We end this series by seeing what life is like now for Christians who have lived in the West Bank for 2,000 years. (It's hard.) We also think about what we can do, as Christians here, to build more peace. Since Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers," and we want to be blessed, what could we do? And if we want to support people in the situation over there, what does support look like?
To open the handout for this session (an article about the Biggest Myths of the Israel-Palestine Conflict), click here.
Bible Study – Conflict and Peace in the Holy Land, part 6
We return to our series about the Holy Land this week, as we learn what it’s like to live in the West Bank area. For some groups it’s easy and pleasant; other groups are impeded from leading natural lives. As we’ve been doing in this series, we take time to understand what the conditions and motivations are for all the people involved, so that we can better understand what’s going on, and then be better able to work for peace.
Bible Study – Conflict and Peace in the Holy Land, part 5
Tonight we hear from both Palestinians and Israelis about what it's like to live in the Palestinian Territories, which Israel controls. There is a lot that is undefined for the residents of those places (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip), which raises anxiety. And the many separation barriers lead to lives being separated too.
Bible Study – Conflict and Peace in the Holy Land, part 4
This week we talk specifically about the city of Jerusalem. It's considered holy by Christians, Jews, and Muslims. So there are many holy sites in the city, but that makes it a contentious situation, as everyone wants to control it. We learn about who controlled what parts of the city throughout history, and yearn for the possibility of peace. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Christians led the way in making Jerusalem a city of peace.
Bible Study – Conflict and Peace in the Holy Land, part 3
In this session we continue the timeline of what events happened in the Holy Land, from 1948 onward—what changed, and how it affected the local population. We also watch an interview with a local Palestinian who is a Christian peacemaker, as we think about how we can join in the work to "seek peace and pursue it" (Psalm 34:14).
Bible Study – Conflict and Peace in the Holy Land, part 2
Over the last 150 years, the Holy Land has experienced a lot of changes in terms of who has controlled and moved into it. Different populations, empires, and countries have impacted what life has been like for those who were living there. We learn a lot about that timeline, hear from a Jewish rabbi there, and talk about what the emotional effects have been.
Bible Study – Conflict and Peace in the Holy Land, part 1
This week we start a new series to help us learn about the historical and modern-day situation in the area we call the Holy Land—the stretch of land featured in the Bible that is important to Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The situation there is deep and complex, so we will spend many weeks learning about different aspects of it. In this first week we learn about Christians who have lived in Palestine since the very beginning of the Christian church.
Mid-Week Bible Study Video – Understanding Islam, part 4 (varying rules)
In our last session of this series, we talk about some of the different rules that some Muslims, to various degrees. We learn about different ways that Muslims understand things like jihad, fatwa, and Sharia rules. To give us some perspective, we also read and discuss verses of our own Bible that we wouldn't necessarily want people to follow anymore.
Open, download, or print the handout here (click to enlarge):
Mid-Week Bible Study Video – Understanding Islam, part 3 (differences)
As we continue our study of Islam this week, we learn about some of its different groups—what they believe, do they get along, etc. If you’ve ever wondered what the differences are between Sunni and Shia, or a hijab and a burqa, or a caliph and an ayatolla, or even why a whirling dervish whirls, then you’ll learn all of that this week.
Open, download, or print the handout here (click to enlarge):
Mid-Week Bible Study Video – Understanding Islam, part 2 (basic facts)
We continue learning about Islam this week with some basic facts: when it started, what was going on at the time with other religions, and what its founder Muhammad was like. We also learn about the Muslim holy book the Qur'an, and start learning some vocabulary. We begin by listening to the call to prayer that Muslims hear 5 times a day, and we end thinking about spiritual practices that can help us, if we are truly sincere about them.
Open, download, or print the handout here (click to enlarge):
