Bible studies

We are pleased to offer mid-week Bible Studies on most Thursdays from 2-3 p.m. You need not be a member of our church or denomination to attend. We welcome everybody to our classes. Study books are used with some of our classes, but not all. We ask for a $12 donation to cover the cost of the books, but this is not required.  

 There is a lot of talk these days about “the good life.” It’s not a new topic—the Book of Proverbs talked about just that. Its sayings and bits of wisdom were collected to make the lives of people just like us run a little more smoothly. Proverbs: Pathways to Wisdom explores the biblical book’s well-known verses and prevalent themes in a manner that offers various interpretations, opening the way for us to see how they apply to our modern world. You’ll learn about the authorship, genre, and historical setting for each of these verses, which will broaden your understanding and bring more meaning to familiar passages. 

The study runs from Sept. 8 to Oct. 13. Please note that there is no class on Sept. 22.

   There’s no better explanation for how to live out the Great Commission—following the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to spread his teachings to all the nations of the world—than in the book of Acts. It is a unique and crucial book that chronicles the story of God’s grace flooding out to the world through the lives of the apostles in the decades immediately following Christ’s ascension into heaven. In Acts: Catching Up with the Spirit, author and biblical scholar Matthew Skinner explores six key themes that illustrate the ways in which reading Acts is capable of igniting our imagination about the character of the Christian gospel, the work of God’s people (the church), and the challenges of living faithfully in a complex and changing world.

The study runs from Oct. 27 to Dec. 8 (no class on Nov. 24)  

  The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7, contains some of Jesus’ most profound and most memorable teachings. What might these teachings have meant to his disciples and to the others who first heard them? How do they enhance our reading of the rest of the Gospel of Matthew, and how do they speak across the centuries to listeners today? How, if we pay careful attention to his words, does Jesus provide us a road map to living as God would have us live?

In Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine introduces the major topics in the Sermon on the Mount, explains historical and theological contexts, and shows how the words of Jesus echo his Jewish tradition and speak forward to reach hearts and minds today. The study runs from Jan. 5 to Feb. 23. Please note that there will be no class on either Jan. 19 or 26.

   Perhaps there is no better time than now for us to study gratitude and grace. Author and New Testament scholar David deSilva traces these themes through the book of Hebrews, helping us to see the connection between God’s grace in our lives and the gratitude we can express for our salvation when we answer the call to invest ourselves in God’s mission in the world. In Hebrews: Grace and Gratitude, deSilva helps us discover a bold perspective on the meaning and significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection in light of the Old Testament, allowing us to hear afresh God’s call to a life of faithfulness.  

The study runs from Apr. 20 to     May 25.