THE LIGHT AND LIFE OF THE WORLD
A Study of Jesus’ Reception by the Gentiles from Luke-Acts to the Celtic Church
Sundays, 8:30–9:30 am
Taught by Deacon Ross Guthrie
Jesus was a Jewish man raised in a Jewish culture. He was the Messiah the nation of Israel had hoped for all along. His Apostles were all Jewish. And yet, by the end of the first century, and for the next 1900 years, the Church became overwhelmingly Gentile (non-Jewish). We’re going to explore Jesus being the hope of all the nations to finish out the Epiphany season. We’ll look at several Old Testament passages in which Jesus was promised to be the light of the Gentiles. We’ll also look into the life of Jesus to see his interaction with Gentile converts from Luke’s Gospel. We’ll do a quick scan of Luke’s Acts of the Apostles to watch the Church quickly become predominantly Gentile. The last two weeks of our study will focus on the non-Jewish leadership of the Church in the first four centuries and their contribution to the Christian faith for the next 1500 years. Finally, we’ll watch the Irish Church’s response to their newfound faith in Jesus as they spread the light and life of Jesus in one of the most profound missionary explosions the Church has ever seen. Feel free to jump in anytime and join us even if you didn’t sign up.