Bible Studies at St. Mark's

Our Sunday morning Bible study hour meets from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.  The classes listed below begin on the Sunday after Easter, April 15, and continue through May 27. These classes will not meet on April 29, when the examination of this year’s confirmation class takes place during the Bible study hour.

 

Translation and Transmission

St. Mark’s national church body, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), is currently considering the important matter of Bible translations.  For decades, the translation commonly used in our circles has been the New International Version (NIV). Until last year, the most recent edition of the NIV had been published in 1984. A newly updated version of the NIV was published in 2011, and so the 1984 version will no longer be published. The WELS must now decide whether to use the new NIV or to opt for another English translation in its published materials.

 

There are many factors that affect translations. There are many factors that might lead a church to select one translation over another. In order to keep our members fully informed about this important matter, Pastor Strey will offer a Bible study during the spring quarter that deals with Bible translations and the Bible’s transmission.  The first four classes (April 15 & 22 and May 6 & 13) will explore translation issues. The final two classes (May 20 & 27) will explain the way that the Bible, especially the New Testament, was carefully transmitted and preserved through generations of history so that we have the Word of God among us today.  Translation and Transmission will meet in the church sanctuary.

 

Creation

In the Apostles’ Creed, we confess, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.” Creation is one of the first subjects described in our regular statements of faith.  Creation is also a subject that continues to spark a great deal of debate and disagreement in the Christian church.
 

During the spring quarter, we invite you to renew your appreciation for the miracle of God’s creation. Dr. Brett Peterson will lead a six-lesson study that covers creation from a biblical and topical perspective. Our study will be guided by the opening chapters of Genesis and informed by other verses in Scripture that address God’s creation. What does the Bible say about the creation of the soul, our bodies and minds, animals and plants, the sun and moon, and even the creation of marriage and rest? Find out in our study of Creation, which will meet in the Luther Room.

 

Mark’s Gospel: Jesus in Action

During the winter and spring quarters, Pastor Waterstradt is leading us through a section-by-section study of the second book in the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark. While the other Gospel writers focus on Jesus’ teachings, Mark especially focuses on Jesus’ actions. During the current church year, our Sunday Gospel reading comes primarily from Mark, so this study will help you to better understand Jesus’ ministry in general as well as the specific accounts from his ministry that we will hear in our weekly worship. Our study of Mark meets in the Parish Center (gym).

 

Teen Bible Class: Why Jesus?

This video-enhanced Bible study will reinforce your answers to a couple of the most important questions you’ll ever be asked, “Who is Jesus and why should I care?” These are the most important questions that you will ever be called on to answer. If you aren’t fully prepared to confidently and quickly answer you might miss out on your only chance to share Jesus with the one asking. 

During the spring quarter we’ll go on a video tour of the Holy Land where Jesus walked and we’ll address and answer the tough question, “Why Jesus?” with scriptural truths about our Savior.  We’ll also explore more deeply why Jesus is so important, why it’s crucial we know Jesus as our God-man Savior, why we can buy into everything the Bible says about Jesus and why Jesus is the only way to heaven. The teen Bible class meets in the Teen Room in the upstairs level of the church.

The following three Bible studies are led by one of the pastors:

The following four Bible study groups are coordinated by members of St. Mark’s:

• Friday Morning Men’s Bible Study meets each Friday morning from 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. in the Luther Room.  Coordinator: Pat Walker.

WELS Online Bible Study