Bible Blurb for September 2022: 1 Timothy
For three weeks in September, we read parts of 1 Timothy. Paul spent many years traveling and starting new churches and met Timothy while visiting Timothy's hometown of Lystra. Paul mentored Timothy and then eventually started sending him on missions to various churches. There was a group of people teaching incorrect things about Jesus and Christian practices in the church at Ephesus (modern day Turkey) and it was causing dissension in the church community there. So Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus to sort out the problem.
After Timothy arrived, Paul sent him this letter (1 Timothy) to help him. The letter is filled with advice and instructions. Paul starts, in Chapter 1 (Sept 11), by reminding Timothy the history of Paul choosing him as a helper and then, in Chapter 2 (Sept 18), offers Timothy some practical advice: hold church prayer gatherings and pray for political leaders and for peace. In Chapter 6 (Sept 25), we get two famous sayings of Paul: "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil," and "fight the good fight of the faith."
Bible Blurb for August 2022: Letter to the Hebrews
The Letter to the Hebrews or just "Hebrews" isn't really a letter and probably wasn't written by Paul. However, it is an inspiring book meant to encourage Christians in a time of persecution and Christians have found it useful for almost 2000 years.
Hebrews is written in very eloquent Greek and you'll notice that it's a challenge to read out loud even in English. Prayers for our lectors this month!
In August, we will read from chapters 11, 12, and 13 in Hebrews in worship. Chapter 11 is often called the faith chapter and begins with, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Faith in action is the focus of chapter 11.
Jesus is called "the author and finisher of our faith" (12:2) in chapter 12 and the life of a Christian is likened to a race that requires endurance and discipline in the face of hardship.
Chapter 13 gives us some specific examples of the Christian life such as maintaining love for one another, showing hospitality to strangers, and remembering those in prison and who are being mistreated.
Bible Blurb for July 2022: Epistle to the Colossians
For four Sundays in a row in July, we're going to be reading from the book of Colossians. This letter to the people of Colossae in modern-day Türkiye (yes, Turkey changed its English name this month to Türkiye) is written in the name of Paul. However, we now know that it was written slightly after Paul's lifetime and so we call this kind of letter "Deutero-Pauline." Nonetheless, the early church found its content helpful enough to include it in the Bible as scripture.
The author of Colossians writes the letter responding to new beliefs and practices that have developed in the early church. The main focus of the letter is a new Christology or theological interpretation about the person, role, and nature of Christ. In this book, we get the image of Christ as the head of the church and members as the body (Col 1:18).
Two scriptures from this book that we often hear (and will read this month) are:
1. Col 1:15-20 - The Christological hymn - Here we get images of Christ as the head of the church and recognizable phrases such as "things visible and invisible" (v.16) and "firstborn of the dead" (v.18); and
2. Col 3: 11 - "In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!"
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.
For three weeks in September, we read parts of 1 Timothy. Paul spent many years traveling and starting new churches and met Timothy while visiting Timothy's hometown of Lystra. Paul mentored Timothy and then eventually started sending him on missions to various churches. There was a group of people teaching incorrect things about Jesus and Christian practices in the church at Ephesus (modern day Turkey) and it was causing dissension in the church community there. So Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus to sort out the problem.
After Timothy arrived, Paul sent him this letter (1 Timothy) to help him. The letter is filled with advice and instructions. Paul starts, in Chapter 1 (Sept 11), by reminding Timothy the history of Paul choosing him as a helper and then, in Chapter 2 (Sept 18), offers Timothy some practical advice: hold church prayer gatherings and pray for political leaders and for peace. In Chapter 6 (Sept 25), we get two famous sayings of Paul: "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil," and "fight the good fight of the faith."
Bible Blurb for August 2022: Letter to the Hebrews
The Letter to the Hebrews or just "Hebrews" isn't really a letter and probably wasn't written by Paul. However, it is an inspiring book meant to encourage Christians in a time of persecution and Christians have found it useful for almost 2000 years.
Hebrews is written in very eloquent Greek and you'll notice that it's a challenge to read out loud even in English. Prayers for our lectors this month!
In August, we will read from chapters 11, 12, and 13 in Hebrews in worship. Chapter 11 is often called the faith chapter and begins with, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Faith in action is the focus of chapter 11.
Jesus is called "the author and finisher of our faith" (12:2) in chapter 12 and the life of a Christian is likened to a race that requires endurance and discipline in the face of hardship.
Chapter 13 gives us some specific examples of the Christian life such as maintaining love for one another, showing hospitality to strangers, and remembering those in prison and who are being mistreated.
Bible Blurb for July 2022: Epistle to the Colossians
For four Sundays in a row in July, we're going to be reading from the book of Colossians. This letter to the people of Colossae in modern-day Türkiye (yes, Turkey changed its English name this month to Türkiye) is written in the name of Paul. However, we now know that it was written slightly after Paul's lifetime and so we call this kind of letter "Deutero-Pauline." Nonetheless, the early church found its content helpful enough to include it in the Bible as scripture.
The author of Colossians writes the letter responding to new beliefs and practices that have developed in the early church. The main focus of the letter is a new Christology or theological interpretation about the person, role, and nature of Christ. In this book, we get the image of Christ as the head of the church and members as the body (Col 1:18).
Two scriptures from this book that we often hear (and will read this month) are:
1. Col 1:15-20 - The Christological hymn - Here we get images of Christ as the head of the church and recognizable phrases such as "things visible and invisible" (v.16) and "firstborn of the dead" (v.18); and
2. Col 3: 11 - "In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!"
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,
- “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.
