Justice Bible Studies
What does Jesus have to do with justice? This 7-week series traces the theme of justice from the Old Testament to the New Testament, offering a biblical basis for justice as an attribute of God’s character and central to God’s mission in the world. This foundational series will propel participants towards a life-long pursuit of justice that is grounded in Jesus.
The injustice in our world makes us long for God’s shalom, the Hebrew word that connotes a sense of wholeness and peace in a material, physical, relational, and moral sense. Jesus made a way for us to experience this shalom and invites us to join the work of the Holy Spirit in working for justice on personal, communal, and systemic levels. We cling to the hope that God will one day bring an end to injustice once and for all, but until that day, we live in a way that testifies to who God is.
Purpose
This series is intended to be a foundational resource that propels participants towards a life-long pursuit of justice that is grounded in Jesus. It is a formative study that gives participants the opportunity to encounter God through Scripture and explore practical tools in the form of spiritual rhythms that will sustain them in seeking shalom.
Each week of this series includes:
- Introduction
- Passage & Background
- Discussion Questions
- Summary & Reflection
- Spiritual Practice
We pray that this series would help participants not settle for performative acts of justice, but instead to learn how following Jesus reorients our entire lives.
Justice is an attribute of God’s character and central to God’s work in the world.
Participants should be able to articulate the connection between Jesus and justice by the end of the series.
As your community spends time tracing justice through Scripture, we pray that it would be a healing balm for those who are weary. We pray it would stir awe and wonder at God’s righteousness, and that it would spark a fire in your belly to seek shalom for our broken world.
Using this Resource
To make the most of this resource:
- Specifically, draw on current events in the intro discussions.
- Tweak the study to make it more natural for the facilitator.
- Be directive if the group defaults to a reading of the text that lacks curiosity.
- Intentionally read the passages through the lens of justice.
- Each week, offer a summary of the previous study, renaming “aha” moments or main points discussed.
Series Overview
Week 0: Let's Talk about Justice (optional study)
Bible project video + discussion
Week 0: Let's Talk about Justice (optional study)
Week 2: Evil and Injustice Multiply
Genesis 6:5-22
Week 3: God Responds to Injustice
Exodus 2:23-3:12
Week 4: The Call to God’s People: Act Justly
Isaiah 58
Week 5: Jesus Brings Liberation for All
Luke 4:14-30
Justice & The Gospel (Four Circles Script)
Download the Justice Bible Studies Phone Wallpapers below.
Week 7: All Things New
Revelation 21:1-8,22-27
Extra Resources
Leader's Guides for all 7 weeks are available
in the form of Google docs.
Groups Investigating God (GIG) versions can be completed in ~30 minutes with language adapted for seekers. These are available as Google docs.
You may also do these Bible studies online – this Google doc version is optimized to be used over Zoom.
Use the Justice and The Gospel Four Circles Script in the form of Google docs.
Social Media
Social media graphics are included for you to advertise and foster online engagement before, during, and after the study. Use the hashtag #justicebiblestudies on social media so campuses can see each other. Graphics include:
- blank square and story sized backgrounds
- weekly square and story sized ads
- and a main graphic square.
All Graphics
Some campuses used Instagram in creative ways during the study itself and to highlight student testimonies. Check them out here (scroll down their feed until you see the JBS passages):
Phone Wallpapers
#1: Jesus Breaks the Power of Our Broken World
#2: Seek Shalom
#3: Jesus at the Center
#4: JBS Blank Background
Social Media Advertising Graphics
Week 1 Sample
Social Media Ad Week 1 Blank Background Main Post
Contributors
Thank you to the many people who developed and shaped this series:
Glenn Griffin
William Cheung
Glorianne Wright
Steve Tamayo
Andy Kim
Maureen Huang
Multiethnic Initiatives and Creative Labs
Tim Fu
Northwestern University student
Jessica Suk
Melissa Casiano-Sebastian
Justin Casiano-Sebastian
Kweku Bransah
Jennifer Galindo-Sanchez
Joy Pettigrew
HC Yang
Chicago Area Staff
Derekah Kingery
Naomi Hall
Hannah Warfel
Brittany Ben
Downstate IL Staff and Students
Casey Crockett
Fresno State University
Eliana Land
Ministry Specialist, Pacific Region
Janna Louie
Area Director, GFM Southern California
Jeff Liou
National Director of Theological Formation
Courtney Herwicz
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About the authors
Caroline Lancaster serves as InterVarsity’s Associate Director for Multiethnic Initiatives and is on South Asian InterVarsity's national leadership team. She is a second-generation Indian American that has lived in California, Singapore, Boston, and the Chicago 'burbs. She is a creative at heart and loves equipping students, faculty, and staff to pursue justice in their contexts. Caroline is a certified Cultural Intelligence Trainer, participated in Rev. Dr. Brenda-Salter McNeil’s Reconciliation Leaders Cohort, and is currently pursuing an MDiv at Fuller Theological Seminary. Find Caroline on instagram @carolinesusie!
Diana Collymore serves as the Associate Director of Missions with InterVarsity/USA. Her vision is to “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) through the college campus. Diana seeks to invest in the development of college students as the lifelong disciples of Christ Jesus who are about God’s mission in every sphere. A calling and passion for Diana is mobilizing students from communities of color to contribute their God-designed gifts in global missions. Diana is a New-York-born-and-raised second-generation American of Barbadian heritage. In 2005 she began a long-term cross-cultural journey in Madison, WI. She now calls home Chicago, IL, a city whose people and civic life continually grow her understanding of living into God’s mission. Diana enjoys much laughter, intense conversations, and, depending on the day, really good coffee or tea.