I'll put the disclaimer out there right now...
When I say that I'm going back to school, that's not entirely what I mean. And keep reading, you'll see what I'm talking about.
A few years ago, I had quite the revelation of sorts. Every fiber of my being, told me to give up the 'world' and focus on Christ. Now while I was baptized over a decade ago, I really never gave my entire life to Jesus.
There were times when I thought I did, but the world was a pretty attractive place. As Jesus said, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Long story short, I started getting the desire to earn a theology degree of some sort. And I started looking into long distance colleges and seminaries that could accommodate a 40-something year old working father of 3.
Let's just say, the choices where limited. And the options I did find, where extremely pricey. And here's the thing, this wasn't because I wanted to become a preacher and pastor, I just wanted to learn as much about God as I could.
So then I discovered the option of 'self education' in theology. Which is hilarious because for decades I always told my customers and clients that I graduated from the University of Self-Education.
A pastor I follow online came up with a game plan and curriculum of sorts that took self-learners through some pretty intense topics and areas of study. And if you read my blog around this time last year, I actually started it...
The idea behind his plan was to grab a book and for each day of the week, read and study it.
Each day of the week would be a different 'course' and it went well for me last year. I got through the 7 books I originally began with and then.....Yeah, I gave up!
Pretty sure God put it on my heart again this week, to follow up with the second semester if you will :)
So the game plan, is to pick a book for each of these topics:
Prophecy - My church is big on the prophecies of Daniel & Revelation
Physiology (Yeah I know I spelt that wrong on my image above lol) - We are the temple of God after all, we should take care of it!
Church History - If you don't know the history, you stand on nothing.
Christology - The study of Christ! His ministry and life on earth.
Doctrines - We have 28 fundamental beliefs in the Adventist church, I would love to know them all by heart.
Sanctuary Study - You way of God, is in the sanctuary...It all points to Christ.
Family - A vital aspect of the Christian walk, the one you do with your loved ones.
So I started poking around my store to find some books for these different topics, and I have a game plan roughly taking shape.
As soon as I hammer this out, I'll go over the books I plan on reading for this 'semester'.