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During this time when churches may not be meeting in person or choosing only online or virtual classes, The Wired Word is the perfect, cost effective way to continue to study God’s word and draw out messages of hope when the news today may seem hopeless.

For only $1.54 per week for your entire class, it’s an affordable solution for groups of any size, without having to worry about coordinating the distributing or collecting student booklets.

About the Teacher Lesson

In the News.

Each teacher lesson includes two Bible study lessons that discuss a current news event that is making headlines. We provide a quick summary of the news item, as you can see below, in the In the News section of the lesson.

Documents connecting Scripture to News Icon

Applying the News Story

This section takes the news story that was just discussed and applies it to our lives in the Christian faith, by making Scriptural connections where appropriate.

The Big Questions

Each lesson provides 3-6 critical questions (The Big Questions) sparked by the topic that can be used as a framework for your class discussion.

Confronting the News with Scripture & Hope

Scripture verses that help your adult Sunday school students see how the news item fits into a biblical context.

Discussion Questions

Use Discussion Questions to generate in-depth discussions to really explore together how the Scripture can be applied to our everyday lives.

Closing Prayer

Each lesson provides a short suggestion for what could be included or used as a closing prayer in your classroom.

View Sample Lesson

About the Student Lesson

Edit Lesson or Leave as Is

Your subscription will provide you with a student version of the weekly lesson, which you can freely edit prior to sending it out to your class members. Each lesson contains a greeting to your class that you can use as is or edit to help inform your class about meeting locations, Zoom meeting information, or anything else to help communicate to your class about the next time you will meet.

Email Lesson to Class

After you have decided on which of the 2 lessons you want to use, you can send the lesson to your class members. The student lesson can be emailed from our website using our class management tool each week using our Email Class List feature.

Prepare for Class

The student lesson includes the same questions (The Big Questions) and Scripture verses for additional background and provides your students the opportunity to prepare for the discussion prior to the class.

View a Sample Lesson

Astronauts Return to Earth After Nine Months in Space
The Wired Word for the Week of March 30, 2025

In the News

"We came up prepared to stay long, even though we planned to stay short," NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore said earlier this month when he, along with astronauts Nick Hague and Sunita "Suni" Williams, spoke from the International Space Station (ISS) in a news conference. "Stay long" was an understatement, since Wilmore and Williams have finally returned to Earth after more than 280 days in space. Their extended mission was the sixth longest in NASA's history.

TWW began coverage of this story on July 7, 2024, in the lesson "Astronauts Waiting on Space Station for Spacecraft Repair." At that point, Wilmore and Williams had expected to have an eight-day journey into space, on board the Boeing Starliner for its first crewed flight. But after experiencing helium leaks and thruster malfunctions, NASA decided to keep the astronauts safe on the ISS orbital laboratory.

On September 22, 2024, TWW followed up with a lesson titled "Marooned Astronaut is in Constant Contact With Church." The astronauts were told that they would have to stay in space until February 2025, with a plan to ride home on the SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon capsule.

Although the February deadline came and went, Wilmore and Williams returned safely to Earth on Tuesday, March 18, in the Crew-9 Dragon capsule, after their voyage ended in a water landing off the coast of Florida. The two astronauts traveled home with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, the two Crew-9 astronauts who had flown the Dragon capsule to the ISS in September. Although the normal Dragon crew is four astronauts, their mission included only two so that seats would be left open for Williams and Wilmore. "Crew-9 back on Earth," said NASA communications officer Sandra Jones after splashdown, according to USA Today.

Their ride home was made possible by the arrival of four astronauts selected for SpaceX Crew-10, which replaced Crew-9 at the ISS. Wilmore and Williams needed seats on a Space-X capsule, since NASA had decided to bring the Boeing Starliner home for repair without astronauts last September. At that time, the Starliner landed safely by parachute in the New Mexico desert.

Although Crew-10 was originally scheduled to fly in February, NASA changed the launch date twice. Initially, the launch was pushed to late March, in order to give SpaceX more time to prepare a new Dragon capsule. Then, the date was moved to mid-March, when NASA decided to use a "previously flown" Dragon.

