Romans 1:18-5:21

Hi Class!

I've enjoyed our sharing and conversations immensely the last few weeks. Thanks for being so faithful to come and so energetic in your participation. I find it a joyful thing to be in a group of diverse minds whose hearts are warmed and unified by Christ's love.

Here's a nutshell review of the last two weeks:

October 10

We focused on section I in our Romans outline, "The Sinfulness of All People", 1:18-3:20. Paul makes the case that the fundamental sin all people are liable to commit is idolatry, which leads human beings to distorted lives. Idolatry is more than worship of a statue of something -- it is the worshipping of something created, instead of the creator. Paul speaks at some length of sexuality as an example -- in it's appropriate place a wonderful gift from God, but set above everything becomes a force of destruction in human life. His point is that no one is immune to breaking even the first and most obvious commandment; his conclusion is that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Further, there is no distinction -- Jews who supposedly know better because they have the specific laws of God are no different in this respect from Gentiles (everyone else!) who supposedly know nothing. Indeed, no one has any excuse if we would simply observe the beauty of creation, which testifies to God's nature and glory and beckons us to worship correctly.

October 17

Section II presents Paul's thinking about God's solution for human sin: salvation in Jesus Christ. Since no one can achieve righteousness (justification) because of our sinfulness, God provided, at the perfect time, the free gift of salvation in Christ. The law, which is a handbook for righteous behavior, is not nullified; but now, in Christ, righteousness is imputed through faith. Rather than living a life of guilt in which we are always failing to live up to God's standards, we are free to grow, with hope and joy, through trial and suffering, toward godliness, while we are accepted unconditionally. I think I'm starting to ramble on like Paul.

This week, October 24, we move to section III, "Salvation Brings Freedom and a New Way of Life", Romans 6-8.

Have a wonderful week. Laura and I appreciate you very much and look forward to our upcoming class.

God bless!

Pastor Dan

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P.S. Please keep Nicole Beebe's family in your prayers, as her grandfather passed away this weekend after a long illness. Laura too will appreciate your prayers for continuing recovery from her surgery.

Outline of Book of Romans

AN OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF ROMANS

Key verse: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” (5:1-2a)

Introduction (1:1–15)
Theme: Salvation through faith (1:16–17)

I. The Sinfulness of All People (1:18—3:20)
• Gentiles (1:18–32)
• Jews (2:1—3:8)
• Summary: All People (3:9–20)

II. Salvation as a gift for All People (3:21—5:21)
• Through Christ (3:21–26)
• Received by Faith (3:27—4:25)
• Experienced in our suffering (5:1–11)
• Given through the gift of grace in Christ (5:12–21)

III. Salvation brings freedom and a new way of life (chs. 6–8)
• Freedom from Sin’s Tyranny (ch. 6)
• Freedom from the Law’s Condemnation (ch. 7)
• Freedom in the Control of the Holy Spirit (ch. 8)

IV. An Account of God’s Mercy to Israel (chs. 9–11)
• The Justice of God’s Rejection of Israel (9:1–29)
• The Cause of That Rejection (9:30—10:21)
• God’s Provision for Israel and All People (ch. 11)

V. Exercising Faith (12:1—15:13)
• In the Body—the Church (ch. 12)
• In the World (ch. 13)
• Among Weak and Strong Christians (14:1—15:13)

Conclusion (15:14–33)
Commendation, Greetings and Doxology (ch. 16)

New Testament Study, Romans Week III

Hello class!

Thanks for the good attendance and participation last Sunday. We are finishing up our introductions to one another and the Book of Romans. This coming Sunday we will hope to complete our individual sharing from various passages, take a look at an outline of the B of R, and chart a course forward.

By way of reminder and review: We are in a survey class of the whole Bible, and have made our way now to the section of the New Testament which contains the epistles (letters) written to churches and individuals. We hope this study will help all of us understand the Bible as a whole and provide a foundation for personal study. Romans is a unique and particularly challenging book, as it is more in the nature of a theological discourse than correspondence aimed at particular issues in local congregations.

Thus we have begun our study by highlighting how Romans touches on what we would now call "orthodox" Christian doctrines and beliefs.

An equal priority of our class is to enjoy one another and develop a supportive Christian community. To that end we will regularly provide simple activities that help us get to know and to care for one another.

Laura and I appreciate each one of you! Thanks for being in this class & hope to see you this Sunday!

Pastor Dan

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Bonus section: Basics of Wesleyan Methodism

In the course of conversation Sunday I offered a summary of the basic beliefs of Methodists who follow in John Wesley's traditions.
Here is a shot at that summary:

Unlike many modern churches, the United Methodist Church is not a creedal denomination. That is we do not require members to adhere strictly to specific interpretations of Christian dogma or doctrine. However we do emphasize certain core beliefs, practices, and values, including:

-- The centrality of grace in three movements: Prevenient, or "preventing" grace -- God's love which woos us and calls us before we know of it; Justifying grace -- that righteousness before God is a gift given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ; and Sanctifying grace -- God's work in the Holy Spirit which promises that we are becoming truly holy people,"perfect in love", experiencing and expressing the fullness of Christ's character.

-- A balance between personal piety and social responsibility; we hope to have a strong personal experience of Jesus Christ as our Savior, and a rich interior spiritual life; and that life then expressed in working for social justice, caring for those whom Jesus calls "the least of these, my brethren" with whom he identifies.

-- In matters of the mind, Wesley insisted that faith without reason is no faith at all.

