Adult Forum
The Adult Forum meets at 9:45 a.m. in the Tom Dixon Room. Anyone is welcome. Nursery care is provided.
January 6th --- Jennifer Kintner will speak on the History of Yoga
January 13th--- John Thomas Whitehead (Professor of Criminology at ETSU) will speak on the Ethics of the Death Penalty.
January 20th---Susan Crow (Director of the Appalachian Service Project) will speak on sub-standard housing in our area.
January 27th--- Bill Stone (Professor of Pediatric Research at ETSU) will speak on Western Buddhism.
Thursdays with Jesus
Thursdays With Jesus is a book study group that meets Thursday mornings from 10:30 until noon in Martin Hall. Anyone is welcome at anytime!
Beginning Thursday, January 10th, our book study, Thursdays With Jesus, will read Brian McClaren's book A Generous Orthodoxy.
Check out an interview with Brian McClaren at Grace Cathedral
McClaren is a proponent of the Emerging Church Movement. He describes himself as “missional + evangelical + post/protestant + liberal/conservative + mystical/poetic +biblical + charismatic/contemplative +fundamentalist/Calvinist +Anabaptist/Anglican + Methodist + catholic +green +incarnational +depressed/yet hopeful + emergent + unfinished Christian. He is a good writer and will make you think and be open to new viewpoints.
Bible Lunch Time
We are reading the Bible Cover to Cover in 2008. Every second and fourth Tuesday from noon to one, John reviews the readings for that month. He will offer plenty of background information and go over the quizzes. Bring a bag lunch and join us!
The Bible Cover to Cover in 2008
We have begun our quest to read the Bible cover to cover in 2008. Here is how it works. Each month we read an assigned amount. There is a quiz in the White Spire and on the web page. The quiz contains multiple choice questions, short answer, and some longer questions designed to help you with your reflection. Turn in the quiz at the end of each month and win a prize! The point of the quiz is to provide a fun incentive to keep reading. It is very easy to get bogged down and soon lose interest in reading the Bible. The point is to become familiar with as much of the text as possible, not to doggedly read every word and feel bad when you don’t. Read enough to answer the quizzes. Skip the boring parts. You have Rev. John's permission and blessing to do so.
In addition to your own reading, John will be preaching on key texts and themes from the assigned readings in worship.
John will also facilitate a Bible Lunch Time every second and fourth Tuesday from noon to one in the Martin Hall. Bring a bag lunch and we will go over the readings for that month.
Finally, on the church’s website, you will find numerous resources to aid you in your reading. Each month I will offer a more in-depth guide to the readings for that month, plus introduce you to other resources on-line and in print to provide background.
The approach to the Bible will be historical/metaphorical/symbolic. This means that we will look at the historical context in which the texts were written to seek to understand the type of literature produced. We will also explore this literature through the lens of depth psychology. We will look at how issues of power, politics, gender, race, class, play into reading the texts. Always before us will be the question of authority. Who says ‘God says’?
There are plenty of Bibles left! If you would like your very own NRSV Bible with Apocrypha let me know. You can donate $10 to our Bible Fund to receive one. Our congregation is reading the Bible Cover to Cover in 2008! Each month we will read an assigned portion. Do the quizzes and win prizes! Also, families are encouraged to read The Family Story Bible with their children. Click the following links to learn more!
The Family Story Bible
Family Story Bible Quizzes and Workbook
Bible Lunch Time
The Bible Cover to Cover: Schedule, Synopsis of Readings and Quizzes
The Family Story Bible
We are doing a fun thing at church this year. Beginning January 1, 2008, we are going to read the Family Story Bible cover to cover! Each month you will read some stories, answer some questions, turn in your answers to Pastor John and win a prize in worship each month! At the end of the year, everyone who finishes and answers all the quizzes will win a really big prize!
Reading the stories with your parents or grandparents and answering the questions with them may even be more fun than the prizes! You never know! Each month, when you finish with the questions, bring them to church on the last Sunday of the month. Pastor John will read them and give return them to you in church with your prize on the first Sunday of the month.
There are about ten questions for each month. You can write the answers or you can tell your parents what to write and they will write them for you!
Enjoy these great stories! Reading the Bible is fun!
We have copies of the Family Story Bible free to children of members and friends of our congregation from nursery age through grade five. See Pastor John about getting one! You can download and print the workbook and quizzes here.
Family Story Bible
Author: Ralph Milton
This family story Bible features more than 120 stories, mostly illustrated in color. Hard cover, 288 pages.
Offering a comprehensive selection of stories from both the Old and New Testaments, this warm and engaging book brings scripture to the whole family. It features stories of both men and women of the Bible, as well as biblical stories often ignored in children's Bibles, such as the prophets, wisdom literature, and the letters of the early church. Full of humor and beautiful illustrations, The Family Story Bible is an inspiring treasure for all people of Christian faith.
Date Published: 1/1/97
Bible Lunch Time
We are reading the Bible Cover to Cover in 2008. Every second and fourth Tuesday from noon to one, John reviews the readings for that month. He will offer plenty of background information and go over the quizzes. Bring a bag lunch and join us!
The Bible Cover to Cover Schedule:
January: The Instruction or the Pentateuch (Torah)
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
January Synopsis of Readings
The Law or Torah
January Quiz
February: The Former Prophets or Deuteronomic Literature (Nevi’im)
Joshua
Judges
I & II Samuel
I & II Kings
February Synopsis of Readings
February Quiz
March: Latter Prophets: Major Prophets (Nevi’im Part II)
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
March Synopsis of Readings
April: Latter Prophets: Twelve Minor Prophets (Nevi’im Part III)
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
April Synopsis of Readings
May: The Writings: Poetic Literature Ketuvim
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
May Synopsis of Readings
June: The Writings: The Five Scrolls and Post-Exilic Writings (Ketuvim Part II)
Song of Solomon
Ruth
Lamentations
Ecclesiastes
Esther
Daniel
Ezra
Nehemiah
I & II Chronicles
June Synopsis of Readings
July: Apocryphal or Deuterocanonical Literature: Part One
Tobit
Judith
Esther (Greek)
The Wisdom of Solomon
Sirach
Baruch
The Letter of Jeremiah
Azsariah and the Three Jews
Susanna
August: Apocryphal or Deuterocanonical Literature: Part Two
Bel and the Dragon
I & II Maccabees
I Esdras
The Prayer of Manasseh
Psalm 151
III Maccabees
II Esdras
IV Maccabees
September: Paul’s Seven Authentic Letters (50-60 CE)
1 Thessalonians
1 Corinthians (Letter L)
Galatians
Philippians
Philemon
2 Corinthians 10 – 13 (Letter H)
2 Corinthians 1 – 9 (Letter R)
Romans
October: Early Memories of Jesus and the First Gospels
Q 40-80
Thomas 50-140
James 70-100
Didache 50-120
Mark 65-80
Matthew 80-100
November: Pseudo-Paul and the Johannine Tradition
Hebrews 50-95
Colossians 50-80
II Thessalonians 80-100
Ephesians 80-100
Revelation 90-95
John 90-120
I, II, & III John 90-120
December: Luke-Acts and second-generation Christians
Luke 80-130
Acts 80-130
Jude 90-120
I Peter 80-110
II Peter 100-160
I & II Timothy 100-150
Titus 100-150
Worship Schedule
January 6th: The Call of Abraham.
January 13th: The Exodus
January 20th: Wilderness Wandering
January 27th: I Have Seen the Promised Land
Bible Lunch Time (Tuesdays noon to one p.m.)
January 8th Torah (Part 1)
January 22nd Torah (Part 2)
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