Introduction
As part of the Christian formation of adults at Crestview, our curriculum intentionally moves through different portions of Scripture from series to series. Most recently, we moved from Paul in Prison, examining several of his shorter letters, to a study of his letter to Rome, his letter-essay that makes a comprehensive case for this gospel to a community that may have heard about Paul, but didn’t know Paul. Having now spent a good bit of time in the New Testament, we turn back to the Hebrew Bible, to the first words of Scripture, “In the beginning…” and the book of Genesis.
The stories of Genesis—Creation, Fall, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph—lay the narrative and theological groundwork that pervades the rest of Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and the New Testament. Understanding Genesis, then, prepares us to understand the entirety of Scripture and forms some bedrock theological ideas that have informed and continue to inform the Christian faith and our life together.
Because of the length of Genesis, we will break this study into three parts—Pre-History, Abraham/Jacob, and Joseph. Between each section we will spend time looking at other portions of Scripture that reflect themes from Genesis. As we engage this study of Genesis, the hope is that our understanding of God known through the lens of Jesus the Messiah will grow and that this growth will become apparent in our community life. Our study will be informed by Walter Brueggemann, a noted scholar of the Hebrew Bible who recently passed away after a faithful and prolific career defined by scholarship and pastoral ministry. Brueggemann’s Genesis commentary in the Interpretation series balances the best of biblical scholarship with an eye toward how Scripture informs Christian ministry.
As always, the following schedule is an estimation and will certainly be disrupted by events in the life of Crestview that cannot be foreseen. And, of course, the schedule will be adapted as necessary.
Schedule
| Date | Topic | Readings |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 1 | Preparation Creation and the Bible [Video: Carl Flynn] | Brueggemann, pp. 1-22 |
| Feb. 8 | Genesis 1.1-2.4a [Livestream: Carl Flynn] | Brueggemann, pp. 22-39 |
| Feb. 15 | Genesis 2.4b-25 [Livestream: Carl Flynn] | Brueggemann, pp. 40-54 |
| Feb. 22 | Panel Conversation: Science and Genesis [Community Center C11-12: Kipp Swinney, Dwayne SImmons, Evan Collins, Michael Plunk] | |
| Mar. 1 | Genesis 3.1-24 [Livestream: Mark Henry] | Brueggemann, pp. 40-54 |
| Mar. 8 | Genesis 4.1-16 [Livestream: Mark Henry] | Brueggemann, pp. 54-64 |
| Mar. 15 | Genesis 4.17-6.4 [Livestream: Dwayne Simmons] | Brueggemann, pp. 64-73 |
| Mar. 22 | Genesis 6.5-7.24 [Livestream: Dwayne Simmons] | Brueggemann, pp. 73-88 |
| Mar. 29 | Genesis 8.1-9.17 [Livestream: Mark Henry] | Brueggemann, pp. 73-88 |
| Apr. 5 | Easter (No Classes) | |
| Apr. 12 | Genesis 9.18-10.32 [Livestream: Carl Flynn] | Brueggemann, pp. 88-97 |
| Apr. 19 | Genesis 11.1-29 [Livestream: Carl Flynn] | Brueggemann, pp. 97-104 |
| Apr. 26 | Conversation: Genesis 1-11 [Community Center C11-12] |