GETTING READY: Student Ministries Forms

Remember, if you want to come along on any Bible Quiz Team trips, the church needs the appropriate Student Ministry forms on file with the office.  (The same form can be used for all youth group activities.)  You can download the forms here:  http://www.calvaryefc.com/ministries/student-life/?view=mobile.

GETTING READY: Bible Quiz Team Intro 2015-2016

Do you have a friend who is interested in Bible Quizzing?  This Introduction may be a useful resource in giving them a taste of what the ministry is about and how it functions.  Please pass it along to ANYONE you think may be a prospect.

GETTING READY: FTV list is ready!

The list of Finish the Verse questions for 2015-2016 is ready!  These books are full of useful knowledge and advice for living.  Click on the image below, here, or on the sidebar to see the list.

GETTING READY: Reference list is ready!

The list of Reference Questions for 2015-2016 is ready!  Click here, on the image below, or on the link in the sidebar for the whole list.

GETTING READY: Study Schedule 2015-2016

The study schedule for this year is now online and ready for your perusal.  We have fewer chapters than past years, so we have more review weeks than normal.  But this will give our schedule more flexibility for snow days, as well.  Click on the image below or the link in the sidebar to download a copy for yourself!

GETTING READY: Kickoff Date Announcement!

The Bible Quiz Team season will begin with a kickoff meeting on Wednesday, September 16.  Come on out ready to quiz!

GETTING READY: Video Game Night in Monroe!

On Thursday, August 20 from 7 to 9 PM, the Beacon Hill Church youth group (REVERB) is having a special Video Game Night where they are bringing in a video game truck and setting up game consoles around the church.  This will be an outreach to area teens with an emphasis on recruiting for the coming year.

The Monroe Bible Quiz Team will be presenting at the event!

All quizzer are welcome to come on out and help us talk up Bible Quizzing.  If you do come, please bring a bag of chips, cookies, or a bottle of soda to share.

GETTING READY: Studying the Books of GEPCP

For the 2015-2016 season, we'll be studying not one book but rather a series of books all written by the apostle Paul.  Together they span many years of Paul's life and are written to a series of different peoples in different places in different contexts.

• Galatians:  Written to the Christians in Galatia, a Roman province that included Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe (all familiar names from the Book of Acts!)  The book is primarily written in response to Jewish Christians who were trying to force Gentile Christians to convert to full-blown Judaism.  It is a powerful defense of salvation by faith alone.
• Ephesians:  Written to the Christians in Ephesus, a Roman colony in what today is Turkey.  Ephesians is a great treatise on God's intentions for the Church, and His plan to fulfill those intentions in us.  It is especially famous for teaching on Spiritual Gifts and Spirtual Warfare.
• Philippians:  Written to the Christians in Philippi, a Roman colony made up of almost entirely gentiles.  The book is primarily written to remind proud citizens of Rome that they are also citizens of a greater empire in the Kingdom of God.  It is one of Paul's happiest letters, as the Philippians were especially active in supporting Paul's ministry.
• Colossians:   Written to the Christians in Colosse, who were converts of Epaphras and not Paul himself.  It was written to address a gnostic heresy that had crept into the church there which tried to mix elements of Greek thought and "secret practices" into Christianity.  It is very focussed on the supremacy of Christ over all things.
• Philemon:  Written to a single Christian - Philemon - who was a citizen of Colosse and owner of a slave named Onesimus.  Onesimus had fled his master to find freedom, and had converted to Christianity through Paul.  The letter is sent to convince Philemon not to punish Onesimus (typical punishment was death) and to welcome him back as a brother.

These books present a wide diversity of Paul's thought and teaching about the gospel of Christ.  Look towards this as an opportunity to see into the mind and heart of one of the greatest teacher of the Faith.

DID YOU KNOW: Why did we switch to ESV?

"DID YOU KNOW?" will be a summer series where we review issues of the Bible and the Christian faith of special interest. If you have a suggestion/question that you'd like addressed in a "DID YOU KNOW?" segment, please e-mail the coaches.

Why did Bible Quizzing switch from the NIV to the ESV as the translation we study?

Since the 1980's, EFCA Bible Quizzing used the New International Version (NIV) for all of our competitions.  It was chosen because of the quality of its scholarship, its readability, and its accuracy.  A few years back, EFCA Bible Quizzing switched to the English Standard Version (ESV).

