Year 2

In the final section of the book (7:1-9:15) Amos recounts visions of Israel’s coming judgment. Although the book ends on a note of hope (9:11-15), presently Israel stands in a perilous situation of inescapable doom. Because o... more

In chapter 8 visions of judgment against Israel continue, culminating in the final vision of the LORD standing beside the altar ready to execute judgment against his people. The final words of judgment occur in 9:8-10, followed by ... more

The story of Jonah is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating and best-known stories in all of Scripture. A masterpiece of literature, the story's details engage the reader from beginning to end. Here one reads of a rebellious and ... more

The third chapter of the Book of Jonah describes how God fulfilled his will for Nineveh by delivering the wayward prophet from the belly of the fish and commissioning him a second time (2:10-3:2). This time Jonah obeyed and deliver... more

Hosea 12-13 draws a contrast between the way things used to be in Israel prior to Hosea's time, the way they were, and the way they should have been. Here the prophet forces the people to see their various options and to look at th... more

Amos 5 contains the third message of judgment against Israel, which addresses the problem of formal religion void of sincerity and true meaning. The chapter begins with a prophetic lamentation over the house of Israel that grieves ... more

Hosea, categorized as one of the “minor prophets” according to the length of the prophecy, prophesied to the Northern Kingdom, sometimes called Ephraim (the name of the largest tribe). About fifty years before Hosea's t... more

While Hosea 3 vividly portrays the love of God, chapters four and five focus on the judgment of God. Both love and judgment are inseparable attributes of God. The love of God never excuses or overlooks sin. God forgives and seeks s... more

Hosea 8 continues the theme of Israel's sin and God's judgment. As in previous chapters, Hosea continues to give examples of Israel's sin, but the focus of his prophecy shifts more directly to the consequences of sin. Today's lesso... more

Hosea 11 marks a turning point in the prophecy as the theme changes from judgment to restoration. Although the theme of God's love may be found throughout the book, chapter 11 is the high-point. God's love never fails. God's love i... more

3 John is a personal letter written to Gaius concerning the actions of one named Diotrephes. John offers words of encouragement and words of warning. In this vein, 3 John is very similar to the 1 and 2 John. The theme of walking in... more

2 John is one of the shortest epistles in the New Testament. The language and style is much the same as 1 John. The basic theme of this brief letter is faithfulness to the truth in the midst of false teaching. Believers are exhorte... more

The emphasis upon spiritual maturity and stability in 2 Peter 1 prepares the way for the issue of false teachers in chapter two. One cannot respond appropriately to the threat of false teachers apart from a firm grounding the in Word of Go... more

This brief letter is a correspondence written by Paul to a slave owner named Philemon. The implication of the letter is that one of Philemon's slaves, Onesimus, robbed his master and fled to Rome. Somehow Onesimus came in contact w... more

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, yet the strong, prophetic message of this little known prophet merits careful study. Historically, the setting of the book reaches back to the discord between Jacob and Esau (see G... more

Paul  wrote  Galatians  to  defend  the  true  gospel  of  salvation  in  Christ  alone  by  counteracting  Judaizers  who  taught  that  Gentil... more

In this lesson we see Paul's message continues: the law contrasts with faith and it is only by faith that one can follow Christ. more

In Galatians 1,, Paul established his independence from the Jerusalem apostles (see especially 1:16-20). He did so because the validity of the gospel he preached was directly tied to the legitima... more

Becuase religious pluralism permeates our culture, Christians need to know what they believe in order to stand frm for the truth of the gospel. The frst century was no diferent. The book of Galatians r... more

Parts of this section of Galatians are tedious and difcult to interpret but the essential thoughts are clear. First, Paul discussed the character and function of the law. Second, Paul reasserted ... more

Paul’s theological argument, which turns personal, becomes even more intimate. Paul warns the Galatian Christians that they are distorting the Gospel (although a true believer cannot lose h... more

In this section Paul ends the doctrinal portion of Galatians by allegorizing the story of Abraham. Likely the Judaizers made many references to Abraham (the father of the Jews) and to Moses (t... more

In Galtians 5, the focus shifts from a discussion of the basis of our relationship with God (justifed by faith) to the nature of the Christian life and the believer's responsibility under Christ.. In chapt... more

Who or what regulates the Christian's behavior? The answer lies in the reality of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Those who are led by the Spirit are not under the law (5:18). ... more

  Here, in Galatians 6, we see that the practical concerns of a Spirit-led life include such things as loving consideration of others, sharing our material resources, doing good deeds, and h... more

As in the letter opening, Paul affirms the divine source of the gospel he preaches. His remarks imply that the Judaizers were accusing him of pleasing men. Paul responds that his only aim was to please God, the mark of a true ser... more

