Bible Studies in the Holy Land

Over the last several weeks, I have had the privilege of being a part of two separate Bible studies here on Mount Scopus. The first is as part of a group called Students Alive, a Christian group run by a South African pastor for Christians attending Hebrew University. The Second is called The Old Testament Challenge, a group meeting weekly in the student village itself and run by a fellow student and friend of mine. The first group is exclusively Christian and for Christians, and the second group is open to and includes both Christians and Jews. I was introduced to Students Alive by a friend of mine from Nigeria named God's Will. He towers over me, but he is a gentle giant, quick to smile and quick to laugh. The group is made up of fellow Hebrew U students, and the pastor who runs the group is named George. He sees it as his mission through Students Alive to bring Christ to the campus and to Israelis. He is middle aged, I'd guess between late forties to mid fifties, and he is a kindhearted man, quick to smile and laugh. We have only met twice for Students Alive so far, but each time I left feeling encouraged and reminded that I am not alone here. The second group, The Old Testament Challenge, was thought of and run by a friend of mine named Becca, a fellow Spring in Jerusalem student from Boston. We have also only met twice for the Old Testament group, and it is our goal to read through the entire Old Testament, the book of Israel and of its people, before we return home to our various homelands. This group includes both Christians and Jews, and the dialogues we have been able to have that highlight our differences and our commonalities have been a joy to behold and experience. We spent close to two hours last night reading and discussing Genesis chapters 1-3, and we could have easily gone for another hour or two if some of us didn't need to get up early this morning. We started out with four people last week, and this week we were up to ten, with people from all over the United States and one from Japan making up the group. I hope that we continue to grow as the semester moves forward. One of the students is a Bible Studies major and has studied the Bible for years, and it was fascinating to listen to his historical explanations for several difficult passages. The south, west, and northeast of the United States is well represented in this group. Both groups bring something new to the study of God's word, and both are advancing the kingdom in this part of the world. I am so happy to be able to be a part of both groups and to meet and get to know fellow Christians. I look forward to continuing with both of these pursuits as the semester progresses.