Review of Previous Sessions

 Week One Review

Our opening meeting focused on sort of ground rules that the study will go by.  These are the basic assumptions that place us all in the same frame of mind as we approach God's Word and the Gospel accounts specifically.

This is God's Word we are looking at.  God is communicating to us through an amazing way in many authors over thousands of years.  As we contemplate scripture we want to ensure the plain meaning is the meaning.  We begin with trying to see the author's original intent and then move toward the application to our lives after.  In the middle, is the crucial idea that the entirety of God's Word to us is about Jesus.  From Genesis 1 to Revelation 21... Jesus is the reason for every season.  God's plan was Jesus and that illuminates many seemingly irrelevant passages that we often simply scan through.

We also discussed how we came to know the current make up of the Bible and the process of translating it into other languages.  The discussion on this can be viewed in the saved live stream of the time:

You Tube Live of Thursday Light and Life July 8th, 2021.

 Finally, we went over the format for studying the Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).  We are going through the passages in chronological order.  The goal is to encourage us to have time with God and then come together to have time with others to discuss the awesome truth that scripture holds.  

Week Two Review

In Week 2, we began our look at the Gospel Introductions with a focus on grace and truth.  The truth is we cannot save ourselves and only the grace of God brings us to Him through Christ.  All of Scripture points to this and it is the lens we are to see God's Word through.  Genealogies of Jesus can even be seen through this lens as we see the grace of God in the lineage of Jesus.  It included men whose actions were not righteous such as Abraham, David, and Judah.  It included women with both unclean and sketchy backgrounds.  Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheeba were all mentioned and they would have been rejected by the Jews by some of their heritage, the fact they were women, and the behaviors in their lives.  For us, if God can use these people in grace, he can use us.  

Here is a link to the 2nd session live stream:

You Tube Live of Thursday Light and Life July 22nd, 2021

Week Three Review

For Week 3, the focus was on the beginning of the Gospel of John.  John presented Jesus as the Son of God and it was central to combating heretical and false views of Jesus at the end of the first century.  There are many parallels to our day as people attack the identity of Jesus from all sides in our society today.  John does not mix words in proclaiming that the Word (Jesus) pre-existed the world, created it, sustains it, and will be far beyond its completion.  This is one of the basis for the concept of the Trinity and if foundational to our faith and our calling to a relationship with God.  Here is the link to the 3rd session:

You Tube Live of Thursday Light and Life August 5th, 2021

Week Four Review

Week 4 began our discussions of John the Baptist.  He was introduced in his birth and then we next see him ministering and teaching on the banks of the Jordan river.  He brought a baptism by water for repentance that was not a part of the typical Jewish religious life.  It was in this that Jesus came to him and was baptized by John.  We see the trinity in full form here as the Father speaks of the Son and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove lands upon Jesus.  This became John the Baptist new testimony as we will see in later weeks.

You Tube Live of Thursday Light and Life August 19th, 2021

Week Five Review

In Week 5, we moved to the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.  Right after his baptism, Christ was led into the wilderness of Judea by the Spirit.  He fasted for 40 days and we discussed that there was likely many more efforts by Satan than just the three temptations that were presented in the text.  This also led to a discussion on the reality that Satan is real and is out to thwart the will of the Father.  All of Christ's responses were from Scripture and specifically from Deuteronomy.  

You Tube Live of Thursday Light and Life September 2nd, 2021

Week Six Review

Week 6 was interesting in that the intent was to move through the calling of the disciples in John to the Wedding at Cana and then complete Chapter 2.  The Spirit is wonderful and slowed us down to see powerful truths in a passage that is often glossed over in the calling of Andrew, Peter, Phillip, and Nathaniel.  We discovered that there were several callings that led to following Jesus and this was simply one interaction.  The calling was on imperfect and unworthy men to do an extra ordinary work later.  We looked at how our modern minds often just read through and assume story lines instead of stopping and thinking through the challenges of 1st century life.  We also saw more in Jesus with Nathaniel as the reference was to Jacob and follows with Jacob's Ladder.  It was amazing.

You Tube Live of Thursday Light and Life September 16th, 2021

Week Seven Review

Week 7 focused just on the wedding at Cana where Jesus turned water into wine.  Some interesting things were discussed including why the wedding was on the 3rd day (day of double blessing), how Jesus relationship with his mother was changing, and significance of the empty water pots.  The last half of the session was a question and answer session for previous material.

There was a technical problem with the Live Stream so it was not broadcast.

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All are welcome to join us every other Thursday at The Ridge PV at 6:30 PM to explore spending time with God and time with others as we look to love God and love others.  Child care will be provided if necessary but I would ask that you contact us to ensure some one is available as we have not had a need for it yet.  

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