Bible Studies, Inspired by Faith and Science

 As my mum likes to remind me, without Christmas there could be no Easter... (110) Exciting News! Like newspaper accounts of a startling event, the Gospel accounts of the resurrection aren’t identical—which suggests they’re not made up; nobody sat down and said, “Let’s get our stories straight.” They’re just “straight” from the participants’ varied memories. So, let’s follow each group: 1.        The guards: a.        Read Matthew 27:54, Matthew 27:62-28:4,11-15 Why might powerful Roman soldiers have been afraid? b.        Why might the soldiers be willing to lie? Do you suppose they convinced themselves the lie was true? c.        When is it easy to convince people to believe in a lie? When is it not easy? Would Matthew get away with adding that last sentence if it weren’t true? 2.        The women: a.   ...

What threatened us was promise And what we feared was hope. In the grave we laid him Left him then he rose. Do not fear  he whispered. Tell the world  he said Love to loveless given Risen from the dead. Now he gives us promise Hope instead of fear. In the grave our trials Were crushed.  The future’s here! He’s risen indeed!

Today's the day for pancakes back home - Pancake Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday; the day before Lent begins. I loved pancakes as a child; Lent not so much, since giving up chocolate always seemed like more than I could do. I saved myself from too serious a commitment though, reminding myself that it would be "unkind" to refuse gifts of comfort food from my non-Catholic relatives. And now, here I am, a mongrel Christian indeed... and here's pancake Tuesday with me wondering if I can make gluten-free pancakes (they never quite work)... and here's Karen May with a fantastic book for Lent, Holy Week and Easter, for Catholics, Protestants and Mongrel Christians, and for anyone else wondering what the whole Lent and Easter thing is all about. Thank you for this great excerpt from your book Karen! Excerpt from  Walking Through Holy Week Chapter 3: Good Friday Part I: Walking the Road to the Cross   How meaningful it must have been for the followers of Jesus ...

Revisiting the Passion – And Beyond 1.        At the end of the last study, there wasn’t much doubt about the fact that Jesus had died. But crucifixion could take days. Why did he die so quickly? Read Mark 15:44 2.        Crucified bodies were often left on display to discourage crime. Why was Jesus buried so quickly? Read Mark 15:42 3.        Who witnessed Jesus’ death? Who witnessed his burial? Read Mark 15:42,47, John 19:39 4.        Who witnessed his resurrection? Read Matthew27:62-66, 28:4,11-15 5.        How did the Roman soldiers respond to the resurrection? Do you think they believed what they’d seen? Do you think they convinced themselves of the story they told? How easy is it to talk ourselves out of supernatural experiences? 6.        How did the priests and elders respond...

Revisiting the Passion – Road to Resurrection 1.        We looked briefly at the 14 “stations” of the cross last week. This week we’ll look at them more closely. First, Jesus is condemned (1). In human, historical terms, who condemns him, how, when, where, and why? What about in Spiritual terms? 2.        Prisoners who were to be crucified were often scourged beforehand, especially if the death was not required to take too long. Do you know which gospel doesn’t mention Jesus being scourged? Read Matthew 27:27-31, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:1-4. What is different in John’s account? How is John’s emphasis different? 3.        Biblically, Jesus is condemned, given his cross (2) and led away. In the space of a few verses, someone else is compelled to carry the cross (5); Simon of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus. Read Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26. Why do you think an event...