Hey guys,
If you don't know what BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) is, it's a bible study class that started in the States and is now in heaps of countries around the world... it's free to join and they run weekly classes with discussion groups, lectures and daily homework, with studies on specific books of the Bible (Romans, individual gospels, Isaiah, Life of Moses...). Quite a few people from CityLife do/have done BSF, and it's good for getting into the habit of reading and studying the Bible every day, especially if you're like me and find it hard to pick it up and get reading without some sort of structure... Hehe.... there's a class in Camberwell on Monday evenings if anyone's interested...
Anyhow, I thought I'd check out the class in Taipei just to see what it's like, and it was so cool to see a couple hundred li'l Asian ladies (and quite a large number of uni students too!) gathering to study the Bible - in English! I was expecting to see mostly expats, so was pleasantly surprised to see only a handful of non-Chinese... and to see all these women putting in the extra effort to read the notes, answer questions and sit through a lecture in English (we had trouble understanding some of the questions in Melbourne, so I can't imagine trying to do that in a second language!)... it was cool! Okay, so some of them might come along to improve their English skills, but still... I guess it made me realise how many resources we have available to us, especially being part of the English-speaking world, that I take for granted!
In exciting news though, they made an announcement today that they're going to begin translating the BSF studies into Chinese (and Spanish, but Chinese first), so that they can reach more people in their native language! Exciting, exciting...
Ohhh... and if anyone's up for a really interesting 13 week course on... missions, and God's heart for the world, ask Chewy about Perspectives, if he hasn't already mentioned it! =)
Happy 30th, Josh and Lil!
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Thanks for sharing Mich! This year, BSF is covering the book of John. I know quite a few Citylifers that are doing it and I've heard that it's really good! Definitely consider taking this up if you can spare the time as it does increase your knowledge of God's word!
ReplyDeleteI did the BSF Genesis study for 6 months in 2006 and it was a huge eye opener! There are so many things you wouldn't otherwise pick up if you were to read the word on your own. Most importantly, there's a personal application section which helps you to reflect God's instruction for our lives in this present time!
However, to join, you do need to be invited by one of the regular attendants of BSF. If u'd like to join, let me know and I can ask some of my CityLife friends to send you an invite =)