In 2011, Biblicia - the organization that owns the rights to the NIV - released a new revision to the translation.  Their intention was to update the translation with the newest scholarship, and to reflect changes in the English language since 1984.  Their revisions were significant (see here for a full listing) and especially focussed on introducing gender-neutral language to many scriptures where the existing gender-interpretation could be seen to change the meaning of the text.  After much debate, many Evangelical churches, leaders, and denominations decided they could not endorse the 2011 version.  Biblicia, at the same time, forbid anyone to continue publishing the previous 1984 version.  So, Bible Quizzing needed to decide whether to move to the (controversial) NIV 2011 or consider moving to another translation.

At the same time, a new version - based on the venerable Revised Standard Version (RSV) was released in 2011, called the English Standard Version.  It was widely praised for the quality of its scholarship, its readability, and its accuracy.  (Sound familiar?)  And it was released with liberal electronic licensing (free versions online, free versions on eBooks, and free apps) that would be valuable for study and quizzing.

So, the leadership of EFCA Bible Quizzing decided it was time for a change and announced that we would be moving to the ESV for the 2013-2014 season.

So which translation is really "better"?

The Bible was originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament).  Anytime you see it in English, it is a translation and decisions must be made.  The best translations balance precision with readability, so that the meaning of the original language comes through without sounding like a foreign language.

The NIV 2011 takes a number of liberties with the text which are controversial.  But it does address some real problems with the original NIV, and is very natural and readable.

The ESV is much more precise, verging on a literal reading of the text.  But that means the language contains a larger vocabulary, sometimes is a bit wooden, and can be harder to read.

Should I be worried about the change?

No.  The ESV is an excellent translation.  Your first day reading it, things may seem a bit strange.  But you will quickly get used to the language.  And the language is a bit more poetic, so you may even find it easier to memorize the FTVs!

PRACTICES BEGIN TONIGHT!

Woo-hoo!  The day has come.  Bible Quizzing is back!  Come on out tonight and remember our new time - PRACTICE BEGINS AT 6:00 PM.  And we'll be quizzing on Acts, Chapter 1.  See you there!

GETTING READY: Study Schedule is ready!

We still have some time before our first practice (Wednesday, September 10 at 6:00 PM) but the study schedule is ready for your viewing and download.  Remember, there are a lot of chapters in Acts (28!) so we won't have many review weeks.  This means you need to make the best of every single week of studying to keep up!  Click here, on the image below, or on the link in the sidebar.

GETTING READY: Reference list is ready!

The list of Reference Questions for 2014-2015 is ready!  Click here, on the image below, or on the link in the sidebar for the whole list.

The FTV list link has also been updated to be the full list including jump-words and spelled-out verses.

GETTING READY: Bible Quiz Meets

While much of the schedule is still hazy, fuzzy, or otherwise wavy, we do have the first two Bible Quiz Meets of the year on the calendar.  Please mark your personal planner, so you don't miss them!

• Saturday, October 4 - Acts 1-4 in Monroe, CT
• Saturday, November 1 - Acts 1-8 in Trumbull, CT

GETTING READY: Keywords are ready!

The list of keywords - also known as "once used words" - is ready for your viewing.  Keywords are words that appear in only one verse in the entire book of Acts.  They can be key for identifying where you are in the book when answering a question.  Click here or on the image below or on the link in the sidebar for the whole list.

GETTING READY: Schedule Details

- THIS IS IMPORTANT.  PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION -

First, practices will begin on Wednesday, September 10.  We will be quizzing on Acts 1, please come prepared to quiz.

Second, there is a time change for practices for this upcoming year.  We will be meeting from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.  If you show up at the old time, it will already be too late.  And please be prompt as we will only have the hour.

Finally, please keep an eye on this blog for other important announcements over the course of the next few weeks.  Materials for the upcoming season will be coming soon, as will an updated calendar with the quiz meets and the Christmas party.

GETTING READY: FTV list is ready!

The list of Finish the Verse questions for 2014-2015 is ready!  The book of Acts is chock full of useful information, so it is not surprising that it's going to be a long list.  Click on the image below, here, or on the sidebar to see the list.

GETTING READY: Studying the Book of Acts in 2014-2015

For the 2014-2015 season, we're going to be study and competing on the Book of Acts.  More correctly called "The Acts of the Apostles", this book was written by Luke (a doctor and traveling companion of Paul) as a sequel to the gospel he wrote.

Luke focussed his gospel on communicating that God was offering the Good News to all peoples - Jews, Gentiles, rich, poor, Roman, barbarian, sinner, "righteous", etc.  So, it makes sense that in his second book he traces the way that the apostles learned that Christianity was not merely for the Jews in Jerusalem, but rather for all peoples everywhere.

As you read this book, be on the lookout for all the different ways that God guided His people as Christianity grew from a tiny sect of Judaism into a religion all its own that embraced everyone.

