Introduction to New Testament Greek with Kevin

Years ago I worked in landscaping. And over a few summers I got to lend a hand in installing new lawns, putting a lot of plants and trees in the ground, and building things like brick paver patios and retaining walls. Our specialty was boulder retaining walls. These things were impressive and they should last a long, long time.

Back then my boss would remind me that the service we were providing for people was a luxury. What he meant was that people needed to cut their grass and they needed to clean up fallen leaves, but they didn’t need a boulder retaining wall. But, oh man, a nice retaining wall is pretty cool.

That’s not unlike Greek.

We need to read our Bibles. We need to pray. We need to meet with God’s people on a regular basis. Not everyone needs to learn New Testament Greek. But, oh man, it’s pretty fun.

So, where does that leave you?

Do you need to learn Greek? No, you don’t. It may not even be a good use of your time if it gets in the way of other, more important things. But…you may want to. And, if you do, I want to help you.

Beginning March 20 I’m going to be leading a small group through an introduction to New Testament Greek, using this book, which you will need to purchase. We’ll meet one day a week (Monday evenings, from 6:30-7:30) through June 26. After that time, you will be well on your way to being able to read the New Testament, in Greek, on your own.

If you’d like to join in on the fun, please let me know.

Free Tyndale House Class on Trusting the Gospels

Tyndale House Cambridge is offering a free online class on the trustworthiness of the gospels, Can We Trust the Gospels?: Evidence for the Gospel’s Historical Reliability, taught by Dr. Peter J. Williams. The gospels class will take place on Saturday, September 26, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Continue reading for more information on the class and click here to sign up.

The Gospels―Matthew, Mark, Luke, John―are four accounts of Jesus’s life and teachings while on earth. But should we accept them as historically accurate? What evidence is there that the recorded events happened? 

The Master Class will cover the following five topics: 

1) What are the earliest records of Christianity?
What do the earliest non-Christian sources (Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, Josephus) tell us about the beginnings of Christianity?

2) Did the Gospel writers know what they were writing about?
This session will examine the levels of knowledge of the Gospel writers and see that they were familiar with the things they wrote about. 

3) How were Jesus’s teachings handed down?
This session will examine how Jesus’s teachings came to be recorded in the Gospels, including the languages and methods of his teaching.

4) How do skeptics explain the data?
Skeptical approaches to the Gospels often have predictable anatomy. This session will evaluate the method and claims of a leading Bible skeptic, Professor Bart D. Ehrman.

5) What about contradictions?
This session will consider one of the biggest objections to the truth of the Gospels today.

Class: New Testament Introduction/Survey

Have you ever wanted to get a good foundational level understanding of the New Testament? If so, you should think about participating in our upcoming New Testament Introduction/Survey class. We’ll be looking at both the background/history of the New Testament as well as a survey of what’s in the New Testament.

Classes will be on Tuesdays from 6:00 to 7:30pm beginning August 11. The class will be six weeks long (August 11 to September 15).

If you’d like to participate, please sign up by either putting your name down on the sign up sheet at the church building or emailing me. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me as well.

Class: New Testament Introduction/Survey

Beginning Tuesday, August 11, I (Kevin) will be teaching a New Testament Introduction/Survey class. This class will cover—on a foundational level—what the New Testament is and what’s contained within it. Among other things, we’ll look together at how the books of the New Testament came to be in the New Testament and what makes the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke different from the gospel of John.

My hope for the class is that it would be used by God to equip you to better understand and apply the New Testament so that you would grow closer to Jesus.

The class is scheduled for six weeks (all Tuesdays)—August 11, 18, 25, September 1, 8, 15—and they are tentatively scheduled for 6:00p - 7:30p. Normally the classes won’t take more than an hour, but there could be one or two that need the entire hour and a half. The classes will take place at the Living Waters Church building.

Anyone who’s interested in the class is welcome to be a part of it. If you’re interested, please email me so I can be praying for you and be sure to have class handouts ready for you. Also, feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.