This autumn our Life Groups will begin exploring the Bible Society’s Romans Course. It’s a ten-session exploration of one of the most magnificent books of the Bible.
The author of the course, Dr Andrew Ollerton (who many of us know from the Bible Course we did as a Church a few years’ back) says that “if the New Testament were the Himalayas, Romans would be Mount Everest and chapter eight would be the summit.”
But don’t take the author’s word for it, the actor David Suchet – famous for playing the detective Hercule Poirot has said: “On all my travels, if I had the Gospels, Paul’s letter to the Romans and Andrew Ollerton’s book, I would need nothing else.” High praise indeed.
But why is the book of Romans so important and why are we studying it this autumn? Well, Romans is – again in the words of Andrew Ollerton – “A letter that makes sense of life.” It was written by St Paul to the Church in Rome and is often said to contain the gospel of Jesus Christ in a nutshell.
It certainly does make sense of life: but we have to be prepared to accept some terrifying truths about the human condition before we hear about the amazing grace of God that came to us through Jesus Christ. If we can understand Romans then the rest of God’s Word is made easier to grasp.
Like the Bible Course, the Romans Course contains short videos each session in which Andrew Ollerton helpfully unpacks Paul’s letter verse by verse. There are also videos containing testimonies of Christians whose lives have been transformed through reading this book.
We have a number of Life Groups that meet in people’s homes on different days of the week and at different times of the day. If you’re not a Life Group member then speak to Simon or myself and we’ll find you a place at one.
And if there’s no way for you to join a Life Group, you can watch the course on-line. By a remarkable God-incidence, our brothers and sisters at Holy Trinity (Greenhead Park) are also following the Romans Course in their Sunday services. You can watch these talks here: https://www.holytrinityhuddersfield.com/livestreams.
So, no excuses!
I’m really excited to be diving into this wonderful letter again. Please do consider joining me. If you read it and get it, your life will never be the same again. But let’s leave the final word to the Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot shall we?
“You don’t have to be a Christian to read this book. When I first read St Paul’s letter to the Romans in a hotel room in 1986, I was not a Christian, but when I had finished reading it, I felt compelled to become one!” Sir David Suchet.
Ian.