Spring 2024 CourseDescriptions

HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE (closed - class is full)
Textbook:  Living By the Book by Howard HendrIcks

Have you ever noticed that sometimes you'll hear a person share the Word of God from a scripture that you're very familiar with and yet you say to yourself “I didn't see that in the scripture, how did they get all of that”? Well they have probably been trained how to look for and how to unlock scripture, so in How to Study the Bible, we're going to do just that . We are going to be writing on several different perspectives of study: devotional study, chapter study, thematic study, bibliographical study, and a word study. There are a few more, but these studies will be dealt with— how you apply the scripture to yourself. 


THE PATRIARCHS - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob 
Textbooks: Our Bible will be our textbook and Tthe God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by Watchman Nee

A Study on the Patriarchs, primarily Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You may ask why them? if I asked you what you know about these three men, you would most likely say that Abraham is the father of the Jews, Isaac was the long-awaited son that God told him to kill, and Jacob, known as the trickster, was the guy who stole his brother's birthright for a bowl of soup; however, with the exception of Jesus Christ, Abraham is probably the most important person in the Bible. One indication of this is the amount of space given to him –-11 chapters only in the book of Genesis God devoted to the entire 2,000 years or more of the world's history; yet he gives 14 chapters to set forth the life of this one man named Abraham. The history of Abraham and his immediate descendants fills the great middle portion of Genesis, mainly chapters 12 to 36.

Did you know that Abraham is called God's friend three times in scripture? No one else has that distinction;  but why are we studying these three men? What is their connection to us and ours to them? What was their relationship to God? Why did God deliberately and repeatedly declare that he is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? There were others who have been classified as patriarchs such as Enoch, Noah, Joseph and Moses -– especially Moses, who had the unique honor of being the only man who conversed with God mouth to mouth, face to face. With everything that can be attributed to these men and others, God chose to be known as the God of Abraha,m Isaac, and Jacob and my question again is why? Through their particular positions and experiences before God, we will learn three different kinds of spiritual principles: initiation, receiving, and discipline. Regarding their faith, they were distinctively different. Abraham had an obedient faith, Isaac had a passive faith, and Jacob had a restless faith. Somewhere in the lives of these three men every believer will find himself. I know I find me. Again, what do you know about Abraham. Isaac, and Jacob? Trust me you don't know what you think you know. Take this class and find out the deeper whys of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. we all just received knowledge. we're anticipating wisdom. 



PERSONAL DIVINE LIFE
Textbook: There will be no book aside from the Bible. We will be using the Bible for that class. There will be handouts that I intend to give you and there's going to be some research that's going to be required.

This course is designed to examine numerous key issues of spirituality including the old and the new life, sanctification, using your gifts. confessing and forgiving and forgiving is a key issue because there are so many Saints of God that are sitting in church praising God, falling out, running, jumping, spitting, and foaming and have unforgiveness in their heart and you cannot be blessed of the Lord with unforgiveness in your heart. The greatest forgiver who has forgiven all of us by dying on the cross of Calvary. How dare we hold unforgiveness in our hearts. We will ook at temptations and much much more. 



PRISON EPISTLES
Textbook: The Expositor's Bible Commentary and we're going to be using Ephesians through Philemon Volume 2

The prison epistles Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon are so named because they were written by the Apostle Paul during one of his incarcerations, Paul mentions this imprisonment in each of the prison epistles. In Ephesians, he mentions it in Ephesians 3:1 and 4:1, in Philippians, he mentions it in Philippians 1:13, in Colossians he mentions it in Colossians 4:3&18 and in Philemon he introduces it in Philemon 1:10. It is generally accepted as Paul wrote the prison epistles during his first Roman imprisonment -– the exact date that he wrote these epistles is unknown,  but the two year period where he was in prison shows that while he was under house arrest in Rome, it has been narrowed down that he must have written these books somewhere between AD 60 and 62. Paul's imprisonment in Rome, verified by the Book of Acts, where we find references to his being guarded by soldiers. in Acts 28:16, being permitted to receive visitors in acts 28:30, having opportunities to share the gospel in Acts 28:31. These details, along with Paul's mention of being with those who belong to Caesar's household in Philippians 4:22, support the view that Paul wrote the prison Epistles from Rome. Paul's Roman incarceration produced 3 great letters to the churches of Ephesus, Colossi, and Philippi; as well as a personal letter that he wrote to a friend Philemon.