Williams and Wilmore are experienced NASA astronauts who have now completed three trips involving orbit around the Earth. Although they had to fill a great deal of time on the ISS, they have downplayed the strain of the extended mission, insisting that their unexpected nine-month stay was simply part of the job of being an astronaut. They filled their time by serving Expedition 72, which NASA says was focused on exploring "a variety of space phenomena to benefit humans on and off the Earth including pharmaceutical manufacturing, advanced life support systems, genetic sequencing in microgravity, and more." Among their other activities, Wilmore did one spacewalk in January, and Williams did two.

Williams and Wilmore have spoken about how they relished their extra time in space, never feeling that they were trapped on the ISS. When PBS asked them if they felt stuck or abandoned, Williams said that she would not characterize it in that way, "We're part of a bigger process," she said. "It's about our obligation to our international partners and fulfilling the world-class science that we're doing up here on the International Space Station."

After admitting that he and Williams did not bring much in the way of clothing, Wilmore said, "The space station program plans for multiple contingencies. We stockpile food to last four months beyond what is expected, at a minimum. Some -- most times, it's longer than that, food and other amenities, wet wipes, everything that you need up here. It takes a lot for human spaceflight, for humans to live in space since the year 2000." Wilmore and Williams are now able to reunite with their families and friends as they recover from the toll of the lengthy mission.

Before departing the ISS, the four astronauts flying on the Crew-9 capsule spent a few days helping the members of Crew-10 to familiarize themselves with the orbital lab and station operations. Crew-10 will soon be part of NASA's Expedition 73 and will do scientific experiments on the ISS for about six months.

More on this story can be found at these links:

Starliner Astronauts Are Back: Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams Land With Crew-9 in Florida. USA Today
Expedition 72. NASA Website
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore on Their Longer Than Expected Stay in Space. PBS News

Applying the News Story

Reflect on a time when your expectations were not met, your progress was delayed, or your plans were changed against your will. Discuss the value of patience while awaiting God's outcomes, faithful ways to manage expectations, and how our Christian faith can help us when we feel trapped.

The Big Questions

1. When have you embarked on a trip or an assignment that you thought would be short, but turned out to be long? How did you handle the change -- mentally, emotionally and spiritually?

2. In what situations has your patience been tested? When has your progress been delayed, and how did you respond? When, if ever, have God's outcomes become clear to you after a time of waiting?

3. When astronaut Suni Williams was asked if she felt stuck on the ISS, she said, "We're part of a bigger process." As a Christian, what is the "bigger process" that you are a part of, and how does this awareness help you to deal with delays or frustrations?

4. How does the church teach you faithful ways to manage expectations and deal with setbacks? What more could it do to help you?

5. What aspects of your Christian faith help you when you are feeling trapped? When does your faith help you to feel at peace with your situation, and when does it give you courage and guidance to change your circumstances?

Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:

Numbers 14:1-2
Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!" (For context, read Numbers 14:1-16.)

Because it is filled with many numbers and census lists, the fourth book of the Bible is called "Numbers." But the Hebrew tradition calls the book Bamidbar, which is translated into English as "in the wilderness." The people of Israel remain in the wilderness for the length of this book, moving from Mount Sinai toward the Promised Land.

As the people of Israel traveled through the wilderness, they complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt!" They expected a quick and comfortable trip to the Promised Land, and they began to complain when their expectations were not met. Although they had been enslaved in Egypt, they were so miserable in the wilderness that they said to one another, "Let us choose a captain and go back to Egypt" (v. 4).

God became frustrated with the people and said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them" (vv. 11-12). But Moses interceded and spared the people from this punishment.

"I wonder," says TWW Team Member Mary Sells, "beyond having patience awaiting God's good outcome, what is the way through longings in our own lives? Where does God show up in our emotions and responses when what we want seems impossible?"

Questions: When do you find yourself complaining, and how do you deal with your feelings of frustration? How has God been present in your time of waiting, and when have you experienced a good outcome after you have faced a delay? What did you learn from the experience?

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. (For context, read Proverbs 3:1-6.)

The question of how to live a good life is at the heart of the Book of Proverbs, a collection of pithy sayings about wisdom, knowledge, justice, righteousness and wealth. The proverbs are ascribed to King Solomon, who has traditionally been linked with wisdom.

