It's been a long time since we didn't post, sorry for that. Anyhow, its a wonderful year ahead of us. We started this Year with the gospel according to Luke 2:15-21, the presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the temple. January 1 was a Sunday, a very good day indeed to start the year. Let us all be glad together with the shepherds on the day Christ was born here on earth and proclaim Jesus in all the world that He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God who came to be with His people. "O come, O come, Emmanuel"
We continually invite you to attend our English service every Second Sunday of the month in the Cathedral of Saint Matthew in Nagoya (please find map in the blog). We also invite you for a Bible Study before the service, at 16:00 am in the cathedral hall. Let us explore together the Word of God in the Bible. Bring along with you a Bible, any translation/version will do as long as you can understand it. Our lesson this February 12 is a continuation of our past study of the Holy Orders of the Church, Bishop, Priest and Deacon.
Bishop, Priest, and Deacon is a common leader in the church and I wish for the group to study about them and where they are in the Bible. For this, please try and read some of the reference of this Holy Orders in the Bible particularly in the New Testament. We will only simplify our discussion with the common understanding of the Bible's writings about these Orders. Thus,
- Bishop; also referred as “Overseer,” from the greek word “episkopos.”
-Acts 20:28
-1Timothy 3:1-2
-Titus 1:5-7
- Priest; also referred as Elders, from the greek word “presbuteros,” and also called presbyter.
-1Timothy 5:17(Responsibility)
-James 5:14-15
- Deacon; from the greek word “diakonos,” it means servant.
-Acts 6:1-6
-1 Timothy 3:8-10
There are other references as to where we can find “elders,” “overseer” and deacon in the English Bible but we need not discuss all due to limited time. There are also references of chief priests in the gospels and priests in the Old Testament (i.e. book of Leviticus) but we will not deal with them although it is important resources also in the understanding of the temple worship of the Jews. What we will particularly talk about is the presence of the the Holy Orders (Bishop, Priest and Deacons) in the New Testament as we see them today in the church.
Hope to see you soon,
Deacon Glenn