GOSPEL OF JOHN
Textbook: Apostle John A Blessed Life

Now the Gospel of John has been a favorite book of the Bible for many years, for many believers; however, I wonder if they really understand some of the mysteries that are revealed through the heart and mind of the Apostle John when he wrote his gospel. He's called the beloved disciple; and therefore to understand this gospel, we want to understand its author so the textbook for this class is the Apostle John A Blessed Life. It's a very short book. You can probably read it in one sitting and it's full of how we can see the difference between John's relationship with the Lord and all the other disciples. He's known as John the beloved. 



BOOK OF ROMANS
Textbook - Book of Romans - Exploring Romans by John Phillips

The Book of Romans has been declared the greatest of Paul's writings. I could see why scholars would say that the writing of Paul in Romans is the greatest, because in the first few chapters, he opens our minds about Calvary and Paul really explains and  breaks it down in-depth –-  what is salvation, what God has done for us. He talks about the sinfulness of humankind and the depths that humans have fallen to because of sin; and then he takes us right to what Christ has done for us; how he just cleaned it all up with his blood, and how the believer in Christ have become the righteousness of God. The apostle Paul has no hesitation and he holds no punches. He talks about sin, he talks about homosexuality, he talks about backbiting, he talks about disobedience to parents, and evil mindedness. 

Now Romans I think are very very timely at this point in time because of what is going on in Israel. We can talk about Israel briefly in these 16 chapters from 9 to11 really, we're going to talk about Israel's position in light of Christianity. we can touch on the times of Gentiles and the fullness of the Gentiles.

In The Book of Romans, Paul teaches how we should conduct ourselves as Christians. Once we understand in the first few chapters about salvation, and once we have received Christ, where do we go from there? Is it still business as usual? Paul sums it up in the last couple of chapters instructing believers how we should conduct ourselves and how we should love one another.



DOCTRINE OF HELL
Textbooks: The King James and The Nnew King James Versions of the Bible and the supplemental textbook is Immortality by Lorraine Boettner

How many of you can hold your hand over a match or a candle for more than 5 minutes? No. Then you were not designed for hell and so you need to learn more about this place that is talked about in the scripture because there are many different views that people hold about hell. Also this word is often just casually used in many of our expressions and it reveals what we think about hell and what others think about what will happen for their eternal or their everlasting punishment.

This course is going to look at the many different views of hell and what some of those views are. There's a literal view that the teachings of hell or the everlasting punishment in the Bible are literal. There's a metaphorical view that those conditions in the Bible are not literal, but they just are a picture of something else. There's also a purgatorial view and many believe that there's a place between heaven and hell where those that die go to and then they're moved from there to heaven; and then there are those that believe that there is no hell at all. Also there are those that believe that hell is really not that bad. You've heard people casually say that they're gonna party and how they're gonna live it up and how and their belief is that it's really not that bad. There are also those that believe that there is a set time for hell and it is not for eternity, it is only for a short time of punishment.  There's another view called universal universalism and that is the belief that those that are unsaved, are tortured temporarily and cleansed, and then they are accepted into heaven. Also there are many people that believe that Satan rules in hell and fire and darkness and that the punishment for everyone in hell will be the same. So if you have any questions about what will happen to those after the judgment, what will be the eternal state or the everlasting state for those who are unsaved, I would encourage you to take this course. It will be eye-opening for you. it will give you a deeper understanding of what Jesus taught about the place of everlasting punishment. 

As for the outcomes for the class, once you take this class, it is my desire that you have a deeper gratitude for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, you would have a better understanding of God's justice, and wrath; and his great love -- sparing us from the just punishment that we are due. I want to urge you with this class to spread the Gospel the good news of the Gospel so that people can fully understand that being saved, is being saved from the wrath of God that will come upon each and every person who does not accept Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. I also want to equip you to be able to share with others what the scriptures teach about hell.



