Studies

SEEING GRAY: WHERE FAITH AND POLITICS MEET

New Small Group Study Beginning February 5th: "Seeing Gray: Where Faith and Politics Meet".

An increasing number of Christians today are finding it difficult to identify with the various "sides" of the theological divide.  Even our most basic ways of categorizing people point us to the truth that the world is not always black and white, and more often than not, we find ourselves somewhere in the gray between the two. As Christians we may be drawn to a more centered faith due to frustration with the role Christianity has played in the culture wars.  Too often we find that faith has been used by both Christian leaders and politicians to further a political agenda.

This study aims to explore these questions:

• How can our faith lead us?
• How does our faith call us to be engaged in the public arena?
• How can we do that in a way that is faithful to what Jesus taught?

This 5-session study begins February 5 and meets every other week thru April 1 from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. upstairs in the Education Building. Contact Susan Magas at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call the church office at 299-6330 to reserve a study guide.  Materials will be ordered only for those who respond. Cost of the study guide is approximately $12.00.

DISCIPLE BIBLE STUDY 1: BECOMING DISCIPLES THROUGH BIBLE STUDY

This course is an overview of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. This is the ideal core study to increase your competence, confidence, and love for God’s Word. In this course, you will read and discuss over 70% of the Bible. It is recommended that persons who have never participated in a DISCIPLE study begin with this course.  If you are interested in this study please contacat Jim Waynick or call the church office at 299-6330..

BECOMING DISCIPLES THROUGH BIBLE STUDY is the foundation of the DISCIPLE Bible Study program.

DISCIPLE assumes that the bible is the key to renewal in the church. It recognizes the human-divine nature of the Bible: The actual texts of Scripture were written by human beings like ourselves in their cultural settings, under the divine inspiration of God.

DISCIPLE affirms that the canon was formed as it is in order for God to speak to us. BECOMING DISCIPLES THROUGH BIBLE STUDY gives equal time to both the Old and New Testament, emphasizing the wholeness of the Bible as the revelation of God. DISCIPLE aims at transformation, not just information, and calls on persons to submit themselves to examination by Scripture, to put themselves under the power of God’s Word, and to be changed by God’s Word. DISCIPLE invites persons to bring their experiences and struggles to the Scripture. All persons know something is amiss with their existence and yearn for the Word from God.  
 
BECOMING DISCIPLES THROUGH BIBLE STUDY uses biblical language and images and draws upon the work of scholars to aid understanding of the Bible.

This study requires reading large portions of Scripture each week and is based on careful study and preparation. During the course of thirty-four weeks, groups will move through the biblical stories of Creation to the New Jerusalem. The titles of the sessions along with theme words; theme verses; and major persons, events, and topics will set the sequence of the biblical story in the minds of the participants. The principal Scripture for each session follows the chronological movement of the biblical story.