BOOK OF FAITH

 

 

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has made a commitment to encourage all members of our congregations, from children to adults, to dig deeper into our book of faith, the Bible.  The Book of Faith Initiative recommends a new model for our church—a grass-roots approach embracing a common vision in which all are invited to open scripture and join the conversation. This page contains many different resources you can use to familiarize yourself with the Book of Faith Initiative and to see what Bible study options are available at Gloria Dei.

 

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REPORT ON THE OCTOBER 13, 2009 BOOK OF FAITH INITIATIVE MEETING AT GLORIA DEI

An eager group of 17 met to talk about opportunities for the Gloria Dei family to engage in the Book of Faith Initiative which invites the whole church to become more fluent in the scriptures.

Paul Halvor led with prayer.

Leslie Burrill read from Lutheran Questions, Lutheran Answers by Martin E. Marty.

Those in attendance shared ways they had enjoyed studying the Bible in leader lead studies, group studies, retreats, daily devotions, etc. Ideas were shared regarding studies various people were interested in and included the books of Romans or John, a retreat or book study on Rev. Dan Erlander's Bible overview called Manna and Mercy, a study for young adults possibly based on a movie, or a study for mothers with young children with child care provided. Those present were invited to send ideas to Leslie Burrill or Paul & Marilyn Halvor so they could post the ideas and ask if other congregational members are interested.

Currently the following studies are available to all members (as of November 2009): Kitchen Bible study on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. in the church kitchen; Men's Breakfast on Thursday mornings at 6:30 a.m. at Tai Dynasty studying the Sunday Bible Lessons; Women's Breakfast on Friday mornings at 6:30 a.m. at Kaffee 101 studying Proverbs; Adult Sunday school on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. in the Fireplace room studying the film Babette's Feast during October (this study will be repeated in the near future for Sunday School teachers and anyone else who is interested).  There will also be a Bible study starting Thursday, October 29 at 3 p.m. at the home of Noma Hild on Juniper Street; WELCA Bible Study and Potluck the 2nd Thursday of each month at 12:00 noon at the church.

The group agreed to meet again on Tuesday, November 10, at 7 p.m. in the Fireside Room.  Everyone is invited to attend.

Following are notes from the discussions:

Gloria Dei ordered some copies of Book of Faith: How Lutherans Study the Bible when Pr. Janelle served here. Christian Education uses the Spark Story Bible (age 2 through Grade 2) and the Spark Bible (grades 3 through 6.) Marilyn Halvor brought these for people to look at.

Many plans are available for reading through the Bible in a year including one in the New Lutheran Study Bible as well as several you can get on-line.

Zondervan offers Bibles designed to be read through in a year. One is The Daily Bible in Chronological Order: 365 Daily Readings, and another is The One Year Bible. These can often be obtained at used bookstores or even library book sales.

Several people experienced reading through the entire Bible with and without a pastoral lead, with or without discussion. Some congregations study a topic over several weeks, reading a selected text during the week, perhaps studying in small groups, followed with the Sunday sermon, even Sunday classes, on that text.

Carolyn Agee described a personal study that builds a reference journal of the characteristics of God and written out passages that speak to each characteristic.  During your devotional readings, when you encounter a passage that speaks to a characteristic of God, you write out the entire passage.

WELCA uses the Lutheran Women's Magazine study. Women’s morning breakfast study uses a Psalm. Men's breakfast uses the readings for the coming Sunday.

Bandon Christian Fellowship has organized nondenominational noon pizza Bible studies near Marshfield High School. These have been well attended.

Marilyn Halvor sends Daily Guideposts to her siblings each Christmas, and they sometimes exchange comments regarding the readings. Marilyn and Paul read the Daily Guideposts together as well another daily devotional that they select each year. They have used Frederick Buechner's Listening to Your Life and this year they are using a daily devotional book that Paul received when he was confirmed.

Phil and Diane Kupka use the daily devotional study from WELS that includes readings from NT and OT, devotional reflections, and a prayer. They would be interested in an evening study of Romans.

Jean Monsebroten and Curt used to read a chapter from the Bible at bedtime. She continues evening reading. She reminds us of Christ in Our Home. Jean would like a study on John. Several others use Christ in Our Home as a daily devotional.

Marilyn Schmidt mentioned a relative who read the Bible to her over the phone each evening to a friend whose sight was failing.

Randy Hammer will lead an evening Babette’s Feast study for SS staff. Several people attending were also interested in joining this study, which Marilyn Schmidt confirms that the study will be open to all. Take This Bread might be a good companion book.

Carolyn Agee suggests young adults would probably enjoy a study based on films.

Halvors introduced Manna and Mercy by Don Erlander. If there is interest, we could arrange to bring him to Gloria Dei. Several people interested in ordering a copy of the book.

Russ and Jinx Gieseke would like a group study of the Bible around a table where people can discuss how the bible passage applies to everyday lives.  They also recall a using a study of the Lords Prayer as an every member visitation.

Leslie suggested [Yahoo] groups as a simple online tool to develop threads of topics for shared discussion using email.

Leslie noted interest in retreats expressed by the pastors of the Southern Oregon Coast cluster.

Several people recalled the Advent retreat led by Kathy Hodgin and Marilyn Schmidt at Marilyn’s home a few years ago.

We should do a better job of letting people know when there is a speaker in the area that people might want to attend. Opportunities could be put in the Sunday bulletin, monthly newsletter, or on our website. It would also be good to let members know of groups that might be forming and give them the opportunity to join if they have an interest.

