1)  Six-Week Lectionary Bible Study—Room 203--  Beth Walden-Fisher

Allow God's Word to speak to you through powerful weekly meditiations based on the Revised Common Lectionary which will familiarize you with the Scriptures read and interpreted in our Sunday Worship Service.  If you would like to prepare your heart and mind for Sunday’s sermon and/or need support establishing a daily practice of Bible study and prayer, you'll find valuable and gentle help here.

The Foreword to our Bible Study Guide written by Jane E. Vennard, offers compassionate, encouraging words of relief to those who slip in commitments to practice daily biblical reflections. "'Faithfulness in prayer is the willingness to always start over,'" Vennard writes. "You will begin, and you will forget. …Be grateful that you have recognized what has happened, open the book, and begin again. Rejoice that you have started over."

Each scriptural- and real-life based meditation includes suggestions for prayer and further reflection that will help you be more open to God's love and guidance. Bring Bibles and a journal.

 

2)   The Gospel of Thomas of the Nag Hammadi Library

taught by Dr. Nathan Love

 

This class will explore over some ten weeks the Gospel of Thomas recently brought to light in the treasure trove of largely Gnostic compositions stumbled upon by an Arab peasant, quite by accident, in 1945 in Egypt.  The Gospel of Thomas (only one of a number of non-canonical gospels) contains the sayings of Jesus purportedly recorded by the disciple Thomas.

 

 

We will explore the sayings themselves, make comparisons with the four gospels of the New Testament, all of which will allow us to enter into discussions concerning mystery religions then prevalent offering formulae for personal salvation through various rites and wisdom traditions, the communities in Alexandria, Egypt, where both Christian thinkers and Jewish philosophers of a neo-platonic mind set attempted to fill in the gaps, so to speak, of the four gospels whose authority and faithfulness church tradition has consistently upheld.  The text of the Gospel of Thomas has become widely available in print (The Gospel According to Thomas, Harper-Collins, ed. James M. Robinson) and on the Internet: (http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gosthom.html). Two other books widely available and of particular interest are The Gnostic Gospels (1985) and Beyond Belief (2003), both by Elaine Pagels.  The latter book offers an intriguing and plausible  – but by no means convincing – theory that speaks to a dynamic relationship she believes exists between Gospel of John and the Gospel of Thomas.

 

Fellowship Hall—January 6-March 16th

3) A Geography of God—Room 207   

Popular author and preacher Michael Lindvall describes the life of a Christian as a journey with three parts: “Leaving for Home,” “The Way,” and “Life on the Road.” The first part of the journey struggles with the question, “Why go anywhere at all, spiritually speaking?” The second part names the road, the way found in the ancient map of God called the Trinity. The third part describes life on the road as many others have known it: full of mile markers, road signs, warnings of perilous curves, refreshments for the weary, and notices of lively things to be seen along the way. This wonderfully written book provides readers with some hints about what they may experience during their individual journeys.

This book is ideal as devotional reading for all Christians, and it provides helpful explanations of many of Christianity’s foundational beliefs for those new to the Christian faith.

 

4)  The “Old Folks with an Old Perspective” Class—10th Street Parlor

 

Revelation:  A Historical Perspective  

Often we put our own modern “spin” on John’s Apocalypse, but what did the imagery and unique allusions mean to the very first readers of this book?

Bring your Bibles and come join this Discussion Group facilitated by our own Dr. Curtiss Long.

 

 

New this Spring:

 

*On Friday February 1st we will have Morning Prayer at 10am in Room 203. We will alter-nate each week between Lectio Divina and Centering Prayer.  No experience is necessary as we are learning these ancient prayer practices together!  Please bring Bible and a journal.    Hot tea will be served and candles will be lit!  For more information contact Beth Walden-Fisher at 843-4707.