Week Four: Romans, Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon, Philippians, 1 Timothy, Titus, 2 Timothy

We are closing in on the halfway point of our Community experience!  What are your feelings towards this version of the New Testament?  Do you feel like you are more engaged, as though the book is relating to your emotions and sensibilities?  Does the drama of early Christian life stand out in a way you hadn't noticed in your traditional Bible?  In your discussion groups, do you find that you are talking about the Bible and Its characters in ways you never had before?

This week, we plant ourselves firmly in Paul's letters to various people and churches throughout the early Christian world.  We begin the week by completing Romans.  We learned last week that part of Paul's reason for writing was to ask for support as he continued his mission westward.  The church in Rome was very focused on ministering to Jews, so they weren't exactly inclined to help the apostle whose mission was clearly to the Gentiles.  Because of this, Paul had to delve deep into theology to show the Romans that God's plan for salvation of the world always included the Gentiles, and He even revealed as much to Abraham.  Paul had to prove that God is so much bigger than the law, and that only His mercy has the power to bring about grace and salvation.  Paul continued in the letter to give instructions on how to live in the culture of the day as a people who stand apart, but not reclusive in nature.  It is all too tempting for a body of believers to fold in upon themselves, avoiding the very people to whom they should be bringing the Gospel.  

While Paul's letters to Corinth and Galatia were full of criticism and rebuke, the letters called Colossians and Ephesians were gentle and encouraging.  We learn in Paul's greetings that he never met the people of these churches, so his tone had to reflect the credibility he had only by reputation.  This contrast brings to light that Paul's harshness with the Corinthians was only possible because of his intimate relationship with them.  From this perspective, it is clear that Paul held those for whom he took personal responsibility to a higher standard.  We know now that Ephesians was most likely not written to the church at Ephesus, but was probably a general letter to churches all over Asia Minor.  Colossians and Ephesians, while including many of the same instructions as Paul's other letters, had a special focus on the relationships within a church body.  In these letters, God's long established guidance on how believers should relate to and treat one another was reinforced.

Philemon stands out as a case study for life changing repentance and Christian forgiveness.  Onesimus and Philemon are both universal characters in whose shoes we may each find ourselves regularly.  Paul wrote to the Philippians from prison, and he drew on the parallels of his physical chains and their public struggle to bring joy and encouragement to their work.  In some of his most dire circumstances, he rejoiced that his suffering was serving to further the Gospel message, and he encouraged the Philippians to abide in patience for the same purpose.

We will finish our week, and Paul's writings, with letters to Paul's dearest co-workers.  Although these letters were addressed to Timothy and Titus, there were indications that they were also meant to be read aloud to larger groups.  These letters focused heavily on the practical matters of church building and administration.  Churches have relied on Paul's model throughout history, and pastors are continually encouraged by Paul's words to his closest friends.  The words given to us by God, through Paul, are as essential and relevant today as they ever were.  Where are they leading you right now?

Continue to think about our five book club questions:
1. What's something you noticed for the first time?
2. What questions did you have?
3. Was there anything that bothered you?
4. What did you learn about loving God?
5. What did you learn about loving others?

Week Three: 1-2 Corinthians, Galations, Romans

With two weeks under your belt, have you established a reading pattern that works for you?  Maybe you read at the same time each day, or maybe you read for longer periods over fewer days.  What matters is that you are getting to know Jesus, no matter your reading style.  We hope that you are staying energized and motivated on our journey.  This is a big project, but the rewards are boundless!

Paul's letters make up quite a bit of the New Testament, and we are continuing through them this week with 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galations, and the beginning of Romans.  Paul's letters follow a standard pattern of greeting and thanksgiving, the main body, and a closing, often with a final thought written personally by Paul.  We know from the context of Paul's letters that he wrote many more letters than are included in the Bible.  Keeping in mind that God, not men, compiled His Word, what do you think it is about these letters that they are part of the Bible?  Could it be that while the concerns they addressed applied to those churches at that time, those same issues have existed for the church since its birth?  How many sermons have you heard on Paul's letters?  Have they applied no matter your age, your church, your location, the year, or the cultural climate?

Our recent reading of Acts will hopefully stay in your mind as you read through Paul's letters.  Remember that Acts outlined the physical path of Paul's ministry, and it gave us a picture of what the culture was like in each city where Paul established a church.  These bodies of believers did not exist in a vacuum; they worshiped while a much different culture was going on around them.  Their constant temptation was to make concessions to the culture, and they allowed it to contaminate their worship.  Is any of this familiar to your church experience?

In his letters to Corinth, Paul identified struggles with authority, morality, unity, freedom, relationships, worship, false teaching, loyalty to leaders, discipline, and more.  Paul did not preach in a vacuum, either.  He knew that dependence on flesh brought weakness to the church, and he continually reminded them that he shared the Gospel alone.  Paul's letter to the Galatians covers many of the same issues, but in this letter, he stressed that they were missing the true nature of the Gospel, which is to depend on the Holy Spirit.  Only in that dependence can one find the purpose of our freedom and liberty in Christ.  By relying on their own flesh, these churches were eroding, and the ways of the world were taking over.  Paul's instruction was intended to bring them back to reliance on the Spirit, and to allow Him to direct their lives and worship.

