Return from Babylon | God’s People Scattered & Gathered
Across the country, churches are preparing for the day when their doors can again be opened and the people of God will gather on a Sunday morning. Our state and church are targeting the last Sunday in May as the “re-opening Sunday.” Some of the ministries and worship services that we enjoy will be very different – we will be sitting in every other row; we will be maintaining a six-foot distance; limiting the number of many people worshiping in the sanctuary, and opening other rooms for watching worship on screens. But some of our ministries will not be able to function at all until more items return to normal. One of those ministries is our adult Bible studies.
Many of us look forward to being together and studying the Scriptures on a weekly basis. It refreshes our spirit, encourages our faithfulness and our growth. In order to experience that “koinonia” -that fellowship – with both the Word of God and our faithful friends, we will be climbing into the deep, dark catacombs of the Internet and meeting around the Scripture. Each week we will spend an hour with the Word.
The church that I attend in Jeffersonville, IN is called Eastside Christian Church. Our adult Bible study group borders on fifty believers, spanning several decades of age groups. I will be posting the new lesson for the coming Sunday each Thursday morning. You can peruse the lesson at your leisure. I will be meeting on this website each Monday and Wednesday evening at 7:00pm. We will have an opportunity to “chat” through a chat-room like interface. We can talk about the lesson, ask questions about meaning and application, share prayer requests, and enjoy moments of fellowship. Eventually we will try some live streaming for an even greater connection.
return to studying together
We will be studying a series of lessons that I have written called “Return From Babylon: God’s people scattered & gathered.” We will be talking about the Old Testament times when the faithful people were scattered then gathered back together by God. An introductory lesson posted right now called “Scattered: the time between the testaments” talks about the Babylonian Captivity and the events between the Old and New Testaments. Feel free to read through that lesson between now and May 31st. I will post the official first lesson in the series on Thursday, May 28th. Here is a graphic describing the lessons.
join our study
Perhaps your congregation is also unable to begin Bible studies at this time. Why don’t you join us as we begin to return to worshiping God together. I am looking forward to sharing with you. Let’s encourage our friends and others to gather with us, as we begin to return to a sense of normal fellowship. If you have never experienced a lesson online, follow this link and it will help you through the process step-by-step.
