Invitation To Romans Participant Book

Participant Guide: guides daily study and preparation for discussion in the weekly group meeting. The expectation for daily study will be no more than thirty minutes.

Make a deeper connection to the world of the Psalms so that these well known scriptures can help you give voice to all aspects of our human experience–joy, faith, uncertainty and sorrow. During two weekly video segments, experience a varied presentation of individual Psalm texts, including dramatic reading, music, dance, and images. Listen to insights into specific Psalms presented by one of two biblical scholars through an informal, roundtable conversation format Ideal experience for adults who are interested in the practice of prayer and worship and would like to connect prayer practice with Scripture. The study is accessible for adults with little prior Bible experience. Participants for this Invitation to Psalms do not have to have an in-depth knowledge of the Bible to enjoy and benefit from participation. Reading just two chapters of Psalms a week, they will discover the life altering stories that will invite them to follow Christ as true disciples. This ten-week study includes a participant book outlining daily reading assignments for group preparations, a leader guide suggesting discussion activities for use in the 60–90-minute weekly meeting, and a video component providing interpretation and context for the biblical texts. Michael Jinkins is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He serves as Dean of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where he is also Professor of Pastoral Theology. Michael is the author of eleven books, including In the House of the Lord: Inhabiting the Psalms of Lament, Invitation to Theology, and Letters to New Pastors. Sessions: Word of God, Words of Prayer The Prayer Book of God’s People Praying the Psalms The Language of the Heart A Geography of the Imagination A Theology of the Imagination Lament and Praise Grace and Repentance Love and Wrath Hallelujah and Amen

Explore the Old Testament's story of God and God's calling of the people of Israel through the many "voices" of the biblical text. Hear the magnificence of a Creation hymn, discover the law and wisdom teachings, listen to the warning of the prophets and explore the poetry of the Song of Solomon. In the two weekly video segments, first gain insight from biblical scholars and then take a visual tour of archaeological sites, ancient artifacts, and other physical remains, related to and illuminating scripture and events. Ideal experience for adults who are interested in the practice of prayer and worship and would like to connect prayer practice with Scripture. The study is accessible for adults with little prior Bible experience. Participants gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Old Testament as an integral part of the Christian Bible and a renewed discovery of our identity in God and God's vision for all things. This eight-week study includes a participant book outlining daily reading assignments for group preparations, a leader guide suggesting discussion activities for use in the 60–90-minute weekly meeting, and a video component providing interpretation and context for the biblical texts. Sessions: The Making of the Hebrew Bible The Creation Story of Israel Out of Bondage Promise and Problem in the Land Israel Has a King Division and the Rise of Prophecy Exile and Response Restoration and Renewal

The Leader Guide provides process guidance for weekly group sessions. The Leader Guide understands the role of leader as facilitator of small-group sessions. Procedures for guiding sessions include: directions for using related video segments, and questions for discussion. Exploring how people have interpreted Romans through the ages is a good lens to view the history of Christianity itself. Compare what Paul writes in Romans to what theologians like Augustine, Luther and Calvin say in trying to understand Paul in their time. At the end of this study your group will have a more informed commitment to Paul's radical vision of God's relationship to both Christians and Jews and to their relationship to each other, thanks to the "love of God in Christ Jesus." The weekly video segments first present text read aloud against a backdrop of a wide variety of church settings followed by a conversation between a church historian and a church theologian about the text. The second weekly video is led by story teller, Michael Williams, who shares snapshot views of how Romans has been read through history. Ideal experience for adults who are interested in the practice of prayer and worship and would like to connect prayer practice with Scripture. The study is accessible for adults with little prior Bible experience. Participants for this Invitation to Romans do not have to have an in-depth knowledge of the Bible to enjoy and benefit from participation. Reading just two chapters of Romans a week, they will discover the life altering stories that will invite them to follow Christ as true disciples. This eight-week study includes a participant book outlining daily reading assignments for group preparations, a leader guide suggesting discussion activities for use in the 60-90-minute weekly meeting, and a video component providing interpretation and context for the biblical texts. Sessions: An Orientation to Romans The Righteousness of God and the Faith of Jesus Abraham, Father of All Christ, the New Adam Sin, Law, and Grace Divine Purpose and Human Responsibility The Salvation of Israel and the Nations Love and Humility Are the Making of God's Kingdom

