Wednesday Night Bible Study
Wednesday night bible study classes resumed on August 13. Before our summer break, we spent several weeks studying the Beatitudes as recorded in Matthew 5: 3 - 12. As frequently happens when we look at Jesus' teachings, we found new understanding and meaning when we discussed these verses together. One of the last verses we discussed was Matthew 5:6, " Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." We discovered that biblical righteousness is quite different from our usual use of the word. According to Holman's Bible Dictionary, "righteousness is the fulfillment of the terms of a covenant between God and humanity or between humans in the full range of human relationships." God's righteousness means that God will never violate a covenant with God's people.
When we began to look at the Book of Romans, we discovered that God's righteousness is at the heart of this book. When Paul wrote to the church in Rome, he had not yet visited them in person, but he was committed to unifying the Roman Christians - Jews and Gentiles - into one body. To do so, Paul had to convince the Jewish Christians that God would never break their covenant, but that God, through Jesus Christ, had expanded the covenant to include all who were baptized into Christ.
Between now and Advent, we will carefully and prayerfully study this book which has transformed the lives of so many Christians, including Martin Luther, St. Augustine, and John Wesley. We will be using a resource book from the Kerygma series, Romans: A Letter for Today by Calvin J. Roetzel, available for $20 a copy.
We hope that you will join us every Wednesday evening at 7PM to share your thoughts and insights with us as we learn more about the righteousness of God and what it means for God's people.
Schedule for Wednesday Night Bible Study
August 13 - Who Was Paul?
August 20 - Trouble, Trouble, Trouble - But Help Is on the Way
August 27 - The Big Bang
September 3 - Romans as the All Letter
September 10 - "Therefore"
September 17 - Was Paul's Gospel Soft on Sin?
September 24 - The Ongoing Struggle
October 1 - Life in the Spirit
October 8 - Are God's Promises Reliable?
October 15 - Faith in Everyday Life
October 22 - The Believer and the Government
October 29 - The "Weak" and the "Strong"
November 5 - The Beginning and the End
November 12 - Final Greetings and Farewell
