Reviewing the Basics of Christian Faith
Every church needs to regularly teach the basics of Christian faith both so that newer disciples can learn and so more seasoned Christians can be reminded. Both Paul and Peter wrote of the value of such reminders (2 Tim. 2:14; 2 Peter 1:12). During March and early April, Pastor Kelvin Jones will be doing just that. Working from a book by Bishop William H. Willimon called United Methodist Beliefs (Westminster John Knox Press 2007), Pastor Jones is developing a series called “Basic Christian Beliefs.”
The class which began March 10, is meeting on Tuesday mornings at 10:30 AM at Copper Hill Church. While it is designed to also prepare attenders for membership in the church, one does not need to be planning to join the church in order to attend. So far attendance is evenly divided between those attending for enrichment/review and those attending as a preparation for joining the church. Pastor Kelvin welcomes questions and encourages dialogue as a part of the class. New participants are welcome. Last week we began with a discussion of what it means to believe in God and the Trinity in a world that is increasingly atheistic. This coming Tuesday (March 17) we’ll seek to understand better God’s plan of salvation and how it transforms our lives.
Other good books for reminding ourselves of the basics that Pastor Kelvin is also using as resources include:
Christian Basics, John Stott (Baker Books 1999)
The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren (Zondervan 2002)
3:16, Max Lucado (Thomas Nelson 2007)
The Faith, Charles Colson and Harold Fickett (Zondervan 2008)