First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, NM September 1997

By Lantern Light:

A Unique Opportunity for Studying the Bible.

To many people the Bible is mysterious, complex and confusing. And yet, there are few who do not confess to wishing they knew more about it. It is often not a lack of desire, but a lack of opportunity that many people do not study the Bible. Now, we have an opportunity for you!

I am pleased to announce a new program for the study of the Bible designed to help people read and understand the Bible as a whole. The name of the program is Kerygma. In the New Testament, the Greek word kerygma indicates the content of the message announced by the church, with subsequent translations into English as "proclamation" or "proclaimed."

The Kerygma Program publishes adult Bible study resources serving a broad ecumenical

constituency. It is founded on the conviction that we share a profoundly important religious heritage. Our origin and our future as the Church of Jesus Christ is discovered in the story of the faith and life of God’s people as presented in the Bible. Sharing that story opens people to be shaped into the most vital communities of faith. As the Kerygma Program puts it: "To mature in one’s faith and life as a Christian requires knowledge of the story, as well as the ability to translate that story to the living of one’s life."

The course offered will be Kerygma: Discovering the Bible, a foundational study. It is not a book-by-book approach, nor a literary or doctrinal study. Rather, it focuses on the "big picture," not the small details. It seeks to emphasize the unity in the biblical message and the relationships among all the parts of the Bible. The introduction to the course describes it as "...a basic introduction to the Bible. In thirty sessions the biblical story is told from the beginning to the end, from God’s creation of the universe to God’s promise of a new creation. The focus of this study is to enable adults to gain a familiarity with the people, events, places, and ideas within the Bible and to discover the interrelationships of the parts of Scripture."You will have a choice of two different class times: Sunday, 9:00-10:15 AM or Wednesday, 7:15-8:30 PM.

This is a course that offers to change our lives as Christians. It is both historical and contemporary in its approach to study of the Bible, providing a means for us to hear and participate in the biblical story. Both those who have studied for years and those who have never engaged in study should find this course challenging and rewarding. It requires registration, the purchase of a resource book, and a commitment to complete assigned work at home. Nancy French, Marcus Burr, and I will be teachers for the course.

Plan now to attend an introductory class at 9:00 AM September 14, taught by

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth Clark, author of the resource book for this course! Books will

be available for purchase that morning.

Yours for the vitality such study will bring,

John Clark Poling

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