And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:11-16
Each semester Pursuit offers various Sunday morning classes where students can learn more to equip them to pursue God, pursue community among believers, and pursue the lost. Sunday Morning Pursuit starts at 9:15am on Sunday mornings at Trinity Baptist church in the college room on the third floor.
During Fall 2011, we will offer a number of different classes for students to take:
Galatians: Taught by Chris Haynes
Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia is a profound teaching of the
“Gospel, and the freedom that comes from the Gospel” It allows us to see
that there is one and only one true Gospel and that this Gospel comes only
through Faith in Christ. Paul’s warning to the Galatians holds true for us
today. Do we understand Justification by Faith alone, in Christ alone? Do
we live this way? Have we allowed something else to creep in that changes
the entire Gospel message such as the Judaizers were doing? Are we
subjecting yourself again to a yoke of slavery? We will walk verse by verse
through this Epistle and examine Paul’s arguments to the Galatians.
Judges: Taught by Terry Garner
From the death of Joshua, approximately 1440 B.C. to the rise of Samuel, approximately 1140 B.C., there is no Patriarch – Abraham through Joshua, or King over Israel. They become a loose collection of 12 tribes, and they inquired of the Lord, Judges 1: “1After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” Each of the tribes then proceeds to take by conquest the territory of the promised land given to them by God, but they are disobedient and each of their conquests ends with the phrase, “did not drive out”. Partial obedience, and in Judges 2 the angel of the Lord reveals to them the consequence of their disobedience, “1Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the LORD.”
- In Genesis 17:6 God covenants with Abram and tells him “and kings shall come from you”. In Deuteronomy 17:14-20 “14″When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose.” Why in this period of over 300 years after they take possession is there no king?
- What is God teaching Israel and us during this period of judges?
- What is faith, repentance and redemption? What does God reveal about His nature in Judges?
Judges completes Israel’s transition from slavery to a nation ruled by God’s most beloved king, David. But in this transition, Israel will come to understand the consequence of disobedience, and the Sovereignty and faithfulness of God.
Church History: Taught by Adam Westerman
“Be honest. You have never studied Church History before, and you need to. Come and hear about this “great cloud of witnesses” of your brothers and sisters. You’ll smile and you’ll like it.
History is going somewhere, and you are not the center point. Jesus Christ promised to build His Church, and we will look at how He has done it so far. We will observe what God did and who God used. “
Spiritual Disciplines for the Church: Taught by Greg Hughes
God’s Biblical Leadership: Taught by Dr. Billy Wolfe
Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The question
to be asked each week is how does God lead and how can I recognize His voice? The answer, briefly,
is that God leads in many ways but His is not the only voice we will hear. We will search the Scriptures
topically to discover what some of those ways are and how to discern His voice among the other ones.
The purpose of this searching is to identify some of the Biblical principles of God’s guidance so that
we might follow Christ more obediently, promptly and faithfully. I will share some of my personal
experiences in being led by God’s Spirit and invite you to do the same. Time permitting, we may also
sing some hymns that capture Biblical insights Christian poets have penned about following His leading.