The covenants God made throughout the Old Testament are fundamental to the Bible’s narrative.  These reveal God’s eternal redemptive plan.  This class is designed to introduce participants to the foundational importance of these covenants, how each unfolds historically, and how they find their fulfillment in Christ.  Participants will get a clear overview of the Old Testament narrative and will begin to grasp how it is the necessary prologue to that of the New Testament.

This class is designed to give participants an introduction to the faith taught by the New Testament writings.  It begins with an overview of Jesus’ teaching and ministry and then moves to an investigation of the faith presented in Paul’s letters.  After this, the unique emphases of each of the four Gospels is surveyed.  The class concludes with an overview of the theological themes of 1 and 2 Peter, Hebrews and The Revelation to John.  The aim of the class is to provide a coherent portrait of the New Testament teaching on God, the Gospel and the mission of the Church.

The Church is Christ’s body of which he is the Head. The story of how Christ, through the Holy Spirit, has led, corrected, judged, renewed and nourished his body since Pentecost is an exciting one and helps us to understand what the Church is and how it has come to be the reality we know today. The study of this story will be rewarding in waysf not the least of which is the perspective it grants us on our own time and controversies.

The Church’s liturgy is a school of prayer since her public prayer provides guidance and orientation for personal prayer. Prayer and worship are the principal means by which our relationship with God is sustained and renewed through Christ and in the Holy Spirit. This class provides an introduction to the Anglican liturgy and, especially, to The Book of Common Prayer, 2019. Emphasis will be placed on the Prayer Book as a guide to spiritual formation for everyday life.

This class is designed to introduce participants to the central affirmations of the Nicene Creed, beginning with the doctrine of the Trinity and then tracing out its implications. Through an examination of what the Creed professes and what is presupposes, participants will get a sense of the fundamental unity and coherence of the Christian faith. Particular attention will be paid to the biblical foundation of Christian beliefs as well as to their interrelationship.

What does a faithful Christian life look like today amidst persistent challenges and difficulties? Instead of examining controversial moral issues, this class focuses on the questions of what a faithful life is and the virtues and practices which sustain it. The class begins with a consideration of the purpose of the Christian life (to what has God called us?) and then proceeds to consider the virtues which are needed to sustain this life. Along the way, some important questions will be answered: What is happiness? What is a human being? What are the obstacles to a moral life? What is justice? What is love?

There are many difficult questions which serve as obstacles to the Christian faith: Why does God allow evil? Hasn’t science disproved the existence of God? How can anyone believe that only one religion is true? Isn’t Christianity oppressive, racist and homophobic? Isn’t the Bible simply a collection of myths? This class will give participants guidance in addressing these kinds of questions. Simply giving people good answers to these and similar questions will not bring them to faith, but it can assist us in offering a credible witness in a questioning word.