Adult Sunday School Classes

9:30 hour: The Jewish Festivals and their Implications for Christians: Taught by Graham Marshall (beginning January 4^th, 9 weeks)

Since the days of Moses, God’s chosen people have celebrated seven major festivals that point forward to God’s redemptive plan for mankind. Of these festivals, four have been fulfilled in the life of Jesus during his First Coming and three will be fulfilled in his Second Coming. These festivals are still celebrated today by Jewish people around the world even though the format of the celebration has changed over the years but are also edifying for Christians to see how the Old Testament points forward to and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Join us as we familiarize ourselves with these ancient foreshadowings of significant events in God’s redemptive calendar and explore how they point to Jesus, the Messiah, who fulfills them.

11:15 hour: From Paul to Augustine: The History and Development of the Early Church: Taught by Pastor Matt Richey (beginning January 11^th, 8 weeks)

After Jesus ascended to heaven and the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost, the church grew from a few hundred to a few thousand Jewish men and women within a Roman Empire of up to 75 million people. Within thirty years, Christians were spread among small communities throughout the Empire, and by 312 A.D, when the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, they made up about ten percent of the population and became the majority a few generations later. The rise of Christianity is especially remarkable because it grew despite intense persecution from leaders in Jerusalem, the city of its founding, and in Rome, the greatest power of the ancient world. In this class, we will explore church history from the close of the New Testament to the fall of Rome in the fifth century. Though these times were challenging, God was clearly at work building his church.