Bible Study via Zoom
This fall New Testament professor Tommy Givens, a compelling teacher and skilled discussion leader, will lead two 5 weeks series for the Monday Night Zoom study. In the first series. beginning Monday 9/14, and titled "Matthew's Story of Jesus," Dr Givens will guide participants through the entire gospel, focusing on the powerful presentation of Jesus. In the second series, beginning 10/26 and titled "Christianity in Crisis," chapters from Dr Given's soon to be published book "Christianity is Dying One Bible Verse at a Time” will be read and discussed. Students with robust, limited, or no Bible study experience are welcome.
Matthew's Story of Jesus
The Gospel according to Matthew is at once powerful testimony and literary craft, which combine to deliver a moving presentation of Jesus for communities of his disciples. Christians often miss this presentation by reading Matthew only in fragments or hearing a few verses at the beginning of a sermon. In this five-week course, we will study Matthew as a whole book with a beginning, middle, and end, considering it by stages so that we can experience the impact of the whole story with Dr Givens as our guide.
Christianity in Crisis
In his soon-to-be-released book, Christianity Is Dying One Bible Verse at a Time: This Book Is an Intervention., New Testament Professor Tommy Givens suggests much of what passes as Christianity in our day in the US and beyond has lost touch with the Bible. He offers his book is a resource for this crisis. In it he diagnoses the estrangement between much of Christianity and the Bible and offers a fresh picture of the faith for Christians to discuss together. Each chapter focuses on key New Testament term --
Messiah," "Salvation," "Law," "Spirit," and "Hope. We will read & discuss a chapter each week together with the author.
Dr Tommy Givens holds a ThD in Theological Ethics and New Testament from Duke University and teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary. In addition to New Testament studies, his interests include Christian nonviolence, political theory, ecology, and scriptural reasoning for Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations. About Christian discipleship he says, "We must learn there is no safe way of serving or encountering Jesus. His touch leaves on one person, no culture, no politics, no economics unchallenged or unchanged. That is what it means for him to be Lord."