The third chapter begins with Solomon saying, "My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments" (v. 1). He promises "length of days" and "abundant welfare" -- long life and success -- to the child who is willing to follow his instructions (v. 2).

A critical teaching is to "Trust in the LORD with all your heart," to be willing to rely on God completely. The alternative is to "rely on your own insight," which is never as clear or illuminating as the insight of God. "In all your ways acknowledge [God], and he will make straight your paths" (v. 6). Through all of the challenges of life, Solomon encourages us to put our trust in God instead of in ourselves.

Questions: In what difficult situation did you put your trust in the Lord, and what was the result? When have you relied on your own insight, and what happened? How has your church community kept you focused on God's guidance for life? Be specific.

John 11:1-6
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus[b] was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. (For context, read John 11:1-44.)

Lazarus of Bethany is mentioned only in the gospel of John, although his sisters Mary and Martha are found in Luke 10:38-42. Sickness was an everyday reality in the first century, and the words "ill" and "illness" are used five times in the first six verses of chapter 11.

John tells us that Jesus loves Lazarus, and we know from elsewhere in the gospel that Jesus is a powerful and effective healer. But Jesus delays his trip to see Lazarus, saying that his illness "is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." During this delay, Lazarus dies. Later, Martha says, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (v. 21). This belief is repeated by Mary in verse 32.

At the end of the story, Jesus says to Martha, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" (v. 40). Then he calls for Lazarus to come out of the tomb, and he does so. The raising of Lazarus reveals God's glory and anticipates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Questions: When, if ever, have you seen God's plan revealed through a situation in which your expectations were not met, your progress was delayed, or your plans were changed against your will? How did this experience impact your faith?

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. (For context, read 2 Peter 3:8-15.)

The first letter of Peter encouraged the Christians in Asia Minor to stay the course in the face of persecution. His second letter was written to members of the church who were being led astray by false teachers who denied that the world would be brought to its conclusion by divine judgment. Pointing out that the world and its flow of events seemed to be moving along quite nicely, these teachers sowed seeds of doubt about the coming judgment of God.

But Peter took a strong stand against these scoffers, reminding his fellow Christians "that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day" (v. 8). He wanted them to see that God's time frame was not the same as a human time frame, and that God had an agenda at work: "the Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness," he argued, "but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance." From this perspective, a person could actually "regard the patience of our Lord as salvation" (v. 15).

Christians ought to continue in their faith and good works, said Peter, leading "lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God” (vv. 11-12). While they "are waiting for these things," they should strive to be found by the Lord "at peace, without spot or blemish" (v. 14). Peter did not want Christians to abandon their faith and righteous living as they waited for the day when “the heavens will be set ablaze and destroyed and the elements will melt with fire" (v. 12).

Questions: When have you faced a trial by fire, and what was the outcome? What problems arise when we try to align God's time frame with our own? How is God's will revealed to you in times of personal difficulty, and in what ways has his patience been shown? How do you think God's patience is a part of his plan of salvation, and why is it connected to repentance?

For Further Discussion

1. The New Yorker tells the story of astronaut Scott Kelly, who returned from space in 2016 after spending more time in space than almost any other person: 520 days. "On this trip, he had taken the longest spaceflight of any American: nearly a year on the International Space Station. He was, in a sense, as accustomed to space as anyone alive. And yet, he told me, 'as I flew longer, the symptoms of returning to Earth were worse.' After he got back to his home, in Houston, he felt nauseated and dizzy. His joints ached under the force of gravity, and the pressure of simply sitting in a chair felt uncomfortable. A ponderous fatigue set in." When have you spent an extended period of time away from home? What was the effect on you? How did you keep yourself healthy: mentally, physically and spiritually?

2. The tendency of people to complain in almost any situation is captured in an old joke about senior citizens at a resort. One says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other says, "Yeah, and such small portions." How do you respond when you hear people complaining about their situation? When you are tempted to complain, what do you do to find a sense of peace?