John 4 records a second extended conversation between Jesus and one in need of salvation. The contrasts between this encounter and the dialogue of Jesus and Nicodemus are striking. In John 3 Nicodemus sought Jesus. He was a well-re... more

The sign recorded in John 9 points to Jesus as the "light of the world" (cf. 8:12, 9:5). A man healed physically of blindness (cf. 9:1-7) also receives spiritual sight when he believes in Jesus (cf. 9:38). On the other hand, the Ph... more

Jesus continued to instruct his disciples before his arrest and emphasized three vital relationships: their relationship to him (15:1-10), their relationship to each other (15:11-17), and their relationship to the "world" (15:18-25... more

In this lesson, you will study the arrest of Jesus and his denial by Peter. It is important to note that these events immediately followed Jesus’ high priestly prayer (John 17). John paints a very intense and dramatic scene. Jesus wa... more

In John 4:39-54 Jesus extends his ministry to the Samaritans as a result of the testimony of the Samaritan woman and then returns to Galilee where he performed his rst miracle of turning the water into wine. In Cana, Jesus perform... more

Since Jesus was God in the esh, there was an inherent authority in all that He said and did. This authority is more explicitly revealed in John 5. Here, Jesus' authority extends over disease, life, and judgment. Also, in John 5 a ... more

John 6 records yet another "sign" performed by Jesus, the feeding of the 5,000. This is the only miracle of Jesus documented in all four gospels. In John, the sign is followed by a speech from Jesus highlighting its signi cance. Th... more

The events narrated in John 7-10 occur during the Feast of Tabernacles. This festival was the most popular of three great Jewish feasts (the other two being Passover and Pentecost) according to the rst century Jewish historian Jos... more

The teaching of Jesus in John 8 continues against the backdrop of the Feast of Tabernacles. One of the major features of the feast was the lighting of giant candelabras. The light illuminated the temple and commemorated the pillar ... more

Sometimes chapter divisions in the Bible are unfortunate because we often fail to recognize the close connection that exists between sections of Scripture. John 10 stands in a close relationship to John 9. In John 10, Jesus describ... more

Jesus came into the world to save sinners, which is exactly what he did when he died upon the cross. Today’s lesson covers the cruci xion and burial of Jesus. On the cross, Jesus uttererd amazing words and ful lled prophecy. ... more

  The Christian faith (1 Cor. 15:1-5) stands or falls upon the historical reality of the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection separates Jesus from all other religious leaders and declares and pr... more

There are two major emphases in John 11. The rst is the death and resurrection of Lazarus, the seventh and climactic "sign" of Jesus. It is the most dramatic and most fully developed of all the miracle stories in John. Also, inste... more

The record of the public ministry of Jesus closes in John 12. From this point forward in the Fourth Gospel everything moves rapidly toward the "hour" of Jesus' death and exaltation. Chronologically, the events of John 12 are less t... more

John 13 marks a turning point in the Gospel of John. The next ve chapters describe events that occurred on the eve of Jesus' arrest. Prior to a concentrated time of teaching (John 14-17), Jesus instructed his disciples in the area... more

John 14 has proven to be a favorite passage of Scripture for Christians facing di cult times because of its words of hope and comfort. In context, Jesus uttered these words to his disciples on the eve of his arrest. Their world was... more

The reader of John's Gospel knows early on that there would be opposition to Jesus (cf. 1:9-11). Hostility toward Jesus noticeably comes into view in John 5 (cf. 5:16-18) and intensi es thereafter. This aggression of the world reac... more

John 20:31 reads like the conclusion to the Gospel of John. However, another chapter follows that serves a very important purpose. The emphasis of John 21 is Peter's restoration to costly service. The disciple who denied Jesus is g... more

Jesus ended his instruction to the disciples in 16:33 with thevictorious proclamation, "I have overcome the world!" After this, Jesus prayed. John 17 is known as the "High Priestly Prayer" or the "Lord's Prayer." It is commonly div... more

The Jewish council did not have the legal right to put Jesus to death, so the case was brought before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. John emphasizes the interview between Pilate and Jesus and gives more detail than the other g... more

The Gospel of John has to rank as one of the favorite of Christians throughout church history. The message of the Fourth Gospel, as it is sometimes called, is clear and powerful. Its claims concerning the person of Jesus are... more

The remainder of John 1 focuses on several "witnesses" to Jesus, those who discovered who he was and declared their great discovery to others. In this passage, we observe how John the Baptist answered the questions of the re... more

John 2 records the beginnings of Jesus' public ministry. Two key events are documented: the changing of water to wine and the cleansing of the temple. The first was a more private display of Jesus' glory for the benefit of H... more

Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 marks the beginning of a number of encounters with people of diverse backgrounds, social standings, and needs. These dialogues reveal that Jesus truly "knew what was in man" (cf. ... more