-- In matters of the heart, Wesley insisted that the mind not get in the way of fellowship -- "If your heart is as my heart, take my hand." That is, love of Christ and subsequent love of neighbor bind the body together amidst reasonable disagreement about particular dogmas and doctrines. This describes well the basis of St. Paul's energy, vitality, and warmth, as we are a congregation of people with diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds bound together by a common commitment to Jesus Christ.

reintroduction to Book of Romans

Hi Class!

Thanks for meeting Sunday and getting off to a good start together.

We introduced one another, shared answers to ice-breaker questions, had a prayer and did a quick review/intro to the Book of Romans. Paul wrote this as a letter of introduction to the Christian church in Rome. It had been his heart's desire and sense of call from God to go to Rome for many years. He may have dictated/penned this letter as he waited under a kind of house arrest, in the process of answering charges brought against him by Jews and Jewish Christians. As a Roman Citizen he had appealed his case to Caesar, leading to a sequence of events that we believe, eventually, resulted in his arrival in Rome.

Romans is unique among Paul's letters in that he is writing to a church he himself did not begin. All of his other letters are written to congregations and individuals he knew well. So instead of addressing particular circumstances in congregations, he is writing a general letter which lays out his views on beliefs and practices that were fast becoming normative in the early church.

In broad strokes, we touched on several areas of belief that most modern Christians would assume to be orthodox, but which were still in process of being formed and articulated in the early years of the Church. We read these Scriptures with light discussion, then offered class participants the assignment of reflecting on these during the week with a view toward answering four questions:

1. What does the Scripture tell me about God?
2. What does the Scripture tell me about myself?
3. What does the Scripture tell me about my relationship with God?
4. What is the Scripture prompting me to do?

Here are the themes, texts, and contemplators:

Human sinfulness -- 3:9-12, Llew
Justification by faith in Jesus Christ -- 3:21-26, Laura
Triune experience of God -- 1:7b; 15:13, Emma
Work of the Holy Spirit -- 8:1-4, 26-27, Arlene
Nature of the church as Body of Christ -- 12:3-8, Sarah
Resurrection and eternal life -- 8:18-21, Ken
-- 14:9-12, Dan
Meaning of persecution/suffering in Christ -- 8:28-39, Shirley

We'll focus on sharing our thoughts on these passages this coming Sunday, 10:00 a.m. in the downstairs Stephen Ministry Classroom.

You are all in our prayers this week, and we look forward to seeing you, learning and growing together.

Pastor Dan and Laura

Welcome to New Testament Made Easy!

Hello Seekers!

This fall's class begins Sunday, September 12, 10:00 a.m. at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 1730 St. Clair Rd. in beautiful Idaho Falls. We will convene downstairs in the Stephen Ministry classroom. No previous Bible Study experience is necessary; Bibles provided, or bring your own.

Starting Sunday we will resume our study of the Book of Romans. See the entry immediately below for a description of our approach to this book.

Other entries in this blog chronicle our previous 3 years of adventure through the Scriptures, beginning with the Old Testament and progressing to the New Testament. Check out some entries to get a flavor of the content of the class.

Our second major focus in NTME is to share and build relationships in the body of Christ.

So . . . interested in finding Christian community, support, and friendships? Do you have a yearning to know the Bible and God's will in your live more fully? Perhaps this class is for you!

God bless

Pastor Dan and Laura

Book of Romans

Hi Class!

We completed our reading of the Book of Acts last week. We thoroughly enjoyed and were blessed by our sharing as we read about the history of the early church and the adventures of the Apostles Peter and Paul. Acts concluded with Paul setting up shop in Rome, preaching the gospel first to the Jews and then to everyone from a residence there.

During the month of May, we will study the Book of Romans, which is a letter Paul wrote from prison to the churches in Rome. This book is much different than the history/narrative Acts. Paul's thoughts and teaching in Romans provide many of the foundational articulations of Christian belief that we still hold to today. Our study will be by way of a survey of the distinctively Christian ideas and practices Paul taught.

Dr. Leander Keck, a prominant New Testament scholar and teacher, has described the Book of Romans as . . .

...neither a systematic theology nor a summary of Paul's lifework, but it is by common consent his masterpiece. It dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over hills and villages. Not all onlookers have viewed it in the same light or from the same angle, and their snapshots and paintings of it are sometimes remarkably unalike. Not all climbers have taken the same route up its sheer sides, and there is frequent disagreement on the best approach. What nobody doubts is that we are here dealing with a work of massive substance, presenting a formidable intellectual challenge while offering a breathtaking theological and spiritual vision.

We hope to see you Sundays in May for a great study, conversation, sharing, and growth together.

God bless!

Dan and Laura

Paul's Missionary Journeys

Hi Class!

After a couple of weeks of chasing, finally a little caught up, so here is a summary of what we've been discussing the last few weeks.

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We are on an accelerated read-through of the Book of Acts, follow the missionary journeys of Paul, Silas and Timothy. In a few chapters, a number of years have passed, and congregations and groups of Christians are now established in such cities as Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, and the region of Macedonia. Paul, either alone or with companions, has preached in Synagogues throughout Asia, most recently Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth. In each place the Gospel has touched the hearts of Jews and Gentiles, men and women and their households -- both to inspire faith and belief and to provoke anger and violence. Paul is about to move on Ephesus and beyond, then back to Jerusalem, and will set his soon toward Rome.

In this mix of receptivity and hostility, following trade routes and taking advantage of the political stability of the Roman Empire and his own Roman citizenship, Paul tirelessly preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ, receiving timely support and surviving many malicious and murderous attacks.

We will continue our read through this Sunday, with Acts chapter 19, Luke's record of Paul's arrival and ministry in Ephesus.

Hope you are having a blessed Lent, and also hope very much to see you in class this Sunday.

Dan and Laura