The Church is founded on Jesus Christ, so the study of the centrality of Jesus Christ in the revelation of God in the Gospel of Luke and the significance of the mission of the apostles in the Book of Acts is a foundational course for the entire theological curriculum of SMP. Significant teachings from Luke-Acts such as the Nature of the Scriptures, Interpretation of the Old Testament, the Identity of Christ, the Kingdom of God, the Trinity and Baptism, the Apostolic Mission and Ministry, the Return of Christ, the Lord’s Supper, Jesus’ Death as Atonement and the Resurrection will be examined.
This course will closely examine the teaching and preaching of Jesus in the Gospel, the sermons of the apostles in Acts, the sacramental theology in Luke-Acts, and the missional and diakonal ministry of the early Christians. Since Luke is the only Gospel with a companion work describing the life of the Church, themes unique to Luke will be emphasized. A number of pastoral models from Luke-Acts will be analyzed in view of pastoral care today. Faithful interpretation of the Gospel of Luke for preaching and teaching will be modeled in lectures and mentored in exegetical groups.
After an introduction to the first five books of the Old Testament, major portions of the Books of Moses will be studied because of their foundational role in all of theology. Various biblical themes and motifs will be discuss along with their continuation throughout the rest of the Old Testament and into the New Testament.