Buz Myers Presents “The Genius of Mark the Evangelist”

9:15-10:15 AM SEPT 10-17-24 7 OCT 1 IN ROOM 7 • The Sept 10 class is hybrid: attend via Zoom or participate with others in our Zoom Room (Room 7 on the lower level). Buz Myers will be in person for the remaining sessions, which will also be live streamed.

One of our most popular lecture-based adult educators returns to Derry Church for four weeks beginning Sunday, Sept 10. The Rev. Charles (Buz) Myers, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Gettysburg College and an ordained minister in the PCUSA, tells us about “The Genius of Mark the Evangelist.”

Down through the years the Gospel of Mark has taken a back seat to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The reasons for the depreciation of Mark are many and varied. In the first place, Mark does not have the literary polish of Luke or the highly stylized format of Matthew.

Furthermore, Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of the canonical Gospels, and it lacks some of the familiar stories about and teachings of Jesus that the other Gospels contain. As a result, the Gospel of Mark has been overshadowed by the “fuller” and “more refined” accounts of Matthew and Luke.

In recent years there has been an ever-increasing apprecia­tion for the Gospel of Mark. As the earliest of the canonical Gospels, Mark’s Gospel represents a remarkable achievement in its own right. For this reason, Mark’s poignant portrayal of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ will be the focus of this four-week study. We’ll consider such pertinent topics as the identity of Jesus, the role of suffering in the life of Christ and his followers, the meaning of true disciple­ship, and the proper place of miracles in the Christian community.

SEPT 10: Jesus, the Wonder-Worker: A Study of Mark 1:1 – 6:6
SEPT 17: Jesus, the Predictor: A Study of Mark 6:7 – 10:52
SEPT 24: Jesus, the Prophet: A Study of Mark 11:1 – 14:72
OCT 1: Jesus, the Crucified Messiah: A Study of Mark 15:1-16:8