I think it's interesting that the very Sunday that the Adult Alternatives Class at FUMC Muskogee takes up the first mention of "resurrection" in the book of Daniel is Easter Sunday!

Is that a "god thing" or what?

Yesterday I reminded you of how important it is to keep the words and deeds of the prophets in their historical, religious and social contexts.

So first, I hope this initial lesson in our short 6 week course will help us all to refresh our memories of the time period covered by the declining years of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  Then next we'll spend a good bit of time working together in small groups trying to understand the prophetic traditions in Ancient Israel, as well as in the region during that historic period.

Different from all the other lessons we've worked on in the past, there will be no preparation needed for this lesson.  Everything will be worked on during the class period.

But it won't be all work and no play.  Since it will be our first time back together after a long break we'll take plenty of time for food and fellowship!

I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of the class members back in their places.

The Monday after Easter the Women's Old Testament Bible Study at First United Methodist, Muskogee, OK, will begin a short 6 week study of two of what are usually called the Minor Prophets - Amos and Hosea.

We'll be picking up, kind of, where we left off in our last series of lessons with the collapse of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the problems the rulers were having staying faithful to the Covenant.  We've already studied a couple of the prophets that were active during that period of decline, namely Elijah and Elisha.  But they left us no written record of their message - others remembered it and passed it on orally, and others later wrote it down and preserved their actions and messages in the books of I and II Kings for future generations of readers of the Hebrew Scriptures.

But a new phenomena begin to emerge in the 8th century b.c.e. (before the common era) with prophets whose words and deeds were recorded as they were said and done.  Amos and Hosea fall into that category.

As always, to understand the Scriptures we study, it is best to keep in mind the historical, religious and social realities of the time.  And that's where we'll begin our short six week course on these two prophets.

Tomorrow: I'll preview the first lesson in the series