Grace Is All-Inclusive

• Lesson 4 for the week of January 17 to January 24

Relevant Passages John 2:23-4:42 Grace Is All-Inclusive. The two major incidents studied in last week’s lesson contrasted Jesus’ leisurely experience at a Jewish wedding with the intensity of his anger in cleansing the temple. This...

Continue reading →

Something Better

• Lesson 3 for the week of January 10 to January 17

Relevant Passages John 2:1-22 Something Better. After the highly abstract prologue, John continues his Gospel with two down-to-earth stories in chapter 2 Jesus’ week-long stay at a wedding and his cleansing of the temple. Both...

Continue reading →

Jesus Is the Best

• Lesson 2 for the week of January 3 to January 10

Relevant Passages John 1:1-18 Jesus Is the Best. The Gospel of John opens with a magnificent cluster of verses establishing both Jesus’ full divinity and his full humanity. In addition, Jesus is compared with two...

Continue reading →

The Unique Purpose of John’s Gospel

• Lesson 1 for the week of December 27 to January 3

Relevant Biblical Passages Luke 1:1-4; John 15:1-8; 17:20; 20:24-31; 21:20-25 The Unique Purpose of John’s Gospel. Our studies for this quarter take us to the fourth Gospel, often called the “beloved” Gospel because the author...

Continue reading →

Jesus and Our Future

• Lesson 13 for the week of September 20 to September 27

Relevant Biblical Passages: Hebrews 11-13 Jesus and the Future. The book of Hebrews closes with clear pointers to a future hope. Indeed, the warnings and encouragements sprinkled throughout the book are all shaped by that...

Continue reading →

Jesus and the Christian Walk

• Lesson 12 for the week of September 13 to September 20

Relevant Biblical Passages: Hebrews 12:1-13:19 Jesus and the Christian Walk. As is so often the case with the New Testament epistles, the book of Hebrews closes with a host of admonitions to be good and...

Continue reading →

Jesus Our Assurance

• Lesson 11 for the week of September 6 to September 13

Relevant Biblical Passages: Hebrews 6, 10, and 11 Jesus Our Assurance. Those who have not yet discovered the power of substitutionary theology are often troubled by the lack of assurance of their salvation. Unless I...

Continue reading →

Jesus our Sacrifice and Salvation

• Lesson 10 for the week of August 30 to September 6

Relevant Biblical Passages: Hebrews 9-10 Jesus Our Sacrifice and Salvation. For the author of the book of Hebrews, the sacrifice of Christ was of central importance. And while building his case for the importance of...

Continue reading →

Jesus’ Ministry and the Sanctuary

• Lesson 9 for the week of August 23 to August 30

Relevant Biblical Passages: Hebrews 9-10 Jesus’ Ministry and the Sanctuary. New Testament writers have adopted a variety of perspectives on the role which the death of Christ plays in Christian atonement theology. The two most...

Continue reading →

Jesus and the Sanctuary

• Lesson 8 for the week of August 16 to August 23

Relevant Biblical Passages: Hebrews 8, 9, 10 and 13 Jesus and the Sanctuary. A tantalizing question in the study of the Bible is how to relate Jesus to the Old Testament. Perhaps the most obvious...

Continue reading →

Jesus and the Covenant

• Lesson 7 for the week of August 9 to August 16

Relevant Biblical Passages: Hebrews 8, 9, and 10 Jesus and the Covenant. Both Testaments in Scripture speak of a “new” covenant and an “old” one. And in every case, the new is lauded as good...

Continue reading →

Sanctuary Language in Hebrews

• Lesson 6 for the week of August 2 to August 9

Relevant Biblical Passages: Hebrews 9 Sanctuary Language in Hebrews. Though “sanctuary” looms large in the book of Hebrews, a broader perspective is gained by looking at the role which “sanctuary” plays (or does not play)...

Continue reading →

Jesus Our High Priest

• Lesson 5 for the week of July 26 to August 2

Relevant Biblical Passages: Hebrews 5 and 7 Jesus Our High Priest. The New Testament writers assign a wide variety of roles to Jesus. While he was on earth, Jesus ministry was more like that of...

Continue reading →

Jesus – Higher and Better

• Lesson 4 for the week of July 19 to July 26

Relevant Biblical Passages: Heb 7:7-26; 11:1-26 Jesus – Higher and Better. The passages selected for our discussion today present a Jesus which is higher and better than anything we can imagine. That is a different...

Continue reading →