ABCNJ's Centered in Christ Bible Study 2007-2008
Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover

“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 

Jesus is the central figure of Christianity and the Lord of all Baptist believers.   As part of ABCNJ’s ongoing commitment to fostering spiritual health and faithfulness, we are inviting all of our churches to engage in a comprehensive and systematic study of what the Bible reveals about the life, teachings and ministry of Jesus. 

Our Executive Minister and Senior Regional Pastor, Rev. Dr. Lee B. Spitzer, has written Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover to serve as a primary text for our regional emphasis.  Taking advantage of his Jewish background, he traces the Messianic theme of the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation.    The Bible’s portrayal of Jesus’ journey is comprehensive and multi-faceted.  Reading it from cover to cover can be a daunting task!  To make it more achievable, the Bible is divided into seven modules, each of which your church can complete in less than two months of study: 

1. The Torah (in 4 lessons)

2. Israel’s History (in 3 lessons)

3. Israel’s Wisdom Literature (in 3 to 4 lessons)

4. Israel’s Prophets (in 6 to 7 lessons)

5. The Gospels and Acts (in 5 or more lessons)

6. Paul on Jesus (in 9 lessons)

7. Other Epistles (in 5 lessons) 

Just choose a module and begin your study!  The book provides the key lesson points, to which you add illustrations and exercises appropriate to your context.  Powerpoint files for each module will be made available on www.abcnj.net (see Documents and Files).  

  6 Paths for Studying Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover 

There is a great spiritual value in encouraging an entire congregation to focus on Jesus’ Messianic journey for a year.  This can be accomplished in many ways: 

The Preaching Path:  The pastor chooses selected Messianic passages as sermon texts, and members prepare by reading the corresponding chapters in Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover.   You could create a sermon feedback hour!

The Sunday School Path:  Use Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover as a Sunday School elective.

The Mid-Week or Sunday Night Study Path:  For churches that gather for a weekly nightly study time, Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover can provide a coherent focus for both adults and high school youth.

The Serial Retreat Path:  Each module of Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover can serve as the basis for a retreat.  The entire course could be covered in a series of seven retreats.

Small Group Study Path:  Small discussion groups can be established to study either the entire course or individual modules.  This is a great option for ABW Circles or men’s groups.

Individual Devotional Path:  Individuals can be encouraged to study Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover on their own.   

ABCNJ will be providing Completion Certificates for churches that complete 1 or more modules.   Participating in the course will also earn a church a “crown” in the ABCNJ Triple Crown Recognition Ceremony at the 2007 Annual Session. 

Inviting Dr. Spitzer to Teach

ABCNJ's Executive Minister and Senior Regional Pastor, Rev. Dr. Lee B. Spitzer, is willing to come to your church to teach about Jesus based on Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover.  If the church can sign up at least twenty committed participants, he is willing to lead a multi-week series or a week-end spiritual retreat on any module of the Bible.  For churches with less participation, he is willing to kick off your series by teaching the opening lesson of a module.  For more information and to schedule dates, call or e-mail the region office.

A testimony

This fall, the participants in the Cohansey   Baptist Church Wednesday night Bible Study chose to use Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover for their weekly study.  We have now finished Module 1 (the Torah) and are almost finished with Module 2.  The people are not only enjoying the study, but are also learning a lot and gaining a better Old Testament view of the Messianic theme, as fulfilled in Jesus.   

At least ten people who don’t come out to the Bible Study are reading along in the book as a personal devotion and study.  One of our Adult Sunday School classes is planning to start the book in class beginning in December 2006.  The teacher comes to the Bible Study and has been taking notes of the discussion, and so she already has much of her lessons ready.  The Bible study group has already committed to going through the whole book in Biblical order to gain the full overview of what the Bible has to say about the Messiah. 

As pastor, I have never had so many people study both a “lay theology” book and the relevant Scripture passages as I see happening with this book.  The people are enjoying it and I keep contacting the regional office to buy more books.  I think we’re up to 45 books purchased by individuals in the church.   

The people of Cohansey have done a lot of work in Bible study over the years, and so they have a good familiarity with the Bible.  However, they comment that this study is giving them an overview of the Bible and an in depth look at both the plan of God’s salvation in regards to sending Jesus and His nature and character.  Some of these comments have come from my Sunday School teachers who have taught for more than ten years. 

Rev. Dr. Peter Ely

Pastor, Cohansey Baptist Church