Sacred Heart of Jesus

Adult Bible Study

Sacred Heart of Jesus Scripture Study Classes
Patricia and Don Binns, Moderators
Thursdays
8:15 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in the Parish Center

The Scripture Study Class will incorporate lessons on MP3 from Logos Ministries, an
interdenominational Bible teaching ministry. We will study the entire Bible, Genesis to Revelation, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse as taught by Logos teacher Kevin Saunders, a Roman Catholic Christian. Kevin Saunders received his degree in Religious Studies from the University of Arizona, and a master's degree in Theology from Notre Dame University. He brings to these classes unique teaching insights, gained from working and living with the Arab Christian population in Israel, studying the Bible at Ecole Biblique and leading tours of Jerusalem as Christian Chaplain for the Hebrew University.

Logos Ministries Bible teaching is presented on the basis of four principles:

"The Bible is rooted in geography".
The setting for the Bible is the 'Fertile Crescent,' a land bridge linking Europe, Asia and Africa. It is in this place that God established his people and sent his Son into the world. This land plays a major role in God's covenant with his people and his plan of salvation. A basic knowledge of the geography of this region is key to understanding biblical history. [We will be using detailed maps of every place name in the Bible, including topographical maps and modern-day overlays for each major map.]

"The Bible emerges from history".
God carried out his plan to redeem humanity on the stage of human history. The Bible must be read and understood against the backdrop of historical peoples, nations and events spanning thousands of years. [Our class will utilize a history of Israel time line.]

"The Bible is a unified literary work".
Every part of scripture is best studied and understood in light of the whole. Though written over a 1500-year period by at least 45 authors, the Bible in its final form is a unified literary work. It is linear in structure, its protagonist is God, its conflict is sin and its theme is redemption. [Dr. Bill Creasy, who founded Logos Ministries, teaches literature at UCLA. He found that many of his students lacked the fundamental understanding of the Bible required to appreciate the Biblical symbolism contained in much of great literature.]

"The Bible is the word of God".
All scripture is God-breathed...' (2 Timothy 3:16). We understand that the Bible is "inspired" in the highest sense of that word, and that its human authors "...were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21) to write the words of scripture while applying their own personalities, talents and abilities to do so."!

Father Bill Breslin has listened to some of the tapes, has encouraged us to present them at Sacred Heart of Jesus, and is participating in the classes. We hope that you will agree with him.

It is a privilege to be able to share with you something which has become such an important part of our lives. There will be no fee for the class, no tests, and no homework; however, you are encouraged to read the next lesson before class. We thank Logos Ministries for allowing us to use their copyrighted material.

If you miss a class and want to make it up, there are two ways to do so:
1. Listen to the class online at www.Logosmin.org. Their classes will begin on
September 18, so there will be a ten-day delay before they post the class you miss.
2. Order a cassette tape of the class from: http://www.spiritenterprises.com/.

We will have no classes in the summer or when our parish school is closed for holidays, breaks, or because of snow. We live in the mountains and stay home when the schools declare a snow day. We will publish a schedule after consulting with the school.

We recommend that you bring to class a study Bible, and a mechanical pencil for making notes in your Bible. Kevin Saunders teaches from the NIV (New International Version) Study Bible, which is a standard Protestant text. Don and Patricia will use the same Bible for purposes of discussion, since it will make it easier to refer to specific instances in Kevin's teaching; you, however, may prefer a Catholic Study Bible. There are no substantial differences in the text, but the study notes may vary, and your Catholic Bible will contain all of the Books in the Old Testament.

The maps we use for slides are published by Son Light Publishing, which has kindly given us permission to reproduce them for this class. Thirty-six page Bible inserts of these maps are available for $12.00 from Spirit Enterprises. That is $4.00 less than the list price.

You can reach Patricia and Don at 303-449-7055 or email us at: drbinns@aol.com.
We don't take attendance. We ask that you sign in at each class so that we know how to reach you in the unlikely event that a class is moved or cancelled.