Connections is designed to help you do just that.

Whether you’re studying individually, gathering in small groups, or teaching Sunday school, Connections offers a rich, engaging way to dive into Scripture and grow in your faith together.

And if your church follows the Revised Common Lectionary, the lessons you take from your Bible study will follow you into your time of worship, in the Scriptures you read, in the anthems the choir sings, and in the sermon your pastor preaches.

Each week, Connections takes you on a journey through God’s Word with lessons that are both thought-provoking and deeply relevant. By exploring biblical themes that touch on everyday life, Connections helps you understand the Scripture in ways that speak to your heart and challenge you to live out your faith with purpose.

• Study Guide
• Teaching Guide
• Commentary
• Resource Kit
• A Teaching Bundle includes one of each of these, plus a copy of Reflections, our daily devotional guide

Follows the Revised Common Lectionary
The Connections series presents an ecumenical mix of traditional Bible study (NRSVue) and contemporary insight. Following the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), Connections provides your class with a plan for reading and studying the Bible. By participating in the Connections series, a believer will be given help in knowing the content of the Bible, understanding its message, and responding to that message by living a life of faith and love. Using the RCL texts creates an opportunity to connect Bible study with worship by relating the lesson text to the sermon text, and that’s one of the connections we want Connections to make. Many pastors use the lectionary to help guide their sermon ministry, so classes that follow a lectionary-based program of study should bring some helpful context to the sermon and to worship.

Practical Teaching Helps
The Connections Teaching Guide offers suggested practical teaching procedures, options, and provides illustrative materials for each lesson. The organization of each lesson plan introduces readers to the Scripture text and lesson theme, assists readers to reflect upon and further explore the biblical text, and leads readers toward appropriate life-application of Scripture.

Do your best preparation at the lowest price with a Teaching Bundle, which includes 1 Study Guide, 1 Teaching Guide, 1 Commentary, 1 Resource Kit, and 1 copy of Reflections, our daily devotional guide.

Solid Commentary
An additional resource for lesson preparation and class discussion, the Connections Commentary, by Brian Harbour, offers unique perspective, pastoral experience, professional and educational preparation, sound biblical scholarship, and love for the church and Scriptures. Brian has served as a pastor for more than forty years, including churches in Florida, Arkansas, and Texas. He is the popular author of several books, including 17 Roadblocks on the Highway of Life and Jesus the Storyteller, both from Smyth & Helwys Books.

Online Extras
As part of NextSunday’s NextSteps blog, additional helpful articles will be provided on a weekly basis by the Connections editor Nikki Finklestein-Blair. Current event connections. Personal stories. Questions for consideration and reflection. Even links to art, literature, movies and music. You never know what you might find that will speak to you and bring you toward a deeper understanding of the week’s lesson.

Budget-Conscious
We understand good stewardship of dollars. Our publishing schedule (every four months instead of three) saves you money on shipping.

Digital Option
Want to go green? Connections Learner’s Study Guide, Commentary, and Teaching Guide are all available as ebooks!

A Note on Digital Option: Digital products are ebooks and will require an e-reader (a Kindle, for example) or a tablet, smartphone, or computer with an e-reading app to access your purchase. For instructions on how to download to a Kindle device, please reference Amazon’s instructions here.

Many NextSunday digital products are also available directly from the Kindle store here.