The Summer 2024 Helping Hand is available. This quarter’s publication, entitled, “Hope in the Lord,” covers the months of June, July and August. Digital versions of the English language version are once again available as a PDF here or for Amazon Kindle here. Potential subscribers for the Spanish language editions should contact Director Nick Kersten for information or to subscribe.
This quarter, production delays mean that not all subscribers have received their quarterlies as of today. We are aware of this issue and are hopeful all print subscribers will receive their copies by the middle of the first week of June. If you have not received your copy, we have included a digital version for download at the bottom of this page which should cover the gap until print copies arrive. We apologize for the delayed arrival. We strive continually with our printing and mailing teams to insure that copies arrive to all subscribers in a timely fashion. This quarter’s delay has led us to review production schedules and our arrangements with the printers to strive to prevent future delays.
Editor Steve Osborn introduces this quarter’s publication in this way:
How appropriate to look at expressions of Christian hope both in this present age and in the glorious future God is preparing for us for our study this quarter.
The five lessons of Unit I, “Experiencing Hope,” consider Christian hope through the lens of those whose faith in Christ gave shape to the early church. Lessons draw on New Testament passages from Colossians, 2 Corinthians, Romans, Hebrews, and Acts. In Colossians 1:27 (Lesson 1), Paul tells the Colossians that the mysteries of God become known to them as their hope in Christ transforms their lives. In the Second Letter to the Corinthians (Lesson 2), hope in Christ leads to an even greater boldness than was possible for Moses because believers are able to see the glory of God with “unveiled faces” (3:18). Lesson 3, points to the hope that is inspired in those around us when they see the salvation that is being worked out in us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:1-13). In Lesson 4 we find encouragement, as did the writer of Hebrews (ch. 6), in the spiritual lifeline we have to God through Christ. The unit closes with a lesson from Acts 26:1-11 and a testimony of Christian hope from Paul’s own lips as he defends himself before King Agrippa.
Unit II, “Expressing Hope,” turns attention to the prayers of ancient Israel as a model for offering to God our praise and petitions. These Hebrew prayers are also expressions of Christian hope. The first lesson of the unit is from a song of lament in Lamentations 3, while the remaining lessons of the unit are drawn from the Psalms.
The four lessons of Unit III, “Eternal Hope” (1 Thessalonians, 1 John, and Titus), consider facets of the promised future God is preparing for those who call on the name of Jesus. What does hope look like as we wait for Jesus to come again in glory and finally set things right? Paul anticipates the nearness of Christ’s return when he tells the Thessalonians how excited he is to brag about them (Lesson 10) even as he worries about the problems that might rock their faith in his absence from them. Similarly, 1 John (Lesson 11) anticipates Christ’s return so that in seeing Christ we might become like him. The final two lessons of the quarter are from Titus, where we hear Paul’s appeal to live out the present moment with hope rooted in God’s grace-filled future, made certain in the death and Resurrection.
May God bless your faithful study of His Word this quarter!
Steve
We pray that you will be blessed and encouraged by this quarter’s studies. As a reminder, subscription and purchase prices for this year’s Helping Hand have increased. You can read more about that change, which came into effect two issues ago, here.
Download the first two weeks of this quarter’s publication here.
Las dos primeras lecciones del trimestre están disponibles en español aquí.