ESCHATOLOGY

What is eschatology? What does that mean? it simply means the study of last things – the last things being the God-ordained events that must soon take place and will impact and shape the spiritual and natural world. Our study focus will primarily be on the rapture. Why the rapture? Because it is the next major event on God's calendar and the most important event for the church. This sudden snatching away involves the church and only the church. We will stand before Christ at the bema to be rewarded for services rendered. The study then takes us to the tribulation -– the most horrific years the world has ever or will ever know. It is of this that Christ said if he didn't return and end it, there would be no one left alive on the earth. We will discuss the personages and roles of the Antichrist and the false prophet. As the rapture is exclusively for the church, the tribulation Is dedicated to the judgment of the Jewish nation and every individual who has rejected Christ.

Also in this course of study, we will discuss Armageddon and the return of Christ, and the binding of Satan. Finally we will learn about the millennial reign of Christ, the final and eternal punishment of the great white throne judgment, and the lake of fire. If you need a better understanding of the things I just mentioned, take the class. Every believer, in fact every non believer, needs to be a part of this study. If you have any doubts or uncertainties about where you will spend eternity and what all of this means to you, take this class.



FAITH IN ACTION 

Faith in action is the course that will expose your level of faith because you can only manage what you measure. if you don't know the measure of your faith, you can't grow in your faith. if you don't know the measure of your health, you can't develop and grow in health. if you don't know the measure of where you are financially, you can't say those financially. If you don't know the measure of where you are spiritually or vocationally or relationally then you can't grow in these areas. You can only manage what you can measure. Faith is not a blind leap into the dark, it is not a supposition, it is not speculation, it is not an opinion or a hypothesis.



DOCTRINE OF CHRIST AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
The textbook for this course is The Great Doctrines of the Bible by William Evansn

In this class we will explore in depth the Doctrine of Christ and the Holy Spirit. We will visit the functionality of these persons, explore the functional relationship between Christ and the Holy Spirit, and understand the divine purpose of Christ and the Holy Spirit to save mankind and establish a loving relationship with the creator. The importance of this teaching is to build the Christian faith, cultivate a strong framework, and to open the door to tremendous truths for everyone. Who is Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit? What are the roles of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit? When and where we can witness them in operation and their importance? Why is it critical to the Christian to obtain knowledge of Christ and the Holy Spirit and how Christ and the Holy Spirit work independently yet in unity to accomplish.



BOOK OF MATTHEW
Textbook: The Message of Matthew by Michael Green

The book of Matthew is the first synoptic Gospel in the New Testament and is commonly referred to as the teaching Gospel reading. You will notice that it speaks of what Jesus said versus what Jesus did. For example we are familiar with the beatitudes that are recorded in chapter 5:3-10; but there are other themes Jesus presented in that sermon on the mount which will be part of our studies. This teaching Gospel is put together in a five-section format, enabling the book to be used as a teaching tool for the 21st Century church just as it was for the new Jewish believers and the church in its infancy.

A few topics that we will focus on and investigate during this semester are: the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Jesus as King, the Kingdom of Heaven, the principles of the Kingdom; under that category is true righteousness, true worship, true judgment, the standards of discipleship, the church and the Lord's coming.



THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP
Textbooks: King James Bible, The Ultimate Priority by John MacArthur, and Songs to Live By by Ken Chant

To take the court from the author, authentic worship is not a narrowly defined activity relegated to the Sunday morning church service or restricted to any single time and place. For that matter, worship is an essential expression of service rendered unto God by a soul who loves and extols him for who he is. Real worship therefore shall be the full time non-stop activity of every believer; and the aim of the exercise ought to be to please God, not merely entertain worshippers.

Thanksgiving, praise and worship are vital for the New Testament Christian. Worship is dynamically illustrated and taught in this course with an emphasis on who we worship and why it needs to be maintained throughout our lives. We will take a dive back into history to its origin and come up to the present to discover the importance of worship and praise; not just from the musical vocals by which we sing but, more importantly, why worship, praise and thanksgiving should come from the depths of the heart.