The Winter 2024-2025 Helping Hand is available. This quarter’s publication, entitled, “A King Forever and Ever,” covers the months of December, January, and February. 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.
Print editions should be in transit and are scheduled to arrive on time. If there are questions or issues, please reach out to us at the SDB Center.
Editor Steve Osborn introduces this quarter’s publication in this way:
There is something about royalty that captivates our attention—the majesty, the dignity, the sovereignty. The problem with every human king we have encountered is that they are…well…human, and as such, imperfect: their power can go to their heads; their heart can get corrupted; their wisdom can be flawed. This is one of the reasons we anticipate the return of Christ as our eternal and perfect King.
The winter quarter, “A King Forever and Ever,” explores the broad sweep of biblical teaching about God’s reign and connects to Jesus as the earthly exhibition of the divine Kingdom. Beginning with key moments in the history of David’s ancestors, Unit I highlights Jesus’s birth as the “Son of David.” Unit II is a four-week study of psalms that extol the reign of God, while Unit III gives a New Testament look at Jesus’s teaching on “Life in God’s Kingdom.”
Unit I, “Jesus, the Heir of David,” prepares us for the Christmas season with five lessons from Ruth, 2 Samuel, and Luke. Lessons 1 and 2 deal with key moments in the history of Jesus’s ancestors. Lesson three considers the role of John the Baptist in preparing the way for “a Savior from the house of David,” while Lesson 4 highlights how Jesus’s birth, as the heir of David, brings good news to the world. Lesson 5 is a glimpse of Jesus, the “Son of David,” who bestows mercy on those in need.
Unit II, “Our God Reigns,” is a four-week study of psalms that extol the reign of God. The first lesson explores Psalm 10, a lament in which the psalmist finds comfort in the assurance of God’s reign. Lesson 2 examines two psalms (47 and 93) that praise God as the eternal and all-powerful King. In Lessons 3 and 4, we study Psalms 103 and 145, which recount God’s merciful and powerful acts as ruler of an everlasting kingdom.
Unit III, “Life in God’s Kingdom,” gives four lessons from Matthew in which Jesus explains the nature and obligations of Kingdom life to His disciples. In Lesson 1, we contemplate what it means to pray, “forgive us our debts” in a world sustained by debt and obligation. Lesson 2 presents a frank acknowledgment that the Kingdom of Heaven will meet resistance in this world. Lesson 3 promises a reward in the Kingdom for those who have given up much to follow Jesus. Finally, in Lesson 4, Jesus tells a parable about the judgment to challenge His followers to faithfully serve the King.
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. Please let your friends and fellow believers know the Winter 2024-25 Helping Hand is available!
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 last year, here. Increased payment and invoicing options will be announced soon. Please watch this blog for more updates!
