Andrew Genova

43-45) Attach take home:. Give three things you have really learned in this class. State significant learning from content, study, skills learned. These should be important. State the idea and show how it has been important and real to you. (Add this to your web site.)

I must start off by saying that the biggest thing that helped me during this class was the Read, Mark, and Study method that was stressed so much at the beginning of the class. Before this class, I would always keep my books unmarked and write everything out on paper because I really don't take to writing in books. The Read, Mark, and Study method showed me that highlighting and numbering sections really helps in your studying and makes it easier to go back and find what you need quickly.

Other than that, I learned a lot from the Gospels; namely, the parables. Jesus spoke in parables so that he could reach numerous audiences. When interpreted on a literal level, those people who did not believe did not understand the deeper message in the parable, but when interpreted on the faith level, the parables have deep insights. With only a little bit of interpretation you can understand a whole lot more than when you heard the story. I used to think that the parables were just interesting stories that Jesus told and were only understandable by the people of the times, but was I ever wrong. The stories, although they are dated in lifestyle, are simple enough that they can be translated into almost every circumstance in the modern day society.

I also found that Mike Carotta's four things to ask yourself when interpreting what God is saying is quite helpful. With the second stage of interpretation, what God is saying to us, it leaves you to ponder. Mike Carotta's four things to ask yourself are a nice foundation to interpreting the parable correctly. With its four things, character, conscience, contribution, and knowledge of God, it covers pretty much everything that is interpretable in these parables. All you have to do is figure out which one(s) it is and expand on that. Viola! You have a nice interpretation!