Autumn Leaves … JESUS DOESN’T!

The Church Is Born Oct 09 GIFT New Testament: Stories, Teachings & Letters from the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles & Epistles

You Are My King (Amazing Love) I’m forgiven because You were forsaken, I’m accepted, You were condemned, I’m alive & well, Your Spirit lives within me, Because You died & rose again. (2X) Amazing love, how can it be, That You my King, should die for me? Amazing love, I know it’s true, It’s my joy to honor You, In all I do, I honor You.

Three Objectives 1.Uncover the Scriptures as the center of our Tradition 2.Focus on some New Testament (NT) stories & teachings of Jesus/letters of the early Church 3.Overview of the Bible & how to read it

OVERVIEW OF THE NIGHT Bible 101 New Testament Themes, Stories, Teachings & Letters Summary: I Liked … / I Learned … Questions & Answers (Q&A)

“For Ignorance of the Scriptures is Ignorance of Christ.” -- St. Jerome

BIBLE 101 (BIBLE = Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) * Why we use it * Divisions & Books * How to find a passage * New Testament

INSPIRED Word of God Written by different men, guided by the Holy Spirit Collection of books Written over period of ~1200 years Major divisions: Old Testament New Testament BIBLE 101

All Bibles Are Not The Same Catholic Bible has 73 books: OT = 46 books & NT = 27 books Protestant Bible has 66 books: OT = 39 books & NT = 27 books 7 OT books removed by Calvin, Luther & German Reformers

BIBLE 101 Books were removed during the Protestant Reformation Seven Books Removed: * Tobias * Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) * Baruch * I Machabees * Judith * II Machabees * Wisdom

27 Books of the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John Acts of the Apostles, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

New Testament Collection of writings set forth belief about the meaning & significance of the earthly life of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus left no written record None of writings appeared until some yrs. after Jesus’ death & resurrection Several biographies written of Jesus’ life – four now part of NT

Gospels Mark - first one written & is the shortest Matthew – written for Jewish audience Luke – written for Gentile audience John – emphasizes Jesus’ Divine Sonship / full of symbolic language Synoptic Gospels – Mt, Mk & Lk – often record the same events in about the same order Similarities very clear when “seen together”

Epistles Before the 4 Gospels were written, letters were written Instructed the early Christian communities about Christ’s way of life Also taught, encouraged, admonished & addressed & solved problems encountered in a particular community St. Paul wrote/had attributed to him 13 letters

Finding A Scripture Passage Book, Chapter, Verse Example: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-14 Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians, Chapter 3, Verses 6-14 Find: Matthew 7:12 John 3:16

Epistle Search Questions 1.Who wrote it? 2.When written? 3.To whom was it written? 4.What was the purpose/problem? 1 Corinthians Galatians 1 Peter

3 Major NT Themes 1. Jesus’ Life & Teachings 2. God Sends The Holy Spirit 3. ALL Believers Are Commissioned to Preach, Act & Support the Church

Theme #1: Jesus’ Work on Earth Jesus has the key to eternal life Jesus revealed Himself and God the Father, by His life, death & resurrection Ascending to heaven, Jesus draws all people to Himself

Theme #2: The Holy Spirit The work of Jesus is completed in God sending the Holy Spirit The mystery of salvation has been revealed by the Holy Spirit

Theme #3: We Are Called ALL believers are called to preach the Gospel and care for the poor ALL believers are called to foster faith in Jesus Christ and build up the Church HEY … THAT’S US!

New Testament Group Tasks Task #1: Read the Scripture passage aloud to your group. Task #2: Discuss the theme, main points & meaning for today. Task #3: Divide into subgroups. Each subgroup has a task related to the story. Task #4: Present the three components of your story to all adult participants.

SUBGROUP #1 TASKS 1.What issue is Jesus/author (St. Paul/St. Luke) trying to address in this passage? 2.What is Jesus/author saying to the people of that day?

SUBGROUP #2 TASKS * Do Your Work With Heart & Meaning * Develop A Creative Way To: A. tell the story in oral tradition, using your own words & actions (skit) … or B. teach the passage in a different way (poem, narrative, song, modern terms) … or C. write a letter to a modern day Christian community (such as your parish)…

SUBGROUP #3 TASKS Develop a brief conclusion to your presentation by completing these two sentences: 1. “What this passage means for us today is …” 2. “We can apply this teaching in our lives to draw ourselves & others closer to Jesus by …”

Scripture Summary #1 (Fri & Sat) Moses permitted divorce Jesus revokes divorce / one partner for life Divorce & remarriage prohibited (=adultery) Marital bond = spiritual/exclusive/indissoluble Accept Kingdom of God like a child (total dependence on & obedience to the gospel) to enter the Kingdom Jesus welcomed the children – lays foundation for infant Baptism

Scripture Summary #1 (Sun, Mon, Wed) A.Ten Commandments: lead God’s children to moral maturity – remain integral to our pursuit of holiness & eternal life B.Jesus rejects OT concept of wealth= God’s favor (false security). Salvation is beyond human capability–depends on God who offers it as a gift C.Camel parable: obstacles to following Jesus are just as real today as they were for rich young man (wealth, power, prestige, selfishness) …priorities? D.Man = unable to obey God completely or consistently …w/ God’s grace, all things are poss.

Scripture Summary #2 A.Pentecost = birth of the Church, celebrates the new law of the Spirit written on the hearts of believers which surpasses the Law of Moses, inscribed on stone tablets B.Wind & fire = signs of the Holy Spirit as on Mt. Sinai during the Exodus C.Echoes of Babel – God used language to confuse & scatter. Here the Spirit uses multiple languages to gather family of God D.International gathering of Jews foreshadows international acceptance of Gospel by Gentiles

Scripture Summary #3 A.Grave obligation on Timothy & us to preach the Word / teach the Truth B.Patience, courage, constancy & endurance are required, despite the opposition, hostility, indifference & defection of many to whom the Truth has been preached C. Change is difficult for people – it is much easier to ignore or deny the Truth – requires no change in behavior

Scripture Summary #4 Peter’s vision: teaches him dietary restrictions of Mosaic Law now lifted in New Covenant Deeper symbolism: Moral & religious distinction between Israel (clean) & Gentiles (unclean) now lifted Gentiles are no longer banned from full & equal acceptance into the covenant God shows no partiality – all men can be “saved” & receive an eternal reward

I Learned … I Liked … Of the NT stories, teachings or letters I heard today, My Favorite Is … Because … One thing I now know about Jesus & the NT that I did not know earlier is … Q & A

NO BIBLE … NO BREAKFAST NO BIBLE … NO BED Make It A Priority!!

The Liturgy of the Word