Isabella's Kitchen - 8623 E Thompson Peak Pkwy
Co-taught by Drs. Avram and Hilton
The Bible can be intimidating. Our Project Bible classes help us enter its strange and splendid world together, looking for what God will reveal – about who God is, how God connects with us, and how God joins us to one another and the world. This shared journey helps us know the abundant, world-moving life to which Jesus calls us.
Sept 19
Acts Unending – Paul’s Ministry in Rome (Acts 28)
The magisterial 52 chapters we call Luke-Acts culminate by describing the ministry of Paul in Rome as “unfettered”. In this session, we read this open-ended closing as a signal that this author and his Author intend for us to see this story of Jesus and the earliest churches as a launching pad rather than an end point Question: Are we the 57th chapter of Acts?
Sept 26
All Things to All People – Paul and the Gospel Among Jews and Gentiles (Acts 17 and 21)
Early Christianity grew up in a complex ethnic and cultural world that required good communicators to speak the language of many peoples. In this session we’ll see that Acts is a book about a multilingual church who find ways to communicate good news to a wide variety of people and communities. Question: What ‘languages’ do we need to learn?
Oct 3
Talking It Out – How the Early Church Made Its Decisions (Acts 15)
The early Christians faced huge decisions as they moved into the world – issues that went to the very identity of Jesus’ movement. The Book of Acts gives us a window to how they discerned their way forward. They developed an instinct to come toward one another and hash things out together. Question: How should our Christian conversations go?
Oct 10
Pushed Out of the Nest – What Sent the Church into the World (Acts 8—15)
Just before Jesus left the company of his disciples, he sent them “to Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1.8) But seven chapters and many moons into the story, they were still snug in Jerusalem, with no sign that they knew the rest of the world exists. In this session we’ll ask why that was…and how it changed. Question: What will get us out of our nest?
Oct 17
Standing Up – Risky Faith in the Face of Danger (Acts 4—7)
After Jesus, their inspiration, leader, protector, and friend had been cruelly executed, the previously cowardly disciples became suddenly brave apostles. In this session, we’ll watch that newfound courage at work and drill down to find its source – for them and for us. Question: Why would we need to be bold in our day?
Oct 24
“Jesus Continued” – The Striking Resemblance of the Jesus People to Jesus (Acts 3, 4, 7, and 9)
As far as we know, Peter, John, James, Matthew, Bartholomew, and the lot never wore “WWJD” tee shirts, but in Acts they look a lot like “J”. In this session, we’ll take a look at that likeness as it plays out in the daily life of the earliest church. Question: How can we become more like Jesus?
Nov 7
The Dividends of Difference – Early Christian Variety in the Hands of God (Acts 2)
The brilliant, multi-colored, multi-cultured, and multi-lingual raw material of the first church had gathered in Jerusalem for a feast. God chose this moment to move newly into the world. In this session we’ll ask what this means about God and the church. Question: What are the dividends of our differences?
Nov 14
Explosion – The Purpose and Power of Pentecost (Acts 1 and 2)
At the beginning of Acts, bewildered apostles spilled out from a crowded, smelly upper room on to the streets of Jerusalem. What happened next changed the world. In this session, we’ll watch God use unqualified, aimless men and women to light up their city and then their Empire with the news that God had come to the earth in Jesus of Nazareth. Question: What is the purpose and where is the power in our lives?