Session 3

Jesus is the focal point of God’s revelation. We are committed to a Jesus-centred approach to the Bible, and to the community of faith as the primary context in which we read the Bible and discern and apply its implications for discipleship.

1. Reflect quietly on this conviction and then (if you can) share with one or two others your response to any of these questions:

  • How (if at all) does this differ from what you have known and believed before?
  • Who do you know who lives out this conviction and commitment?
  • How does this conviction inspire your imagination?
  • How does this conviction challenge or empower your faith?
  • How might this conviction impact the way you live?

    • 2. Read the article from Anabaptism Today that explores this conviction:

  • What questions does this article raise for you?
  • What aspects of the core conviction does it not address?
  • Are there elements of the article or the conviction with which you disagree?
  • Are there elements that you strongly affirm?

    • 3. Check whether there is any difference between the current version of this core conviction and the earlier version on which this article was based. If there is:

  • Why do you think a change was made?
  • Which version do you prefer?
  • Are there further changes you would propose?

    • 4. Choose one of the following subjects and test out the claim that starting with Jesus rather than fitting his teaching in to the rest of Scripture makes a difference:

  • Leadership and authority
  • The role of women in the church
  • Tithing and giving
  • Responding to hostility

    • 5. If we encourage community Bible studies or interactive alternatives to sermons, how can we avoid these being no more than a ‘pooling of ignorance’?

    6. What is the role in our churches of those who have received theological education? How can we value them without allowing them to disempower others?

    7. If Jesus is the ‘focal point of God’s revelation’, how should we read and apply the Old Testament? How can we avoid marginalising either the Old Testament or Jesus?

    8. What practical steps can you take to ensure biblical interpretation is not divorced from application?

    9. What liturgical resources – songs, prayers, poetry, icons, rituals, etc. – do you know that might enable you or your church to express and celebrate this core conviction and renew this commitment?