Email Jesus: Course 1, Forty Questions from John's Gospel

By Richard Davidson

Email Jesus is a forty-day Bible study for use at Lent or at any other desired time of the year. Its uniqueness lies in its delivery of daily reflections on Bible passages and exchanges of comments on those reflections by email, allowing participation from anywhere in the world. This format also allows complete time and location flexibility while one is participating in the course. Each morning of the course, every participant receives a daily lesson reflection and has the opportunity to email back his or her comments on it. Participants are encouraged to respond with personal viewpoints on each passage rather than academic theology. This volume is Course 1. It covers forty questions presented in the Gospel of John by or to Jesus, and it essentially covers the complete Gospel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Davidson
• Release date: Nov 4, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465721839

Book preview

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

In preparation for the Lenten season of 2006, several members of Northbrook United Methodist Church in Northbrook, Illinois, U.S.A. discussed the use of forty daily study topics with the exchange of information among course participants by e-mail. The advantages of this type of Lenten Study would include informality and schedule flexibility due to one’s being able to participate from either home or office. An additional advantage would be the ability to include course participants who were not members or associates of the church that originated the study. This approach was implemented with great success, with participants from many states in the U.S.A. plus Canada and England.

To date, six years of the Lenten Study have been completed. It is planned to be an ongoing experience. I am publishing these materials because many churches have requested guideline information for organizing their own similar studies. Each year’s curriculum will be issued as a separate volume so that churches wishing to use these materials may select the subjects they wish to cover in any sequence. Note that while the original application of this intense form of Bible study was an annual Lenten format, it can be used as an all-year curriculum with multiple course segments. Watch for additional course volumes in the future.

CHAPTER 2 - ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Editor thanks the several Pastors at Northbrook United Methodist Church in Northbrook, Illinois who have supported this effort by the laity and participated in it. The first course was conceived and developed by Lou Quinlan and Dan Lloyd. Subsequent courses were developed by Dick