2 Peter 1 3(God’s) divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that…
Has God ever put your faith to the test by asking you to give something up? Something so precious or so important to you that you don’t know how you would go on living without it? Sometimes God takes such things away from us –…
The Church in Corinth was established around 51 AD through the preaching of the apostle Paul. We read in Acts 18 how Paul stayed with Aquila and Priscilla and worked with them in their tent- making business. Every week for 18 months Paul preached in…
10.1 The Theology of the Psalms “The Lord is the Creator (8, 104). It is the ground of his present sovereign rule over all things as King (29, 96–99). The righteousness of his rule is predominant (11, 75) in his divine Kingship (145) righteousness is…
9.1 What are the Psalms? 9.2 Authorship and Date of Composition 9.3 History of Interpretation 9.3.1 H. Gunkel (1862-1932) 9.3.2 S. Mowinckel (1884-1965) 9.3.3 FOR US TODAY: In Jewish and Christian worship, Psalms have been loosed from any original cultic context they may have had.…
Isaiah 40:29 (The Lord) gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on…
I had the privilege of lecturing to first and second year students at Kaniki Bible University College in Zambia this summer. The notes for the course on the Synoptic Gospels are here. Synoptic Gospels Course Manual
I had the privilege of lecturing to first and second year students at Kaniki Bible University College in Zambia this summer. You can read the notes of the Old Testament Survey course on my Thoughts blog: http://www.pbthomas.com/thoughts
Moses himself warned the Israelites of the consequences of being unfaithful to God in the Promised Land. Even he foretold Israel’s failure and rebellion. (Deuteronomy 31:15-18, 20-21, 29; 32:15-38.) God warned Solomon when he dedicated the Temple 1 Kings 9:1-9. ‘But if you or your…
1.1 Author and Date The Early Church thought and most agree that Luke wrote both Luke and Acts. Bothe written to the Theophilus, Acts 1:1 and the ascension links them (Luke 24:49–53; Acts 1:1–11). Luke wrote as a careful historian on the basis of research…
3.1 Author and Date The only option ever proposed in the Early Church was the apostle Matthew called by Jesus in Matthew 9:9; Matthew 10:3. Papias, bishop of Hierapolis (died c. A.D. 130) made this statement about Matthew, known as “the Papias Logion” which survives…
Saul the first King of Israel (ruled c.1045-1011 BC) God rejects Saul 1 Samuel 15 Samuel anoints David to be King 1 Samuel 16 David and Goliath 1 Samuel 17 Saul kills the priests and consults a medium at Endor 1 Samuel 22 and 28…
2.5 Special theme in Mark – The Messiah and the Messianic Secret (Mark 1:1) 2.6 Jewish expectations about the Messiah – God’s end-time redeemer 2.6.1 A figure like Elijah (from Ecclesiasticus) 2.6.2 The Eschatological Prophet – One like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-18) 2.6.3 God’s Servant (Isaiah…
This morning we continued our whistlestop tour of the Old Testament whizzing through the Books of Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges. Here were the headings, followed by the story we looked at in detail, Gideon’s Victory over the Midianites from Judges Chapter 7. Wilderness Wanderings…
This is part of a New Testament lecture on the teaching of Jesus 6.6 Interpreting the Parables 6.6.1 What is a parable? A parable (Greek parabole, Hebrew mashal) is any literary device with two levels of meaning which reveals a deeper truth. It can be…
10 Jesus’s Teaching: Rich and Poor, Wealth and Possessions 10.1 Good News for the Poor 10.1.1 The Nazareth Manifesto Luke 4:18 10.1.2 The Magnificat Luke 1:46-55 10.1.3 Luke’s Beatitudes Luke 6:20-26 10.2 The Dangers of Wealth 10.2.1 The Rich Young Ruler Luke 18:18-30 10.2.2 The…
6. God calls Moses 6.1. The baby Moses Exodus 1:1-2:10 (c.1350 BC) 6.2. God appears to Moses in the Burning Bush Exodus 2:11-3:10 (c.1270 BC) 6.3. God reveals His Name to Moses Exodus 3:11-17 6.4. God gives Moses signs, and Aaron to speak for Him.…
These are the headings for the first week of our “Big Picture” trip through the whole of the Old Testament. A The beginning of God’s promises – Creation to the Patriarchs 1. Where it all began 1.1. Creation Genesis 1-2 1.2. God created Adam and…
These were the notes for this evening’s topic. 1.1 The Nazareth Manifesto Luke 4:16-30 1.1.1 The Anointed Deliverer Isaiah 61:1-3 but with a difference! 1.1.2 The widow of Zaraphath (1 Kings 17:7-25); Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5:1-19) 1.2 Jesus Eating with Sinners Luke 5:27-…
It was a few weeks after Jesus rose from the dead. Peter took some of the other disciples out fishing. Perhaps they just wanted to do something ordinary and mundane. Maybe especially Peter felt a sense of failure and he just wanted to get back…
These are the course notes for a lecture on the Synoptic Gospels. 5 The Kingdom of God 5.1 The Central Message of Jesus Mark 1:14-18 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,”…