For many years the Moore College external studies course, the Preliminary Theological Certificate, has been helping people all over the world dig into the word of God and understand how the Bible fits together, and God’s big purposes for the world. Here at HBC/Unichurch many people have done some of the introductory courses, such as Introduction to the Bible, Old Testament 1 and New Testament 1. In 2011 we are offering two more opportunities for people to jump aboard a movement that is opening up God’s Word to people all over the world.

photo credit: dtcchc

The PTC courses are offered by “distance education” (many of the early ones are now supported by online resources.) You can do them on your own, or you can join a small group that is designed to make it easier by (1) providing an incentive to keep up with the work! And (2) providing a forum for discussion and clarification of issues as you go along.
Doing a PTC course takes some commitment! The course is meant to be studied over 10 weeks, and Moore College generally advise you should be able to spend 4-5 hours per week in reading and study. It is not free- this year the fees are as follows:
• $80 - Enrolment in a new subject
• $125 - Husband and wife using same notes
• $50 - Concession rate (see Neil for different groups)
• $45 - Re-enrolment in same subject (if you have previously enrolled but would like to do the exam this time)

But the benefits are tremendous. Many people have testified that they have suddenly begun to realise how the Old and New Testaments fit together after doing Introduction to the Bible. Each of the other courses sharpens up your understanding of God’s Word so that you can glorify him in your own life, and teach that Word to others (whether in a Scripture class or Sprout class, small group, training course, or in your own family.)
The first course we are offering support for in 2011 is Ephesians. We will be meeting on Saturday mornings, starting March 5th, from 8:30-10 am (I said it involved commitment!) for 10 weeks, in the church office at 50 Hudson St, Hamilton. The study leader will be Neil Foster, who in a former life was a Greek lecturer at Moore College before turning to Law lecturing at Newcastle Uni.
Paul’s letter is packed with huge issues about the purpose of life, the person and work of Jesus, and how we live as Christians (see the “word cloud” attached which illustrates the key ideas in the letter). This course would be perfect for those who have already done the introductory courses and would like to make more progress towards the full 6 courses that qualify you for award of the Moore College PTC. But if you’ve been around church for a few years and haven’t done other PTC courses before, feel free to give it a go!
{However, if you’re in that situation you might find it better to wait until Term 2, starting June 4th, when we will be doing the first unit in the PTC, Introduction to the Bible. Put it in your diary now!}
For Ephesians, enrolments are meant to be finalised by Feb 15th. If you are interested, contact Neil Foster on 40234323 or neil.foster@newcastle.edu.au before that date.

Tags: Ephesians, PTC

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 at 3:04 pm and is filed under Maturity, Pastors thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.