For each of the assigned passages above, respond to the following prompt:

What is the central message of this passage? How does this message apply to your personal spiritual journey and planned professional context?

The paper should be the result of the three step interpretive process practiced in class and described above. Write the paper as though it will be read by someone who has not taken this course. The paper should be well-argued, clearly written, and strictly adhere to the following guidelines:

• The paper must not be more than 1500 words. There is no minimum word count. The paper must include a bibliography. Please do not include a title page or put your name on the paper.
• The paper must adhere to some standard of writing convention and citation (e.g., MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian). It matters not which you choose, as long as you apply it clearly and consistently.
• You must use at least two secondary (contemporary, non-biblical) sources of high quality (e.g., Bible commentaries) as conversation partners. In class session two I will show you where these can be found online. Please review the “Using appropriate sources appropriately” handout for more information.
• The paper will need to clearly and deeply interact with the particular text under investigation.

A rubric is available in the course files of Blackboard. I recommend having a close friend, significant other, parent, etc. read the paper before submission. If it is not clear to a person who is not in this class, it probably will not be clear to others. Please contact me with questions.