We live in a divisive time where opinions and feelings are tightly held and often cause rifts in relationships. This course is for people who are frustrated with their inability to get beyond life's disagreements with loved ones, friends, co-workers, and casual acquaintances. Lives are disrupted, life-long friendships are broken, and anxiety about the future…
John’s Gospel is radically different from the Synoptic Gospels. So much so that the Jesus presented here is unrelated to the others. It’s difficult to conclude they are the same person. Why does John depart so much from the earlier depictions of Jesus? The answer is that John is not interested in the human side…
The major question before Luke’s congregation is how can we survive as worshipers of Jesus when the Empire will execute us for not worshiping Caesar? This is a treacherous time. Roman inquisitions led many to the lions, and Jews (as early Christians were thought to be) were naturally suspected because of their revolt in Judea…
This Gospel is usually titled, “The Gospel According to Mark.” “…According to Mark” is an especially important distinction. Mark writes from a unique point of view that arises out of his and his congregation's experience in the early days of the Jesus movement. The other Gospel writers tell their stories from their unique perspectives as…
Before attempting to learn about a specific Gospel, there are important issues that must be considered that will help us understand all the Gospels (and much of the Bible, as well). One question that is often raised is why there are four Gospels. Wouldn’t one do? When we see why four (at a minimum) were…
