Course Schedule

This six evening course will equip you to read and understand the Bible for yourself. Unlike some Bible study methods and books, this class starts with what you already know about reading and applies it to reading Scripture, rather than starting with what you don’t know. The class is filled with “lab time” where you will experience the joy of personal discovery in reading the Bible. 

After a recent “Reading Scripture” course, Lindsay W wrote: “We finished the 6-week course last night, and I am blown away by how much I learned, how insightful the course was, and how FUN it can be to read and enjoy God’s Word. When I began reading the Bible years ago, it was out of duty and obligation. Several years ago, I joined a local Bible Study Fellowship group, and my love for God’s Word grew immensely, but I still wasn’t ‘excited’ about it. After taking this course, I can honestly say that I am EXCITED to read and understand God’s Word.”

This course will meet online for six Sunday evenings, starting Oct 1 (Oct 1, 8, 15, one week off, Oct 29, Nov 5, 12), meeting from 5:30 until 7:30 pm (EST) each evening. The class is being hosted by Summit Church, Simpsonville, but is open to others to attend.

Although there is no charge for the class, we would like you to register if you would like to attend so that we can plan accordingly. Each attendee will be provided with a course notebook.

It’s encouraging– we have questions about things like “spiritual gifts,” but then so did the earliest followers of Jesus. We’re in good company!

This two-evening intensive will be focused on 1 Corinthians 12–14, reading and exploring how Paul addressed some of the questions the Corinthian Christians had about spirtual gifts. We might not be able to answer all of our own questions about such gifts, but listening to Paul will give us a great place to start.

This class will meet online, on two consecutive Thursday evenings, October 5 and 12, starting at 7 PM (PST; please note the class is scheduled to meet at a time convenient for the West Coast). Although the class is free, we ask you to register so that we can provide you the needed link to attend the class.

The Israelites had been returned to the land from their exile. God brought them back. They began to settle back into the land. He has been gracious to them. But the Temple remains in disrepair. 

The prophet Haggai speaks to the problem. It’s not fundamentally about the brick and mortar of the Temple, but what the neglect of the Temple indicates about the heart of the people.  Haggai’s message is a call to the Israelites to “consider their ways” and to re-align themselves with what God desires for them. It’s a short book, one of the minor prophets, but with a major message. And the message is not just for Jews who lived long ago but for those of us who long to follow the Lord in these days.

During this one-evening “intensive,” we will explore the message of the Haggai–what it meant for the original hearers and the implications for those of us who don’t worship in a Temple but who are the “temple” of the Lord (1 Cor. 3:16). The class is being hosted by Resurrection Church in Greer, SC, and will meet on Tuesday, Octobrt 17, from 6:30 until 8:30 pm. 

“Wow! Did you see what Jesus did? That miracle, that healing . . . it proves that He is God!” Is that all? Is that all we are supposed to understand from the miracles of Jesus recorded for us in the Gospels? That they are proof–demonstrations that He is divine? Or could there possibly be much more there than we typically notice?

When John reported Jesus’ first miracle (in John 2), he wrote that what Jesus did “displayed His glory” and resulted in His followers coming to trust in Him. Apparently, it wasn’t simply about Jesus’ identity as “God come in the flesh.”

In this two-evening intensive, we will look closely at a handful of miracles, selected from the Gospels, and ask the question: “What is Jesus really telling us about Himself by doing this?” When the Gospel writers give us close-up and detailed accounts of Jesus’ healing or miracles, we can be reasonably sure that they want us to understand something more than just that Jesus’ has power or that He is the Messiah. And Jesus wants us to know more about Him from the miracles than just clarity about His identity.

This class will meet online on two Tuesday evenings, October 24 and 31, at 6:30 pm (EST). We offer classes at no charge, but ask you to register for the class so that we can plan accordingly. You will be sent a link for the class after you have registered.

The disciples of Jesus knew they needed some help in learning to pray. They had observed Him praying and longed to pray better. For many friends of Jesus, that longing to learn to pray is still deeply felt. Drawing on the prayers that Paul wove into his epistles, The River will host an online, two-evening discussion.

These evenings will be given over to buidling an understanding of prayer by listening in on a seasoned minister, a gifted evangelist, and a passionate follower of Jesus–the apostle Paul. What better way to learn to pray than to eavesdrop on one who prayed so well! 

The class will meet on Thursday, November 2 adn 9, beginning at 6:30 pm (EST). Those who register for this free class will receive an email with details about signing on to the Zoom class..