A new Holy Land study abroad course through Concordia Seminary, St. Louis is available for pastors, other church workers and laity. The course, “Exegeting and Teaching the Scripture in Context,” will be available as a Continuing Education course April 10-25, 2018.

The course’s preparatory work prior to the trip will include a series of readings and map-marking to help participants place biblical events in their context. Other work will include a series of seven five- to 14-minute videos to be used in conjunction with the provided Israel Study Manual, developed specifically for the course.

“A similar trip to the Holy Land a few years ago, has made the Scriptural texts come to life for me,” said Chaplain Paul Sieveking, the Seminary’s director of Continuing Education. “Having seen for myself the mountains and hillsides, the valleys and deserts, rivers and seas, plants and animals, winepresses and mangers, artifacts and ruins, the geography, locations and distances I can study the texts and prepare sermons and lessons with a much deeper understanding. The trip has made an impact on my ministry and my personal devotional life.”

The course will be led by Dr. Thomas Zelt, senior pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Fremont, Calif., who has served Concordia Seminary as a guest instructor for a similar course for students for the past four years.

The cost of the trip is $3,650, which includes the round-trip travel from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, all transfers, transportation throughout Israel and the West Bank, hotel stays, daily breakfasts and dinners, all entrance fees, all textbooks (the Israel Study Manual, The Land Between and The Student Map Manual) and the pre-course video series. Students will be individually responsible for the cost of travel to John F. Kennedy Airport and lunch each day. The registration deadline is Jan. 15, 2018.

For more information or to register, contact Concordia Seminary’s Continuing Education office at 314-505-7286 or ce@csl.edu.

About Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). To learn more, visit www.csl.edu.