WE ARE TRUE NORTH CHURCH, A NON-DENOMINATIONAL, NON-CHARISMATIC CHURCH, IN PITTSBURGH, PA SERVING THE NORTH HILLS AND SURROUNDING AREAS

Can it be “fun” to study Exodus? Maybe the phrase should be “eye-opening” when we consider some of what we will see in this book. A burning bush. A pillar of cloud. A river of blood. Frogs falling from the sky! An entire Sea that splits and has a dry bottom to speed Israelites across to freedom. We have an opportunity to journal all of these miraculous and explosive events!

The books of Joel and Amos are two of twelve books known as the minor prophets; not minor as in unimportant, but minor because of book length- in fact, the books of Isaiah is as long as all of the minor prophet books put together. Jewish tradition groups them into a single book called the “Book of the Twelve.”

Who are the Patriarchs? At this point in Year one of the PATH, you are coming into the homestretch of Genesis with its 50 chapters and many, many characters. The three people known as the Patriarchs are Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac’s son Jacob. Many Biblical scholars also include Jacob’s son Joseph in the patriarchy.

Hosea the man and Hosea, the book. Hosea the man wrote about the life that God commanded him to live. The book of Hosea is the story of a man’s obedience to God, a sacrificial obedience that illustrated both Israel’s disobedience and God’s steadfast love for his people. But...would you obey if God told you to marry the town harlot? That was what Hosea had to do, as a way of illustrating the behavior of the nation of Israel.

Did you know that many of the Psalms are connected? They may have been written by the same author or refer to the same event. Psalms 3 and 4 are one such pair. Others are Psalms 1 and 2, 18 through 21, 42 and 42, and 118 and 119. Some psalm are theologically paired while others are companions that tell a story.

The two letters to the church at Thessalonica were an address to the local church and touch on issues that still apply to the church today: evangelism, ethics, fellowship, worship, obedience, hope. There is a message for pastors about serving their church with the gospel in the first letter.

So many people begin their reading of the Bible with great intentions and they start with Genesis. I’m glad that the Year 1 PATH Journal began in John, to get us into the good habit of SOAP journaling and Bible reading. People sometimes avoid the Old Testament, thinking that it is not relevant to us today or too intimidating to read. Do not be afraid of the Old Testament; it is filled with exciting and beautiful stories of God’s people...

In Part 1 of the blog on Luke, I told you that Luke was written for a predominantly Gentile audience. How does this gospel narrative do that? I’m glad you asked! Along the way, I have some more interesting information about this gospel.