Bible Study

I've been reading reports from General Synod taking place this week in Winnipeg. I'd love to be in Winnipeg visiting friends but I'm glad I'm not at the meetings. I really don't enjoy meetings unless they are very action oriented and short. These kinds of meetings bring out every ADD cell in my body.

It is much more satisfying to spend my time like I did last night. We had our last Revelation bible study and while most of them still aren't so keen on the book we did have a really interesting discussion. I had read Barbara Rossing's excellent book The Rapture Exposed and she convinced me that the fundamental message of the book is one of hope but my parishioners remain unconvinced. The thing is that they are such kind, gentle people that they can't really believe God can be wrathful.

It is hard to do justice to the Book of Revelation in three sessions but on the other hand I didn't want us to get lost in it either. Not with summer coming on. It took us two years to do our study of Mark. I learned a lot from that but it is a long time to do one thing. In the fall we are going to do some study of the Torah which should be interesting. Like many Anglicans they have a better knowledge and appreciation of the New Testament than the Old Testament.

I'm looking forward to preaching on some of the challenging texts of the Torah in our Unchurch service in the fall. My friend Becky and I are doing some planning for the service and I'm getting really excited about it. Here is the blurb she wrote to explain who we are and what we are doing:

We are a community of people who wonder who Jesus Christ is for us today. Some of us are Christians and are active members of Christian churches. Some of us are not Christian, but continue to find merit in wondering what value Jesus’ message and life have for us and our world. We meet weekly for study and discussion led by those steeped in the Christian tradition, but the aim is neither to push people towards faith nor away from faith. Our goals are explicitly spiritual: what beliefs and actions will increase our love towards others, peace within ourselves, and peace for the world? We are inclusive: if you share these goals you are welcome here. We also believe that our learning occurs not only through thought but also experience and so worship and the worship arts will also be present in our community.