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	LENTEN STUDY IDEAS???
	LENTEN STUDY IDEAS???
	NOW is the time to get the members of your congregation interested in, and maybe even excited about, Bible study during Lent. There are a lot of materials out there that are appropriate for either group or individual study. And getting people to commit to six weeks of study is a lot easier than getting them to commit to a full year. One problem many of us have is thinking of creative ways to get people involved. If you know of great materials that you have used or are planning to use, please share that info with us so that we can pass it on to others. One suggestion we have already received is Fed and Forgiven from Augsburg Fortress. Also, if you have used a format that encourages people to participate, particularly those who aren't currently involved in a study, please let us know that as well. One suggestion was to have people sign up for a study with the intent of meeting as small groups in homes once a week. There are a lot of creative minds in this synod. Please share your creativity so that we can involve more of our people in Bible study. Look below for ideas that have been submitted! Your Synod co-Advocates for the Book of Faith initiative Trudy Foote dtfoote@mchsi.com Doreen Klages klages@charter.net

From Pastor Mike Thomas, Trinity, Macomb
Last year we tried something at Trinity and I was very encouraged about the response. We presented it to the congregation under the following rationale...
- You can't play any game correctly if you don't know what the rule book says.
- You can't get a license to drive a car if you don't know what the State manual for drivers says.
- You can't solve algebra problems if you haven't studied the math book, and,
- You can't drive across the country on vacation unless you know how to read a map (or at least how to enter what you want on GPS)

So, how it is we think we can follow Jesus and proclaim the Gospel with our lives if we really haven't read the Gospel or know what it says. Since most of us read many emails, magazines, newspapers, and books on a daily basis, why not set aside fifteen minutes per week (not per day, but per week) during this Lenten season to do some scriptural reading and discover what Jesus really said, or didn't say.

Each week during Lent, members of the congregation were assigned homework. They were to read three chapters of Matthew's Gospel. Transfiguration Sunday they were asked to read Matthew 1-3 (which ends kind of with John the Baptist talking about repentance....Ash Wednesday stuff). The rest of the schedule was below in terms of assignment for the week:

1^st of Sunday Lent: Matthew 4-7

2^nd of Sunday Lent: Matthew 8-10

3^rd of Sunday Lent: Matthew 11-13

4^th of Sunday Lent: Matthew 14-17

5^th of Sunday Lent: Matthew 18-20

Palm/Passion Sunday: Matthew 21

Monday of Holy Week: Matthew 22

Tuesday of Holy Week: Matthew 23

Wednesday of Holy Week: Matthew 24

Maundy Thursday: Matthew 25-26

Good Friday: Matthew 27

Holy Saturday: Rest, do no reading

Easter Sunday: Matthew 28

Those reading the Gospel were encouraged to come to the adult forum on Sunday morning to discuss only the materials covered in the past week, and a few minutes were incorporated within the Lenten Wednesday evening message to flesh out (via Greek, or culture) the past week's readings. (A handout sheet with those highlights was distributed as well, so those who missed or wanted to have something printed could have it.) THIS WAS NOT A CANNED SET OF MATERIALS. It encouraged people to wrestle with what they read, (with some pointers being provided.) i.e., Matthew chapter 1: All those names! Notice, however, very occasionally a woman's name is mentioned. Background was provided about Tamar, Ruth, the wife of Uriah.....hum, looks like Jesus has a few skeletons in the family closet. What about you, or your family? Also a brief cultural insight about what it means to be engaged, what recourses Joseph had, and why it is so important we grasp "God with us", not a god far removed on some lofty Mt.

Olympus.

It took me about half hour a week to put the handout together. We had close to sixty people (out of 175 baptized membership) participate. I was thrilled, and so many came up during Lent and said, "I didn't know Jesus said that!"

From Becky Moore, LSSI

I know this thought may be kind of “out there” and is not an actual Bible Study … but IF there are any congregations that may be interested in working on a “service project” (Matthew 25 themed) during Lent to help others and have a hands-on ministry experience… I am sure there would be many many ideas I could suggestions in regard to LSSI mission projects in the areas of Peoria / Champaign / Danville / Decatur / Taylorville / Southern IL / Beardstown and any prison. Just a thought if discussion goes that route for anyone. I’d be happy to chat with you or them about ideas.

From Gerald Carlson, Trinity, Macomb

How about: "The relevance of the pre-Easter Jesus to life today." Sources: Pre-Easter Jesus scriptures, John Shelby Spong, Marcus J. Borg, others.

WHAT'S HOT IN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION?
The Book of Faith is always hot in Christian Education. We are a church that is grounded in Bible study, but so far very few congregations have identified themselves as Book of Faith congregations. Part of that is because there is still a lot of misconception about what the Book of Faith Initiative is. The Book of Faith Initiative is an attempt to get the people in our congregations more involved in Bible study - both individual study and group study. It is NOT a set of materials produced by Augsburg/Fortress. They have created some supporting materials, but that's what they are - supporting materials. The question for each congregation is "What are you doing to encourage the members of your congregation to want to study God's Word?" Some ideas from other congregations are: Early morning study for working folks Short-term weekday study for retired folks Evening studies for men, or women, or intergenerational, or Sunday School teachers, or... Individual Advent or Lent studies. One group talked about starting with a potluck to talk about what they hoped to do and ended with a potluck to talk about their experiences. Encourage small groups who have a common bond (young marrieds, young singles, older singles, teachers, retired folks, etc) to combine Bible study with a social event. Put on your thinking caps. The number of ways to get people involved is only limited by our imaginations. For more ideas, you can also go to the Book of Faith website at URL www.bookoffaith.org . Blessings, Doreen Klages Faith Lutheran, O’Fallon Learning Subcommittee

	What’s HOT in Christian Education!
	What’s HOT in Christian Education!
	Each month the Learning Subcommittee will be noting some resources for Christian Education that you might want to make use of in your educational setting. Since October is the time we celebrate the Reformation you might want to check out these items: "The Lutheran Course" takes you through the fundamentals of Lutheranism in seven sessions. Some of the topics covered are: "How to Tell the Difference Between the Law and the Gospel"* presented by James Nestingen, "The Anatomy of a Baptism" presented by Winston Persaud and "The Three Most Rebellious Things Jesus Did" presented by Barbara Rossing. The Lutheran Handbook and the workbook provide the group with great information and challenging questions for discussion. Great for new Lutherans, old Lutherans, and anyone in between! You can check these out from the C/SIS Resource Center by calling 217-753-7915. Go to the ELCA web site at www.elca.org / Churchwide Units / Christian Education / Plan Programs Children-Family Intergenerational Events / REFORMATION - "Church House Rocks"* & REFORMATION "Luther's Info Drive Thru". You will find a great deal of information that can be used with your Sunday School on Reformation! Enjoy! Be sure to look for "What's Hot in Christian Education" each month.

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