Sunday School Lesson - August 2nd

Focal Passages:
1 Thessalonians 4:1-5; 5:15-22; 2 Peter 3:8-9

What This Lesson Is About:
This lesson is about God’s will that everyone be saved and that all believers live pure lives and pursue what is good for them and others.

Spiritual Preparation Through Personal Bible Study - by Brady Collins, who is currently working toward a Ph.D. at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He & his wife attend Davis Boulevard Baptist Church, North Richland Hills, TX.
One of the fun things about being a student is meeting new people who inevitably ask you what you do for a living. While I have maintained a variety of part-time jobs, I tend to keep the answer simple: I’m a student. The follow-up question is always the same: So what are you studying?
When I tell them philosophy of religion, I get a wide variety of reactions. Some don’t know what that means, others speak about their interest in religion, and a small few find ways to leave as quickly as possible. For those who decide to stay and engage in conversation, the question I get most often is, “How do I know what God’s will for my life is?”  I generally smile politely, excuse myself, and run away!
While the last statement may not be entirely true, it does represent what I would like to have done in many of these cases. Instead, I would conjure up some answer and hoped that it appeased the other person.
Naturally, when I was presented with the opportunity to study and teach others about how to discern God’s will, I was excited. This is a topic about which many believers are asking, but all too few know how to answer. Hopefully, over the course of the next five weeks, you will be equipped with the tools to both discern God’s will in your life and teach others how to do the same.

At this point in your life, how would you answer the question, “How do I know what God’s will is for my life?”