Dec 17 – 3 Advent John 1:6-8, 19-28 The Testimony of John Background: The Gospel of John is different than the other Gospels. This Gospel is rich in imagery and often complex and subtle language. This Gospel stresses the divinity of Jesus against the created world. The Gospel also appears to address the Gnostic focus […]
Dec 10 – 2 Advent 2 Peter 3:8-15a The Promise of the Lord’s Coming Background: Peter’s second letter to the Christians in the first century of the Christian Era was most likely composed to address questions raised regarding the hierarchy or prominence between apostolic believers (first generation or first-hand believers) and postapostolic believers (those who […]
Dec 3 – 1 Advent Isaiah 64:1-9 A Prayer of Penitence Background: This passage is taken from a portion of the book of Isaiah often referred to as Third Isaiah. The author of this portion was likely a disciple of the prophet Isaiah and spoke to a mixed audience in Jerusalem of residents and returning […]
Nov 26 – Last Pentecost Psalm 100 All Lands Summoned to Praise God Background: This Psalm carries the superscription: A Psalm of thanksgiving or alternatively a psalm of praise. This Psalm is found in the 4th Book of Psalms (Psalms 90 – 106) and has no attribution to an author. Scholars assign this Psalm as […]
Nov 19 – 24 Pentecost 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 The Coming of the Lord Background: This book is most likely one of the earliest Christian texts in existence. Paul probably composed the text from Corinth in 50-51 CE. It is uncertain whether Paul is replying to a letter, but it is likely he isn’t. Generally, it […]