By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith
This school year we will be offering seminars on the four gospels on the following dates:
• September 23: Gospel of Matthew | Rev. Malcolm Smith
• November 18: Gospel of Mark | Rev. Scott Frazier
• February 10: Gospel of Luke | Rev. Grant Odhner
• April 7: Gospel of John | Rev. Derek Elphick
We are still deciding on the exact start time and length, but the seminars will be on Wednesday evenings in Asplundh Assembly Hall, with a potluck dessert partway through the evening, similar to the Rise Above It sessions we had this past year. (We will still have some Community Suppers on Fridays, but they won’t be part of this series.)
Hearing about the gospels in four seminars will only be scratching the surface, and so we are hoping that people will also slowly read through and study at least one of the gospels in its entirety this year. You can do this individually, but it will be a much richer experience if you do it as part of a doctrinal class or small group and get to hear other people’s thoughts as they reflect on and grapple with the gospels. If you are already part of a group or a class, we invite you to consider putting one of the gospels on your schedule for the year. If you’d like to be part of a group, stay tuned for more information about when and where groups and classes are meeting. We will also have resources available for individual and group study, including commentaries by New Church authors.
In Revelation 11 we read that the two witnesses “will prophesy 1,260 days” and Apocalypse Revealed 491 explains that this means “an acknowledgment of the Lord and a life in accordance with the Ten Commandments, which are the two essential elements of the New Church, must be taught until the end and a new beginning [of the church].” We have a responsibility to teach these two essential elements of the church. Last year we focused on the Ten Commandments; this year it seems right to focus on acknowledgment of the Lord Jesus Christ. What better place to do that than the four gospels? We hope that you’ll join us and that, by the end of the year, you will have grown in your understanding and love of the Lord.