In a rut

Sometimes I feel I’m in a rut (teaching-wise). The lessons become predictable, like a bad plot. Members know the ending one minutes into it. A pastor once defined a rut as a grave with both ends kicked out. He made his point. Change, and change now.

This week’s LifeWay lesson “Call to Faith” based on Romans 9:30-10:21 pertain to people in a rut (unbelieving perspective). Not in the focal passage are two key questions in verses 6 and 7: “'Who will ascend into heaven?'" and “'Who will descend into the deep?’”. In other words, unbelievers (Jews in this case) were still asking for a Messiah to come down, or to rise up. They didn’t recognize Jesus as Messiah.

Unbelievers today are no different. Like unbelievers of old they still ask questions about the coming of a savior. Here are some of the questions you might hear today. According to Evangelism Explosion executive vice president Tom Stebbins. "Back then it was, Is the Bible true? Today it's, Is there a God after all? Is there really life after death?”

To get started, first read in class the entire focal passage and then work on this list with members. I think people are searching for meaning by asking, “What is truth?” About some key issue, others will say, “Why doesn’t somebody do something?” You get the idea?