The completely new Faith Lessons curriculum takes your small group on a round trip to ancient times, places, and customs, and back again. This lively, interactive journey is more than fascinating -- it's faith-inspiring and life-changing. Your job as a group leader is simplified with this all-new Leader's Guide: fresh, clear, and easy to follow, designed to minimize your preparation time and maximize your effectiveness. You are not left to guess at nothing. This volume contains all the material in the Participant's Guide, including maps, photos, sidebars, and other study aides, plus instructions and tips that will take you step-by-step through each faith lesson. Filmed on location in Israel by Focus on the Family Films, Faith Lessons is a unique video series that brings God's Word to life with astounding relevance. By weaving together the Bible's fascinating historical, cultural, religious, and geographical contexts, teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan reveals keen insights into Scripture's significance for modern believers. These illuminating 'faith lessons' afford a new understanding of the Bible that will ground your convictions and transform your life. The completely new Faith Lessons curriculum takes your small group on a round trip to ancient times, places, and customs, and back again. This lively, interactive journey is more than fascinating -- it's faith-inspiring and life-changing. Your job as a group leader is simplified with this all-new Leader's Guide: fresh, clear, and easy to follow, designed to minimize your preparation time and maximize your effectiveness. You are not left to guess at nothing. This volume contains all the material in the Participant's Guide, including maps, photos, sidebars, and other study aides, plus instructions and tips that will take you step-by-step through each faith lesson. Filmed on location in Israel by Focus on the Family Films, Faith Lessons is a unique video series that brings God's Word to life with astounding relevance. By weaving together the Bible's fascinating historical, cultural, religious, and geographical contexts, teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan reveals keen insights into Scripture's significance for modern believers. These illuminating "faith lessons" afford a new understanding of the Bible that will ground your convictions and transform your life. Ray Vander Laan is the founder of That the World May Know Ministries and creator of the Faith Lessons video series with Focus on the Family. An ordained minister, he holds the chair of biblical cultural studies as a religion instructor at Holland Christian Schools in Holland, Michigan. He and his wife, Esther, have four children and fifteen grandchildren. SPANISH BIO: Ray Vander Laan es el fundador del That the World May Know Ministries. Cuando no ensenando y investigando en Israel, ensena en Michigan del oeste a un escuela secundaria y un semanario. Introduction Because God speaks to us through the Scriptures, studying them is a rewarding experience. The inspired human authors of the Bible, as well as those to whom the words were originally given, were primarily Jews living in the Near East. God s words and actions spoke to them with such power, clarity, and purpose that they wrote them down and carefully preserved them as an authoritative body of literature. God s use of human servants in revealing Himself resulted in writings that clearly bear the stamp of time and place. The message of the Scriptures is, of course, eternal and unchanging but the circumstances and conditions of the people of the Bible are unique to their times. Consequently, we most clearly understand God s truth when we know the cultural context within which He spoke and acted and the perception of the people with whom He communicated. This does not mean that God s revelation is unclear if we don t know the cultural context. Rather, by learning how to think and approach life as Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Esther, and Paul did, modern Christians will deepen their appreciation of God s Word. To fully apply the message of the Bible, we must enter the world of the Hebrews and familiarize ourselves with their culture. That is the purpose of this study. The events and characters of the Bible are presented in their original settings. Although the videos offer the latest archaeological research, this series is not intended to be a definitive cultural and geographical study of the lands of the Bible. No original scientific discoveries are revealed here. The purpose of this study is to help us better understand God s revealed mission for our lives by enabling us to hear and see His words in their original context. Understanding the World of the Hebrews More than 3,800 years ago, God spoke to His servant Abraham: "Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you" (Genesis 13:17). From the outset, God s choice of a Hebrew nomad to begin His plan of salvation (that is still unfolding) was linked to the selection of a