Men's Bible Study

Peter attends the men's Bible Study. Our church has one of these groups that are just for men. There is also a women's group that meets on the same night. All the other cell groups are open to mixed gender. The photo shows the sort of men who come. There are about seven who regularly attend. Not all make it on the same night. This photo marked the last night at our present location. Tony has built a new home further north and the move there is imminent. A few of us will have to drive much further to Bible study while others, especially Gordon, will have a quicker trip.

Our night's study began with the Elephantine Papyri. This is an ancient Jewish manuscript dating from the fifth century BC. It was a letter written by the Jewish community at Elephantine (modern name), an island in the Nile River, Egypt. There were useful connections to our earlier readings of Nehemiah. The name Sanballat, governor of Samaria, was mentioned in the Elephantine Papyri and ten times in Nehemiah. The letter raised interesting questions about why there ever was a Temple of Yahweh in Egypt.

We read Job 22 together. We were being challenged about the pious things we utter that actually are harsh and unkind upon those we are talking to. There are people in our church who are struggling and it is completely "bad form" to declare that they have some unresolved "generational curse" in their family. We have to be careful about how we get along side someone in pain and loss.

We then concluded our night's study by reading together Ezekiel 18. This was a helpful Old Testament corrective to the harsh and judgmental religious positions we can get ourselves into. Ezekiel 18 felt like something from the New Testament, something that Jesus would espouse.

God seems to lead us on nights like that. We did not know that was were we would travel. The Elphantine Papyri, Job and Ezekiel was an unusual combination. A few weeks earlier we had discussed the health of our church. Was it doing enough for those on the fringe? No? Well, we are the church, not the building, not the leaders even. We are the church, an organic and dynamic mix of different people. We must take the risks and the responsibility and not grumble about those at the centre. And for spiritual food we regularly come together to expose our beliefs to a man's testing, to pray, and to search the Scriptures for an understanding of what drives us on.