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Freelance submissions due by May 10, 2018 All about us: SEEK® is a magazine created to encourage adults in their walk with Jesus Christ. SEEK® corresponds to the topics of David C Cook’s adult curriculum line and is designed to further apply these topics to everyday life. Dos and Don’ts of writing articles/stories for this theme list: DO read the Scriptures (these will be studied in class), as well as the suggestions of What to Write. DO dig in deeper. DON’T use obvious material the students will likely have studied in class. DO employ supplemental Scriptures beyond the most well-known passages. DO quote from the King James Version. DON’T put words in God’s mouth or suggest what God thinks. Quote what He says. DON’T submit your first thoughts. DO some research (include the sources that verify your information). DO get written permission from people whose real stories you tell. DO stick to the desired word count: 850 words minimum, 1000 maximum. DO use good grammar and spelling. DO rewrite, tighten, and proofread your work. Do include a suggested title on your manuscript. DO put the intended issue number and its date at the top of your manuscript, or it will be rejected. No decision will be made on any manuscript prior to the submission due cutoff date. Please e-mail your submissions to seek@standardpub.com. Quarter titles for Spring 2019: Unit 1, Call to Discipleship (Issues 1–4); Unit 2, Call to Ministry (Issues 5–9); Unit 3, Call to Life in Christ (Issues 10–13). Issue 1: Called to Serve (Humility Is Good for You) March 3, 2019 Scripture: Luke 14:7-14 What to Write: What’s crossing the line as far as when it’s OK to hang out with nonbelievers? Or is there such a line? // Can working at the soup kitchen become an excuse for not inviting needy people into our homes? Explain. // Research the whole context of Luke 14. What was Jesus’ strategy for correcting the Pharisees? What tips can we glean from this—both for looking into our own hearts and for helping others evaluate their thinking/behavior? // Share some public gaffs of someone who mistakenly sat at the speakers’ table or started down the aisle for an award . . . only to hear another person’s name called. Then discuss our need for humility vs. human need of recognition. Issue 2: Called to Sacrifice (Counting the Cost) March 10, 2019 Scripture: Mark 1:16-20; Luke 14:25-33 What to Write: List some areas in which people typically find their identity (ex: family, career, ambitions, awards). Then help readers refocus/reprioritize to first seek true identity in Christ. // Write a “10 Things I Couldn’t Live Without” piece. Then attempt to defend those things as they relate to your own Christian life or to helping others know the Lord. (This could be humorous but still educational.) // Contrast the misguided self-inflicted suffering/sacrifice of ascetics against legitimate sacrifice. (Research first!)

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Issue 3: Called to Return (Lost and Found) March 17, 2019 Scripture: Luke 15:11-24 What to Write: Report on some case studies of times when people did/did not offer someone a second chance. Describe the results. // Verse 17 conveys that the son “came to his senses.” List some unlikely famous converts (ancient and modern), and describe their turning points. // Create a quiz to help readers evaluate how they deal with someone who has wandered from the Lord. // How do we know when to give up on someone? Or should we ever? // People sometimes say unhelpful things to try and influence a prodigal. Provide a few examples of “don’t say this . . . say that” to give readers practical tools. Issue 4: Called to Repent (Finding Acceptance) March 24, 2019 Scripture: Luke 19:1-10 What to Write: Research and report on some modern-day “bad guys” who eventually tried to make up for what they’d done (a la Zacchaeus’s goal of repaying four times what he’d overcharged). // Why did Zacchaeus even want to see Jesus? Imagine several things Zacchaeus must have seen or heard about Jesus that intrigued him, and challenge readers to imitate Jesus in our words and actions so that others will want to know more. // Repentance isn’t an attractive idea these days. Profile the repentance of several Bible characters and highlight what seemed to be the turning point for each. Issue 5: Called to Follow (Purposeful Following) March 31, 2019 Scripture: Matthew 4:12-22 What to Write: Interview several people (in their 40s?) regarding how they envisioned a career at age 18 vs. what they are actually doing now. How do they “follow Jesus” in the current career, and how could they have done so had the earlier idea been realized? Emphasize the importance of working for the Lord in every situation. // Write a fictional portrayal (perhaps in skit form?) of one of these four apostles returning to old fishing buddies, winning them to Jesus, and teaching them how to “fish for people” within the context of their ongoing careers as fishermen. // Create several scenarios in which people say “I wish I could do ___ for the Lord, but I can’t because ___.” And “shoot down” each excuse, showing (with Scripture and general advice) how each person could follow the Lord in the stated way. Issue 6: Called to Mission (Summoned for Service) April 7, 2019 Scripture: Matthew 10:1-15 What to Write: “If only I had ___.” Use that thought to indicate how—for any given area of service to the Lord—we might focus on what we don’t have and talk ourselves out of it. Compare that thinking to today’s text, in which Jesus deliberately limits what the apostles had. // Relate how “little” several Bible characters had when they served on God’s behalf. (ex: Moses and a staff, Gideon and trumpets/jars, Philip’s knowledge of the Word to share with the Ethiopian) What can modern readers learn/conclude? // Write a dialogue between two missionaries in an area that is resistant to the gospel (like America!). One of them believes it is time to “shake the dust off their feet” and go elsewhere; the other believes fruitful work can yet be done where they are. Have them discuss the pros and cons of leaving and of staying.

