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

Conversion of Peter

Hi Class!

We hope the New Year is off to a great start for you all.

We are picking up our study in Acts, and hope you all can join us as often as possible. We are in the midst of conversations about conversion experiences, focusing on the ministries of Saul/Paul and now Peter in Acts, chapter 10.

Peter stays at the home of Simon, a tanner. Imagine a home workshop of a tanner, who makes leather. To say the least it might have a very unique smell and appearance, perhaps with tools of his trade and skins of various creatures hanging and laying about and reeking in all stages of the tanning process. Whether this was the environment or not, it could account for the reason Peter went up on the roof, in the open air, to pray. This also is not as strange as one might think, as homes in that part of the world often have living space on the flat roof, since the lower floor would often be shared with family livestock or serve as home work space.

Did the setting prime Peter's imagination and prepare him for a vision involving many different kinds of animals? Regardless God gave him a dramatic and convincing picture of a new inclusiveness, as the large sheet contained all manner of creatures considered, in Jewish faith, unclean to consume. Yet Peter is commanded, against his instincts and religious training, to rise, kill, and eat heartily.

Meantime, visitors who have received their own vision in a dream are on there way to Peter to invite him to speak to them. Peter welcomes them, goes to a Gentile home, enters it against Jewish custom, and stays with these devout people, sharing the story and invitation to follow Jesus. In this process the Holy Spirit comes upon these Gentile converts, convincing Peter that God indeed calls no one, anymore, unclean.

In a very nice coincidence, or an act of the Spirit, this lesson came to us on the Sunday we celebrated the civil rights work of Martin Luther King, Jr.

We will move, this Sunday, to a discussion of the meaning of this text for our lives, church, and world.

Dan and Laura

Conversion of Saul

Hello Class!

This Sunday we will continue reading in Acts, picking up the story Peter's "conversion". We had a very interesting conversation about conversions last week, in reference to Paul's huge change of heart and behavior. One of our observations is that conversion experiences are valued in our culture, but often are more of a process of a change than an immediate transformation. Converted people also have to deal with the patterns of their past and need the support and acceptance of others, as did Paul, in order for that "conversion" to have full and lasting effect. Not surprising, then, that we see once again how important the community of faith is in helping each of us become all that God calls us to be.

Please read the second half of chapter 9 and through chapter 10 for this week's conversation.

Hope to see you there! Shirley and Llew, we'll miss you and hope you have a splendid and blessed Sunday.

Dan and Laura

Acts Chapter 8: Philip the Evangelist

Hello Class!

Here are some notes from the last two weeks, November 22 and 29.

We have spent the last couple of sessions in Acts, Chapter 8. On the 22nd Llew and Shirley led the class in discussion of the main characters in the story, and also shared stories of baptisms. Thank you for taking charge of the class in our absence! On the 29th we continued this conversation, including some further insights about baptism as a ritual practice and some observations about the practice of laying on of hands. Finally we made note of the significance of the gospel message breaking out of Jerusalem into Samaria and, through the Ethiopian eunuch converted on the desert road, to nations south.

As a connection, the Sunday sermon text and message referred to the northern and southern kingdoms of ancient times. Samaria in the time of the early church had become the land of a people whose cultures mixed when the northern kingdom (Israel) was overcome by the Assyrians in the early 700's B.C. This is the place, in Jesus' time, Jews avoided because the people there practiced a Jewish faith that was viewed as impure; and in fact the people themselves held in prejudice because their line was mixed with Gentile conquerors from generations past. Tradition/legend holds that the Eunuch took the message of Christ to Ethiopia, from which seed grew a thriving and unique Coptic Christian community.

For the coming week's class, we will focus on our four application questions: What does the Scripture tell me about God; myself; my relationship with God; and, what will I do?

Have a wonderful week & we hope to see you this Sunday.

Dan and Laura

Acts: Deacons

Hi Class!

Thanks for another very interesting discussion last Sunday. Whether we call it serendipity or the Holy Spirit we enjoyed a fascinating intersection last week, as United Methodist Deacon Rev. Rhoda Pittman Markus visited our class. This was in conjunction with our study of the selection, ordination, and service of the first New Testament "Deacons" in Acts, chapters 6-7.

Rhoda shared personal insights and experiences of a modern Deacon, whose call is to link the ritual life of the church with our call to service in the world. For a fulsome description of the ministry of United Methodist Deacons you may enter the following web address in your browser: http://www.gbhem.org/site/c.lsKSL3POLvF/b.3474319/k.BF2A/Deacons.htm.

I believe, after I left for choir, that you heard a story regarding the blessedness and compliment of serving communion in her role as deacon, and mine as elder, when we served a congregation together.

For this week, please read ahead into chapter 8, accounts of the adventures of Philip, one of the early evangelists of the church who first went outside the "bubble" of what was then orthodox Judaism to share the Gospel of Christ in Samaria, and with an Egyptian on his way home from the great festival in Jerusalem.

Llew and Shirley have answered the call to be your facilitators this week. I know this will be an especially interesting session, combining the content and their leadership. Laura and I will miss you, as we will be in Boise following our talented son to his state piano competition.

Blessings to you all & see you soon!

Dan and Laura

Acts: The First Deacons Chosen

Hello Class!

Nice to be together Sunday for Acts chapter 6. We read about the need for troubleshooting distribution of food to widows in the community, arising from a dispute about fair sharing between Greek and Hebrew Christians. The Apostles came up with a plan to delegate this job to seven men of good repute, wisdom, and Spirit. All agreed it was a good plan, so seven were chosen and "ordained", or set apart and blessed for this work, by the laying on of hands. In Apostolic Church circles these men are recognized as the first deacons of the church. Stephen Ministry is, also, a program named for the Stephen who, after angering the Sanhedrin, became the first Christian martyr.

Discussion veered toward the subject of being "chosen" by God, and how, in particular, United Methodist pastors are selected to be assigned to specific churches. We (Laura and I) had the opportunity to tell some of our story of being "chosen" in the Spirit to move to Idaho Falls, and how I became your pastor.

Next week we'll continue reading through chapter 7, in which Stephen preaches to the Jewish leaders, is martyred, and persecution fractures the church in Jerusalem.

God bless you all & hope very much to see you Sunday!

Dan and Laura