Adult Ed Schedule: 2022 - 2023
Adults meet in the fellowship hall during the Sunday school hour (9:15-10:15am).
Each week someone from the congregation (and the occasional guest speaker) presents on a chosen topic, and there is always time for a good discussion. The topic may come from the presenter's area of expertise or special interest, or it may be a discussion based on a book by a well-known and widely read author. (Reading the book is not required, and the presenter won't assume that you've done so.) Not every topic will come straight from the Bible, but they always come from the intersection of Christian faith and the life we're living.
We're pretty casual but always respectful of each other. You don't have to be an expert to attend, and certainly don't need to have the answers; sincere questions are always welcome.
Faith & Literature Series: January 15, 22 & 29
You do not need to read any of the literature being discussed before coming. No homework!
January 15: Jake Schepers & Jen Ochstein will tag-team a discussion of George Saunder's short story "Winky".
January 22: Jen Ochstein will lead us through a discussion about characterization of the self in creative nonfiction
January 29: Jake Schepers will lead a discussion of poetry
Report on Classis and Synod Overtures
February 5: In the wake of Synod 2022's decisions about human sexuality, we have some discerning to do! Members of the Next Steps Discernment Team will be laying out the proposed discernment process and timeline, and answering your questions about it. In addition, those who were in attendance at the February 2 Classis meeting will give an update about how the meeting went, and the status of CotS' overtures.
Creating Canon: Bible Translation in Muslim Contexts
February 12: A congregant will share some background about his path to faith, which is intimately connected to his work as a Bible translator for Muslim people groups. He will also discuss Bible translation in general, and then talk about the battle that wages in the field between "word-for-word" and "meaning-based" translators. He will close with some thoughts on the Oral Bible Translation (OBT) movement and how it "creates canon" for the Muslim world.
February 19: Continuation
Lent Series on The End of the Christian Life by Todd Billings
In adult Sunday school this Lent, we will ponder our own mortality and the benefits of thinking about death for animating our lives in the present. Our guide will be J. Todd Billings's book, The End of the Christian Life: How Embracing Our Mortality Frees Us to Truly Live, but the sessions will be accessible to those who haven't done the reading.
February 26: Welcome to Sheol - Dave Lincicum: Our first session will introduce the book and focus on its first chapter, which sketches the shadow that death casts over life, drawing particularly on scripture.
March 5: Mortals in Denial - Mike Rea: A discussion on the tensions between two Christian perspectives on death — death as an enemy and death as a kind of reward — and on ways in which we are impacted by, and might experience freedom from, the fear of death. (The discussion will be based partly on chapters 2 - 3 of Billings's book.)
March 12: A Medical Perspective - Thomas Larsen: Drawing on his experiences as a physician, Thomas Larsen will guide us in exploring how modern medicine has changed what it’s like for us to age and die. We’ll look at what it means to die well and how the scriptures can help us. (The topic will be loosely based on chapter 4 of Billing’s book.)
March 19: The Way of Prosperity and the Christian Way - Lisa Oglesbee: Picking up where we left off in a November Sunday School about the Prosperity Gospel, Lisa Oglesbee will lead us through a discussion on how health-wealth theology affects our view of death and what the way of Christ actually requires. (The topic will be loosely based on chapter 5 of Billing’s book.)
March 26: Fracturing our Stories, Hope for the End - Cris Mihut: We will focus in our conversation on three main questions: (a) How does Scripture confront our natural longing for resolution in our stories of death and life after death? (b) What do we hope for in the afterlife? and (c) How should we maintain a better hope for the age to come, that is, what theological and biblical themes can enrich and strengthen our hope for the afterlife?
Series on Job
April 16: Chris Rea
April 23: Chris Rea
April 30: Chris Rea
Human Sexuality and the Bible
May 7: Guest: Clair Mesick, Calvin University
May 14: Video: Jeff Weima, Calvin Seminary
May 21: Dave Lincicum and Warren Campbell lead an open Q&A and discussion
Schedule may be adjusted or changed as necessary.