Seminary Life - January 2017

Seminary: Edinburgh Theological Seminary

“Paul, can you translate this next verse?”  Each week my New Testament class works together to translate a selected passage. The expectation is that each student will prepare the passage so that we can quickly cover the text and talk about any unique features: word choice, grammatical forms, etc.

“Umm…sorry sir, but I didn’t get to that verse…” The week in question had been a rather trying week for everyone in the class (we had a large paper due for one of our other classes), and few had been able to work through their verses without looking at their English translations. As I hung my head and turned to my computer for help, the professor said, “Oh Paul, you use to be so good at Greek. What happened?” His rhetorical question delivered in a mostly jocular tone made us all laugh while at the same time reminding me of my need to spend more time reviewing Greek. Knowing Greek and Hebrew really is as a practical tool for understanding the Word of God. (The next week I was far better prepared!)

This year’s classes have been very enjoyable despite their increased challenge. The second year course schedule includes Systematic Theology 1 (ST1), New Testament 1 (NT1), Hebrew, and Church History 2 (CH2). In addition to these classes, a group of students have started a Greek reading group where we read through the Greek New Testament together to maintain and grow in our understanding and proficiency. This fall, I also took part in the Preaching Training elective. Six second year students took turns preparing and preach a Psalm. This has been a very useful elective that provides immediate feedback on both the presentation and content of the sermon.

This coming semester the class titles will not change, but most of the topics will shift. In ST1 we will transition from looking at the doctrines of Scripture and God to the Trinity, man and church. NT1 will go from looking at Matthew, Mark, and Luke to John and Acts. And, in CH2 we will move from talking about Scottish Church history from 1500-1733 to Scottish Church History from 1733 to the present. In the preaching elective, we will look at the book of Jonah and talk about preaching Biblical narratives.

Church: Cornerstone

This fall the church saw growth with more people visiting and getting involved. We also had some fun events. A Thursday morning prayer group started that I have been able to attend. It has been an answer to prayer for me as it gives me an opportunity to be involved and build community. In November, we had a Thanksgiving Feast with about eighty people from the church and community. It always strikes me a bit odd that the people in the UK enjoy celebrating an American holiday with roots in rejoicing over freedom from overbearing British rule; however, the idea of setting aside time to gather with friends and family to remember how God has blessed and give thanks is the bigger draw. (And perhaps the Scots are a bit jealous of the US success in its separation from the English!) On December 18th, we had a “Carols by Candlelight” service. This was an evening of singing carols and listening to Bible readings. It was really well attended and a great way for me to close out my year with Cornerstone (I flew home for Christmas the following week).

Work: Edinburgh Commercial Cleaners

In my last update, I talked about adding a new shift on Monday mornings. This has turned out to be quite a blessing. Not only has it given me some additional wages, but the location also gives me more of an opportunity to talk with people outside the school/church environment. It also hasn’t been too taxing on my time and has helped me start Mondays by being productive.

Other Opportunities

This past fall I received an invitation to join a local preaching cooperative. A retired local pastor has set up a training ministry (2Timothy4 Trust) for ministers or men who are interested in being mentored and trained in their preaching. We work with a mentor to put together a sermon, preach it, and then review it. The group has a few local partner churches. We had a training day this fall, and so far I have two preaching engagements with this group for later this year.

For prayer requests and hear more about how God is calling me to serve Him, check out the prayer letter sign up page!