Tag: Bruce Johanson

Walking in the Light: Renouncing Worldliness

• Lesson 5 for the week of July 25 to August 1

Observations for discussion and questions: 1 John 2:12-14 is puzzling. The fact that the author says almost the same thing in each stanza with a shift of verb tense in “writing” and “wrote” may be...

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Walking in the Light: Turning Away From Sin

• Lesson 3 for the week of July 11 to July 18

Observations: 1 John 1:5-2:2 is carefully crafted in terms of structure where between an introductory proposition and a concluding application and exposition we have three false claims reflected in if-clauses, “if we say that we…,”...

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Experiencing the Word of Life

• Lesson 2 for the week of July 4 to July 11

Observations: If, as noted in the previous lesson, the primary purpose of 1 John was to give instructions and encouragement in the wake of a painful schism over views that questioned the incarnation of Jesus...

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Jesus and the Johannine Letters

• Lesson 1 for the week of June 27 to July 4

1 John Observations: The Author: Although traditionally the author was taken to be the Apostle John, none of the letters identify the author by name. In 2 and 3 John he is referred to as...

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“Here Am I; Send Me!”: The Prophet Isaiah

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

Questions and observations for discussion: 1. What do we know about Isaiah with regard to his background and ministry as a prophet? Basic facts of his life may be gleaned not only from Isaiah itself...

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Gifted for Service: Philip

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

Questions and observations for discussion: While our study is about Philip the Evangelist, there were two known ‘Philips’ who were followers of Jesus, the Evangelist we meet in Acts and Philip the Apostle who preceded...

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Mission in a Pagan Land: Daniel and Company

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

Questions and observations for discussion: 1.    What can we know about Daniel’s family background and early formative circumstances of his life?  (The following observations are taken from Z. Stefanovic, Daniel: Wisdom to the Wise: A...

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Women of Mission

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

Questions and observations for discussion: 1.    What was the social standing of women in the first century A.D. among Jews?  What legal rights did they have if any? First of all, from the perspective of...

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A Pillar of Mission: The Apostle Peter

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

Questions and observations for discussion: Although Peter was impetuous, ambitious, and could be even rashly violent, Jesus saw through this roughness a faithful commitment and  loyalty and a teachable spirit that would make him not...

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From Folly to Faith: The Apostle Peter

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

Questions and observations for discussion: 1.    What are the basic facts about Peter’s background? Peter is most likely the best known disciple of Jesus, a Galilean fisherman, the brother of Andrew (Mark 1:16-20) and the...

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The Apostle John

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

Questions and observations for discussion: 1.    What can we glean from the N.T. about the personal background of John the disciple of Jesus Christ? John (together with his brother James) was a son of Zebedee...

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The Compassionate Savior

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

Questions and observations for discussion: Compassion is a feeling and an attitude of the heart that manifests itself at different levels and is more-or-less predictable for certain relationships.  A predictable manifestation of compassion is that...

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Matthew 10: Jesus and His Disciples

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

Questions and observations for discussion: 1.    When it comes to witnessing for the Kingdom, what message does the diversity of those Jesus called to be his disciples have for us? 2.    In the record of...

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The Son of God Among Us

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

Questions and observations for discussion: 1.    Basically every Christian must ask the question, “What is the truth of the gospel?”  What is it that made and makes the N.T. revelation of God in Jesus Christ...

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