The Library Basement

The class went fairly well last night. Unfortunately I tried to pack too much content into 1 hour 15 minutes, so we did not get as much question and discussion time as I had hoped. That was not terribly surprising given the scope of the material. Still, my churchmates were (apparently) engaged and inquisitive, and I think I was able to share with them a few things they had not learned before. Also, I have a good subgroup of folks who are knowledgeable in their own right, so I get to learn from them (not to mention borrow some really interesting books).

Next week it is on to the New Testament.

Discussion question for tonight’s class:

Why should we as Christians read the Old Testament?

I recently began teaching an adult education class at my church. The title is “Historical Backgrounds of the Bible – How did we get the scriptures?” The class is only 6 weeks long, with 5 remaining, so time is going to be really tight. Here is my plan for the classes:

• Old Testament overview
• New Testament overview
• Canon
• Transmission of scripture
• Translation of scripture

As you can see, covering the entire Old Testament in one night is going to make for a very broad survey. I’ll try to stick to the basics and facilitate conversation as best as I can.

Overall I am really excited for this course. This is my first experience of any kind in the role of teaching Bible to adults. Hopefully I will learn a lot and my class-goers will learn something too.