"...being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone." (Ephesians 2:20)
In 2011, we are continuing to lay a foundation for the church in Riga, Latvia as we study through the Bible book by book, chapter by chapter. We are currently studying the epistles (letters) of Paul to the churches in chronological order.
- Galatians
- 1 Thessalonians
- 2 Thessalonians
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Romans
- Colossians
- Philemon
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Timothy
Paul was specifically called by Jesus Christ to be an apostle to the Gentiles and was sent out on missionary journeys "to testify to the gospel of grace" (Acts 20:24) and to "proclaim the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27). By the grace of God, Paul laid a foundation as an expert builder. He planted churches from Antioch to Rome and God made them grow. As he moved on to other cities, he cared about how those churches were doing and wrote them letters to help them deal with questions and problems so they may stand firm in their faith and walk as Christians.
Peter considered Paul's writings as part of Scripture (2 Peter 3:15) and said that Paul wrote with the wisdom God gave him, which are sometimes hard to understand and things that people twist to their own destruction. That is why it's important for us to carefully read and correctly understand this great portion of Scripture (about half of the New Testament). We believe these scriptures are inspired by God and must be used for the equipping of the church for the lives God is calling us to lead.
I plan to follow Paul's instruction to young pastor Timothy: "devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching." (1 Tim. 4:13) Would you like to follow along these three simple steps:
1. Reading (observe/listen)
2. Teaching (interpret/understand),
3. Exhortation (application/live it!).
May we be "continually devoted to the apostles teaching" (Acts 2:42) and may we all "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:18)
