Jubilee Bible School
Jubilee Bible School is returning this month! As a team we are really excited to bring back what we trust will be a transformative experience in engaging deeply with God’s word. We are utterly convinced that God speaks to us, and one way He does this is through the Bible. Psalm 119:130 says, ‘The unfolding of Your words gives light’ and Bible School aims to provide an opportunity for this to happen.
What is Bible School?
Bible School consists of 12 Friday evening sessions that run over a 2-year period. In each session we usually start with a teaching section on the particular subject, followed by an interactive exploration of a particular passage, before finishing with a short time of response. And, of course, there is plenty of cake on offer!
While the sessions have an overall flow each one is also designed to work ‘stand alone’, so if you can’t attend all of them that’s fine! Topics covered include: The Bible, Old and New Testament Overviews, The Trinity, The Church, and The Future.
The Bible School team who plan, write and lead the sessions currently consists of Simon Clay, Becky Floy, Paul Norris and Joe Williams. There are no hard rules, but typically two of us will lead on any given evening.
Why run Bible School?
As a church we believe that the Bible is the authoritative revelation of God to humankind, and so provides the foundation for all that we do. All prophecies, practices and judgements must be weighed against what the Bible says – so it’s pretty important we get to grips with it!
To this end we see Bible School as having two main goals: 1) To provide theological foundations for all participants, and 2) To equip each participant with the inspiration, tools and guidance to engage more deeply with Scripture for themselves.
Who is it for?
Everyone! Although we call ourselves a ‘school’ the evenings are very accessible and conducted in a non-threatening environment. The sessions are designed to be interactive and so we encourage people to contribute but there is no pressure to do so. And there’s no homework and no exams! We do, however, provide lists of further resources to explore on each topic for those who want to go a bit deeper.
The sessions are also open to those outside of Jubilee Church, so if you know others who may want to come along please do invite them. We had a number of regular participants from other churches in the first edition of Bible School and loved hearing their perspective in our sessions.
How do I get involved?
You can sign up for the whole programme or individual sessions via the Jubilee Church website. To allow everyone to attend we run a ‘pay what you can afford’ policy to cover materials, refreshments and heating in the building, and suggest a donation £5 per session.
The first session is running on Friday 27th September on the topic of ‘The Bible’, covering key questions around why we believe the Bible is God’s authoritative revelation. It’s a great platform for the rest of the programme, so if you’re thinking about coming I’d encourage you to give it a try from this first session!
What if I’ve come before?
You are more than welcome to come again but please note that while we have made some changes to the programme, about 80% of the material will be the same as last time. Of course if you were only able to come to some sessions last time then this is a great opportunity to ‘fill in the gaps’!
Whether you think you’ll come or not please be praying for the team as we prepare for the new sessions, and above all please pray that God’s word would be loved, obeyed and understood to a new level by all who come to Bible School.
Thank you Joe and the team for this post about Jubilee Bible School.
