The Acts of the Apostles, Luke's follow-up to his Gospel account of Jesus' life, tells the story of the early church, focusing especially on the ministries of Peter and Paul. Join us as we follow the spread of the Gospel message—and the powerful work of the Holy Spirit—from a terrified group of eleven disciples in the upper room to the very ends of the Earth. Chock full of contemporary significance, this book has as much to teach us about how we are to live and minister today as it does about how our ancestors in the faith lived and ministered in the several years after Jesus' resurrection and ascension.
The book of Revelation is famously one of the most difficult and controversial books of the Bible. It depicts strange supernatural scenes inhabited by angels, bizarre beasts, and demonic creatures. Everyone knows it has something to do with the end of the world, which many find dismaying. But what Revelation meant to its original author and readers, and how it applies to us today, seems difficult to grasp. Yet understanding and taking to heart “the words of this prophecy” (Rev. 1:3) is meant to provide the “blessing” of encouragement to the Church and faithful believers in a world of trouble and turmoil.
Through a series of startling visions, the apostle John received a “revelation of Jesus Christ” which shows him, and us, how human history will unfold in the redemption of believers, the judgment of the world, and the final triumph of Jesus Christ. “Apocalypse"—the book’s title in the original Greek—means an unveiling or disclosure of what was hidden and concealed. Revelation pulls back the curtain of everyday experience to show us the deeper reality of human history and the coming kingdom of heaven.
In the modern church Leviticus tends to be the last part of the Bible that anyone looks at seriously. Because it is largely concerned with subjects that seem incomprehensible and irrelevant today, rituals for sacrifice and regulations concerning uncleanness, it appears to have nothing to say to twenty-first-century Christians. Nothing could be further from the truth. In this class, Michael will show how these Old Testament passages relate to the New Testament and to contemporary Christianity, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ from Leviticus.
Jude is a short epistle, condemning in fierce terms certain people the author sees as a threat to the early Christian community. According to Jude, these opponents are within the Christian community, but are not true Christians: they are scoffers, false teachers, malcontents, given to their lusts, and so on. The epistle reassures its readers that these people will soon be judged by God and offers hope in the face of these difficulties. Join us as we delve into this often-overlooked letter.
In the Pastoral Epistles, St. Paul writes to Timothy and Titus, his close friends and ministry partners, regarding the false teaching which has taken root in their churches. In three letters—one to an established church rocked by false teaching (1 Timothy), another to a young, fledgling church plant (Titus), and, finally, St. Paul’s last words to his son-in-the-faith (2 Timothy)—the apostle reveals God’s vision for what it means to be the church: God’s faithful family living out God’s mission of making disciples from all nations. In this study of these letters, we explore the theme of fidelity as St. Paul relates it to God, sound doctrine, the church, and mission.
The books of wisdom—Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon—are among the more neglected books of the Bible, especially at the congregational level. Two of them—Job and Ecclesiastes—are the most perplexing and difficult books of the Bible. Proverbs is often taken as little more than holy self-help advice. And while Song of Solomon is quite intriguing, most preachers and teachers don’t quite know what to do with Spirit-inspired Scripture that celebrates romance, intimacy, and sex. But the Bible’s wisdom books are important because they teach us how to live in the real world. Not the “world” of mass media, militant secularism, or pop culture, but the world as God created it. This world is a creation that God invested with his own beauty, harmony, and purity. Yet, it is also a world that is fallen, in which men and women and history and sometimes nature do not work in accord with the way things ought to be and were originally meant to be (and someday will be again). Wisdom takes all of this into account and shows us how we might put our feet on the path that leads us in the direction of that original beauty, harmony, and purity, even though, in this lifetime, we may only partially realize and embrace them.
What is the Book of Common Prayer? Why does it shape our Anglican worship? How can I use it in my personal time with God? In this class, we will explore the Book of Common Prayer, where it came from, and walk through its 2019 edition step-by-step. As we do this, we will discover why the Prayer Book is, in J.I. Packer’s words, “the Bible arranged for worship.”
In this seven-week class on the biblical worldview, one session each is spent on identity, sexuality, and justice, followed by three sessions on the interrelationships between men and women (man and woman together, man and woman at home, and man and woman at church) with a seventh session devoted to answering questions from the congregation. Who are we? What are we supposed to do with our bodies? How do we relate to a broken world? How do we relate as men and women? These questions and others are be addressed in this timely class.
The world around us—both the political world as well as large sections of the so-called religious world—is constantly shouting non-biblical ideas about God, about humanity, about identity, about society, and more. And it’s only getting worse; every time they seem to have reached a fever pitch, something happens and the noise increases all the more. In this class, we study scripture, in order to learn about ourselves and about how we might speak truthfully both to and about society. Using an outline provided by Carl Trueman’s book Strange New World, which is an accessible rewrite of his seminal The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, we will investigate the complicated question of just how we got to where we are today and the locate the Bible’s answers to the world’s difficult questions.
God made us in his image and, in doing so, made us creative beings. This class explores how Scripture presents art, beauty, and imagination. We also learn how the arts have shaped church history, how the church has shaped art history, and how we can engage the world through the arts today. We meet both Christian thinkers and artists across the centuries, dive into their stories, experience their creativity, and let them inspire us and point us to the beauty of the gospel.
We've been given the best news of all time: the surpassing love of God poured out for us in the saving life and death of Jesus Christ. We are called to share this news with others . . . but how are we to go about doing that? This class defines the Good News, evangelism, looks at overcoming common obstacles to sharing our faith, and investigates the role God's sovereignty plays in salvation and evangelism. Finally, it includes a discussion of different worldviews, including evangelism to Muslims, Mormons (LDS), and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Dr. Beougher, Associate Dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Ministry and Billy Graham Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, leads a workshop both about the Good News that’s worth sharing and some practical strategies for how to share it. He discusses preparing our hearts for evangelism, lifting up our eyes to see the lost around us, so-called “bridges” to the Gospel, and his “three circles” method to sharing the Good News.
Our certainty—our assured knowledge—that the Christian faith is true to reality emboldens our proclamation of the gospel and deepens our commitment to discipleship and mission. We gain confidence in knowing that both our personal faith in Jesus Christ and “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude v. 3; ESV) can withstand rational scrutiny and careful investigation. We will be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” This is the task of apologetics—supporting our faith with facts, evidence, and good reasoning. This class examines evidence and logical arguments in the areas of philosophy, psychology, science, and history, as well as in the Scriptures, that give us good reasons for our hope in the saving work of Jesus Christ and our inheritance in the kingdom of God. (see 1 Pet. 1:1-5, 3:15; ESV).
The book of Genesis tells a story. It tells of the beginnings of the world, mankind and God’s faithfulness to man even in the face of rebellion. Being both theological history and an ancient literary work, the text of Genesis is packed with meaning, symbolism and ultimately points us to Jesus Christ. This study of Genesis 1-11 unpacks some of the historical, cultural and literary features of the text so that we might hear God’s promise of forgiveness and life in Jesus Christ. NOTE: This class was cut short due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Spring of 2020.
