Sunday mornings during the school year Christian Education
8:45am to 9:50am
Conversation with Pastor Luis in the Parlor
Child Care is provided beginning at 8:50am in the nursery.
“What is the Bible?” – September 15 to October 13, Video on October 20 – $12.00
Rob Bell, the beloved author of Love Wins and What We Talk About When We Talk About God, goes deep into the Bible to show how it is more revelatory, revolutionary, and relevant than we ever imagined–and offers a cogent argument for why we need to look at it in a fresh, new way.
Rob takes us deep into actual passages to reveal the humanity behind the Scriptures. You cannot get to the holy without going through the human, Rob tells us. When considering a passage, we shouldn’t ask “Why did God say . . .?” To get to the heart of the Bible’s meaning, we should be asking: “What’s the story that’s unfolding here and why did people find it important to tell it? What was it that moved them to record these words? What was happening in the world at that time? What does this passage/story/poem/verse/book tell us about how people understood who they were and who God was at that time?” In asking these questions, Rob goes beyond the one-dimensional question of “is it true?” to reveal the Bible’s authentic transformative power.
Rob addresses the concerns of all those who see the Bible as God’s Word but are troubled by the ethical dilemmas, errors, and inconsistencies in Scripture. With What Is the Bible?, he recaptures the Good Book’s magic and reaffirms its power and inspiration to shape and inspire our lives today.
October 27 to November 24 – $11.00
There is a distinctively Christian way to engage the so-called “outsider” and “stranger.”
Tolerate one another. Wait. Isn’t that supposed to be love one another? It’s one thing to genuinely love people who are more or less the same as we are, but what about those who are not only strangers, but people who live completely different lives? Reliable spiritual guide Will Willimon invites you to look more closely at the gospel’s command to love—because to genuinely love those considered to be “Other” may be the hardest thing for people of faith to do.
Will writes with prophetic sarcasm, a touch of humor, plenty of self-effacement, and a pastor’s heart. And his words will make you laugh, cringe, cry, confess, and repent. This is a very timely book. I urge you, prospective reader, as you read this blurb on the back cover: buy and read it! You’ll be grateful you did.” —Adam Hamilton, senior pastor, The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, Leawood, KS; author of Half Truths
“Bishop Willimon’s new book should come with a warning: Do not read unless you are ready to be changed and want to change the world!” —O. Wesley Allen Jr., Lois Craddock Perkins Professor of Homiletics, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
Our Advent Study. Sunday’s in December $7.00.
Just as Christmas can promise so much and often deliver so little, our own lives can seem bittersweet when we consider dreams we may have had that never came to pass. But, as George Bailey discovered in the classic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life, it is never too late to re-evaluate our lives, to find so much to be thankful for, and to live again. This can also be a time to discover new hope in our relationship with God.
To Live Again is an original Advent course based on, and inspired by, It’s a Wonderful Life. In four weekly study sessions, structured around key scenes from the film, it explores the following themes:
• Hopes and Dreams
• When Life Doesn’t Go Our Way
• In the Dark Times
• The Right Perspective
Each section includes timing references for watching scenes from the movie on a DVD, questions for discussion in groups or for private reflection, activities and suggested prayers.
NOTE: This year we will not have a Christmas Cantata.
Soup and Study will begin Wednesday, September 18th at 6:30pm and will be studying “Living the Questions”.
This is a DVD series. Each week stands alone and does not 
depend the previous sessions. This is an informal time of eating together and then watching / discussing the DVD. Living the Questions is a contemporary interpretation of Christianity and the scriptures.
Sometimes it seems as though the scriptures have been interpreted through the same lens since the church came into being. But in reality, throughout the centuries, as the world evolved and changed, so have the ways the scriptures have been interpreted. This has allowed Christianity and the scriptures to remain relevant throughout the ages. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, purposed that our faith system is an interactive system, shaped by Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason. This allows for diversity within the United Methodist Church.
The Soup and Study class which will begin again on September 18th 6:30 provides an opportunity to have fellowship during a simple dinner of soup and bread. It, also, provides an opportunity to hear and see how some contemporary pastors, teachers, and theologians interpret the scriptures and Christianity in today’s world. We may not always agree with them or each other. But the study offers a way to see how scripture, reason, experience, and tradition may be brought together to make Christianity relevant in our world.
Peace,
Deacon Ginny
Children’s Sunday School meets during the 10am worship service. Following the children’s sermon, all children are invited to meet at the back of the Sanctuary for Sunday School down the hall in the Chapel.