Ancient Anglican

It is through these stories of Abraham that I want us to develop a deeper and broader understanding of how to read Scripture.

This first week we’ll look at the Call of Abraham, followed by Melchizedek, Hagar/Ishmael and Sarah/Isaac, and finishing with the Sacrifice of Isaac. The readings will be not only the Biblical account of Abraham, but also may include other verses of Scripture and some extra-biblical Jewish and Christian perspectives.

In Paul’s invocation of other people in his greeting and benediction, we are reminded that our life in Christ is never an individual endeavor, but that we are always part of a community when we are speaking or when being addressed.

Within this letter, Paul shows the practical application of the gospel teaching to a situation that would normally result in Onesimus’s death or severe physical punishment.

As you read through these verses, think of how verses 4:5-6 should govern our lives with others.

Paul does not say that the use of shadows, observances, or symbols is wrong so long as we don’t mistake them for the true reality of Christ who is the true image of God.

As you read through this section, pay special attention to Paul’s use of the great three theological virtues (faith, hope, and love) and the role they play in the life of a mature Christian community.

Think about the individuals that Paul mentions in this introduction to his letter and the role that these individuals played in Paul’s ministry and the life of the church in Colossae.

This week try to see the manifestation of the Wisdom of God in Newton’s second law of motion (Force=Mass x Acceleration) or E=mc2; in the most despicable of arachnids or serpents; or simply in the mundane such as the grass growing in a highway median whose purpose is live and to grow upwards towards the light, providing nourishment and protection for a myriad of life.

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before!

In the household codes, notice the simplicity of the instructions and the readical egalitarianism that Paul assets at the end of this section.

The merciful God regards the lives and tempers of men more than their ideas. I believe he respects the goodness of the heart rather than the clearness of the head;