Special Feature
Without faith it is impossible to please God but how can God use our faith to do the impossible? Moving mountains? The ability to do anything? Are these powerful proclamations too profound or too often overlooked? Beeson’s Lay Academy of Theology invites the community to participate in non-credit classes and other study opportunities this semester to learn how we can believe God in such a way that an unbelieving world sees no other way to be saved except through our Lord Jesus Christ. Each course will be led by Beeson faculty on the campus of Samford University in Homewood. Here’s a peak at a few of the courses.
Divine Signs: God’s Fingerprints in all of Reality. Scripture tells us that “the heavens and the earth are full of God’s glory.” In leading this class, Dr. Gerald McDermott will draw from details in his soon to be published book Heaven and Earth Are Full of the Glory: Seeing God’s Fingerprints in All of Reality (Brazos Press, 2018). “The message is that 20th-century Christians were told that we should not presume to know what God is saying about signs of His presence in nature and other dimensions of reality. But most of the history of Christian thought has said that all of reality is full of signs (or ‘types’) of His presence,” explains Dr. McDermott. “I will explore what is evident in the following six dimensions of reality: nature, science, law, history, sports, and love.” Dr. McDermott serves as the Anglican Professor of Divinity at Beeson and teaches in the areas of history and doctrine. His class will be held on six Tuesday nights, 6-8 p.m., beginning September 26.
The Household of Faith: What Every Believer Should Know About the Church. All believers are called to salvation, service, sacrifice, and simplicity. Dr. Doug Webster will lead this exploration into the deep biblical roots for the priesthood of all believers, the integration of faith and work, the shared gifts of the Spirit, the character of Christian leadership, the nature of numerical and spiritual growth, and the priority of true worship and real mission. Dr. Webster serves Beeson as professor of pastoral theology and preaching. His course will be offered on six Thursday afternoons, 1-3 p.m., beginning September 28.
Six of Twelve (Part 2): Nahum to Malachi. “In this class we will continue a series on the Minor Prophets begun last fall. We will make our way from Micah to Malachi,” shares Dr. Mark Gignilliat who will give special attention to how these books have been interpreted in the history of interpretation as the class engages these ancient, yet youthful voices. Dr. Gignilliat teaches at Beeson in the areas of Hebrew and Old Testament. His Lay Academy class will be held on six Monday nights, 6-8p.m., beginning September 25.
Register early for courses at discounted rate of $89 per class. Learn more and register at www.beesondivinity.com/layacademy or call 205-726-2731. †