong (Je 15:20)?
Read again Jeremiah 15:15–21, pausing to pray while reading.
Read again the victory Jesus won over those temptations through his perfect life, pausing to pray while reading.
Share this victory with others also going through these struggles.
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"Forgive us our debts... "
―Matthew 6:12
Lent 3
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Jesus preached repentance. At a dinner, in Luke 7:36–50 he taught both the contrite and the arrogant with a single parable.
1. Our love for God, his forgiveness... which of these two causes the other? The key is the parable (vv 41–43).
2. What do we learn about ourselves from Simon?
From the woman?
3. Which of Jesus' words here are spoken only to repentant sinners?
Jesus directs us toward awareness of our inmost thoughts by helping us realize that our actions hold a mirror up to our hearts.
We are all wretchedly prone to slowly cooling in love for our Savior. Outline a short active learning study based on Revelation 2:4–5. What does Scripture say will grow our love for him?
Repentance is a spiritual turning of heart to a right relationship with the Father. Through faith, we have Jesus' perfect love of God as our own! His pure love was not choked by "the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things" as ours so often is. Share an example of Jesus' love for the Father bearing fruit.
"Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them." (Pr 26:12)
Jesus: "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
Prominent churchgoers: "What? Are we blind too?"
Jesus: "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains." (Jn 9:39–41)
"Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD." (La 3:40)
Let's make our lives a living study of love for the Lord who forgave us. Reflect on what your actions reveal: are there areas where your love for God is weak? Repent, trust in his forgiveness of this, too... and walk in the new life we have in Christ.
"I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes." (Ps 119:59)
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" ...as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
―Matthew 6:12–15
Lent 4
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As seen last week, Scripture is clear: God forgave sinners before we ever loved him. So also, the Lord's Prayer shows that forgiving as he forgave us is a fruit of repentance, reflecting the true nature of our faith.
Describe the characteristics of God's forgiveness.
Another study in repentance and forgiveness is Joseph and his older brothers. Our circumstances may not be as dramatic—but who among us has hasn't at one time been left out, sold out, or betrayed? These are hard things to forgive.
God helping Joseph lead his brothers to repentance and Joseph forgiving them is a powerful lesson. Pray about a time you were wronged; ask for a wise heart like Joseph's.
Why would the Lord's Prayer ask God for help fighting temptation right after discussing forgiveness?
"Jesus said to his disciples: '...Watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying "I repent," you must forgive them.'
The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!'"
―from Luke 17:1–5
What does Jesus mean by "brother or sister": physical, spiritual, or both?
Recall from Scripture that Jesus knew something about forgiving family... see Mark 3:20–21,31–32 and John 7:2–5.
And rejoice to read Acts 1:14, 1 Corinthians 9:5, Galatians 1:19! (The Lord's biological brothers, now also brothers through faith, may well even have been graced to write James and Jude.)
Jesus again told Ananias "Go!" ...and he went, showing forgiveness as he himself was forgiven.*
Does one of this week's examples of forgiving hit close to home? Let it affect your heart ...and your behavior.** (As appropriate, openly sharing your real struggles with fellow Christians and family—even with children—helps us all to grow in grace.)
*Which apostle was given the words to write Colossians?
**Forgiveness does not mean excusing sin or abuse. A different Joseph models forgiving even while ending bad situations: Matthew 1:19.
A long time later, repentance and forgiveness were still bearing fruit, saving many.
Is it good, bad, or neither that Stephen didn't wait for his killers to repent before forgiving them? Discuss.
At his trial, Stephen preached law and practiced mercy. Did this fail to affect the guilty? Discuss.
How did Jesus both strike Saul and tenderly touch him?
Ananias quickly went from "Yes, Lord" to "Are you serious?" When have you reacted this way?
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"Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."
―Colossians 3:16
Lent 5
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Admonishing as Christ would is neither easy nor enjoyable. Yet we are able to accomplish this difficult feat when God's word lives richly within and among us.
What does God's word dwelling "richly" among us look like?
2. Read next of Paul rebuking Peter in Galatians 2:11ff... an incident that may have occurred during the time of Acts 15:35. Why was it godly for Paul to deliver this rebuke publicly?
We aren't specifically told of Peter's and Barnabas' repentance, but Scripture implies it through their continuing work for the Lord. See Acts 15:36; also John 21:19 with 2 Peter 1:14.
Rebuking sin always aims to restore a right relationship with the Lord. Repentance is both the start and continuation of Christian faith: it's our way of life.
As we mature in Christ, we improve at correcting ourselves with his word. But when we can't—or won't—see our sin, we need fellow believers to speak truth to us, guiding us toward repentance and life. This week's studies in repentance are examples of such admonishment.
It's easy to sin when scared. Fear is an emotion the LORD gifted the post-sin world: he meant it to warn of danger. But allowing fear to dethrone God in our hearts is wrong... and a temptation common to all.
Share with each other a time when Jesus—for us—perfectly overcame fear's temptation to not trust our heavenly Father.
" ...remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins."
—James 5:20
Thoughts to ponder as we go about our lives...
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What were these people each scared/proud of?
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How should each have handled this fear/pride?
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Why would God send believers to admonish the people whom he knew wouldn't listen to them?
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Does your church body or a believer you know (including you yourself) need rebuke?
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How are these examples from Scripture helpful to you personally?
3. Finally, consider two incidents the Bible records when believers corrected others who sinned with self-based pride ...another achingly familiar temptation.
Job was justly rebuked by young Elihu for arrogance. Happily, Job's repentance is also a study in God's purifying forgiveness!
King Uzziah was justly rebuked by ________. We can't say for sure if he truly repented. How do this chapter and 2 Kings 15 both hint he may have?
Consider the following accounts of people sinning out of fear, even though they knew God...
1. Joash was king in Judah and restored God's temple; he "did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him" (2 Ki 12:2). But read also 2 Kings 12:17–18 and the fuller account of his later years in 2 Chronicles 24:17–27.
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"Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy."
―Proverbs 28:13
Lent 6
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The Bible describes renouncing sin as integral to repentance. In its original Hebrew, the word Proverbs 28:13 uses for "renounce" signifies leaving something.
Think on your own life: in which areas does your old sinful way of thinking try to follow both Christ's path and the path of sin?
Consider also these biblical examples of renouncing sin. What do these repentant sinners' actions all have in common?
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Before Israel was a nation: Genesis 35:1–7.
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Under Mosaic Law: 2 Kings 7:3–11.
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In the New Covenant era: Acts 19:17–20.
Jesus, to his followers: "...unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."
Then he holds a mirror up—not to hypocritical church leaders, but to our hearts. Look into his mirror, reading Matthew 5:20–7:27. Which parts of God's holy law do you joyfully keep ...and which does your heart follow grudgingly or rationalize ignoring?
In this famous "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus in Matthew 5:13–16, 5:48, and 7:24–27 tells us whether he's talking about justification, sanctification, or both. Which is it?
Jesus also reminds us whose power enables us to joyfully live God's beautiful law! Specify what Matthew 6:10 and 7:13–14 each teach about this power.
"Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble."
—Proverbs 28:14
Create a 5-minute active learning study about believers living lives of repentance, renouncing sin. Choose your own specific focus. Share your study!
In Daniel 4:27, the Hebrew word for "renounce" sin means to break off.
Daniel, to Nebuchadnezzar: " ...Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue."
Did Nebuchadnezzar? What did God do?
In Jonah 3:8, the Hebrew word for "give up" sin means to turn from it.
The king of Ninevah: " ...let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence."
Did they? What did God do?