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New Study Groups
for Thursday Nights
Leaders: Mike Gregg, Mary Lester, & Liz Harris-Lamkin
September 17-November 19
Art & Soul Classroom @ 6:30 PM
"Facing Life's Challenges"
By Mike Gregg
September 17, 24, October 1
Facing Life's Challenges explores four significant challenges common to most persons of faith. They are challenges faced by every generation of believers. They are neither simple nor easy to ponder.
First is the challenge of new light. What do we do when we see new light on old truth? Do we close our eyes and pretend not to see? Or do we follow new light into the pain and joy of growing and changing?
Second, we face the challenge of time's limits. We will not live on this planet forever. There is a limit to the time of our lives. Parents are aging. Children are growing. The years are passing. How can we best live each of our days, keeping in mind that any one of our days could be our last?
Third is the formidable task of living with mystery. Tragedy, suffering, and pain leave us struggling to understand the incomprehensible and inexplicable mystery of life. Real spiritual maturity means being at home with mystery and choosing silence over inadequate explanations.
Fourth is the endeavor of authentic spirituality. Is there an authentic Christ-centered spirituality for sincere followers of Jesus who don't feel at home with often self-righteous hyper-religion, on the one hand, or cool nonchalance, on the other?
Scriptures:
Luke 5:33-39; Psalms 39:4-6; Mark 13:32-37; Job 42:1-9; Romans 14:1-15
Sessions Included:
The Challenge of New Light; The Challenge of Time Limits; The Challenge of Living with Mystery; The Challenge of Authentic Spirituality
"Romans: The Letter that Changed Christian History"
By Mary Lester
October 8, 15, 22
Phoebe, a deacon from the Cenchrea church, trudged up the streets of Rome, looking for the house of the well-known Christian leaders Priscilla and Aquila. She had agreed to deliver a letter to the church in Rome on Paul's behalf while there on business. After nearly an 800-mile journey from Corinth, Greece, Phoebe had arrived in the mighty seat of the Roman Empire holding nothing less than what would become one of the mightiest books of the canon.
What was so urgent that Paul needed to write to the Christians in Rome? On the one hand, Paul was laying the groundwork for his upcoming visit as well as preparing his readers for future requests to help in his church-planting efforts. After leaving Corinth, Paul planned to travel east to Jerusalem and then reverse course and head west to Spain. On the way to Spain, he would stop in Rome to meet the Christians there and seek their help for the Spanish mission.
This was not the only reason, however. If Paul simply wanted to send greetings and alert the Roman church that he would like their help in future missions efforts, he didn't need to compose such a magnum opus. Why did he do it? What was the purpose of this massive theological treatise? Why did he choose this letter to explain his theology more fully than he did anywhere else? What does this theological book have to say to us today? These are the ultimate questions of Romans, written by the Apostle to the Gentiles in the greatest Gentile city of the day. Join us in a study of this life-altering work from Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.
"Understanding Ruth"
By Liz Harris-Lamkin
November 5, 12, 19
In these engaging sessions Rev. Dr. Lisa Wolfe takes you on an enlightening journey through the Book of Ruth. This is a lively and thoughtful examination. Dr. Wolfe considers the vulnerability of widows and the difficult situation of foreigners in biblical times. She explores themes of loyalty, bitterness, courage, poverty and seduction. What really happened on the threshing room floor? Combining humor and careful scholarship, this study invites you to re-read the book with new insight and understanding for all its characters, especially the intelligent, confident-even uppity-heroine Ruth.
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