Tag Archives: “John for Everyone

September 24, 2012 · 9:12 pm

John for Everyone: Syllabus


St. Peter’s Anglican Church [SPAC]
Adult Formation – Wednesday Evening Academy
Fall Semester 2012:  09.12.12 – 12.12.12

Class:  John for Everyone:  Part One & Two

Read:  The Pause That Refreshes
Time:   6.15 pm -7.30 pm
Location:  SPAC Parish House
Leader:  Margot Payne:  marmeepayne@gmail.com   www.margopayne.wordpress.com
 

The Pact:  Present, Prepare, Participate:

I agree to faithfully and diligently [when it is within my power:]
·      Be present and on time every week for class.
·      Prepare for class.
·      Participate in class discussion.
Bring: Bible, John for Everyone, pencil/pen, notebook, clipboard.
Recommended:  Book of Common Prayer 1979 and  Anglican Hymnal 1982.

The Purpose: [Quote from: “The Challenge of Jesus,” by N. T. Wright]

” ‘The Challenge of Jesus’  poses a double-edged challenge:
·      To grow in our understanding of the historical Jesus within the Palestinian world of the first century and
·      To follow Jesus more faithfully into the postmodern world of the twenty-first century.”

 The Presentation:

  • Ancient: Psalms, Hymns, Prayers, Compline, Vespers
  • Sources:  Book of Common Prayer 1979 and Anglican Hymnbook 1982

Resources: Optional

  • The Gospel of John [Wiki]
  • Jewish Holidays [Wiki]
  • Origins:  CNS Documentary Services:  ISSN 0093-609X, “Fides et Ratio,”  John Paul II Encyclical [Brief Synthesis is on the last page].  Email:  CNS@nccbuscc.org, $5 pre-paid.
  • Harper Collins Concise Atlas of the Bible, ISBN 0-06-251499-7, Times Books, London, 1991.
  • Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms, ISBN 0-8308-1449-3, Grenz, Gunetzki, Nordling, InterVaristy Press, 1999.
  • Music CD:  Compline:  The Shadows of Thy Wing, The Christ Church Choir, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Gloria Dei Cantores, 1999, Paraclete Press.

Fall Semester 2012:

09.12.12 Week One:

  • Logistics:  Supper, Books, Contact Info
  • Paradigms & Parameters
  • Worldviews: All Kinds of Lenses! [Box]
  • Hymn:  Immortal, Invisible

Reading Assignment: Due 09.19.12:

Blog entries [see above website]:

09.19.12  Week Two:

Reading Assignments:  Due 09.25.12:  John for Everyone:  Introduction and John 1.
Blog entries:
Reading Assignments:  Due 10.03.12
  • John for Everyone:  John 2.
  • Hymn:  Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
  • Recommended but not required:  Exploring the Gospel of John: 2
     

    10.03.12  — Week Four:

    Reading Assignments:  Due 10.10.12

    Hymn:  Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

  • John for Everyone:  John 3.
  • Recommended but not required:  Exploring the Gospel of John: 3
  •  

    10.10.12 — Week Five:

Reading Assignments:  Due 10.17.12

10.17.12 — Week Six:

Reading Assignments:  Due 10.24.12: [Week Seven]

We will not meet on 10.31.12

Reading Assignments:  Due 11.07.12: [Week Eight]
Reading Assignments:  Due 11.14.12: [Week Nine]
  • John for Everyone:  John 6:  Pages 81-92 in the Commentary.  Read cross-references.
    John for Everyone:  John 7:  Pages 92-99 in the Commentary.  Read cross-references.
  • Hymnody:  “Pange Lingua” [Gregorian Chant]  See: Pange Langua
  • Recommended but not required: Exploring the Gospel of John: 7

    We will not meet on Wednesday, 11.21.12, which is the day before Thanksgiving.

    Reading Assignments:  Due 11.28.12: [Week Ten]

    • John for Everyone:  John 7  in N. T. Wright Commentary.  Read cross-references.
    • Hymnody:  “Pange Lingua” [Gregorian Chant]  See: Pange Langua
    • Recommended but not required: Exploring the Gospel of John: 7

Reading Assignments:  Due 12.05.12: [Week Eleven]

Reading Assignments:  Due 12.12.12: [Week Twelve]

12.12.12 is our last meeting for the Fall Semester.  We meet again on January 16, 2013, after Epiphany.  Check the SPAC website for details.

