Tag: gospels
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Thoughts on “Four Gospels, One Jesus?”
Finally got around to posting these thoughts on a good book about the gospels …
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Studying Matthew 1 1-17
We are studying Matthew 1:1-17 for Sunday, December 6. We’re also studying Hebrews 1:1-5, but these two texts are so different, it seemed better to put the notes in separate posts. [A few notes on Hebrews are here.] Some questions on the texts are here. So here are a few notes on Matthew: BACKGROUND AND…
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Reflecting on John 14 1-14
We’re studying John 14:1-14 for Sunday, July 26. This is the opening of Jesus’s “farewell discourse” in the gospel of John. [Some notes on the text are here.] Here are some questions the text raises for me: In verse 1, Jesus says “Believe in God, believe also in me.” What do we think he means…
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Studying John 14 1-14
We are studying John 14:1-14 for Sunday, July 26 – the famous and familiar opening of Jesus’s “farewell discourse,” a text we have probably heard read at funerals and memorial services many more times than once. [Here are some questions on the text.] Here are some notes on the text: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: The text…
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Study Notes – Luke 1 39-56
We are studying Luke 1:39-56 for Sunday, December 22. This is the episode enshrined in western art and iconography as “the visitation,” when Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, and is the occasion for Mary delivering the speech that has come to be known as “the Magnificat.” I am still supposed to be grading,…
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – Matthew 5 38-48
We are studying Matthew 5:38-48 for Sunday, July 21 – Jesus’ teaching that deeply informs Christian commitment to the principle of non-retaliation. [Some notes on this text are here.] Here are a few questions we might want to think about before class, or discuss in class: In v39, Jesus says not to “resist an evildoer.”…
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – Matthew 5 21-32
We are studying Matthew 5:21-32 for Sunday, July 14 – the first part of Jesus’ explanation of what it means for one’s righteousness to exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees. [Study notes on the text are here.] Here are some questions we might want to consider before or discuss during class: How well…
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Study Notes – Matthew 5 21-32
We are studying Matthew 5:21-32 for Sunday, July 14 (Bastille Day!!). This is the beginning of the section of the Sermon on the Mount often labeled “the antitheses,” because Jesus is using the rhetoric of contrast between what “has been said” and what he is saying now. [Some questions on the text are here.] Here…
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – Matthew 5 13-20
We are studying Matthew 5:13-20 for Sunday, July 7 – a passage that includes Jesus’ familiar sayings about being salt and light, and Jesus’ relationship to “the law and the prophets.” [Study notes on this text are here.] Here are a few questions we might want to reflect on or discuss: What do we normally…
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – Matthew 5 1-12
We are studying Matthew 5:1-12 for Sunday, June 30 – that is, the familiar text known as “the Beatitudes.” [Study notes on the text are here.] Here are a few questions we might want to consider before, or discuss in, class: In verse 1, Jesus is described as sitting “up” an unnamed mountain, and teaching…
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Study Notes – Matthew 5 1-12
We are studying Matthew 5:1-12 for Sunday, June 30 – the familiar “Beatitudes,” or as I’ve heard some people call them, the “Be – Attitudes,” which begin the Sermon on the Mount. Here are a few notes on the text: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: We are back in Matthew’s gospel, at the beginning of the Sermon…
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – Mark 15 6-15, 33-39
We are studying portions of Mark 15 (Mark 15:6-15, 25-26, and 33-39) for Sunday, June 9. June 9 is Pentecost – which has to do with our scripture in the way something that comes afterwards has to do with what came before it, and was a condition for it. Our text is a portion of…
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Study Notes – Matthew 28 1-15
We are studying Matthew 28:1-15 for Sunday, April 21 – Matthew’s account of the events of the first Easter morning, just in time for Easter Sunday. [Some questions for the text are here.] Here are my notes on the text: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: This is the next-to-last text in a series from Matthew’s gospel. What…
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – Luke 15 11-24
We are studying Luke 15:11-24 for Sunday, March 17 – the first part of the story of “the prodigal son.” [Study notes for the text are here.] Here are a few questions that might help us consider what this text means for us: The context for the story is a comment made by “the Pharisees…
Matters of Interpretation 