St. Patricks Day Bible Study
Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Just for fun, here is a Bible study using the life of the amazing Patrick of Ireland as the basis for a group Bible study:
St Patrick’s Day Bible Study
Purpose: To encourage us to take on the spirit of the great evangelist, St. Patrick of Ireland.
Introduction:
Born in about 386 AD in Roman Western England, Patrick was taken in a pirate raid to Druidic Ireland as a slave, where he served for many (at least six) years. Child sacrifices and the wicker-man ceremony were part of the religion there. Patrick was an unbeliever, but in his suffering, he began to seek God.
Had a vision: Soon you will go to your own country. He fled his captors. He swam out to sea, where he was rescued. He came to England where he joined a monasteries for 20 years in England and France.
He had a dream 432 AD I am ready to be murdered, enslaved, betrayed for the sake of my (adopted) people. Against the wishes of his family, he returned to Ireland.
Q: Give me a few reasons Patrick should NOT return to Ireland.
Q: Is there a scripture which this statement by Patrick reminds you of?
On Easter eve, 433 AD, he lit a “Pascal fire” on the hill of Slane, visible from the hill of Tara, the seat of the high king, in defiance of the Pagan authorities. The king ordered Patrick to be killed. “If we do not distinguish this flame, it will sweep all Ireland. Patrick said “May God come up to scatter his enemies.”
7×7 died, and the king submitted to become a Christian.
Q: Was that a good idea? A scripture that might support his doing this?
He spent the next 25 years evangelizing all over Ireland. It is said that he created the concept of “Ireland”—a unified people of the island of Ireland.
No, he did not drive all the snakes out of Ireland, but yes, he established Ireland as a Christian land. He founded monasteries all over the island, and his followers, especially Columba, later returned to Scotland and northern England to re-establish Christianity there. Ireland became the greatest center of Christian learning in Europe in the 6th-10th centuries AD.
Teachings of St. Patrick
Famous for using the shamrock to explain the trinity
Q: How might the shamrock serve as an appropriate metaphor for trinity?
Other lessons from the life of Patrick
Redemption from Suffering (Psalm 107:2): Patrick’s time as a slave in Ireland led him to seek God, turning a period of intense loneliness into a spiritual awakening.
Q: Can you think of a biblical passage that reflects this aspect of Patrick’s life? (Psalm 107:2-6)
Forgiveness and Love for Enemies. Instead of harboring bitterness, Patrick returned to Ireland to share the Gospel with his captors.
Q: Can you think of a scripture that reflects this quality in Patrick?
Matthew 5:44 Love your enemy. Romans 12:19-21
The Power of the Holy Spirit: Patrick felt “bound by the Spirit” to return to Ireland, relying on God’s strength during persecution, rather than his own.
Q: Can you think of a passage which reflects the idea of allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us to do bold and daring things?
Gal 5:25, Acts 13:2-3, Acts 20:22-24 Acts 16:9-10
Q: Can you see that God might call you to service is some sort of radical way?
Patrick’s most famous prayer:
Christ with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ when I lie down
Christ when I sit down
Christ when I arise
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me