3. TWW Team Member Stan Purdum reflects, "I'm not claustrophobic in the usual sense of that word, but I can feel like a caged tiger in larger limited contexts. For example, several years ago, we vacationed for a week in Aruba, a small Caribbean island nation. We stayed in a resort with lots of eating options and plenty of entertainment, which I became bored with after a couple of days. But I was able to rent a bicycle and by the end of the week, I had explored every road on the island, and I was ready to go home. When we got to the airport to leave, we went through the check-in where they checked our passports, etc. But then it was announced that our outgoing flight was delayed for several hours, so I suggested we return to the other side of the check-in and find some activities to keep us busy, only to learn that once checked in, exiting was not permitted. I felt trapped." When, if ever, have you "felt trapped"? How did you deal with it? What spiritual resources were helpful to you, if any?

4. The phrase "justice delayed is justice denied" signifies that prolonged legal proceedings render justice ineffective, as the delay itself can cause significant harm and erode public trust in the legal system. While this may be true in our nation's legal system, is it necessarily true in God's plan for our lives? When does a delay erode trust in God, and when does it strengthen faith? Discuss.

Responding to the News

As you face delays and difficulties this week, look for signs that God is at work in your life. Pray for patience while awaiting God's outcomes, talk with friends and family about how to manage expectations, and turn to your Christian faith for strength and guidance in times of challenge.

Prayer

Almighty God, we thank you for bringing the astronauts home from their lengthy trip to space. Let us know that you are with us, as you were with them, whenever we are feeling frustrated or abandoned. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Other News This Week

New Discoveries May Require Reboot of How We Understand the Universe
The Wired Word for the Week of March 30, 2025

In the News

Researchers at the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) near Tucson, Arizona, in collaboration with more than 900 scientists from more than 70 institutions around the world, say they have witnessed odd changes in the behavior of dark energy which may require rethinking our current understanding of the nature of time and space.

Using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) at KPNO and the European Space Agency's (ESA) Euclid space telescope to gather data, study participants scan the speed at which galaxies move away from each other at different points in the history of the Universe.

DESI researchers noticed dark energy behaving "even weirder than we thought," according to Scotland's Astronomer Royal, Professor Catherine Heymans, of Edinburgh University.

"We may be witnessing a paradigm shift in our understanding of the Universe," one of the researchers involved in the study, Professor Ofer Lahav, from University College London, told BBC News. "We need to find the mechanism that causes the variation and that might mean a brand new theory, which makes this so exciting."

Over the next two years, DESI expects to glean more data measuring roughly 50 million galaxies to determine whether their initial conclusions pass the sniff test.

"We're in the business of letting the Universe tell us how it works, and maybe it is telling us it's more complicated than we thought it was," said Andrei Cuceu, a postdoctoral researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, in California.

Before 1998, scientists believed that the expansion of the Universe created by the Big Bang would slow down under the force of gravity. But research conducted by American and Australian scientists revealed that the Universe was actually expanding faster. They couldn't explain what was driving the expansion, so they called it Dark Energy, to acknowledge their lack of understanding about the nature of the cosmic force.

Meanwhile, the James Webb Telescope launched by NASA three years ago has captured new deep space images of 263 galaxies which demonstrate that about two-thirds rotate in the opposite direction to our Milky Way galaxy. Previously, astronomers had expected the number of galaxies rotating clockwise and counterclockwise to be approximately equal.

Why the imbalance? Computer scientist Lior Shamir of Kansas State University said it may mean that the Milky Way exists inside a black hole, or that the universe was "born rotating." If that is the case, he said, we wouldn't need to assume dark energy. Another possibility is that the overrepresentation of galaxies rotating clockwise is due to the Doppler shift effect, which makes them brighter, so we see more of them, Shamir explained.

More on this story can be found at these links:

Dark Energy Experiment Challenges Einstein's Theory of Universe. BBC
Mysterious James Webb Discovery Could Mean We Live in a Black Hole. Newsweek

Applying the News Story

Whether peering into deep space, watching mesmerizing atmospheric phenomena known as red sprites over the Tibetan Himalaya s, discovering hypnotic, esoteric sounds hiding in fungi, ferns and fruit, or the way hearing different frequencies can change one's culinary experience by accentuating sweetness or savory flavors in food, we are surrounded by countless mysteries we barely even notice.

