Infusion Bible eStudies are downloadable small group studies that can be read online, printed, or emailed. Each study includes a leader guide and a study guide and is suitable for a one-hour group Bible study.
Listen...to the words of the Scripture, and in them discover God's message for you today.
Look...at a brief verbal snapshot from the scrapbook of contemporary life and discover its connection both to you and to the Scripture passage.
Live...inside the Scripture to discover its context and message; then allow the Scripture to come alive in you and cause you to live out your faith in new and more-effective ways.
Read an excerpt from this study below.
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Easter Sunday is the day on which we Christians celebrate our spiritual freedom. It is good that we have this celebration once a year to remind us of how precious this freedom is. In the same way the Fourth of July is the day on which we Americans celebrate our political freedom and independence. It is good that we also have this celebration once a year to remind us of how precious this kind of freedom is. In the United States we can travel where we want (if we have access to transportation), live where we please (if we have enough money), and say what we think (as long as we do not unjustly libel another’s character). These freedoms are precious gifts from our political forebears that too often we take for granted. Those classic words that Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence still ring true: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Having these freedoms does not mean that we Americans, much less we Christians, can function independently and selfishly in the world, however. What builds any society is independence combined with cooperation with others. In the United States people moved west in wagon trains and worked together to build new communities. Freedom requires that we have healthy, working, loving relationships with others in our homes and out there in the community.
In Chapters 5 and 6 of First Corinthians, Paul concentrated on the conduct of members within the Christian faith community. The behavior of some of those in the Corinthian church deeply troubled him. Paul reminded the church that God cares about the integrity of our relationships. If we do not have our own houses in order, how can we be good witnesses to Christ and models for others? Today’s lesson is about relationships and how those relationships should reflect God’s call on our lives. Paul’s words give us valuable insights into how God wants us to live with others in true Christian freedom.
