Sunday, April 26
LivingRoom Lesson

1. Have you ever thought about how a letter from Paul to a particular congregation he had founded eventually came to be considered by the early church as being on the same level as scripture?  Why do you think that happened?

2. What did you learn about Paul from this first episode that you did not know?

3. Breenan and Chris state that we all approach Scripture with our own “presuppositions” or filters.  My favorite example is people who say they take the Bible literally, and believe the statements that women must submit to their husbands and should not preach or teach in church are eternal truths, but look at the nearby verses that say slaves must submit to their masters and claim they are just part of the culture of Paul’s day.  What social ideas do I have that cause me to lift up one biblical practice as eternal truth, but ignore another?  What presuppositions do you think you approach scripture with?  How do you think your age, gender, or race affects your views of scriptures?  How do you think you social and political views affect your views of scripture?  How do you think your parents’ views affect your own? Do you tend to approach the scripture more literally or interpretively, and where did you learn that that was the right way to go about it?

We are using a Bible study called “Office Hours”, co-taught by Brennan Breed at Columbia Theological Seminary and Chris Holmes at First Presbyterian Atlanta.  The four week study will discuss Paul’s letter to the Philippians.