The mysteries of creation fascinate us; how much more fascinating are the mysterious Creator and the Creator's ways! Much of the time, we may feel God is hidden from view, and yet, God has deigned to reveal God's self, God's nature and purposes throughout creation and history, in sacred text, and ultimately, in Jesus.

The Big Questions

1. What aspect of our faith intrigues or mystifies you most?

2. What do you do when you encounter some tenet of faith you find inexplicable or confusing?

3. How do you explain the faith to people who had little to no exposure to the gospel?

4. What have you learned about God through your experiences in nature? Give a specific example.

5. When, if ever, have you felt that God was "hidden" from you, and what did you do about it? When, if ever, have you experienced God's self-revelation, and how did you react?

Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:

Isaiah 59:1-2, 13-15

See, the LORD's arm is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. Rather, your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. … transgressing and denying the LORD and turning away from following our God, talking oppression and revolt, conceiving lying words and uttering them from the heart. Justice is turned back, and deliverance stands at a distance, for truth stumbles in the public square, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and whoever turns from evil is despoiled. The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. (For context, read Isaiah 59:1-16.)

Over and over, people cry out asking why God hides himself in times of trouble (Job 23:8-10; Psalm 13:1-2; Psalm 27:7-10; Psalm 44:22-26; Psalm 55:1-3; Psalm 69:16-18; Psalm 88:12-14; Psalm 89:46-49; Psalm 102:1-2; Psalm 143:7-8; Isaiah 45:15), making it appear that God doesn't care that in arrogance, the wicked persecute, oppress and prey upon the poor, and the greedy curse, renounce and mock God, boasting that they are above the law and that God will never call them to account for their evil deeds. But the psalmist affirms that God does see and hear, and will "do justice for the orphan and oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more" (Psalm 10:1-18).

God told Moses he would hide his face from the people after they broke the covenant he made with them by prostituting themselves with other gods (Deuteronomy 31:16-18). God characterized the people as children who forgot "the God who gave them birth"; because of their faithlessness, he said he would hide his face from them (Deuteronomy 32:18-20). God can't be faulted for hiding his face, given the wickedness of the mighty who cause the cry of the poor and afflicted to come to him, have plenty to eat "but declare war against those who put nothing into their mouths," and "hate the good and love the evil" (Job 34:21-30; Micah 3:1-7).

Questions: When might we experience a sense of God's "hiddenness" through no fault of our own? What might lead to that experience? When might we experience God's "hiddenness" because of our own sin? What are we to do about that?

1 John 1:1-3

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life -- this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us -- what we have seen and heard we also declare to you so that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (For context, read 1 John 1:1-7.)

The Bible tells us that God appeared to individuals on occasion, to call them to service, reveal his will, comfort and provide, warn of danger, and more (Genesis 35:6-7; Exodus 3:13-15; Exodus 5:3; 1 Samuel 2:27; 1 Samuel 3:7, 21; Matthew 16:15-17.)

Isaiah promises the people in Zion that the day would come when their Teacher would not "hide himself any longer, but your eyes shall see your Teacher" (Isaiah 30:19-21). "Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together," he declares (Isaiah 40:3-5), a passage the gospel writers connect with John the Baptist's announcement that Jesus is God's anointed Messiah.

The apostle John asserts that he and the other disciples are eyewitnesses to the arrival of that divine Teacher, Jesus Christ, eternal with the Father who was revealed to them so that they could pass the good news on to others.

We also have the promise of further revelation of God's glory when Christ returns (1 Corinthians 1:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:5-20; 1 Peter 4:13; 1 John 2:28; 1 John 3:2-8).

Questions: What did God reveal about himself in the first coming of Christ (1 Timothy 3:16) that humans had never seen before? What are you most looking forward to God revealing in the second coming of Christ?

Ephesians 3:5-6, 8-10

In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

... Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (For context, read Ephesians 3:1-10.)

Paul writes that he learned the mystery of God's grace "for the Gentiles" through Christ "by revelation" (Galatians 1:11-17). That mystery had been revealed to the apostles and prophets "by the Spirit" and to Paul when he encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-22).

