Calvin College’s annual all-campus Bible study began in September to study Matthew 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount.
A student reads through his Bible as part of the campus-wide Bible study.
Groups of faculty, students, and staff have met in locations all over campus and elsewhere to study the text, which is “about living a certain way,” said Calvin associate chaplain Aaron Winkle.
“As much as any passage in the New Testament, it offers a picture of what it means to live in the kingdom of God.”
About 100 groups are tackling Jesus’ famous sermon: residence hall groups, departmental groups, and groups led by members of the Calvin faculty and staff. President Michael Le Roy and his wife, Andrea, are hosting a study for students in DeWit Manor, and Calvin junior Rebekah Coggin is leading one for her colleagues studying abroad in Budapest, Hungary.
As in previous years, the Bible study also features “affinity groups” —groups that meet around a commonality or shared interest.
To guide them through the three chapters of Matthew, the groups are using study guides created by the chaplain’s office along with Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy, a study of Christian discipleship.
The all-campus Bible study runs through the end of November. Throughout January, the Sermon on the Mount will be the theme of the worship services for the annual Symposium on Worship hosted by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.
