Continuing his study of Acts, the Rev. Nick Lannon looks at most of chapter 21. Paul is urged not to go to Jerusalem, but is determined (v 7-16). Upon his arrival, he tells the church there about his Gentile mission (v 17-20) before James asks him to participate in a Jewish ceremony in order to prove that he does not forsake the law of Moses (v 21-25).
The Rev. Nick Lannon preaches a sermon on Psalm 51 (David's song of lament and repentance) and Luke 15, in which Jesus tells parables about a lost sheep and a lost coin. Our God, in Christ, does everything needed to save us: not resting until we are found and brought home.
The Rev. Jacob Davis continues his class on the Psalms with a look at several psalms that glorify God as the creator of all things, and what we can learn from them about our relationship to the rest of his creation.
The Rev. Nick Lannon continues his study of the book of Acts. He raises Eutychus from the dead (20:7-12) and addresses the elders from Ephesus (20:13-38). Then, he continues his journey to Jerusalem, stopping briefly in Tyre (21:1-6).
The Rev. Nick Lannon preaches a sermon on Paul's letter to Philemon. Jesus takes our debts onto himself, signing our IOU with his own flesh and blood.
The Rev. Jacob Davis continues his class on the Psalms with a look at the psalms of lament. He looks at the language and shape of lament psalms, giving examples.
In the second lecture of the 2025 Fall Retreat, the Rev. Dr. Jacob Rodriguez takes a close look at each of the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. He discusses how the apostolic kerygma (Jesus as Messiah, his substitutionary death, his resurrection, and that it all aligns with the Scriptures) appears in each.
In this third lecture of the 2025 Fall Retreat, the Rev. Dr. Jacob Rodriguez discusses the Gospel of John. He talks about John the Apostle and John the elder, examines John's use of the apostolic kerygma, and then looks at John's relationship to the Synoptic Gospels.
In the final lecture of the 2025 Fall Retreat, the Rev. Dr. Jacob Rodriguez examined some non-canonical Jesus writings and discussed the criteria by which the church decided that the four canonical gospels (no more and no less) were to be treated as scripture.
The Rev. Dr. Jacob Rodriguez kicks off the 2025 Fall Retreat with a lecture on the transmission of Jesus' life through eyewitnesses, the reliability of memory, and the eventual composition of the four gospel texts.