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Issue 7: Called to Remember (Remembering Good Deeds) April 14, 2019 (Palm Sunday) Scripture: Matthew 26:1-13 What to Write: Discuss the difference between “waste” and “worth.” If waste is giving too much for too little, what do the actions of the woman, the disciples—and even the religious leaders—say about what they believe Jesus is worth? What is Jesus worth to us? // Illustrate the idea of “motive is everything” by showcasing a list of actions—each of which could be done with both a God-honoring and an evil motive. // In today’s Scripture, the woman’s action was a very public acknowledging of her respect for/love of/thanks to Jesus. Explore practical, specific ways that we can publicly acknowledge the Lord today, and challenge readers to do so—even though criticism might come. Issue 8: Called to Believe the Resurrection (Go and Tell) April 21, 2019 (Easter Sunday) Scripture: Matthew 28:1-15 What to Write: Explore the “saviors” of world religions (like Buddha, Muhammad) and also Christian cult leaders who claimed to be God (like Jim Jones)—pointing out that they’re all dead. Only Christianity’s Jesus is the RISEN Lord. // Liberal Christian theologians (and cults like Jehovah’s Witnesses) reject the idea of Jesus’ literal resurrection. Research multiple articles like these to define that thinking (and what they mean when they say “resurrection”) and challenge it with Scripture: http://religionnews.com/2014/04/16/can-question-resurrection-still-christian/ AND https://progressivechristianity.org/resources/why-i-dont-believe-in-a-physical-resurrection-of-jesus/ // Write “That’s Unbelievable!” List some absolutely ridiculous things that people believe . . . and then show how “unbelievable” it is that people who can believe those things can’t believe that the creator/Lord of the universe could rise from the dead. // Challenge readers to “go and tell”—perhaps giving options and asking them to choose one to do this week. Issue 9: Called to Make Disciples (A Job to Do) April 28, 2019 Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:6-8 What to Write: Focus on a point within the Great Commission that’s often not mentioned: the obey part. Expose our tendency to say “I know the Bible says ___, but I think . . .” // Verse 20 emphasizes that we’re to teach others to observe/obey everything God commands. Help readers examine their own lives in order to be able to teach others that obeying the Lord is the best path. // Make subheads of the various verbs in this passage (going, teaching [that is, making disciples], etc.). Under each, show how a different Bible character (Old or New Testament) did that thing. What one factor in each account becomes applicable to us? // The disciples’ question in Acts 1:6 illustrates that we sometimes expect that Jesus will/should do certain things. Point out some common thinking in this category. (ex: “How could a loving God ___?” or “Surely Jesus wants you to ___.”) Issue 10: Called to Righteousness (Putting the Past Behind Us) May 5, 2019 Scripture: Romans 3:21-31 What to Write: Delve into the world religions that require a person to “earn merit” or outnumber bad deeds with good ones. Compare that to this passage’s teaching. // Help readers understand that just because we aren’t saved by law keeping, that doesn’t mean that (as is sometimes heard) “Christianity isn’t about keeping commands; it’s about a relationship.” // How do we help

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“good” people who think they’re not “bad” enough to need Jesus? Try some real or imagined case studies with dialogue. Issue 11: Called to Life in the Spirit (Life Without Guilt) May 12, 2019 (Mother’s Day) Scripture: Romans 8:1-14 What to Write: Focus on verse 10 to write something like “Wanted: Dead AND Alive!” // Our top of “Life Without Guilt” suggests a humorous possibility, since today is also Mother’s Day! Give examples of things that mothers tend to say to kids to “guilt” them, based on kids’ past misconduct. Then segue into a serious focus on today’s passage—“no condemnation” for those in Jesus. // Offer practical how-to for readers who regret actions from their past. How can they live in freedom and victory? What Scriptures help? // Verse 14 mentions being children of God. Since this is Mother’s Day, give some specific examples of children who look/act like their mothers so much that people instantly recognize whose children they are. Then outline how people can recognize us as God’s children. Issue 12: Called to Mutual Acceptance (Surrendering Pride) May 19, 2019 Scripture: Romans 11:11-24 What to Write: Describe the wickedness of several fictional super-villains, making the point that most of us have trouble seeing any redeeming quality in them. Celebrate that God’s plan is an invitation to all—and that many astonishing conversions have occurred throughout history. // Though we can easily reach a point of emphasizing only that “God is love” while others see God as an “angry God,” verse 22 speaks of God’s goodness/kindness AND His severity/sternness. Explore the both/and of God’s nature. // To help readers be more patient with/understanding of people who don’t yet believe, interview several people who became Christians later in life. Ask them to explain what they didn’t know/understand about Christianity—and what was their turning point. Issue 13: Called to Be Transformed (Giving One’s All) May 26, 2019 (Memorial Day is tomorrow) Scripture: Romans 12:1-8 What to Write: Since tomorrow is Memorial Day, the “living sacrifice” of Romans 12 is suggestive. Use a “soldiers of Christ” parallel (but don’t make this too much about general military). // In the idea of serving, how can we balance the popular approach of discovering our talents/passions/personality types against a just a “bloom where you’re planted” philosophy? (This could be a humorous glimpse at a church in which the big, scary guy had to teach the 3-year-olds, a little old lady repaired the roof, etc.—all outside their “giftedness” but everything worked anyway.) // Analyze the problems caused by Christians artificially distinguishing the “sacred” and the “secular”—that is, deeming only parts of their lives to have eternal significance. How does this passage challenge that thinking? // How can sacrifice not feel like deprivation?