What is that mystery revealed in Christ? It is that God's salvation and deliverance is for all who love God and God's ways (Gentiles, foreigners and eunuchs previously excluded as outcasts now are fully accepted in the house of God, which "shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples" -- Isaiah 56:1-8). The revelation of the mystery of God in Jesus Christ "was kept secret for long ages" but through the Incarnation and prophetic writings is now made known even to all the Gentiles as well (Romans 16:25-27). This startling mystery is that Christ might also live in them, not only in Jews (Colossians 1:26-27).

Jesus states explicitly that those who have and keep his commandments are those who love him, who are loved by his Father, and that he will love them and reveal himself to them (John 14:21).

Questions: What is so iconoclastic about the mystery revealed in Christ? How can we who follow Christ lean into that mystery more strongly and intentionally?

Ephesians 6:19-20

Pray also for me, so that when I speak a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak. (For context, read Ephesians 6:10-20.)

The psalmist declared "the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation," without restraint, not hiding or hoarding God's saving help but speaking openly of God's faithfulness and steadfast love (Psalm 40:9-10).

Paul asks for prayer that he would "make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel," declaring and revealing "the mystery of Christ ... clearly" (Colossians 4:3-4).

Questions: What does it mean to be "stewards of God's mysteries," as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2? How can we be trustworthy stewards?

Why did Paul ask for prayer for boldness? When have you needed boldness in your witness to the mystery of the gospel? Are you willing to pray for boldness? Why or why not?

For Further Discussion

1. React to these comments from three people who viewed 23 Amazing Insects in Flig ht -- Sl ow Motion! (Video 8:57):

● @andromedazalin -- thinking about the complexity and diversity of life, no matter how small, sometimes helps me feel a little less lonely :) it's hard to think i'm alone when there's bugs and insects everywhere.

● @tracybowling1156 -- Whenever I see the insects take off they look so haphazard. Like there is no way they can fly. But in the air they are acrobats.

● @dabercik -- Amazing job at capturing what we are not able to see with naked eye. Thanks for showing us how beautiful the world of insects truly is :)

What insight do these remarks give you about the mysteries found in nature?

2. Discuss this, from TWW team member Frank Ramirez: "I'm always amused by the way we try to take our round biblical texts from the ancient world and try to squeeze them into a 19th- century square. There remains some element of mystery regardless of how hard we try to make things explainable.

"When someone says, 'The Bible is very clear about -- whatever,' I feel like saying, 'Duck!' Our biblical books are many voices speaking with and at each other, and it's our place to listen, and respond, and then listen to each other.

"Christianity since the fourth century has been hierarchical, and we have insisted on making statements and working out something called theology," Ramirez continued. "This past winter we celebrated the 500th Anniversary of Anabaptism -- which nobody noticed but us scrubbly little sectarians -- and as doctrinaire as we can be on occasion, we can constantly revisit the text because there is no hierarchy. God reigns. The rest of us meet as equals around the table, read the text, and start discussing it. We reach consensus, and do not kill other people who disagree with us. We resist evil nonviolently (which doesn't mean we can't be passive-aggressive -- we can be mulish when we forget to laugh at ourselves).

"I'm happy with mystery," Ramirez concluded, "which is different from George Carlin's riff on how, whenever he and the rest of the fourth-graders managed to ask to tough questions, they were supposed to shut up when told, 'It's a mystery.'"

3. TWW team member Bill Tammeus remarked that a rabbi once told him the Talmud is "3,000 pages of unresolved debate." Tammeus said he sometimes thinks of the Bible that way, too. What do you do when you encounter a passage in the Bible that mystifies you?

4. What do we know, not only about creation, but about the Creator, and how do we know what we know?

Responding to the News

Listen to this as you contemplate how faith figures into the way we can deal with the unknown aspects of our origin and destiny: Let The Mystery Be - Iris DeMent with lyrics (cc lyrics) (Video 2:55). Kareem Niwayh.

O Revealer of mysteries, to whom secrets belong, we thank you for disclosing your thoughts to mortals, deep and hidden things to your prophets and followers, and the secrets of the kingdom of heaven to infants. We pray that the mystery of Christ would come alive in us as he lives his life in and through us by the power of your Spirit. Amen.