Seventh-day Adventists in South America have changed the traditional Bible study known as the weekly Sabbath School Lesson to better engage today’s young adults. The new version, known as COMtext will debut in January, officials said.
The first change occurs in the name of the material, which changes its name to Biblical Text, or COMtext in Portuguese. The word “COMtext” is intentionally written with “M” as a play on words: the relevance of the biblical context for life and “com,” or “with” in Portuguese, to signify reader engagement with the text for spiritual growth.
This idea follows the same theme found in new lessons produced by the Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Department at the Adventist world headquarters. There, the material is called inVerse, which challenges readers “to engage Scripture more deeply and more broadly, ultimately enriching the ability to share your growing experience with others.”
The purpose of the choice is to encourage them to live in the atmosphere of the sacred text. By the way, the Bible version adopted for the lesson is the New Updated Almeida (NAA); other versions used in sections will be identified.
The internal sections of the lesson, which conduct the study on each day of the week, will follow the same line: COMtext (Sunday), COMpreenda (Monday), COMente (Tuesday), COMpare (Wednesday), COMShare (Thursday) and COMsenso (Friday). In addition, there is an extra section called COMMUNITY, which brings meditation to the Small Group meetings of the class.
Modernization
Other changes involve graphic design. In addition to the change in colors, fonts, and layout, the opening illustration, in Saturday's study, will be replaced by strips, cartoons, images, and phrases. For those who like multimedia content, COMtexto will have QR Codes that lead to the biblical commentary on the lesson, books by Ellen G. White, videos, podcasts, and other online materials. Much of this content will also be available on the comtextobiblico.com.br website. And for fans of the lesson in digital format, all changes will be present in the APP.
Finally, there is also news on the material production team. After seven years at the helm of this work at the Brazilian Publishing House (CPB), pastor Márcio Nastrini passes the baton to two colleagues: Ágatha Lemos and Michelson Borges. “We are grateful to Pastor Nastrini for his dedication and for leaving us the legacy of excellence at work, love of the Word of God, and a sense of urgency in turning our eyes to the real demand of young people”, they say. To the readers, they leave the message: “Good reading, great reflection, and may this new lesson help you to walk in new life every day, one day at a time!”
This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site