Romans was a letter that Paul wrote to a church he had not yet met.  His letter was actually one of introduction, and a request for support.  Though he had not met them, Paul was familiar with the Roman church practices, and he wished to instruct them by preaching the Gospel to them once he arrived.  Though we will only begin Romans this week, recognize Paul's message of the Power of God as the only means to salvation.  Paul stressed that Jesus came to bring salvation to the world, Jews and Gentiles alike.  Only the Power of God could bring obedience and freedom from sin to His people.

Continue to think about our five book club questions:
1. What's something you noticed for the first time?
2. What questions did you have?
3. Was there anything that bothered you?
4. What did you learn about loving God?
5. What did you learn about loving others?

Week Two: Luke-Acts, 1-2 Thessalonians

Did you keep up with the Week One reading?  How was your experience different than reading a traditional Bible?  Did you feel drawn in to a captivating story?  Did Jesus become more tangible, more personal?  Our journey continues in Week Two through Luke’s second volume, which picks up right where the first volume ended.  It ends with two of Paul’s earliest letters, those to the church in Thessalonica.

While Luke described the life and ministry of Jesus, Acts details the ministry He commissioned to His disciples.  Just before Jesus returned to heaven, He told them to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  This statement sets the trajectory of the rest of the book, with the “ends of the earth” indicating Europe, specifically Rome.

While you read this week, do you see the model of ministry that Jesus laid out?  As the apostles travelled, they went first to the synagogues, then out into the public square.  They were hosted by people from all walks of life, and they continued Christ’s example of healing the weak and the afflicted.  They followed His instructions so well that they began to be identified as Christians.  This model of bringing the message first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles is intensified in Luke’s focal character transition from Peter to Paul. 

The apostles moved out from Jerusalem, marking the six panels of Acts, each one ending with a statement that the church grew in believers.  This growth was often explosive, and you might be curious how so many people could be reached in relatively short time.  In many examples, when Luke tells us that an entire household came to know the Lord, he uses the Greek word “oikos,” which is really a person’s entire sphere of influence, including family, servants, friends, and even colleagues.  Our modern minds may picture the 4 person nuclear family of the jailer getting saved, but in reality, it might have been 20-50 people!

The ministry of Jesus is not the only model given to His Christian witnesses.  Anyone who followed Christ was warned that he too, must suffer.  Much of the progress made by the apostles was due to hardship and persecution driving them from one area to the next.  They were never very comfortable.  It is this message that Paul also shared with the Thessalonians, who were experiencing a great deal of persecution.  While Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica is full of instruction and encouragement, an excellent guide for any church, his second letter was sent to dispel rumors that Christ had already returned.  They worried that their suffering was in vain, if Christ had already returned and nothing changed.  New and seasoned Christians alike must be reminded often that our Savior has not asked us to undergo any suffering that He has not already endured.

In our weekly discussions, we’ll continue to ask the same questions:

1. What’s something you noticed for the first time?

2. What questions did you have?

3. Was there anything that bothered you?

4. What did you learn about loving God?

5. What did you learn about loving others?

Week One: Luke-Acts

Welcome to the Community Bible Experience! We are excited to embark on this 40 day journey as a family of families.  Get ready to read the Bible in a new way, the way you probably read books for pleasure.  Imagine that – reading the Bible as though it is a novel.  How do you think you might experience the Bible differently as a story than you do with your traditional Bible in its current structure?  When all the distractions of chapter and verse numbers disappear, reference marks no longer send you off to another book, and you read an entire line across an entire page, you can finally completely immerse yourself in the story of Jesus!  This is our goal.  We pray that the Penn Valley Church body will spend the next 8 weeks getting to know Jesus, the ultimate Protagonist of the Greatest story.  Let’s get started!

In Week One, we will read in Luke and Acts.  These books are two volumes of one work, which Luke wrote to Theophilus.  Luke’s goal was to present a truthful account of the life and ministry of Jesus and the ministry He commissioned.

Luke’s focus was the daily interactions between Jesus and the people.  As Jesus traveled, He went into the Synagogues to teach the Jews, taught the Gentiles who followed Him in houses and out in public, drove out demons and illness from many who approached Him, and dined with anyone who invited Him.  Luke wanted his reader to know that Jesus came to be the Savior of everyone: Jew and Gentile, healthy and sick, wealthy and poor, high society and outcast, stable and possessed.  Luke highlighted Christ’s compassion and power as perfectly integrated, issuing forgiveness and healing to anyone who had faith. 


In our weekly discussions, we’ll review the reading with book club style questions:

1. What's something you noticed for the first time?
2. What questions did you have?
3. Was there anything that bothered you?
4. What did you learn about loving God?
5. What did you learn about loving others?

Join us for an unforgettable journey through the New Testament. 

We will read the Bible in community for 8 weeks. 

Our Community Bible Experience begins

Sunday, October 5th

Each week we will challenge you with the question 

"What did you learn about Jesus" 

through the passages of scripture that are read. 

Weekly posts will help you follow along with the schedule, 

as well as provide thought provoking questions and comments related to the readings. 

We look forward to experiencing the Bible with you.