Month: January 2020
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – Matthew 4 1-11
The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil – as told in Matthew 4:1-11, the text we are studying for Sunday, February 2. [Some notes on the text are here.] Here are some questions we might want to reflect on or discuss in class: What do we think when we […]
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Study Notes – Matthew 4 1-11
The Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness, and the devil tempts him – Matthew 4:1-11 – which we are studying for Sunday, February 2. This means we’re finally out of 1 Kings 8, for which hallelujah! [Some questions on the text are here.] Here are my notes on this week’s text: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: […]
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Who Are the Lost?
Got this link from my pastor this morning: It resonated with me. You can tell from the comments on YouTube, some people love it and are grateful for it, other people feel affronted. Probably none of us appreciates knowing that someone else looks at us and sees “the lost.” [“Who are you calling ‘lost’??? I’m […]
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Stepping Up
All kinds of groups can be “church” in the sense of being that place where we feel the people around us embrace us and accept us, and where we can count on people to care about us and support us. Most recently, last night at rehearsal one of the chorus members announced that she may […]
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – 1 Kings 8 54-66
We are studying 1 Kings 8:54-66 for Sunday, January 26; this is the finale of Solomon’s dedication of the [first] Temple in Jerusalem. [Some notes on the text are here.] Here are a few questions we might be able to think about, or discuss in class: We seem to be forced to conclude that some […]
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Study Notes – 1 Kings 8 54-66
We are studying 1 Kings 8:54-66 for Sunday, January 26; this is the conclusion of the story of Solomon’s dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem as told in 1 Kings. This is our fourth week working through this particular chapter of 1 Kings, and this particular episode in the life of ancient Israel. We looked […]
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Second Sunday After Epiphany
Today was one of those days when a lot of ideas come together. And probably suggest some things I need to do about them … First, we ended up going overtime in the not-that-early class, because of talking about the timeline of ancient Israelite history and its relationship to 1 Kings and the likely time […]
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – 1 Kings 8 22-30 and following
We are studying 1 Kings 8:22-30 and up through verse 53 for Sunday. [Some notes on the text are here.] Here are a few questions we might want to consider or discuss as we study the text: The beginning of Solomon’s prayer (verses 27-30) addresses God as someone who will not “dwell” in the Temple, […]
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Study Notes – 1 Kings 8 22-30 and following
We are studying 1 Kings 8:22-30 and up through verse 53 for Sunday. This is Solomon’s prayer on the occasion of the dedication of the first Temple in Jerusalem – the one we sometimes call Solomon’s Temple, since he was the one who built it. Here are my [belated, brief] notes on this text: BACKGROUND […]
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Why Do They … ?
Today in class, which was on Islam, one of my students said I have a question. Why do they always have to have their own stores? … Like, when you are in Meijer, and you see someone who look like Muslims buying lots and lots of soda, are they taking that back to their own […]
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Baptism of the Lord
A record number of members showed up at church on Saturday to help take down the Christmas decorations and re-fit the sanctuary for the Season After Epiphany – namely, wintry and spare. The regulars kept exclaiming “It only took us ONE HOUR” to get everything taken down and packed away and stored in the usual […]
Matters of Interpretation 