Switzerland Zoom Retreat – Fri & Sat, Oct 22-23, 2021

I’ve been invited by the Archdeaconry of Switzerland (part of the Anglican Diocese in Europe) to lead a retreat on my writing about Jesus in his Jewish context. I was looking forward to a lovely visit to Europe but alas, COVID caused us to change our plans. We will do the event by Zoom instead and my audience will need to retreat in their own living rooms. I will be speaking from 8-12 AM Eastern time and they will be joining in from 2-6 PM their time.

NOTE 10/15/21 There still is space if more would like to sign up. There is no charge. To join in to the Zoom, register by emailing Elizabeth Bussmann at bemdeo@gmail.com by Wed. Oct 20th.

Please pray for my preparation and presentations.

Here are my seminar topics:

Friday, October 22, 2021

Session 1: Jesus, Our Rabbi and Lord: When God decided to come in the flesh, he chose to enter our world as a first-century Jew. Why did he choose that place and time? What difference does Jesus’ Jewishness make for how we read the Bible?

Session 2: Hearing Jesus through a Disciple’s Ears: What was expected of disciples in the first century? We’ll think about how this can teach how we can be better disciples.

Saturday, October 23rd, 2021

Session 3: The Bible As a Family Story: In the past few decades, family structure has greatly changed throughout Europe and America. One consequence is that we are becoming less able to read the biblical story, which is full of ancient assumptions about family relationships.

Session 4: The Puzzle of the Kingdom: Jesus preached non-stop about the Kingdom of God, but why he did so is a mystery to many of us today. We don’t realize that he was proclaiming his own identity as Christ, the Messiah of Israel, the fulfillment of all God’s promises.