Adult
• 4 Sessions of Learner’s Materials
• 4 Sessions of Teaching Materials
• 6 Handouts
1. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
2. Matthew 25:14-30
3. Matthew 19:16-26
4. Matthew 16:24-26
We seldom take the word "risk" literally. As we get older, we tend to pursue security more so than adventure. Having come to appreciate the comfortable and familiar, we leave adventures for the young. Maybe this is why Jesus told his disciples to be like children. Being contently settled can never be the long-term goal for a person who follows Christ. Just when we decide that we’ve seen and heard enough, God invites us to yet another experience that could potentially change our lives. The One who says, "Follow me," leads us to people who need our friendship, places that need our presence, and issues that call for our attention. We worship a Christ who claimed no place to lay his head. In order to follow this One, we must embark upon a lifelong journey.
Has our journey with Christ led us to friendships and activities we might have otherwise missed without God’s guidance? In the first session of this unit, learners will look at their willingness to meet the needs of others. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, we can make serving others a higher priority than our indulgence in personal freedoms and comforts. When we risk our familiar routines, we experience holy adventures.
Do we act like the obedient servants in Matthew’s parable of the talents, or do we imitate the one whose fear and lack of devotion keeps them from using their gifts? The second session challenges learners to participate in God’s work by making the most of their talents and abilities. When we risk our gifts through service, our relationship with God only deepens.
How does God ask us to change? As we read the story of the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-26, we are pushed to consider those things which stand between God and us. We will consider the ways we try to control the Christ we follow, the Christ who cannot be controlled. To what people, places, and broader understandings is God leading us?
What does it mean to deny ourselves and take up a cross? In the final session of this unit, we will look at the paradox of Jesus’ discipleship sayings in Matthew 16:24-26. How do we give up our lives to follow Christ? What gifts do we discover when we give ourselves more completely to God?
Perhaps the Scripture passages in this unit need a warning label attached. After all, the study and application of these verses involves risking who we are as followers for who we could become. When we risk ourselves for God, we find assurance and gifts that we would not discover otherwise. Is this a risk you are willing to take?
by Carol Younger
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