 

ACTIVITIES WITHIN GLORIA DEI

 

BIBLE STUDY OPPORTUNITIES

 

  • Kitchen Bible Study - Tuesdays at  10:30 a.m. at Baycrest
  • Men’s Breakfast Study - Thursdays at 6:30 a.m. at Tai's Dynasty Restaurant
  • Afternoon study - Thursdays at  3:00 p.m. in Social Hall
  • Women’s Breakfast Study - Fridays at 6:30 a.m. at Kaffe 101
  • Adult Study - Sundays at 10:00 a.m. at the church in the Fireside room
  • WELCA Bible Study/Potluck - 2nd Thursday of the month at 12:00 noon at the church

COMING EVENTS

Come back soon for updates!

REQUESTED STUDIES - WOULD YOU PARTICIPATE?

  • Romans, lay group, weekday evenings
  • Gospel of John, lay group, weekday afternoons -- contact Jean Monsebroten
  • Films, young adult lay group, evenings -- contact Carolyn Agee
  • Daytime study with childcare
  • Lord’s Prayer, Commandments, Jim Nestegen films
  • Topical discussion online, requires a moderator
  • One-time event with Dan Erlander

BOOK OF FAITH - STUDY HINTS

Helpful hints for Interpreting the Bible

 

  1. There are many different methods used to interpret the Bible. There are ultimate truths in the Bible, and yet, each person receives scripture in the context of his or her own life experience. If you’re starting from ground zero, you might want to use the following questions as a framework to guide your examination of the text.
  2. As you read the text, what is your initial response to the passage?
  3. Who are the participants in the passage?
  4. What is the plot of the passage?
  5. What questions arise from the passage?
  6. Is there a kernel of meaning you will take from the passage? 
    (Does it tell you anything about life, or about yourself?)

 

Moving beyond this, you may want to discuss these questions with others, and/or:

 

1.      Look in the margins or at the bottom of the page where the passage is located. There will often be references to related passages and descriptive notes that add helpful explanations.

2.      Use a concordance to look up words that jump out at you from the text. What are the different ways these words are used in the Bible? Look up some passages that use your selected words in similar ways.

3.      Read the same scripture passage using several different versions of the Bible. What do the various translations add to your overall meaning of the text?

Some translations online include:

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) online: 
http://www.devotions.net/bible/00bible.htm
New Living Translation (NLT) online: 
http://www.newlivingtranslation.com/05discoverthenlt/scripturesearch.asp
New International Version (NIV), The Message, or NLT: 
http://www.biblegateway.com

4.      Look up some of the words from the passage in a bible dictionary. How do these definitions influence your reading of the text?

5.      Consult a commentary, book or article that discusses your chosen text.

 

NOTES ON THE BIBLE, A TEMPLE TALK
by Mary Lantz
October 11, 2009

The Bible is Gods written revelation of His will to humanity. Its central theme is the salvation through Jesus Christ.

The whole Bible is relational from Genesis to Revelation, how God reveals Himself through the Covenant of love in the Old Testament; the New Testament is the agreement God made with people about their salvation after Christ came into the world.

It is one book, one history, one story, Gods story and His relationship with all of mankind, even us in the 21st century. Studying the scriptures in a group or individually, you’ll find them speaking to you, and making an impression on you, bearing its own testimony. Reading carefully and thoughtfully, looking for illumination, the Holy Spirit will teach you. God’s word will come alive. All 10,000 events were real, the people were real, and behind it all stands God, the builder of history, the maker of the ages. All the while we are reading, God is working things out for us.

For me Bible studies have made me a more committed Christian and more intent about sharing Gods story. Don’t you want to be better informed about Gods Word and about His blessed son Jesus Christ? We live in a broken world where sin abounds, and we sometimes feel like we are going down for the last time. But thank God! He had prepared a way out of this ruined world and is giving us another chance to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord by believing and trusting Jesus with all our heart and following Him.

Salvation can be ours. Praise God!

 

 

 

BOOK OF FAITH STUDY RESOURCES - SOME SUGGESTIONS

 

  • www.bookoffaith.org site of Augsburg Fortress, publishing arm of ELCA. A few of the many available materials that we might order in bulk.
  • Opening the Book of Faith Lutheran Insights for Bible Study
  • Lutheran Study Bible with helps written by Lutheran theologians as well as lots of helpful guides and charts for studying the Bible.
  • SPARK Bible (NRSV) for children 3rd grade and up
  • SPARK Story Bible for preschoolers to 2nd grade
  • http://bookoffaith.ning.com/group/oregonsynod
  • http://www.oregonsynod.org/bookoffaith
  • http://www.oregonsynod.org/bookoffaith/openbookoffaith.htm
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  • http://www.enterthebible.org/Bible.aspx Enter the Bible, new from Luther Seminary
  • www.crossways.org site of Crossways International. Bible literacy is the mission of this organization. Gloria Dei has a subscription.
  • www.christianbook.com is the Zondervan site, organized rather like Amazon.
  • The Daily Bible in Chronological Order 365 Daily Readings Zondervan
  • The One Year Bible Zondervan
  • Christ in Our Home, daily devotional booklet, available each quarter in the Narthex.
  • Study section from Lutheran Women's’ Magazine used by WELCA
  • Guideposts, daily devotional booklets
  • Listening to Your Life, daily devotions by Frederick Buechner
  • Praying the Psalms Friedrich Bonhoeffer
  • Manna and Mercy, by Dan Erlander, an overview of the Bible.
  • Lutheran Questions, Lutheran Answers by Martin E. Marty, in the church library

 

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