The Seven Signs of the Gospel of John:

[Seven days – one week of Creation]:

Jesus transforms the water into wine, at the wedding at Cana:  2.1-11

Jesus heals the royal official’s son, in Capernaum:  4.46-54

Jesus heals the paralytic, at the Bethesda pool:  5.1-18

Jesus walks on water, in the Sea of Galilee:

Jesus feeds the 5,000:  6.16-24

Jesus heals the man, who had been blind from birth:  9.1-7

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead:  11.1-45

[The eighth day – the beginning of the New Creation]:

The Resurrection of Jesus

Coming Up in the Liturgical Calendar:

The First Day of Advent:  12.02.12

Lessons & Carols:  Details:  www.saint-peters.net

Messiah Sing!  Community Sing-A-Long.  Faith Presbyterian Church, 12.06.12, 7.30 pm.

Christmas Eve Worship Service:  December 24, 2012.  Details:  www.saint-peters.net

Christmas Day Worship Service:  December 25, 2012.  Details:  www.saint-peters.net

The Twelve Days of Christmas/Christmastide/Twelvetide:  December 25, 2012 through January 5, 2013:

Twelfth Night/Eve of the Feast of the Epiphany:  January 5, 2013 [Supper at Payne Home, 6.00 PM]

The Feast of the Epiphany:  January 6, 2013

Spring Semester:  Part Two

Coming Up in the Liturgical Calendar:  For details, see http://www.saint-peters.net

Wednesday, 02.13.13:  Ash Wednesday Liturgies:  12.10 pm, 7.00 pm:  NO WED. EVENING CLASSES.

Fridays: 02.18.13 through 03.18.13:  Stations of the Cross:  5.30 pm

Sunday, 03.24.13:  Palm Sunday Liturgy

NO WED. EVENING CLASSES DURING HOLY WEEK [03.27.13]

Thursday, 03.28.13:  Maundy Thursday Liturgy

Friday, 03.29.13:  Good Friday Liturgy

Saturday, 03.30.13:  Easter Vigil, 8.30 pm

Sunday, 03.31.13:  Easter Day/Resurrection Sunday

Sunday, 05.19.13:  Feast of Pentecost

Reading Assignment, due on 01.16.13:

Reading Assignment, due on 01.23.13:

  • John for Everyone:  John 11 in N. T. Wright Commentary.  Read cross-references. 
  • Jot down questions, as you read.  Bring at least one question to the Bible Study.
  • Recommended but not required:   Exploring the Gospel of John: 11.

Reading Assignment, due on 01.30.13:

Reading Assignment, due on 02.06.13:

Post-Discussion Notes:

The Greatest Commandments:

Deuteronomy 6.4-5 contains the “Great Shema,” which means “Hear, O Israel:” 

4   “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

5    You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” 

 Leviticus 19.17-18: [ESV]

17    “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.

18    You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”

The Clothing of Humility, Servanthood, Suffering:

Philippians 1:27-2:11 [NASB]

27  Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;  28  in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. 29  For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
1  Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,  2  make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.  3  Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;  4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.  5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,  6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,  7  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.   9  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,  10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  
Mark 10:42-45 [NASB]
42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. 
43 But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;  44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.  45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

1 Peter 5:5-8 [NASB]:

5  You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.   6  Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,  7  casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.  Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Quote:  “Everyone wants to be considered to be a servant but no one wants to be treated as one.”
We will not meet on 02.13.13 [Ash Wednesday]

Reading Assignment, due on 02.20.13:

Reading Assignment, due on 02.27.13:

Reading Assignment, due 03.o6.13:

Reading Assignment, due 03.13.13:

    • John for Everyone:  John 19 in N. T. Wright Commentary. Read cross-references.   
    • Jot down questions, as you read.  Bring at least one question to the Bible Study.

Reading Assignment, due 03.20.13:

John for Everyone:  John 20 in N. T. Wright Commentary.  Read cross-references.

Jot down questions, as you read.  Bring at least one question to the Bible Study.

Holy Week Hymnody: The Cross of Jesus

We will NOT meet during Holy Week, 03.27.13.

Reading Assignment, due 04.03.13:

John for Everyone:  John 12 in  N. T. Wright Commentary.  Read cross-references.

Jot down questions, as you read.  Bring at least one question to the Bible Study.