GETTING READY: How do Romans & James relate?

This was posted earlier in the year during the run-up to the season, but we'll be posting this "Getting Ready" series for James again to refresh your memory.

Romans and James are such different books, why are we studying them together?

It would be hard to imagine how the books of Romans and James could be much more different.  Different authors, different audiences, different emphases.  Some even argue they have different theologies!  (Martin Luther even once called James "a false gospel", in one of his grumpier moments.)  The only thing they have in common, it seems, is that they're both in the Bible!

But, really, Romans and James highlight the two inseparable sides of Christianity.

Romans has a focus on the grace of God.  Paul talks over and over about the fact that our salvation is a free gift, and that there was nothing in ourselves that made us worthy of Christ.  He highlights the fact that the Old Testament Law can't save anyone, which is why Jesus had to come and die and rise.  Romans takes our eyes off of ourselves and our own good deeds, and puts them onto God.

James, on the other hand, has a focus on what we do.  James agrees wholeheartedly that our works don't save us, but points out that such an amazing gift should spur us onto good works that will please our savior.  He challenges lazy or sinful Christians to examine themselves and start doing all the things Jesus commanded us to do.  James reminds us to remember while our eyes are on heaven, we're on mission on the Earth!

If you have Romans without James, you have happy Christians who are of no use to anyone.  If you James without Romans, you have busy Christians without any joy.  You need them both to be the men and women God called us to be.

GETTING READY: To whom was the Epistle of James written?

This was posted earlier in the year during the run-up to the season, but we'll be posting this "Getting Ready" series for James again to refresh your memory.

To whom was the epistle to the James written?

Like Romans, James is quite up-front about who he is writing to:

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings.
James 1:1

Of course, "the twelve tribes in the Dispersion" is not exactly a phrase you hear every-day in 21st Century America.  So, let's take each piece by itself.

First, the "twelve tribes".  This is a common way for Jews of Jesus's time to talk about the descendants of Jacob.  Jacob had twelve sons whose descendants became 12 tribes who eventually conquered the whole land of Israel.  Genesis 49 does a good job of listing the 12 sons (although for complicated reasons, the 12 sons and 12 tribes don't always exactly match up).  The "twelve tribes" is shorthand for "all of the Jewish people."

Second, "the Dispersion".  In other translations, it says "the Diaspora" which you may have heard in history class.  Both words mean "the scattering".  Originally, all of the Jews on Earth were located in Israel.  Then came God's judgement in the form of Assyrian, Babylonian, and eventually Roman Empires.  Babylon, especially, had a policy of splitting up conquered peoples to different places to keep them from organizing into resistance.  So, by the time of Rome, the Jewish people were scattered - or dispersed - throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe.

So, "the twelve tribes in the Dispersion" roughly means "all of the Jewish people in all of the world."  And, from the context of the letter, we know he was talking to Jewish Christians, in the hope that one day all Jews would embrace Christ.

GETTING READY: Who wrote the Epistle of James?

This was posted earlier in the year during the run-up to the season, but we'll be posting this "Getting Ready" series for James again to refresh your memory.

Who wrote the epistle of James?

Like the book of Romans, the epistle of James starts off telling us right away who the author was:  "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ"  (James1:1 ESV).  But unlike Paul, there isn't only one known early church leader by this name!  Jesus had two disciples who went by the name James:  James, son of Zebedee (brother of John) and James, son of Alphaeus.  However, it is unlikely that either of these men wrote this letter.  James, son of Zebedee, died about 44 A.D while this letter came after 60 A.D.  And while James, son of Alphaeus, is mentioned as an apostle, he is never mentioned again in scripture after the gospels and is not known among the church fathers as a writer of letters.

So, who is this mysterious writer?  Well, there is one other James who was quite prominent in the Early Church, mentioned repeatedly by other writers of the New Testament:  James, brother of Jesus!

• Matthew 13:55 mentions James as Jesus's brother
• Paul visited James in Acts 21
• In 1 Corinthians 15:7, Paul confirms that Jesus appeared to James after the resurrection.
• In Galatians 1:19, Paul confirms his visit to James.
• In Galatians 2:9, Paul indicates he views James as a "pillar" of the church.
• In Jude 1:1, the writer - also believed to be a brother of Jesus - identifies himself as a "brother of James"

(If it's not obvious, technically James would be the adoptive or half-brother of Jesus.  His mother was Mary, but his father was Joseph and not God.)

In fact, early church fathers are united in identifying James the brother of Jesus as the writer of this book.  So, all of the evidence points in the same direction.  And it is rare even among modern scholars to find anyone who has a different view.