Bible Blurb for June 2022: Epistle to the Galatians
The Epistle to the Galatians is a letter that Paul wrote between 48AD and 55AD. Our three upcoming readings from Galatians focus on the defense and life of the Gospel. Chapter 3 (June 19th) focuses on being free from the law in Christ. We hear the famous words, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."
Chapter 5 (June 26th) reminds us that the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (verses 22-23). It's hard to live together in community, and Paul is reminding us here that we are to serve one another in love.
On July 3rd we get our last reading from Galatians in this series. Chapter 6 continues the discussion about what it means to be a Christian and being free from the old rules. Since people of both Jewish and Gentile background were joining the church, they had different expectations and Paul addresses those in this important letter.
Bible Blurb for May 2022: The Gospel of John
For April, we're looking at the Gospel of John. In our three year lectionary, John does not get its own year like Matthew, Mark, and Luke do. Instead, John is sprinkled throughout all three years of readings. John appears 70 times in our three year lectionary cycle and is found mostly during Lent and Easter. Some of the passages appear in EACH of the three years. In Year C of our Lectionary, we encounter John mostly in the Easter season. We will hear Jesus' final words to his disciples in our April and May gospel readings.
John is very different from the three synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Synoptic means "seeing together" and Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called synoptic gospels because they include many of the same stories, in the same sequence, sometimes with the same wording. John is radically different and does not include most of the material in the synoptic gospels. John was the latest gospel to be written (around 100 CE) and is much more artistic in its way of presenting Jesus. Rev. William Loader says, "Comparing the first three gospels with the fourth is like comparing a photograph with a work of modern art."
John depicts Jesus as giving a number of speeches that reflect themes in the other gospels such as "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35) which reflects the feeding of the 5,000 in the other gospels. This statement is similar to six other statements in John which we call the "I Am" statements. In John, Jesus says,
When we read John's Gospel in April and May, see if you can pick out how it's different from the other Gospels.
Bible Blurb for April 2022: Acts of the Apostles
The writer of the Gospel of Luke wrote a sequel to his Gospel called Acts of the Apostles which records the life of the early church and its growth. The Gospel of Luke ends with the Ascension of Jesus and Acts picks up with the disciples waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the 50 day Easter season, readings from Acts supplant the Old Testament readings in worship and in Acts, we learn about how the church developed from a small group to something much larger. In Acts, we witness the church start in Jerusalem and then move to Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the earth.
We can generally split Acts into two parts with the first part focused on Peter and the second part focused on Paul. Both are instrumental to the development and spread of the church. We see both preach, heal, teach, raise people from the dead, and escape miraculously from prison.
The Epistle to the Galatians is a letter that Paul wrote between 48AD and 55AD. Our three upcoming readings from Galatians focus on the defense and life of the Gospel. Chapter 3 (June 19th) focuses on being free from the law in Christ. We hear the famous words, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."
Chapter 5 (June 26th) reminds us that the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (verses 22-23). It's hard to live together in community, and Paul is reminding us here that we are to serve one another in love.
On July 3rd we get our last reading from Galatians in this series. Chapter 6 continues the discussion about what it means to be a Christian and being free from the old rules. Since people of both Jewish and Gentile background were joining the church, they had different expectations and Paul addresses those in this important letter.
Bible Blurb for May 2022: The Gospel of John
For April, we're looking at the Gospel of John. In our three year lectionary, John does not get its own year like Matthew, Mark, and Luke do. Instead, John is sprinkled throughout all three years of readings. John appears 70 times in our three year lectionary cycle and is found mostly during Lent and Easter. Some of the passages appear in EACH of the three years. In Year C of our Lectionary, we encounter John mostly in the Easter season. We will hear Jesus' final words to his disciples in our April and May gospel readings.
John is very different from the three synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Synoptic means "seeing together" and Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called synoptic gospels because they include many of the same stories, in the same sequence, sometimes with the same wording. John is radically different and does not include most of the material in the synoptic gospels. John was the latest gospel to be written (around 100 CE) and is much more artistic in its way of presenting Jesus. Rev. William Loader says, "Comparing the first three gospels with the fourth is like comparing a photograph with a work of modern art."
John depicts Jesus as giving a number of speeches that reflect themes in the other gospels such as "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35) which reflects the feeding of the 5,000 in the other gospels. This statement is similar to six other statements in John which we call the "I Am" statements. In John, Jesus says,
- “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35, 41, 48, and 51)
- “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12)
- “I am the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7-9)
- “I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11, 14)
- “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25)
- “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)
- “I am the true vine.” (John 15:1-5)
When we read John's Gospel in April and May, see if you can pick out how it's different from the other Gospels.
Bible Blurb for April 2022: Acts of the Apostles
The writer of the Gospel of Luke wrote a sequel to his Gospel called Acts of the Apostles which records the life of the early church and its growth. The Gospel of Luke ends with the Ascension of Jesus and Acts picks up with the disciples waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the 50 day Easter season, readings from Acts supplant the Old Testament readings in worship and in Acts, we learn about how the church developed from a small group to something much larger. In Acts, we witness the church start in Jerusalem and then move to Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the earth.
We can generally split Acts into two parts with the first part focused on Peter and the second part focused on Paul. Both are instrumental to the development and spread of the church. We see both preach, heal, teach, raise people from the dead, and escape miraculously from prison.
