This is a dedicated group that studies deep theological subjects and does thought-provoking Bible study throughout the school year, taking a break during the summer months. Recent studies have included:
This study helps us engage the Psalms at the deepest level of our hearts, where God’s faithfulness confronts the most challenging aspects of our lives when we ask,
“How long, O Lord? Will you hide forever?”
(Psalm 89)
and when we pray,
“Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.”
(Psalm 48)
Class Details:
- Day: Thursdays, beginning January 12, 2012
- Time: 10:30-12:00pm
- Duration: 10 Sessions
- Location: Room 302 (Genesis Classroom)
- Cost: $10 (includes cost of study guide)
For more info, contact Rev. Troy Sims: 940-766-4231, x229 or tsims@fumcwf.org.
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Posted on December 2nd, 2011 by tsims
Come read and study the book that Rev. Troy Sims says has been the most transformative book he has ever read!
The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium
by Walter Wink makes us re-think our worldview, reclaiming the divine realm as central to human existence by offering new ways of understanding our world in theological terms. It reformulates ancient concepts, such as God and the devil, heaven and hell, angels and demons, principalities and powers, in light of our modern experience. Wink helps us see heaven and hell, sin and salvation, and the powers that shape our lives as tangible parts of our day-to-day experience, rather than as mysterious phantoms. Equipped with this fresh world view, we can embark on a new relationship with God and our world.
Cost of the Book: $11 (we must receive payment before the book can be ordered, but feel free to order yourself by click thing image of the book below)


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Posted on August 26th, 2011 by tsims
Join us on Thursday mornings
- Beginning July 28, 2011
- From 10:30-12:00noon
For a new 6-week book review study: A Theology of God’s Grace: Life, Faith, and Commitment
by C. David Grant.
This introduction to theology offers a contemporary and relevant theological understanding of what it means to live grounded in God’s grace. Grant argues that as humans, we need meaning in our lives. We fulfill this fundamental human need through faith. Drawing on the work of philosophical and religious figures such as William James, Friederich Schleiermacher, Wilfred Cantwell Smith, H. Richard Niebuhr, and Paul Tillich, Grant presents a constructive argument for understanding Christian faith as commitment to Gods’ grace.
The book is currently out of print, but there are used copies available. If you’d like the church to order the book for you, the cost is $8, and we’ll need payment before we can order the book for you.
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Posted on July 1st, 2011 by tsims
Join us for “Jesus for the Non-Religious:”
- Thursdays, beginning June 16, 2011
- 10:30-12:00noon
- Rm 302
- Cost: FREE, and there is no necessary outside preparation!
for this 4-week DVD-guided study featuring John Shelby Spong. This study is a perfect companion piece to this bestselling author’s book of the same name. The Jesus for the Non-Religious DVD is a 68-minute distillation of Bishop Spong’s understanding of the Godpresence in Christ. In this lecture, Spong explores:
- The meaning of ‘Christ;’
- Images of Messiah;
- How Christ has been experienced through the ages; and
- How the divinity of Christ has its ultimate expression in a fulfilled humanity.
“Jesus calls you to be whole, not religious. Jesus calls you to be real, not religious. Jesus calls you to be loving, not moral and righteous. Jesus calls you to be inclusive, not hating everybody that disagrees with you and claiming your superiority over them. That’s what this Jesus portrait is about and that’s why people believed that they experienced all that God is in the life and in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.”
-John Shelby Spong
From Jesus for the Non-Religious DVD
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Posted on May 27th, 2011 by tsims
Beginning May 12, 2011 (note change of start date), a new 4-week Bible Study will begin that will focus on some of the parables of Jesus. Rev. Troy Sims will lead the study using the book, Re-Imagine the World: An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus
by Bernard Brandon Scott. If you’d like a copy of the book, it costs $15.
This study sets the interpretation of key parables of Jesus in the context of other things Jesus said and did (and in the context of the 1st century). The result is a startling and provocative picture of Jesus as an historical figure and the challenge he presents to contemporary life.
Register below or contact Rev. Sims (tsims@fumcwf.org or 766-4231).
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Posted on April 18th, 2011 by tsims
2011 Lenten Study -
Countering Pharaoh’s Production-Consumption Society Today:
- Thursdays (10:30-12:00noon),
beginning March 24; or
- Sundays (4:30-6:00pm),
beginning March 27
- Cost: $5
- Register NOW below!
This 5-week maximum Lenten Study from www.LivingTheQuestions.com helps us to reconsider the meaning and importance of covenant and how to live out our covenants with God and one another. The weekly sessions will be:
This 5-week study will cover these topics:
- The Way Out – Exodus 1-19
- The Decalogue – Exodus 16, 17, 20
- Countering Caesar – Luke 2-3; John 19:14-16; Acts 17:6; Romans 12
- An Act of Imagination – Psalm 73
- On Not Doing God Any Favors – Deuteronomy 6; Psalm 50
This video study features Walter Brueggemann, an Old Testament scholar and retired professor from Columbia Theological Seminary. Also a United Church of Christ minister, he has authored hundreds of articles, several biblical commentaries, and more than 50 books. He was also our 1988 Perkins Lecturer!
Looking for a Lenten Study for women?
Consider this study of Ruth!
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Posted on March 3rd, 2011 by tsims