The Leader Guide provides process guidance for weekly group sessions. The Leader Guide understands the role of leader as facilitator of small-group sessions. Procedures for guiding sessions include: directions for using related video segments, and questions for discussion. Exploring how people have interpreted Romans through the ages is a good lens to view the history of Christianity itself. Compare what Paul writes in Romans to what theologians like Augustine, Luther and Calvin say in trying to understand Paul in their time. At the end of this study your group will have a more informed commitment to Paul's radical vision of God's relationship to both Christians and Jews and to their relationship to each other, thanks to the "love of God in Christ Jesus." The weekly video segments first present text read aloud against a backdrop of a wide variety of church settings followed by a conversation between a church historian and a church theologian about the text. The second weekly video is led by story teller, Michael Williams, who shares snapshot views of how Romans has been read through history. Ideal experience for adults who are interested in the practice of prayer and worship and would like to connect prayer practice with Scripture. The study is accessible for adults with little prior Bible experience. Participants for this Invitation to Romans do not have to have an in-depth knowledge of the Bible to enjoy and benefit from participation. Reading just two chapters of Romans a week, they will discover the life altering stories that will invite them to follow Christ as true disciples. This eight-week study includes a participant book outlining daily reading assignments for group preparations, a leader guide suggesting discussion activities for use in the 60–90-minute weekly meeting, and a video component providing interpretation and context for the biblical texts. Sessions: An Orientation to Romans The Righteousness of God and the Faith of Jesus Abraham, Father of All Christ, the New Adam Sin, Law, and Grace Divine Purpose and Human Responsibility The Salvation of Israel and the Nations Love and Humility Are the Making of God's Kingdom

Who was the real founder of Christianity as it is known today--Jesus or Paul? What, if any, was the connection between them? These and other questions about the two historical figures have occupied biblical scholars and the Christian church for many years up to the present time. This book proposes new ways of framing the questions as well as new approaches to answering them. Neither Jesus nor Paul spoke of a new world religion, separate from Judaism, that would envelop the planet and last for millennia. This study seeks to locate both figures in their respective places in the first century, in Jewish contexts and within the larger Greco-Roman society. The aim is to transcend the language and thought patterns of later generations of theologians in order to hear more clearly the prophetic voices of Jesus and Paul on their terms and in their social locations. By so doing, Shillington lays the groundwork for a more authentic translation of their vision and mission into modern alternatives, including better Jewish-Christian relations.

The Gospels And Christian Life reads the four canonical Gospels as handbooks for religious formation through communal practices. The book focuses on the communities that produced each gospel, the dynamic energy each gospel displays for creating and sustaining community life, the different interpretations of the person of Jesus, and the different systems of organization and leadership each gospel promulgated. The authors carefully describe the social context of each Gospel and delineate the practices the texts prescribe. Each gospel has an imaginative portal, an introductory chapter introducing the necessary background for understanding the social, intellectual, and religious setting for each gospel. Their reading of each Gospel builds on these foundations to illustrate the nature and scope of the community's practices. Their work starts from the assumption that the communities did not look to the Gospels for biographical data on the life of Jesus to offer the reader a powerful reading of each Gospel community, its unique practices, and the way people were trained to become members of it. This book is aimed at undergraduate and graduate teachers and students, pastors, and the general audience eager for new ways to understand the New Testament.

Addressing central problems in the development of Roman imperialism in the 3rd and 2nd century BC, topics in this volume include the author Polybius, the characteristics of Roman power and imperial ambition, and the mechanisms used by Rome in creating and sustaining an empire in the East.