What Is The Best Bible Study For College Students?
There are many ways to go when searching for the best Bible study for college students. It is such a pivotal time in their young lives.
Whatever they are aiming for, they certainly will be helped by Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships by Chip Ingram. Love is in the air when one is in college! Agreed?
Whatever their course of study, college students need the reinforcement of proper ways to handle relationships, especially romantic ones. Hence, my choice: Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships.
College offers many opportunities for students to fall away from Biblical standards, so they need to study, and hear what God says about this most crucial subject.
First published in 2014, by Living on the Edge Publishers, Love, Sex and Lasting Relationships written by Chip Ingram, is, in the words of the author to the college student:
“God’s Prescription for Enhancing Your Love Life.” His prescription stands in sharp contrast to that of the world!
Some of the chapter titles are
- Hollywood’s formula for Lasting Loving Relationships
- Two Models for Lasting Loving Relationships
- God’s Prescription for Lasting, Loving Relationships
- Before You “Fall in Love”
- How to Know if You’re in Love (12 tests)
- Love and Sex – Knowing the Difference Makes All the Difference
- Why Only One?
- How to Say “Yes” to Love, and “No” to second-rate
- Answering God’s Call to the “Second Sexual Revolution”
- The Romance of Purity
- Q & A section and notes
Who will benefit from this choice?
Any college student (and, indeed, any adult) will undoubtedly benefit from studying Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships. All around them the world’s sinful counterfeits of these things are blatantly flaunted right before their eyes and ears.
Every hour of every day brings college students into direct observation and confrontation with the world’s backward view of love, sex, and relationships. At this vulnerable age with its attending hormones, college students need help!
- For those who are single, it teaches valuable information for when that time comes. It gives help in knowing if it is the one…when he/she shows up.
- If in a relationship but not married the students will receive help in assessing their relationship’s health, strength, and needs.
- For married couples, it provides a reality check on their expectations. It will also help direct their energy towards the aspects of their relationship that will build increased joy and deeper intimacy.
- In short everyone, regardless of their position in life will benefit from the Bible study, Love, Sex and Lasting Relationships.
What I like about this Bible study for college students:
As a bonus, each study guide contains a code that allows you to stream Chip Ingram’s video teaching for free. DVDs may be ordered separately for an additional cost.
The Author, Chip Ingram, is well versed and studied in proper biblical relationships. His credentials include:
- The senior pastor at Venture Christian Church in Los Gatos, California
- Founded Living on the Edge, in 1995
- Has Written 15 books
- International teaching ministry
- MS Degree from West Virginia University
- M. from Dallas Theological Seminary
For more information on Chip Ingram and his work, visit www.livingontheedge.org
Are there any comparable products on the market?
Another excellent Bible study for college students might be Adulting by Jonathan Pokluda. The focus of this book is how to do everyday, mundane, “adult” things.
I can’t say it any better than what the author says in his introduction of the study:
“After strenuous studies, you walk across the stage, gripping your diploma—you’ve arrived. An adult at last. But all of a sudden, instead of a diploma you hold a paycheck in one hand and a stack of bills in the other. You find yourself swimming in the treacherous seas of adulthood surrounded by 401ks, insurance, bosses, potential spouses, and everything in between. How can you begin to navigate your 20s and 30s, and still honor God in the process?”
That says it very well! Everyday adult things!
Indeed, it is needed.
Jonathan Pokluda is a Teaching Pastor at Watermark Church and a speaker at The Porch, a gathering of young adults in Dallas, Texas. In this 6-part series, Jonathan speaks to young adults on the art of “adulting” for Christ.
He’ll walk through how to discern God’s will for your life right now and specify how you can best glorify Him through your career, relationships, and commitments.
The Leader’s Guide contains over 35 pages of in-depth narrative teaching with direction for group discussion and helpful answers to biblical questions. It moves beyond knowledge to the real-life application of God’s Word in either personal or group study.
Why should you choose Love, Sex and Lasting Relationships for college students?
I believe this is the best Bible study for them, especially initially, because:
- It is basic.
- It is the bottom line.
- It is common to all.
- It is taught from a Biblical perspective.
Everyone desires to love and be loved. The pursuit of “true love” is everywhere you look! It’s romanticized on TV and in the movies we watch.
Countless books and songs are written about it, and hundreds of online dating websites and relationship seminars abound…all of which are designed to “help” you find that special someone to love.
So why is “true love” so elusive? Could it be that the picture of love we see in today’s culture is nothing more than an illusion (interesting thought)? If so, what does real love look like? In this series, you’ll discover God’s way of finding love, staying in love, and growing in intimacy for a lifetime.
This Bible study will give students the proper foundation for Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships. It has the potential of saving much grief and pain to them and to those with whom they may cross paths. I highly recommend it!
