Thursday Morning Study Group

On Thursday mornings, people from many different churches in the area come together to study a book, Scripture, and to learn about faith together.

The current book the group is looking at is “Revelation” by N. T. Wright. 

A description of the book from Amazon:

Many people today regard Revelation as the hardest book in the New Testament. It is full of strange, lurid and sometimes bizarre and violent imagery. As a result, many people who are quite at home in the Gospels, Acts and Paul find themselves tiptoeing around Revelation with a sense that they don’t really belong there. But they do!

In fact, Revelation offers one of the clearest and sharpest visions of God’s ultimate purpose for the whole creation, and of the way in which the powerful forces of evil, at work in a thousand ways, can be and are being overthrown through the victory of Jesus the Messiah and the consequent costly victory of his followers.

Like the other guides in the N.T. Wright for Everyone series, Revelation brings you into a fresh encounter with Scripture under the guidance of one of the world’s leading New Testament scholars. Thoughtful questions, prayer suggestions, and useful background information guide you and your group through each study.

The group has looked at books such as “She Is Called- Women of the Bible” Volume 4, “The Gospel of Luke” by William Barclay, Henri Nouwen’s book “The Return of the Prodigal Son”, selected readings from the Apocrypha/Deuterocanon, and “Toward A True Kinship of Faiths” by the Dalai Lama. This study is held at 9:30 every Thursday morning via a hybrid format with some gathered in the Chapel at FPC and others joining via Zoom.

Adult Study

Every Sunday following worship (around 11:15 a.m.), we have a class for anyone high school age and up who is interested in exploring Scripture, faith, and life more deeply.

We’ve studied books such as Courtney Ellis’ book “Uncluttered: Free Your Space, Free Your Schedule, Free Your Soul”. Adam Hamilton’s “24 Hours That Changed the World” (started in 2020 but had to put on pause because of Covid and resumed and finished in 2025).  N. T. Wright’s book “Matthew”. Adam Hamilton’s “The Lord’s Prayer”. Adam Hamilton’s “The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem”. Reverend Jill J. Duffield’s “Appreciate these Things, Eight ways of Cultivating Compassion”, and “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus: An Advent to Christmas Pilgrimage” by Andy Langford & Ann Langford Duncan. 

We are currently offering an adult study on “Meeting Jesus on the Road: A Lenten Study”  by Cynthia M. Campbell and Christine Coy Fohr.

A description of the book from Amazon:

Take a meaningful walk with Jesus this Lent that invites reflection, inspires spiritual attentiveness, and opens your heart to the many forms discipleship can take in daily life.

In Meeting Jesus on the Road, readers are invited to journey alongside Christ through the Gospel stories that define his earthly path. Gathering a group of disciples around him, Jesus travelled the region, teaching, healing, and proclaiming that the reign of God is at hand. He met them all with compassion. He brought them hope. From the Jordan River to the hills of Galilee and beyond, Jesus calls us—like the first disciples—to follow, listen, question, and grow.

Designed as a spiritual journey from the First Sunday in Lent to Easter, this Lenten study offers a meaningful way to engage the season through Scripture, reflection, and walking. Throughout, readers will learn that faith is not a sedentary thing, but a relationship with God that grows and changes over a lifetime. With pastoral insight, authors Cynthia Campbell and Christine Coy Fohr thoughtfully guide readers along the road. In each chapter they include:

• A passage from Scripture and meaningful reflections that connect Jesus’ journey to your own life of faith
• Thought-provoking questions for small groups or personal reflection
• A “walking prompt” to deepen your Lenten practice through meditative walking

Whether used in a group setting or on your own, this study will help you hear Jesus’ call with fresh clarity and respond with renewed purpose. Lent isn’t just a season—it’s a sacred invitation to walk more closely with the One who leads us toward life.

 

Occasional Studies

From time to time, another study will begin for all people in the church. One such study was The Faith of a Mockingbird, which took a look at four characters from Harper Lee’s novel and discovered what we might learn from those characters as we seek to become like Christ.

Another study was Matt Rawle’s “The Grace of Les Misérables” which dives into six ideals found in the story—grace, justice, poverty, revolution, love, and hope—each represented by a character in Hugo’s story. As these imperfect and relatable characters interact, we can see how these ideals work together (perhaps even in spite of each other) out in the world.

The group also did a short three week study on The Nicene Creed because 2025 marked 1700 Years of the Creed being formed. Using the Nicene Creed itself from the PCUSA Book Of Confessions (1999) and two articles about the creed from Theology Matters, which were “The Nicene Creed Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow” written by Joseph D. Small and “The Nicene Creed in Historical Context” written by Jerry Andrews. The group also compared The Nicene Creed to the Apostles’ Creed using “Glory To God: The Presbyterian Hymnal”, making for a very interesting and informative study.

These opportunities will be advertised on Facebook, via email, and in the announcements at worship. If you are interested in finding out more about any of these studies, reach out to us via the contact page or call the church at (308) 632-2131.