Rod Carruthers

The Old Testament is a series of events tracing the evolution of God’s story of his chosen people through periods of joy and periods of despair…sin and repentance…obedience and rebelliousness…disappointing God, then returning to His Love. It all adds up to a series of cycles: sinning, condemnation, punishment, repentance, forgiveness, and returning to fellowship with the Lord.

Hidden behind this story lurks another, even more significant thread: the continuity of the bloodline of the Messiah—from Adam to Jesus. It’s like a crimson chord dragged through Biblical history, becoming frayed to the last thread at times, almost to the point of disintegration. Yet it survives, only to become imperiled again and again. This process is similar to what happens with the emergence of Christianity in its early centuries. Quite often it is left hanging by a thread. Only in this latter case, the crimson chord – whose loose end lies securely fastened to a solid foundation, one that will create and sustain a worldwide universal church – survives. It could have broken many times; yet, often in peril, it stubbornly endures.

In “The Miraculous Survival of Christianity” seminar, we trace the path of growth from the death of Jesus through the establishment of the Christian faith as the state religion of the Roman Empire in 380AD – after almost two and a half centuries of unspeakable persecution by Roman emperors. So the road to Christianity had a tenuous beginning, with twists and turns as the original Apostles and their successors struggled to carry out their Commission: surviving horrific persecution to the point of the dreadful death of a martyr: initially from their Hebrew brethren — and then from the might of the Roman Empire. Join us in the pursuit of this wonderful story of inspiration and glory.

This seminar will begin Friday, October 17 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. in Room 1 of the Education Building at Sun Lakes United Methodist Church, 9248 E. Riggs Road. The first session will end in mid-December. The second session will begin in mid-January and continue to the end of March 2015. It is open to the entire community and we hope you will mark this date on your calendar. If you have questions or would like to sign up for this class please call the church office at 480-895-8766.