Key Bible Readings:
Philippians 2:5-8
Colossians 1:15-20

Problem Statement:
I don't understand how Jesus could be fully human and fully divine.

Takeaway:
Since God became human, we can proclaim Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us.

What Students Need to Know...
1. Jesus is fully human and fully God. At the same time. All the time. And trying to figure out how that can be the case can make your head hurt. A lot.

2. Even if we have a hard time explaining how Jesus could be both fully human and fully divine, we can still affirm the cause and effect of this paradox. God became fully human while remaining fully divine so that we might know God in a way we were unable to before Jesus. God chose us -- chose to become like us, to live like us -- and as a result, we can say that Jesus is Emmanuel (God with us).

3. The understanding of Jesus as fully human and fully divine became the accepted position of the church only after it rejected many other explanations. For some people, it's easier to understand who and what Jesus is by first clarifying who and what he isn't. We might struggle to understand how Jesus could be both fully human and fully divine, but most of us can agree that Jesus was not faking his humanity or his divinity. Somehow, he was truly both.

Last week we discussed the importance of "place" and knowing what it means understand scripture in light of where and to whom it was written. This week we have the 30,000 foot view of The New Testament. Some may ask, "Why do we need an 'Old Testament' if we have a shiny new one?" That's a great question! The New Testament points to the good news of Jesus through the lens of the Old Testament promises. We are invited to find ourselves within the story of the Bible, even where that is difficult to do. We are invited to be a part of writing the story, even invited to sit in the tension of the story when warranted. Inspiration of the text is no complete until the Spirit inspires us to inhabit the world in and through the biblical text.

Bible texts we'll be reading this week with links to read online: 
John 12:44-50
Luke 2:3-6
John 8:52-59

As always, you are invited to sit in for class at any point to experience what your child is learning with them.

This week we are beginning our study of the New Testament with a look at maps. Not just maps, but understanding place and what makes a space sacred and important. Understanding this helps us to understand the context for the New Testament and the readings that we will study this Fall as a part of our class time together. Parents, consider a conversation about the places you believe are important in your life, your family's life, and ask your child about their experience of looking at maps this week. Here's a fun pdf of one of the things we worked through.

Remember, you are welcome to join us for class any time!

In peace and hope,

Pastor Paul and Kim Barnes,
Confirmation Teachers