Mid-January Update

Dear Friends,

With the next Joshua Bible study coming up next week, I wanted to share a little of what we talked about in December - in case you missed it. This is a fascinating study.

Also, our church is hosting the women of our Detroit Presbytery (PWPD: Presbyterian Women of the Presbytery of Detroit) on Wednesday February 3. This is a wonderful opportunity to see how PW is related through a larger organization to the mission and work of the church in our city and in the world.

And the disaster in Haiti strikes very close to our hearts. Not only are Pastor Amy's parents intimately involved as well as others from our congregation who have served in mission work there, but also our PWPD Mission Treasurer, Ruth Barnard (member of Ann Arbor First), helped to found the Haiti School of Nursing which also received First Foundation Grant. Ruth suggests that we respond with our dollars as well as contributions of Church World Service Hygiene, Health and Baby Kits — there is desperate need for these in many places around the world. Information on CWS Kits is here: http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/PageServer?pagename=kits_main

Blessings!
Charlotte

JANUARY BIBLE STUDY

Joshua: A Journey of Faith

Lesson Five: Can War Be Holy?

Scripture: Joshua 6:1-8:28;10:16-11:23

Key Idea: War, even when it is necessary to defend ourselves or the weak or the oppressed, is never the will of God.

Join us on Wednesday, January 20 for coffee and refreshments at 9:15am, Bible study led by Dr. John Judson at 9:30am. All are welcome.

RECAP OF DECEMBER BIBLE STUDY

Lesson Four: The Land of Promise, or the Promised Land?

Scripture: Joshua 1:2-3,10-15, 5:10-12

Key Idea: The land into which Joshua led the Israelites was a gift from God – a land of promise.

Dr. Judson reminded us that what we now call The Holy Land was never actually completely and permanently ruled by the Israelites. There were always super-powers to be appeased (the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Persians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Romans, the Byzantines, early Muslim rulers, the Mamluk, the Ottomans, the British) And present-day Israel is a secular state. The Bible remembers a kingdom, David's kingdom, but that only actually lasted about 80 years.

Scriptures promise a land to the people Israel - a place of safety. There is an underlying assumption that to be nomadic is not to be caring for creation; a homeland is a place to care for. Adam and Eve were driven out of Eden, Cain cursed by being forced to wander.

In all of the descriptions of the land of Canaan, there is no consistency - some passages suggest that the land to be given to Israel stretches from Egypt to the Euphrates River (in Iraq).

The Bible makes clear that when Israel loses its possession of the land it is because it has been unfaithful. But there are families, both Christian and Jewish, who never left.

The return of Jews to the homeland was a POLITICAL movement, not a religious one. The resulting state of Israel is secular, and most Jews living there are "not religious." Thus the belief that ancient Israel and modern Israel are the same is false - Israel provides a place of safety for cultural Jews.

The belief that today's state of Israel is the same as the Israel of the Bible comes from some very literal readings of scripture.

[taken from the internet]: One finds among fundamentalist Protestants a doctrine called dispensationalism. The dispensationalist outlook, which began in early-nineteenth-century England, sees human history as a series of seven periods, or dispensations, in each of which God deals with man in a distinctive way. The first, before Adam’s fall, was the era of innocence; the second, from Adam to Noah, the era of conscience; the third, from Noah to Abraham, of government; the fourth, from Abraham to Moses, of patriarchy; the fifth, from Moses to Jesus, of Mosaic law; and the sixth, from Jesus until today, of grace. The seventh and final dispensation, yet to come, will be the Millennium, an earthly paradise. For dispensationalists, the Jews are God’s chosen people. For the Millennium to come, they must be living in Israel, whose capital is Jerusalem; there, the Temple will rise again at the time of Armageddon. On the eve of that final battle, the Antichrist will appear—probably in the form of a seeming peacemaker.

Thus it is important for these Christians that Jews live in and occupy Israel, so that this final day of Judgement can occur.

But a careful reading of scripture suggests that the land, indeed all of creation, belongs to God and is available to human beings as a gift: The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it (Psalm 24).

Lenten Devotional

The deadline is January 20 so that Irv and Lois have time to edit, assemble, and print this wonderful glimpse of the faith life of our congregation by Ash Wednesday (February 17). And so I can get it formatted and set-up for daily email delivery to everyone on the PW email list. More on the Lenten Devotional can be found here: http://pw.fpcbirmingham.org/lenten-devotional.

Let Lois or me know if you will write a devotional.

Presbyterian Women of the Presbytery of Detroit meets at FPC Birmingham

Wednesday February 3, 9:45am

Program and worship in our sanctuary, followed by lunch in Knox Auditorium

Program: “What History Tells Us About Ourselves Today”
Speaker: Dr. Glenda D. Price
Retired now, Dr. Price was president of Marygrove College from 1998 to 2006. She was the first African-American woman to hold this position. She also served as interim president of the Michigan Colleges Foundation from January through June 2008 and has been engaged in volunteer activities with numerous organizations. She is currently serving on the board of directors of Alma College, Focus: HOPE, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, The Detroit Institute of Arts, the YES Foundation, Mercy Educational Project and Compuware Corporation, among others.

Lunch ($7): for reservations, sign up in the main office or at circle, call Lois Poston, or online at http://pw.fpcbirmingham.org/pwpd

HELP NEEDED
Are you available to help greet and guide guests and help with lunch? We expect about 100 guests. Let Lois Poston know, or indicate HELP when you reserve for lunch.

PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN of First Presbyterian Church Birmingham Michigan