Solid Grounds Bible Study 2010-11

Welcome!

In just a few short weeks, we will begin another season of our morning Bible study. This year we are going to be reading St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians. And since this is one of Paul's shorter letters, we are going to supplement our discussions with a study of the US Catholic Catechism for Adults.

Our first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 16. We meet at St. Patrick's and begin our meetings promptly at 9:00AM. Most meetings last from 1 1/2-2 hours.

At our first meeting, we will cover the ground rules for our meetings, introduce one another to the group, and receive our class schedule for the year. It has also become our tradition to open the year with a discussion about a book that we have read over the summer. This year's selection is Archbishop Fulton Sheen's wonderful work, Life of Christ. We encourage all members to attend the first meeting, but the book discussion is optional.

If you would like to join us this fall, you will need the following materials:

Life Change: Galatians













Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Galatians & Ephesians (only)

Or

Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The New Testament (Available in paperback, hardcover, or leather)




US Catholic Catechism for Adults












Optional:
US Catholic Catechism Study Guide











These books may all be purchased on your own at Amazon or any other online provider or may be special ordered through St. Patrick's Book & Gift.

We hope that you'll consider joining us this year. Some of us are beginning our tenth year together, but we are always happy to welcome new members. See you in September.

Life of Christ Study Guide

Summer is flying by, isn't it? Even though there have been lots of fun distractions, I was finally able to complete a study guide for our discussion of Life of Christ on September 16.

The hardest part was to narrow this all down to something that can be reasonably discussed in one session. In the end, I went with fewer, broader questions in order to cover the most important aspects of the book. Let's face it, we could spend the entire year going over this incredible work, but we have other wonderful things planned for the rest of our time.

If you haven't already done so, be sure and pick up your books in the church bookstore soon. We are going to be closing the store for a few weeks to do inventory and move into our new digs, so keep that in mind.

Enjoy the rest of your summer! See you on September 16.

Study Guide: Life of Christ

Summer Break

Thanks to everyone for another great year!

Enjoy your summer break. When we get back together in the fall, we'll plan for an interesting discussion of Life of Christ. I'm working on a study guide and will post it when I'm done.

(Don't look for it too soon though.)

See you in September.

Lesson Thirteen: Final Appeal, Admonitions, and Farewell

I just finished the study guide for our final lesson of Second Corinthians, and I'm not going to lie to you, I might do a little happy dance. Don't get me wrong, I love doing this, but a break will be nice.

This lesson is quite a bit easier than the final lessons for these studies have been in the past. There isn't the long review at the end of the entire work, so it shouldn't take any more time than an ordinary lesson.

Study Guide for Lesson Thirteen

For those of you who turned in your book orders, I placed the orders last week. I will let you know when they have arrived. If you have not turned in an order, and you would still like me to order your books for you, we can fill out order forms before our next meeting begins. (All book information is available if you scroll down to the post "Decisions, Decisions.")

See you on May 6.

Lesson Twelve: Boasting in Weakness

Sorry that this is getting posted so late. I've been working outside and kept thinking that I'd wait for a rainy day to work on this lesson. Still no rain, but I have finally gotten around to Lesson Twelve. With our fabulous spring weather, it's probably good that we only have one more left!

Study Guide for Lesson Twelve

We will also finalize our book orders at Thursday's meeting. You can find all the information about these materials in the post just below this one.

See you on Thursday!

Decisions, Decisions

This morning we spent the beginning of our meeting making some decisions about what we are going to be doing in the next few months in our morning Bible Study. Here's how things worked out:

1. Our summer book is going to be Life of Christ by Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

2. Beginning September 2010, we are going to begin studying St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians. We will be using LifeChange: Galatians and the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible for our scripture text. This can be purchased in a single booklet that contains both Galatians and Ephesians, or you may want to purchase the New Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament that comes in either paperback, hardcover, or a leather edition.

3. We will be supplementing the shorter lessons for this letter by adding The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults to our study. There is also an accompanying workbook for this text that is optional. (I see that there is also a Reader's Guide that has been published for this Catechism. I have not seen this guide, but thought I should mention it in case someone is interested.)

Since we are one of the few--if not the only--adult formation class at our church that does not charge a tuition fee, I have decided that, as a group, we will be placing our book orders through the church bookstore. This way the church will benefit from the profit that is made on the books. You are certainly welcome to purchase your books wherever you would like. If you would like to place your orders through St. Patrick's Book & Gift, let me know which books you would like by either emailing, calling, or giving me your list at an upcoming meeting. I will call you when your order has arrived, and you may pick up and pay for your books at your own convenience.

Just as an FYI, the book Life of Christ happens to be the Spring selection for St. Patrick's Seasons of Reading Book Club. It is available for purchase or special order at 20% off the regular retail price through the month of April, so you may want to hurry and get that book right away.

I think next year should be an interesting one. I am excited to explore the Catechism along with Paul's letter. And you can't go wrong with a book by Fulton Sheen! Now that we know what we're going to be doing next year, don't forget to mention our group to anyone you know who may be interested in joining us.

Lesson Eleven: Paul Chastises His Opponents

Happy Easter Everyone!

Sorry I'm a little late with this week's study guide. Kind of a crazy week. (What's new.) I have to confess that this guide was completed with several interruptions and plenty of distractions, so here's hoping it makes sense.
Lesson Eleven Study Guide

At the beginning of this week's discussion we are going to make some decisions about next year and the book we are going to read over the summer break. I will try to answer any questions that you might have, but then I would like to get right to it. If you could come with a clear idea of what you would like to do---as well as a willingness to compromise, it will help expedite the process.

See you on April 8.