Sunday and Wednesday Bible Classes, May-July
WEDNESDAYS
Beginning May 13, we will have a series of guest speakers on Wednesday nights and a couple of specific ministry devotionals as we move through the summer vacation months. Our speakers have been asked to bring a Bible lesson of encouragement/exhortation from the Gospel of Mark. Since we will only have one adult class in the summer, let’s show our guest speakers our best courtesy by studying God’s Word as we listen to their messages.
Our Little Lambs and Safari children’s classes will continue through the summer and the Loft (5th-6th) and youth group (7th-12th) will also meet each week.
SUNDAYS
On Sunday mornings, beginning May 10, we will study the book of James. Many of us have a favorite book in the Bible, maybe Genesis or Psalms, maybe the Gospel of John or Philippians. James is often mentioned as a favorite book because there are so many verses that ring out in our minds when we think of how God wants us to live. But have we grown complacent in our study of James?
James was a member of the earthly family of Jesus of Nazareth. It’s likely that he was with Mary asking for his brother to come and speak with them (Matthew 12). And Mark 3 indicates that Jesus’ family was so concerned about the crowds that they wanted to pull Jesus back from his ministry. However, both James and Jude grew out of their doubts concerning their brother and James is noted as one of the leaders in the Jerusalem church. In Acts 15, after Barnabas and Paul gave their report and Peter give his defense for sharing the gospel to Cornelius and other Gentiles, it was James who finished the discussion and likely authored the response to be taken back to the new churches in Asia.
The book of James was likely written just a few short years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God had blessed the church in so many ways at Jerusalem, but in short order, the believers were scattered (Acts 8 and 11) and most Christians gathered to worship in small home churches.
Our study will include the topics of the nature of God, tests and trials in this life, interaction between rich and poor, the problem that we all have with controlling our tongue, and other subjects. On Sunday July 5, we’ll have a combined study in the Auditorium on the short book of Jude.