Encounter the Bible

February 23, 2021 Welcome to Week 5!  This week we will be in 1 and 2 Corinthians (we'll finish 2 Corinthians next week).  The church in Corinth had been in communication with Paul and had lots of questions (and some problems).  Paul's letters to the church in Corinth are filled with all kinds of pastoral wisdom for a church trying to find its way.  1 Corinthians ends with the wonderful message of resurrection (chapter 15).  In some ways, things haven't changed much.  Many of the same issues facing the church in Corinth are still facing the church today.  Despite the challenges we face, we join with Paul in saying, "Thanks be to God who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Just a word of encouragement:  Keep at it!  Even if you're falling a little behind, that's OK.  Keep reading.  I'm praying that all of us receive a rich blessing from being in God's Word together. As you read, keep in mind our reading questions.  ...

  February 16, 2021 Welcome to Week 4!  This week we will finish the book of Acts and then read the two letters Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica.  As I mentioned earlier, we are not reading Paul's letters in the order that they appear in our Bibles.  You may remember that the order in the Bible goes from the longest to the shortest (while also keeping letters to the same recipients next to each other).  We will be reading them in the order that scholars think they were written in.  It's largely accepted that 1 Thessalonians was Paul's first letter. Just a word of encouragement:  Keep at it!  Even if you're falling a little behind, that's OK.  Keep reading.  I'm praying that all of us receive a rich blessing from being in God's Word together. As you read, keep in mind our reading questions.  Use these as general questions to keep in mind as we read to help formulate your reflections, observations, and questions. Our guiding q...

  February 9, 2021 Welcome to Week 3 of Encounter! This week we begin Luke's sequel to his gospel, the book we know as Acts.  Its longer, more official title is Acts of the Apostles.  I've often wondered if it should be called Acts of the Holy Spirit, since in a lot of ways, the Holy Spirit is the main character, working through people like Peter, John, Stephen, Paul, Barnabas, John Mark, Luke, and so many others.  This week, we'll cover the first 15 chapters and begin chapter 16.  Next week we'll finish Acts and move into the letters of Paul. As you read, keep in mind our reading questions.  We will use these every week as general questions to keep in mind as we read and that will help to formulate our reflections, observations, and questions. Our guiding questions are these: What stood out to you in the reading? Was there anything confusing or troubling? Did anything make you think differently about God? How might what you read change the way you live? Pl...