On Wednesday, 04.10.13:  6.15 pm to 8.45 pm:

Frances Prevatt has invited us to her home, to view the DVD film, “The Gospel of John,” narrated by Christopher Plummer.

Before the film begins, we will enjoy a simple supper of pizza and salad.

 

Leave a comment

Filed under The Gospel of John

Tagged as , , , , , ,

September 12, 2012 · 12:00 pm

Worldview Lens: The Halo Effect

Dear Readers,

Before autumn begins, I have one more story of summer to share with you, from when I was ten [1962] and lived in Bossier City, Louisiana:

Almost every morning, I  hopped on my bicycle and rode across three subdivisions and a corn field.

Finally, I reached the gate of the Barksdale Air Force Base, where my father worked.  From there, I pedaled over to the Officer’s Club Pool, where I parked my bike and met my friends.

[Circa 1960]

All day long, my friends and I played “Marco Polo,” jumped off the diving board, splashed each other, did somersaults, and stood on our heads.  What I chiefly remember is the laughter and the care-free hours.

My friends and I never willingly left the pool water.  However, the lifeguard’s whistle blew every hour, which meant that all the children must exit the pool and “rest” for 10 minutes.

How we resented the sound of that whistle!  We were not tired in the least!

Sometimes we bolted to the concession stand and “nourished” ourselves with French fries and a Coke, while we endured the enforced wait.

After the break, we jumped back into the pool and played, until late afternoon.  Then, I hopped back onto my bike to return home, in time for supper.

Even more delightful than the sun-lit hours were the moon-lit evenings in the pool:  I loved the reflection of the light from the lamps, both above and below the pool.

One evening at the pool, I asked one of my childhood friends:

“Do you see how the lamp-light looks fuzzy, like the moon on a cloudy night?   I mean, you cannot see the lamp itself, right?  You just see a halo?”

For this is [kind of] what I saw:

Or, if I squinted, I might see this:

My young friend looked at me in amazement and silence.  Then, she assured me that she saw no “fuzzy moon” or “halo.”

She described to me how she viewed the lamplight:


I asked every one of my young friends to describe what they saw.  Sure enough, I was the only child in the pool who saw the “fuzzy moons” and the “halos.”

I remember that startling moment, when I realized that I could not trust my own sensory perception. 

I returned home, reported the evening to my parents, and they made an appointment for me to see a professional:  a Doctor of Optometry.

The optometrist determined that my vision was distorted.  Not only was I near-sighted, I also had astigmatism, and my night vision was compromised.

There was, fortunately, a corrective:  frames with prescription lens, which arrived the week following my appointment:

[Children’s eyeglasses, circa 1962]

When I slapped those frames on my face and looked out the lens for the first time, it was a revelation:

The colors, shapes, textures, words, and numbers were now in sharp focus.  Even from across the street, I could identify people and read road signs!

 It was as if I was seeing the world for the first time.  

~~~~~~~~~

Almost 40 years later, in 1999, I had a similar revelation, when N. T. Wright delivered a series of four lectures in Chicago.

Stephen and I were in the audience, with over one thousand graduate students and faculty.  The national conference, entitled “Following Christ:  Shaping Our World” was sponsored by the InterVaristy Christian Fellowship Graduate and Faculty Ministry.

The four lectures formed the backbone of the this book:

Here is a quote from this book . . .

“Out of his own commitment to both historical scholarship and Christian ministry, Wright challenges us to roll up our sleeves and take seriously the study of the historical Jesus.”  [The Publisher]

. . . and a quote from N. T. Wright:

“Many Christians have been, frankly, sloppy in their thinking and talking about Jesus, and hence, sadly, in their praying and in their practice of discipleship.  

We cannot assume that by saying the word “Jesus,” still less the word “Christ,” we are automatically in touch with the real Jesus who walked and talked in first-century Palestine . . . 

. . . Only by hard, historical work can we move toward a fuller comprehension of what the Gospels themselves were trying to say.”

Here is a quote from a more recent book by N. T. Wright . . .

“Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and bestselling author N. T. Wright summarizes a lifetime of study of Jesus and the New Testament, in order to present for a general audience who Jesus was and is.  

In Simply Jesus, we are invited to hear one of our leading scholars introduce the story of the carpenter’s son from Nazareth, as if he were hearing it for the first time.”  [The Publisher]

. . . and this quote from N. T. Wright:

“Jesus — the Jesus we might discover if we really looked, is larger, more disturbing, [and] more urgent than we had ever imagined.  

We have successfully managed to hide behind other questions and to avoid the huge, world-shaking challenge of Jesus’ central claim and achievement . . . . 

. . . We have reduced the kingdom of God to private piety; the victory of the cross to comfort the conscience; Easter itself to a happy, escapist ending after a sad, dark tale.

Piety, conscience, and ultimate happiness are important, but not nearly as important as Jesus himself.” 

