"Genesis: In the Beginning" Study Guide
Curriculum for our new eight-week series: "Genesis: In the Beginning"...
Keep ReadingDiscussion Guide: The Essence of Faith (Hebrews 11:1-3)
Hebrews was written to believers whose enthusiasm for the gospel was being worn down (10:32-34). Following Jesus was costly, and the idea of giving it all up and returning to their former life of Judaism was starting to look appealing. ...
Discussion Guide: Jesus - Perfecter of the Church (Hebrews 10:1-18)
This section concludes the author’s discussion of Jesus as our high priest (7:1-10:18). In closing, he again emphatically contrasts the New and Old Covenants. ...
Discussion Guide: Jesus - The Mediator of a New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15-28)
Under the Old Covenant, God’s people stood to gain an earthly inheritance. If they obeyed the laws given to them at Sinai, God would give them a peaceful life in Canaan with more than enough to live on (Leviticus 26:1-13). ...
Discussion Guide - Jesus Purifies the Conscience (Hebrews 9:1-14)
In Hebrews 8, the author showed that Jesus is the High Priest of a new and superior covenant God made with his people. His superiority to the Levitical priests is demonstrated by the fact that he serves in “the true tent” (8:1) that the Old Testament tabernacle was merely “a copy and shadow of” (8:5). ...
Discussion Guide - The True and Better Tabernacle and Covenant (Hebrews 8:1-13)
Some commentators consider Hebrews to be more like a sermon than a letter. If we think of it that way, Hebrews 8:1-2 is where the preacher says something like, “Here’s the main point I want you to get, so listen…” ...
Discussion Guide - Warning Against Falling Away (Hebrews 6:4-12)
The author has discussed his readers’ immaturity (5:11-14) and offered a prescription for growing out of it (6:1-3). In the verses that follow, he paints a sobering picture of what happens when that medicine isn’t taken....
Discussion Guide - Go On To Maturity (Hebrews 5:11-6:3)
In Hebrews 5:1-10, the author briefly introduced Melchizedek (5:6, 10). He still has “much to say” (v 11) about Melchizedek and Jesus’ high priesthood which he’ll get to in chapters 7-10. But first he shifts gears to address his readers’ immaturity (5:11-6:3), to warn them against falling away (6:4-8), and to call them to endure in their faith (6:9-20)....
Discussion Guide - Jesus: The Source of Eternal Salvation (Hebrews 5:1-10)
In the Old Testament, there were two primary qualifications for a high priest. First, he needed to be from among the people he represented (v 1). As one of them, he could represent them. And by sharing the nature and weaknesses of his people (and by having his own sins to atone for) the high priest could deal gently with the people’s sins (vv 2-3). In other words, while taking sin seriously, he could show patience, not indignation, toward sinners....
Discussion Guide - The Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-4:16)
In Hebrews 4:12-13, the author said that we are completely laid bare before our Father in heaven and known for exactly who we are ...
Discussion Guide - The Living and Active Word of God (Hebrews 4:12-13)
Psalm 95 is the basis for Hebrews 4:1-11, and this gives the thrust for what the author asserts in Hebrews 4:12-13. As pointed out in 4:7, the focus is on “Today”. If you hear the Word of the Lord, do not be indifferent to it and fail to enter God’s rest. Using the Israelites’ disobedience as an example, the author says, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” (4:11) This warning and encouragement to persevere has been a recurring theme in Hebrews....
Final Words For Corinth (1 Cor. 16:1-24)
Having addressed the major issues and questions of the Corinthian church, Paul brings his letter to a close with instructions regarding the collection for the Jerusalem church, his own travel plans, and personal greetings....
Keep ReadingThe Hope of the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:12-58)
In the first eleven verses of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul emphatically stressed the historical reality behind Jesus’ resurrection as well as the central place it holds in the gospel message itself, a message which is “of first importance”. It is crucial for the Corinthians to understand how important the resurrection is, and Paul will now explain why....
Keep ReadingThe Gospel We Received (1 Cor. 15:1-11)
Before closing out his letter, Paul devotes an impressive fifty-eight verses to the topic of the resurrection, and it’s not until verse 12 that we learn why: some in the church were saying that “there is no resurrection of the dead”. Paul spends the first eleven verses highlighting how crucial Jesus’ resurrection is to the gospel itself and how well-attested it is....
Keep ReadingProphecy and Tongues (1 Cor. 14:1-40)
The importance of some spiritual gifts were being exaggerated in Corinth while others were minimized. Those with more “impressive” gifts saw their gifts as proof of their spiritual superiority and as a means of serving themselves rather than others. So far in this section, Paul has reminded the church that God has given them numerous indispensable gifts (ch. 12), and t...
Keep ReadingThe Way of Love (1 Cor. 13:1-13)
Many in the church at Corinth were exaggerating the importance of certain spiritual gifts such as tongues, prophecy, and knowledge, and the church was fracturing because of this. Those with these gifts deemed themselves more important than those who didn’t, and those who didn’t were tempted to feel useless and unimportant in the church. In chapter 12, Paul reminded the...
Keep ReadingSpiritual Gifts (1 Cor. 12:1-31)
The Corinthians found no shortage of things to be divided over. There was Team Paul vs. Team Apollos (1:12), weak Christians vs. strong Christian (chs. 8-10), and wealthy Corinthians vs. poor Corinthians (11:17-34). In chapters 12-14 we’re introduced to yet another point of division: spiritual gifts. Instead of appreciating the many ways God gifted his people, many in th...
Keep ReadingHonor and Respect In Worship (1 Cor. 11:2-34)
So far, Paul has written to the Corinthians about divisions (1:10-4:21), sexual immorality (chs. 5-7), and Christian freedom (chs. 8-10). In this next section of his letter (chs. 11-14), he turns to address how the Corinthians should conduct themselves in the context of public worship, beginning with their conduct regarding head coverings and the Lord’s Supper....
Keep ReadingDo All For the Glory of God (1 Cor. 10:1-11:1)
Paul has used the controversial issue of eating in pagan temples to teach on Christian freedom and love. In chapter 8, he argued that Christ-like love forbids us to do anything, however lawful, if it will harm other believers. We ought to be more concerned with building each other up than asserting our “rights”. In chapter 9, he pointed to himself as an example of this...
Keep ReadingDo All For the Sake of the Gospel (1 Cor. 9:1-27)
Paul began this section of his letter (8:1-11:1) by addressing foods sacrificed to idols and emphasized the priority of sacrificing one’s rights for the good of the “weaker” brother who could not eat those foods with a clear conscience. Love for others, he said, should take precedent over our “rights”. Paul now turns to show how he has modeled this in his own lif...
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