Every week I lead a bible study. We discuss the scripture that will feature in the sermon at Trinity. I started the practice of having a bible study on the sermon scripture on the recommendation of preaching professor. It is an amazing gift to hear the thoughts and questions of the community as I begin to think about what I am going to say on Sunday. And the thing of it is this practice which is tool and gift for me is tool and gift for my parishioners too. In the two years we’ve been doing this together at Trinity there has been a profound deepening of biblical understanding for the folks participating. They have also found a richness in the Sunday morning gathering, having spent the week pondering in their hearts the passage that inspires our worship.
I use an incredibly simple format. We read the scripture three times. After reading the first time we talk about what we noticed in the passage. And this is where my seminary education and mad google skills come in to play. Who was Asaph? What is the Greek root of this word? What happened right after this? This allows us to dissect, to encounter, to wonder, to unravel. It’s a way to approach the scripture both with a critical eye and a willingness to find something extraordinary. Then I ask a specific question that relates to the text which draws on the personal life and faith experience of the participants. It could be something like, “when have you experienced an injustice?”. Or maybe, “what is a memorable baptism you have witnessed?” This question helps relate the text to our own journeys. Then after the last time we read the passage, we talk about how to apply what we have learned and discussed that day in our lives. This means we can’t just think about God stuff, but that being a follower means actual action and change in our lives.
There is a vulnerability and an openness as we work through these passages and delve into our personally held theology and practice. This is a wonderful microcosm of what we are about as a Parish, going deeper in our faith, walking the way of Jesus, sharing with one another authenticly, and centering God in all we are and do.
-Eilidh
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