~~~~~~

I will begin teaching a class tonight, at St. Peter’s Anglican Church.  Our text will be The Gospel of John and the commentary will be John for Everyone by N. T. Wright.

Click here for more details: The Pause That Refreshes!

For the objectives of the class, I am borrowing a quote from The Challenge of Jesus:

“The Challenge of Jesus poses a double-edged challenge:

–To grow in our understanding of the historical Jesus within the Palestinian world of the first century, and

–To follow Jesus more faithfully into the postmodern world of the twenty-first century.”  [The Publisher]

Coram Deo,

Margot

2 Comments

Filed under discipleship, The Gospel of John, theology and doxology, Worldview

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

August 16, 2012 · 5:50 pm

The Pause That Refreshes

The Pause That Refreshes

Do you desperately need  “the pause that refreshes:”  a respite from our long, hot, humid season?

Please join me in a class that will be invigorating!    

Have you ever noticed the many references to refreshing WATER that the Gospel of John contains?

I invite you to join me to plumb the depths of this book!

St. Peter’s Anglican Church [SPAC] offers weekly Respite and Refreshment!

Below is a quick overview.  For details:  http://www.saint-peters.net.

Wednesday Evenings, beginning 09.12.12:

5.15 – 6.00 pm:  Catered Buffet Supper in the SPAC Fellowship Hall  [requires advance reservations]

6.15 – 7.30 pm:   Wednesday Evening Academy Adult Classes [requires advance reservation and fee for books]

 

 

About Margot’s Class:

“Coach Margot,” long-distance swimmer, invites you to join her Team, in a two-semester class:  John for Everyone:

We will cover Part One in the Fall Semester, 2012:  09.12.12 – 12.12.12

We will cover Part Two in the Spring Semester, beginning January 16, 2013.

The Rev. Doctor N. T. [Tom] Wright, Anglican bishop, theologian, and New Testament scholar, describes the Gospel of John as:

“. . . one of the great books in the literature of the world; and part of its greatness is the way it reveals its secrets not just to high-flown learning but to those who come to it with humility and hope.”

 Dr. N. T. “Tom” Wright

This is a class for everyone . . . . everyone, that is, who is ready to be a member of a “high-commitment”  Team!

Advance Requirements for the Team:

— Commit to diligence in homework “drills.”

— Commit to faithful attendance and participation at the weekly “practice meets.”

— Register:  www.saint-peters.net or Reply below.

— Reserve your copy of the commentary:  www.saint-peters.net or Reply below.

Here is what the Team can expect, as we plunge into this invigorating study of the Gospel of John:

We will:
-Limber up our mental muscles, with “land-lubber” exercises . . .

-Learn how to sharpen our view of Scripture, through the “lens” of Faith, Reason, and Tradition . . .

-Gain confidence, stamina, and proficiency, in the shallow water and . . .

-Plunge into the deeper water.

Please join  The Team and  “go the distance!”  

Ready to “dive in?”  Questions?  Reply  below.

UPDATES:  Margot’s Class

Begins:   Wednesday, 09.12.12.

Location:  St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Tallahassee.

Open to:  Adult men and women.

Day & Time:  Wednesdays, 6.15 pm – 7.30 pm.  We will begin and end on time.

Source Text:  The Gospel of John, contained within the two books [the commentary].

Register:  Before 09.12.12:  Call  850.701.0664 or Reply below.

Fees:  There is no registration fee.

Books:  Fee for the two books is $28:  cash or check, payable to St. Peter’s Anglican Church.   You may purchase your books on 09.12.12.

Supper:  By the previous Monday, you must make or cancel your reservation for each Wednesday Supper:  Call  850.701.0664.  $6 for adults; $1 for college students.  Cash or check, made out to St. Peter’s Anglican Church.

 

1 Comment

Filed under The Gospel of John

Tagged as , , , , , , ,