West Newton United Presbyterian Church

Discipleship a.k.a. Christian Education

 

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." - Mark 1:17

What exactly does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? The short answer is that you become a "student" of Jesus and His life, teachings, and message of salvation. At WNUPC, teaching is intertwined with times of worship, ministry, and fellowship so it can be hard to know exactly when class starts.

Adults who are looking for a structured approach to discipleship should check out Adult Sunday School on Sunday mornings at 8:30AM in the McKee Room. School-age children may wish to attend Sunday School, also in the McKee Room. Youth Sunday School starts around 10:15AM after they are dismissed from the children's sermon in the Worship Service.

Teaching also occurs on a regular basis at WNUPC in non-classroom settings. Known as Small Groups, they gather at different times throughout the week to discuss various topics, books, and current events to gain a deeper understanding of the Scriptures and how they apply to our lives today.

Adult Sunday School
"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us," - 1 Thessalonians 2:8. 

The Adult Sunday School class meets every Sunday from 8:30AM to 9:30AM and studies "The Present Word." This quarterly publication by the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. is a thorough Bible study series and covers the Bible from beginning to end. This quarter we look to the Gospel of Luke to discover how God calls the church to live out her purpose. The requirements are breathtaking in scope! But we have the power of the Holy Spirit to help us put them into action.

IMAGES of CHRIST: The summer study takes a look at the various ways Jesus is portrayed in the New Testament. Rather than focusing on the details of Jesus' life and ministry, the passages selected for study present a series of images. The earliest believers answered the question "Who is Jesus?" using stories, metaphors, affirmations, titles and word pictures. All were significant responses and together these responses contributed to the later development of a category of systematic theology known as Christology: the study of the nature, meaning, and significance of Jesus Christ. (Excerpt taken from The Present Word, Summer 2008 Edition (C) Congregational Ministries Publishing, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.))

June Lesson topics
Date	Lesson	Scripture
June 1	Jesus as God's Son	Hebrews 1:1-4, 8-12
June 8	Christ as Intercessor	Hebrews 7:20-28
June 15	Christ as Redeemer	Hebrews 9:11-18, 10:12-14, 17-18
June 22	Christ as Leader	Hebrews 12:1-13
June 29	The Eternal Christ	Hebrews 13:1-16

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Youth Sunday School

WNUPC Youth Sunday School is a safe, kid-friendly environment where children get to learn about the amazing life of Jesus! Children pre-K through 5th grade are combined into a single group for a time of discovery. Our current curriculum places an emphasis on following Jesus. To that end, the lessons cover the parables, miracles, and His life from birth to death and resurrection. Along with the day's teaching, the children usually have a snack and construct a craft that is related to the lesson.

Sunday School Ages Pre-K to 5th Grade 10:15AM on Sundays
If you are new to our church, youth Sunday School for children in grades K through 6 runs concurrent with the adult worship service. This setting enables parents with children to experience worship while providing their children with a place for an enriching time of learning at their level of understanding. Children attend the beginning of the adult worship service, have a children's sermon with the pastor around 10 minutes after the start of worship, then are dismissed to Sunday School.

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Small Group

The original small group, Jesus' 12 disciples, was a band of regular men not too much different from who we are today. In spite of their bumps, warts, foibles, and doubts, Jesus taught these men then sent them into the world to spread the Good News of the Gospel. Many small groups today carry on the traditions of the 12 disciples by meeting in one's home, breaking bread together, and studying the Scriptures and other writings to gain a better understanding of God's purposes for each of us. Small Groups are a wonderful way to develop spiritually intimate relationships with fellow Christians. The casual atmosphere of small groups allows for more in depth discussions that may not be possible in more structured classroom settings.

Existing Small Groups
Alpha Program - Meets on Tuesdays
Ozegovich - Meets every other Sunday - Topic: We are just beginning a discussion on the major religions of the world to gain a deeper understanding of how Christianity differs from other faiths. Our hope is to better understand different cultures as technology makes the world a little smaller
Sileo - Meets every Sunday.

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