10-class series: February 25/26 – May (TBD)
Wednesdays Online @ 11am
Thursdays @ 1pm, Community Classroom
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the most important theologians of the twentieth century illuminates the relationship between ourselves and the teachings of Jesus. What can the call to discipleship mean today to the businessperson, the soldier, the teacher, the day laborer, or the wealthy? Drawing on Matthew’s Gospel (and particularly the Sermon on the Mount) and writing during the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany, Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a crucial reading of the dichotomy between “cheap grace” and “costly grace.” “Cheap grace,” Bonhoeffer wrote, “is the grace we bestow on ourselves…grace without discipleship…Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again… It is costly because it costs a [person their] life, and it is grace because it gives a [person] the only true life.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau, Germany in 1906. He studied in Berlin as well as Union Theological Seminary in New York. During the rise of the Nazi regime in his native country, he left the U.S. for home. In a time of the church’s deafening silence, Bonhoeffer was a loud voice of critique both in word and deed. Accused of an attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler, Bonhoeffer was arrested along with members of the resistance and was executed by hanging in the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp in 1945.
This study will consist of roughly 10 classes beginning February 25th and 26th and concluding by the end of May. It will be presented in two formats: Wednesdays at 11:00 online and Thursdays at 1:00PM in-person in the Community Classroom. Grab your favorite Bible and come for either class or join us or use the recorded sessions for a self-guided study! Please RSVP for the online class to receive the contact information.
The class will be based on Bonhoeffer’s book, The Cost of Discipleship, along with selected reading from Matthew. If you would like your own copy of the book, please contact Pastor Danielle or email info@tllc.org ASAP to reserve a copy. If you are able to make a donation for the book, the suggested donation is $15. Please note “Pastor’s Bible Study” on your gift. Copies of the book are also available from your favorite bookseller in print or e-book. MORE BOOK INFO
Class Schedule:
Week 1: February 25/26
Memoir, Intro & Chapter 1 (This is about 50 pages so pace yourself, read early)
This week we’ll review Bonhoeffer’s background and the influences of his time in history on his theological writing. We’ll also delve into Chapter 1 – Costly Grace – that will serve as the basis of our study over the next 10 weeks.
Week 2: March 4/5
This week we’ll continue Bonhoeffer’s “Grace & Discipleship” sub-section with Chapters 2-5. In these chapters, Bonhoeffer begins addressing the implications of costly grace in relation to a few themes. We will discuss these themes of call, obedience, and discipleship as it relates to both the cross and the individual.
Week 3: March 11/12
Chapter 6 – Chapter 9
Week 4: NO CLASS – Spring Break
Week 5: March 25/26
Chapter 10-13
Week 6: April 1/2 – NO CLASS
Holy Week: Maundy Thursday service @ 12 & 6pm, Good Friday service @ 10am & 7pm
Week 7: April 8/9
Chapter 14 – Chapter 17
Week 8: April 15/16
Chapter 18 – Chapter 20
Week 9: April 22/23
Chapter 21 – Chapter 26
Week 10: April 29/30 – NO CLASS
Week 11: May 6/7
Chapter 27 – Chapter 29
Week 12: May 13/14
Chapter 30
Week 13: May 20/21