A Gentle Ramble Through the Bible - Chronologically

Paul is nearing the end of his 3rd Missionary Journey. As he turns south towards Corinth, his heart yearns to continue westward to Rome to meet the church of believers that has formed there in the heart of the Empire. He can’t go to see them quite yet, so he writes a letter that is widely regarded as his Magnum Opus--a sweeping statement of his theology. We discover that, as usual, Paul’s words are controversial.

Four hundred years later, the Early Church Fathers quite literally spill blood as they fight over what it means for Jesus to be both divine and human and whether the Holy Spirit is part of God and Jesus or not.

And, of course, there’s the big clobber passage in Romans 1 that has been used to bash the LGBTQ community. We discover this passage actually applies to us all equally. ​

We cover Romans 1.

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We finish our series on 2 Corinthians today. Paul spends some time talking to the Corinthians about what it means to be a cheerful giver. The idea that he might get to Corinth and they won’t have gathered a collection for the poor in Jerusalem, or even worse, that he’ll find some of them unchanged and unrepentant gives him pause.

There’s a sort of break in thought after Chapter 9. Perhaps he was interrupted and wasn’t able to get back to the letter for a bit. In the meantime, it’s pretty clear that someone has brought news of so-called “super apostles” showing up in Corinth and bad-mouthing Paul.

You can imagine Paul’s reaction! It’s here that he talks about his “thorn in the flesh.”

We cover 2 Corinthians 7:5-13:14.

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Paul is in the middle of his letter to the Corinthians. He wants to make sure they understand that he and the other apostles are just men--jars of clay--and subject to all the hardships that go with that.

And yet, Paul regards these hardships as nothing. He sees his body as nothing more than a tent. Transient. Impermanent. He wants the Corinthians to see themselves as being “in” Christ’s death, and as ambassadors of the Good News that God is not holding anyone’s sins against them.

We take a look at what this means and at what might shift if we take Paul’s advice.

We cover 2 Corinthians 4:1-7:4.

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Paul is ready to leave Ephesus, and that’s good because they are ready to kick him out. There’s a huge riot because Paul is converting so many idol-worshippers that it’s impacting the sales of paraphernalia and trinkets feeding off the worship at the temple of Artemis.

Paul heads out towards Macedonia and on the way meets back up with Titus, who is carrying news from the Corinth. You can imagine Paul’s immense relief when he hears the Corinthians have finally repented and are back on track.

Paul immediately sits down to write a joyful letter to them. In the part we read today he tells them the veil has dropped from their faces and they are gazing at the Lord. The view is still not perfectly clear--it’s more like a reflection in a mirror--but it’s enough to transform them. We talk about that in our breakout groups.

We cover 2 Corinthians 1-3.

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We wrap up 1 Corinthians today. Paul continues with his strong words about the chaos in the worship gatherings the Corinthians have. They’ve been blessed with an abundance of spiritual gifts of the Spirit, but they’re trying to shout over each other. Are you getting the sense that the Corinthians have a problem with self-importance?

It is in this context that Paul addresses women who are utterly derailing the worship service with their questions. He talks about how the law says women should be silent in the churches. The problem is, the Mosaic Law doesn’t say that. So what is Paul talking about?

On top of that, some of the Corinthians apparently don’t believe in resurrection. The Corinthian church is confused, and Paul is horrified. It boggles his mind that they would worship a risen Messiah and at the same time say they don’t believe in resurrection.

You can bet he’s got some strong words about that. And in the process, we get another glimpse into his developing theology.

We cover 1 Corinthians 14-16.

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The Corinthians are a clique-ish group. Some are rich and some are poor, and they obviously don’t mix. The “Lord’s Supper” is a literal meal but everybody brings their own food and they don’t share! It’s not even a potluck.

Paul is horrified. He says they are sinning when they do this and, as far as he’s concerned, that’s why some of them have fallen ill or died before Jesus comes back. (We, of course, have a different perspective on this after 2000 years.)

The Corinthians also have questions about the gifts of the Spirit. Don’t we all? Paul gives them a terrific answer. It’s one of the most famous passages in all of Scripture.

We cover 1 Corinthians 11:17-13:13.

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Paul addresses two huge issues the Corinthians are having. It was a thing back then to be invited by your patron to dine at the local god or goddess’s temple.

Can Christians eat in a pagan temple? And leftover meat sacrificed to these gods and goddesses was sold at a discount in the market. Can Christians buy food sacrificed to idols?

And what about women praying or prophesying in church? Should they have their heads covered or not?

We carefully walk through Paul’s logic and arrive at surprising results.

We cover 1 Corinthians 8:1-11:16.

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Paul has a lot more to say to the Corinthians--some of it in response to a message they send to him with a bunch of their questions.

Paul focuses on the physical body in this part of his letter. He talks about sexual immorality, about marriage, and about treating your body as a holy temple. But some of the most interesting and fruitful bits spring from his admonition that “You are not your own. You were bought with a price.”

We use our backpack tools on that one--with very surprising results.

We cover

• 1 Corinthians 6:12-8:13
• Matthew 19:3-12

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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More info at PastorintheWild.org.

We hit 1 Corinthians 6:9 this week--one of the most famous “clobber” verses in the Bible. It’s one of those verses often used to bludgeon each other and to exclude each other from fellowship with other believers. We use our backpack tools to determine whether this is Paul’s intent and to see how his words might have landed on Roman ears.

There is a strong divide within Christianity over how to interpret this passage. We try to do it carefully and respectfully, using historical context and linguistic context as well as taking a look at the witness of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible.

Above all, we consider the words of Jesus and his advice to “look at the fruit.”

We cover 1 Corinthians 6:1-11.

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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Paul is writing a scathing letter to the Corinthians. They are in serious danger of losing their way entirely. At this point there is not much to distinguish them from the unbelievers and idol worshippers they live among.

There is an overlay of puffed-up, prideful self-importance that is endangering the church. Everyone is all about themselves--and the more extreme they can be, the better.

Paul isn’t having any of it! He absolutely sticks a skewer into their pride over someone who is sleeping with his father’s wife. Paul says, “Not even the unbelievers think that’s a good idea!”

We spend our breakout time talking about Paul’s recommendation that they immediately expel this person from their midst.

We cover 1 Corinthians 3-5.

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

Click here for an index of all classes.

More info at PastorintheWild.org.