30th annual event’s activities run from Sunday, January 18 through Tuesday, January 20
Bethel Mennonite Church and First Mennonite Church, both of Mountain Lake, announce that John D. Rempel will be the speaker for the 30th Annual Mennonite Bible Series, set to be held this Sunday, January 18 through Tuesday, January 20. All sessions will be hosted by Bethel, located at 301 Ninth Street North.
Rempel is a Mennonite minister and director of the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre, a graduate teaching and research center of Conrad Grebel College that is affiliated with the Toronto School of Theology, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has studied at Conrad Grebel College, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Protestant Seminary of East Berlin and Toronto School of Theology. His teaching has focused on Anabaptist studies (particularly Pilgram Marpeck) and worship (particularly the Lord’s Supper). Rempel has had broad experience in writing and editing Anabaptist materials. He has served his church widely, including as Mennonite Central Committee liaison to the United Nations in New York City, and as a professor at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana for nine years.
Rempel will preach at Bethel on Sunday morning, January 18, at 10:30 a.m., as the two churches join in a combined services for the start of the series, entitled “Faithfulness to the Gospel in Turbulent Times.” The Sunday morning sermon will focus on “The Heart of the Gospel” (taken from Matthew 12:22-32 and Romans 8:14-23).
The series will continue on Sunday and Monday, January 19 evenings at 7 p.m. Morning sessions will be at 9:30 a.m. both Monday, January 19 and Tuesday, January 20. Evening sessions will include light refreshments and opportunities for conversation following Rempel’s presentations. The morning events, which will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., are double sessions, with a coffee break between parts one and two.
The Sunday evening program by Rempel will be the “Reluctant Radical,” a monologue in the voice of the Anabaptist leader Pilgram Marpeck. For background reading, Romans 8:14-17 and Hebrews 2:10-18 are recommended.
The two Monday morning sessions include “The Church and Politics” (see Acts 17:1-7) and “Principles for Dealing with Difficult Issues” (see Acts 15:1-21).
“Why Baptism and Communion Matter” (with background in Romans 6:1-11 and 1 Corinthians 10:16-17), will be the centerpiece topic at Monday evening’s presentation.
The final sessions on Tuesday morning include, “Applying Anabaptism Today – Part 1: What Aspects of Our Movement Embody the Gospel?” and “Applying Anabaptism Today – Part 2: What Aspects of Our Movement Fall Short of the Gospel?”
