SEEK Submission Guidelines
Click here to download the Winter 2010-2011 themes. (PDF, 109 KB)
Freelance submissions due by January 15, 2010
All about us: SEEK is a magazine created to encourage adults in their walk with Jesus Christ. SEEK corresponds to the topics of Standard Publishing's adult curriculum line and is designed to further apply these topics to everyday life.
How to write to this theme list: Please read the Scriptures listed so that you know what will be studied in class. Listed are the aims of the lesson—the points of the lesson that students will apply to life. Your story or article will be an example of how someone did or can apply these points to real life. REMEMBER TO MARK ON THE MANUSCRIPT THE ISSUE NUMBER AND DATE FOR WHICH IT IS BEING WRITTEN. Word count: 600 minimum, 1200 maximum. (Manuscripts without this information will be rejected as not written to theme.) Use the King James Version when quoting Scripture. No decision will be made on any manuscript prior to the submission due cutoff date.
Quarter titles for Winter 2010-2011: Assuring Hope—Unit 1, Comfort for God's People (Issues 1–5); Unit 2, A Future for God's People (Issues 6–9); Unit 3, The Fulfillment of God's Promise (Issues 10–13).
Issue 1: God Gives Strength (Receiving Comfort and Strength)
December 5, 2010
Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-8, 25, 26, 29-31
Lesson Aim: In spite of weakness, trouble, and impediments, people search for a better life. The prophet Isaiah promises the people that God, with whom none can compare, will fulfill their hopes. Help readers understand that God's promise of hope is for them. Share how hope in the Lord has changed your life.
Issue 2: The Lord Is Our God (Not Forsaken)
December 12, 2010
Scripture: Isaiah 41:8-10, 17-20; 42:1-4, 9
Lesson Aim: Many people take comfort in knowing that someone is capable of helping them in times of need. Isaiah declared that God alone creates, controls, and redeems. Tell about a time you found encouragement through contemplating God's limitless power. Help readers consider the magnitude of God's promises and lay claim to His help.
Issue 3: A Child Is Born (Hope for Good Leadership)
December 19, 2010
Scripture: Isaiah 9:6, 7; 11:1-8; Matthew 1:21-23
Lesson Aim: People need someone with authority who will take responsibility for leading them. God promised through Isaiah that He would send a leader and give that leader complete authority. That leader is Jesus, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born from the line of David. Share the significance of the coming of the Savior. Praise God for the grace that is ours through Jesus and the promise of eternal life through Him.
Issue 4: God Is with Us (Whom Shall I Follow?)
December 26, 2010
Scripture: Isaiah 43:1-7, 10-12
Lesson Aim: Many people feel oppressed and look for a leader to deliver them. In Isaiah 43, God promises a deliverance even greater than that of the exodus. Help readers feel confident in knowing Christ as their Savior. Share with them your assurance that God will protect you.
Issue 5: God Is Our Redeemer (Experiencing Redemption)
January 2, 2011
Scripture: Isaiah 44:21-28
Lesson Aim: In the face of devastating circumstances, people want to know that there is hope for rebuilding their lives. Isaiah 44 speaks comfort and hope that God will not forget Israel and will redeem all things. Reassure readers that God knows them and regards them highly. Help them find ways to rebuild places of brokenness.
Issue 6: Salvation for God's People (Hope for the Future)
January 9, 2011
Scripture: Isaiah 45:14-25
Lesson Aim: Many leaders and wannabe leaders make a promise they cannot fulfill. God's mighty acts prove that He alone can make and surely keep promises of a secure future. Examine God's record of creation and rightful claims to power and contemplate His faithfulness. Help readers examine whether they have heard and followed false gods and decide to turn from them.
Issue 7: Reassurance for God's People (Putting the Past Aside)
January 16, 2011
Scripture: Isaiah 48:12-22
Lesson Aim: People make mistakes, live incorrectly, and need to have the past put aside for right living in the future. God promises to forgive sin and to redeem His people. Consider sin and the need for repentance and forgiveness. Help readers make decisions to ask God for forgiveness and to pledge to change sinful behavior.
Issue 8: Light for the Gentiles (Pay It Forward)
January 23, 2011
Scripture: Isaiah 49:1-7
Lesson Aim: People who are grateful for the benefits they receive sometimes like to reciprocate by serving others. God reminds Israel of the gifts they received from Him and charges them to bring hope to the nations. Study the proclamation of gifts God gives to Israel and Israel's call to serve others. Help readers see that they are obliged to lead others to the Lord and serve others.
Issue 9: Wounded for Our Transgression (Suffering for Others)
January 30, 2011
Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-12
Lesson Aim: People who are called to serve may sacrifice and suffer to help others. Isaiah reveals that our hope is secure in the Suffering Servant (Jesus), who would pay a terrible price for our sake—even death. Identify some good things in life that may require suffering in the short term. Share the hope that lies in the servant who takes on our sins and suffers in our place.
Issue 10: Jesus Is the Messiah (A Matter of Identity)
February 6, 2011
Scripture: Mark 8:27–9:1
Lesson Aim: How can people know the truth of their leader's mission and goals? For people of faith, Jesus' words contain truth about His identity, His mission to bring in the kingdom, and His requirements for His followers. Help readers evaluate their beliefs about Jesus and make a personal profession of faith. Share how they can evaluate and affirm or change their behaviors in light of service to others.
Issue 11: Jesus Is God's Son (Follow the Leader)
February 13, 2011
Scripture: Mark 9:2-13
Lesson Aim: People need reassurance that they are listening to the right leader. God's voice in the cloud dramatically identified Jesus as God's chosen one, the one to whom the apostles should listen. Study Jesus' transfiguration and the apostles' reaction to it. Share the meaning of the transfiguration and the appearance of Moses and Elijah. Suggest ways to identify and eliminate barriers to listening to Jesus.
Issue 12: Jesus Came to Serve (True Leadership)
February 20, 2011
Scripture: Mark 10:35-45
Lesson Aim: Great leaders make a gift of themselves and their work to those whom they would lead. Jesus said that He came to serve, not to be served, and He demonstrated that as an example to follow. Examine the concept of service to others as demonstrated by Jesus. Share how you have developed and implemented specific ways to serve others by following Jesus' example.
Issue 13: Jesus Is Coming Again (The Return!)
February 27, 2011
Scripture: Mark 13:14-27, 31
Lesson Aim: Jesus said that false messiahs and prophets would give signs, but that He would return with true power to call people to himself. Review what Jesus said about His coming in power as the Son of Man. Help readers comprehend the meaning of the true Messiah. Lead them to reaffirm their belief in the one true Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, as the hope for the world and to make a commitment not to be led astray.