New Testament Highlights in 30 minutes
- Not a book of rules, a book of Love
- The Gospels
- As we grow and change, our understanding of who Jesus is also grows and changes.
- Read the gospel of Mark and bring back your observations about Jesus. “I never knew he was so mean” says a 6th grader.
- Epiphany (News flash) Jesus was not always warm and fuzzy. He is also edgy.
- Gospel Good news Greek evangelion– A gospel means Jesus Life, Ministry and Teachings
- Ever heard of the four gospels?
- Acts follows and tells stories of Jesus’ followers and the start of the Christian Church
- Each gospel is a stand alone story of Jesus’ life and ministry. This means they are not sequel chapters in a story book. Rather four complete and unique versions of Jesus’ life. We call those synopitc- So unlike a children’ storybook Bible you all probably have where all of the four gospels stories are smooshed together, a youth bible and adult bibles are stand alone stories and can now be studied with a more grown up understanding.
- Gospels - Let’s do this!
- First book of NT – 2nd longest
- Written later in the 1st Century. Matthew was likely not the author. But the book was named Matthew to give it more authority.
- Church’s gospel – only gospel that has the word “church” in it.
Scriptural essence:
Beatitudes Blessed are those, 5:2-11
Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you 5:43-44
Do unto others 7:12
Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself - 22:37-40
25
Mark
- Earliest Gospel
- Short and swift– bare bones
- Written perhaps by John Mark a newer version of Peter and Paul in Rome
- The best introduction to the full arch of the story of Jesus Christ
- Historian – accurate and orderly account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth
- Longest book
- Lots and lots of stories about birth of John the Baptist and annunciation to Mary.
- Jesus is Jewish
- Inclusion of Non-Jews in the saving work of Jesus Christ
- parables and life of Jesus
- I part of a II part series – Acts
- Does not follow the structure of the other Gospels at all
- Latest written
- Not the disciple John
- Other gospels focused on what Jesus did and said, John points to who Jesus is.
- Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the True Vine and the Bread of Life
- Scripture essence – For God so loved the world
- Chronicles the lives and ministry of the first apostles after Jesus’ resurrection.
- Stories of Paul’s conversion -the ways the first Christians shaped community, the struggles they had with both Jewish and Roman authorizes and the internal conflict they endured they began to evangelize and grow outside the historically Jewish community.
- Difference between apostle and disciple. Disciple is a student who is the disciple of the teacher.
- Apostle is literally one who is sent. Apostles were specifically those sent out into the world to spread the teachings of Jesus.
- Jesus turns the tables over in the temple - Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18
- The woman at the well (John) 4:1-42
- Call of the Disciples (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-34; Luke 5:1-11)
- Zacchaeus the tax collector (Luke 19:1-10)
- The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)
Read Feeding of the 5,000
(Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15)
Notice the differences
How do the gospels portray Jesus?
Is he impatient?
Is he a storyteller?
Is he a political activist?
Is he a keeper of wisdom?
Why don’t the gospels tell many stories about when Jesus was a child or teenager?
How were these gospels included while other were rejected?
Parables of Jesus
- Parables are always a story about God’s extravagant (EXTRA, over the top) love
- Parables are always a reversal of what you first think (first shall be last)
- Parables are always moving you to a different place than where you began
- Good Samaritan Luke 10:2-37
- The Lost Sheep and Coin Luke 15:1-10
- Loving Parent Luke 15:11-32
- The Sower Matthew 13:1-9
- The Mustard Seed Matthew 13:31-32
Miracles of Jesus
From miracle worker as a child, when get older can understand how he used miracles not just to illustrate his divinity but to show the world as God intended it to be.
- Feeding the Multitude Mark 6:30-44
- Walking on Water Matthew 14:22-33
- Raising of Lazarus John 11:1-45
- Water into Wine John 2:1-11
- Healing of the Paralytic Luke 15:17-26
Sayings of Jesus
- Beatitudes Matthew 5:2-11
- Love your enemies Matthew 5:43-44
- Do unto others Matthew 7:12
- Love the Lord Matthew 22:37-40
- For God so loved John 3:16
Moments in the Life of Jesus
Shape the rhythm of our Worship Year
- Stories of Jesus’ birth (Advent)
- Jesus lost in the temple (New year)
- Jesus Baptism (New year)
- Temptation in the wilderness (Lent)
- The Transfiguration (Post resurrection)
Stories of Holy Week (and beyond)
- Jesus entry into Jerusalem – Palm Sunday
- The Last Supper – Maundy Thursday
- Passion/Crucifixion (Good Friday)
- Resurrection (Easter)
- Ascension Post Resurrection
Names for Jesus
- Son of Mary and Joseph
- Son of God
- Promised Messiah
- Prophet
- Liberator
- King of the Jews
- Rabbi and teacher
- Beloved of God
- Miracle worker
- Fully human yet without sin
Cherished Stories of Jesus
Stories about Jesus’ call on our lives just as he called the disciples, Zacchaeus or even the Samaritan woman. Remind us of our calling to be different from the rest of the world in how we treat one another and how we worship God. Call to walk the way of the cross with him so that we too might have life, and have it abundantly.
- The Call of the Disciples
The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5:1-7;29
Woman at the Well
John 4:4-42
Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
Luke 19:1-10
Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)
Matthew 21.1-11
Mark 11.1-10
Luke 19.28-40
John 12.12-19
Passion/Crucifixion (Good Friday)
Matthew 26.36-27
Mark 14.32-15.47
Luke 22.39-23.56
John 18.1-19.42
Resurrection (Easter)
Matthew 28
Mark 16
Luke 24.1-12
John 20:1-29
Ascension
Mark 16.19-20
Luke 24.50-53
Acts 1.6-11
The Early Church
- Rooted in community from the very start
- To be a Christian outside of community means losing an essential part of how the Bible models faith expression and the practices of faith.
- Connected to the body 1 Corinthians 12:14-20
- Gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2) - birthplace of the church
- Conversion (Call) of Paul (Acts 9) – Christians have been persecuted and Christians have also been the persecutors
21 Epistles
Scholars have debated which ones were written by whom.
Majority were written by the Apostle Paul
Give insight into both the beliefs and the church
Expectations that were put on early church leadership
How laws of the OT were applied or abandoned
How the early church slowly developed unique worship traditions.
Paul travelled along the Mediterranean as far as Rome, teaching people about Jesus.
How to shape life together and how to deal with conflict and disagreements within the community.
- Differences between Jews and Gentiles
- Galatians 3:26-28
- You are a Gentile (not born Jewish)
- We celebrate our diversity in the Church, but we don’t use differences to treat people differently or say that one or the other is more valuable in the Christian community.
- Men and women are different. Within the Church there were also people who were born Jews and people who were outside of the Jewish community.
- Yet despite these differences they both called each other Christians.
- Revelation to John is often described as apocalyptic literature, a type of writing in which other worldly beings reveal secrets about the future and or the cosmos to ordinary mortals.
- Revelation describes the vision of John on the island of Patmos and describes the coming of Jesus Christ again to the earth and all that goes into the final judgment of the world.