Hello Everyone,
This is my first attempt at having a blog. I am so thankful to the Lord for giving our church Chad Kuhn who is a technology wiz and can help with spreading the Kingdom in this manner. Here are all of the lessons up to this point. When I send the weekly study to current subscribers I will also post it here. The blog will carry up to 5 studies. If at any point you prefer to be a subscriber or have questions, please contact me via the email address listed on our Web Site. May the Lord bless each of you. Pastor Nancy
Lesson 1 - Jude
It’s time to begin a new study. I’d like to take on a small, almost neglected book in the New Testament called Jude. When I think of Jude, personally, the Beatle’s tune jumps in my brain first. That’s because with the exception of knowing Jude is in the Bible I’ve heard the song many more times than I’ve read the book. I hope as we study this letter together we’ll all learn something but more than that may the Holy Spirit speak to us. And may this living Word become as much a part of who we are as the lyrics from the radio “Hey, Jude, don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better.”
Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for the technology that makes this study possible. Thank you for the men and women of the New Testament, who at risk of life and limb carried these letters, read them and preserved them. Now as we begin to study, open it to us. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O.K. about this study.
I will research and present information but it will be up to you to question and comment. I will always let you know my sources and give credit where credit is due. I will also let you know what version of the Bible I’m using. Don’t let any thing in your mind/heart go unanswered; no question is too far out. If you have a question/comment that means somebody else probably is thinking the same. I will respond to the question/comment with everybody so we all benefit. Second, let’s start every session with the incredible doxology from this little book, say it out loud if you’re in a place where you can but please don’t ever skip it. Hopefully, by doing this, we’ll have it memorized by the time we are done. Then when times get tough or time is short we’ll always have these scriptures on our lips as a prayer or praise. Third, I hope to present some thought provoking questions, these are for your private use but please don’t skip them. J
“To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen!” (Jude 24-25)
Now to Jude…
It is a small letter near the end of the New Testament, right before Revelation. When most people begin to read this letter they are confused right off the bat. The reason being it was written out of a background of thought; against the challenge of a specific situation; in Jewish pictures and with quotations we aren’t necessarily familiar with. So the first thing we have to do is get into the mind of the writer, his time and situation. This will give us insight into the early church and will ultimately bring relevance for us today.
Another thing we must understand this is a letter to someone from Jude. When we write a letter to someone we are writing them to tell them something or to communicate something, usually a letter is only one side of the conversation. That’s what this book does and is.
What do we know of Jude… well there’s the scripture which we will discuss in the verse by verse study and there is tradition.
Jude was one of Jesus’ brothers, and sometimes called Judas. Like his brother, Jude took a very dim view of Jesus’ claims and ministry at first, and did not believe in Jesus until after the resurrection. It’s always amazing to me that when people come face to face with the resurrected Christ they are changed! He then became a staunch member of the small, harassed group of believers, but never gained the prominence that James, his brother, did. In fact, he preferred to refer to himself modestly as “James’ brother.” He wrote the brief letter preserved in the New Testament in which he warned believers against the libertines who had infiltrated the church and were pretending that Christ’s grace released them from all authority or restraint. From, the letter, it is obvious that Jude was well versed in Old Testament scripture sand traditions. The historian Eusebius reported that Jude’s grandsons were hailed before the emperor Domitian on charges of sedition because they were Christians. It is believed that Jude accompanied Simon the Zealot (one of the twelve) to
Resources: “Everyone in the Bible” by William Barker; Internet – Catholic Forum – St. Jude; “The Letters of John and Jude” by William Barclay; and “The Beacon Bible Commentary - Jude” by Delbert Rose
Nancy Cantrell,
Associate Pastor
