Discovery Class
Reconciling Statement
The Discovery Sunday School class at Northwest Hills UMC welcomes, includes, and celebrates ALL people, regardless of race, nationality, gender, sexuality, societal or educational class, marital status, or physical or mental abilities. We are proud of our Wesleyan heritage, we value Bible study through reading and open discussion, and we seek to live out our faith in all interactions. We advocate for the full inclusion of people of all gender identities, expressions, and sexual orientations in our church and in the larger United Methodist Church, and we affirm everybody’s humanity, value, and beauty in God’s eyes.
Currently Studying
Prayer (Does it make any difference?) by Phillip Yancey
Philip Yancey probes the very heartbeat of our relationship with God: prayer. What is prayer? Does it change God’s mind or ours or both? This book is an invitation to communicate with God the Father who invites us into an eternal partnership through prayer.
Polls reveal that 90 percent of people pray. Yet prayer, which should be the most nourishing and uplifting time of the believer’s day, can also be frustrating, confusing, and fraught with mystery.
(Starting study October 2025)
Summer 2022
Renew my Heart by John Wesley
In Renew My Heart, you’ll find 365 powerful readings drawn from the many works of English theologian and evangelist John Wesley (1703–1791), who founded the “Methodist” movement in pursuit of holy living
Though he lived in the eighteenth century, John Wesley has much to say to Christians of today. His extensive collection of sermons and other writings encourages a fully committed, deeply personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Each entry in Renew My Heart has been lightly updated for modern style. Read on to find the substance your soul craves.
God Is With Us
God Is With Us invites you to explore your longing for God’s presence through a study of the lectionary Bible readings for Advent and Christmas. The hope of Advent is the fulfillment of that longing; we await the coming of Jesus as Immanuel, God With Us. Each week’s Scriptures call us to praise God as we actively await the coming of Christ and prepare our hearts and lives for his arrival.
Scripture and the Skeptic
by Eric Huffman
The Bible is the best-selling, most widely read, and most quoted book in history. It is also misunderstood, misquoted, and fiercely debated. If, as Christians believe, the Bible is the Word of God, why is it so complex and difficult to interpret in parts, yet simple enough for even children to understand in others?
Christianity and World Religions
Pastor and best-selling author Adam Hamilton returns to one of his most popular topics, Christianity and world religions. This new, fully updated book explores four major world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism—and compares the beliefs of each with those of Christianity. He deals openly and honestly with questions people ask about other religions, such as:
Why are there so many different religions?
How should Christians view other religions?
How is God at work in other religions?
What is the fate of those who earnestly pursue God through other religions?
Isaiah & God Is in the Manger
1/17/21 – 2/28/21 Isaiah Ch 49 -Ch 55
11/29/20 – 1/10/21 God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. These forty stirring devotions will guide and inspire readers as they move thematically through the weeks of Advent and Christmas, from waiting and mystery to redemption, incarnation, and joy.
9/27/20 – 11/22/20 Isaiah Ch 40 – Ch 48
With racial tensions as high within the church as outside the church, it is time for Christians to become the leaders in the conversation on racial reconciliation. This power-packed guide helps readers deepen their understanding of historical factors and present realities, equipping them to participate in the ongoing dialogue and to serve as catalysts for righteousness, justice, healing, transformation, and reconciliation.
Interesting Parables
Wise Up! Four Biblical Virtues for Navigating Life
by Alyce M. McKenzie invites the reader to step up to the divine customer service desk and exchange self-sufficiency, self-absorption, self-indulgence, and self-protection for the four virtues of biblical wisdom: the fear of the Lord (faith), the listening heart (compassion), the cool spirit (self-discipline), and the subversive voice (moral courage).
Keep Watch With Me: An Advent Reader for Peacemakers
by Claire Brown, Michael T. McRay is a collaborative daily devotional featuring diverse contributors: black, white, LGBTQ, Latinx, Palestinian, incarcerated, Native American, Australian, Americans, Irish, South African, clergy, laity, activists, authors, organizers, and more. The season of Advent, as the church prepares for the birth of Christ, is a penitential season of reckoning with our need and the needs of the world. Keep Watch With Me offers stories, reflections, prayers, and spiritual practices to sustain and challenge the faith of those who work for justice and peace, and long for the coming of God with us.
Galatians & Ephesians
Didn’t See it Coming
by Carey Nieuwhof reveals the seven core issues that take people out: cynicism, compromise, disconnectedness, irrelevance, pride, burnout, and the emptiness of success. Discover how to reverse the most significant challenges to your life, closing the gap between who you are and who you’ve always longed to be.