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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In my retirement I have been privileged to serve on the pastoral staff of Brentwood United Methodist Church, located just south of Nashville, Tennessee. A few years ago, returning from a trip in late November, I learned that I had been assigned responsibility for the Service of Healing and Wholeness to be held in two weeks. Such services were held in mid-December in recognition of the fact that Christmas can be a difficult time for those facing serious illness and physical pain and for those who have experienced broken relationships or the death of a loved one. The sights and sounds of Christmas can increase the distress and loneliness of those who are walking through dark valleys.
To be honest, I was skeptical about the service in regard to physical healing. It was not that I doubted the healing power of Christ; I had witnessed and even experienced that. My questions were about what promises we were offering to those who yearned to be healed. My mind vividly recalled televised healing services in which those who were not healed were quickly steered out of camera range.
Clearly our service would make no claims of magic, and there definitely would be no high pitch appeal for money. Yet the questions remained. What hopes might we be raising that would go unfulfilled? Above all, who were we as a congregation and who was I as a pastor to offer healing?
