Bible Study

The History of the Kingdom of Israel
A barren woman’s miraculous pregnancy. God passed over for a human king. The wicked sons of a righteous prophet. A king’s crimes of murder and adultery. A son’s coup against his father’s throne. A prophet’s persecution. The Word of God lost and found again. These are just a handful of what you will encounter in this provocative Bible study covering the history of the kingdom of Israel. We began with 1 and 2 Samuel, now we will pick up with 1 Kings, as we continue the turbulent history of God’s people and their Lord’s unwavering faithfulness.

Sundays at 9:00 A.M.
Church fellowship hall

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Small Group Bible Study: The Books of the Church
God has blessed us with His inspired Word in the canon of Holy Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, God has given us everything we need to establish the doctrine of His Church. Nevertheless, there are ecclesiastical texts that, while not inspired by the Holy Spirit, are still helpful in recording the history of God’s people and clarifying biblical contexts. Even Martin Luther retained many of these texts in his German translation of the Bible. Lutherans since have also included them in their daily lectionary. And the Jews in Jesus’ day made frequent use of them in their Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament).

This might explain why the Bible itself makes references to them. For example, when Jesus calls Himself “the Light of the world” (John 8:12), it’s in the context of Hanukkah which originated in 1 Maccabees. And the author of Hebrews refers to Tobit when he says, “some have entertained angels unawares” (13:2), and 2 Maccabees when Hebrews says, “women received back their dead, raised to life again” (11:35). Because these texts have been judged as worthwhile reading in the Church, yet not to detract from God’s inspired Word in Sunday Adult Bible Class, we would like to begin a supplemental Small Group Bible Study.

Concordia Publishing House (LCMS) has compiled The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes. It is available for purchase at $44.99 through its website (cph.org). This is a nice companion volume to your Lutheran Study Bible. However, a bare bones version of the texts is also available at no cost online via apocrypha.org.

Dates:
January 26 at 3:30 P.M.: Judith; Wisdom of Solomon; Tobit
February 23 at 3:30 P.M.: Ecclesiasticus (Sirach); Baruch; The Letter of Jeremiah
March 23 at 3:30 P.M.: 1 & 2 Maccabees

Location: Pastor Miller’s home (see church directory for address)