Archive for 2012
Pastoral Epistles 04 – Excommunication
Even though Paul was familiar with the beliefs of Christians, he says that he had an ignorance of Christianity. The people that are causing trouble in Ephesus are not in a similar situation. They are or were in some sense believers, but have gone astray, and Paul says that they must be separated from the…
Read MorePastoral Epistles 03 – Heresy in Ephesus
The letters to Timothy begin shortly after the end of Acts, with Paul’s release from Rome in 62 AD. Paul writes a personal letter to Timothy, but it is evident from the language that it is an open letter. In Ephesus, where Timothy was, there were people, at least two known to Paul, who were…
Read MorePastoral Epistles 02 – Timothy and Titus
Timothy was a convert to Christianity, a product of a mixed marriage between a Jewish mother and a pagan Greek father, and a Christian of some note in Lystra by the time of Paul’s second visit to that city. Timothy would have heard Paul’s preaching that afflictions would be necessarry to enter the kingdom of…
Read MorePastoral Epistles 01 – Introduction
This study of the Pastoral Epistles of Paul comprises the two epistles to Timothy, the epistle to Titus and also the epistle to Philemon, which is not considered part of the pastoral epistles. Paul had a marked ability to find and train men to as parts of a missionary network, and while these letters show…
Read MoreEzra/Nehemiah – Conclusion
We must know God’s word if we are His people, but we must also have it in our hearts. This word is for all of us, not just the clergy. We must drill it into our children’s hearts so that we can act on it rather than knowing the word but not acting on it.…
Read MoreEzra/Nehemiah – Lessons for Today
There are many lessons to take from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The story is told in such a way as to mirror the Exodus and the settlement of Israel. This is a restoration of the people of God, and if the people are to serve as an example of God’s great deeds, the…
Read MoreEzra/Nehemiah – Sabbath Rest
Israel gave a portion to the temple, but the high priest Eliashib gave space in the temple for the donations to Tobiah, who was forbidden to be in the assembly of God because he was an Ammonite. Nehemiah threw Tobiah’s things out of the temple and likewise shut down the merchants who sold goods to…
Read MoreEzra/Nehemiah – Populating Jerusalem
After the city is protected by the walls and the people and the city are blessed, Jerusalem must be repopulated to maintain a civilization to support the temple. Some volunteer to live there, but many are chosen by lottery. Download MP3 (41:10; 23 MB)
Read MoreEzra/Nehemiah – The Rededication of the People
After the people had heard the law, they confessed their sins and worshipped God. Ezra traces the history of God’s people, from His mighty deliverance from Egypt through the presumptuous sins of the people to the establishment of the land of Israel. The people came into the land but turned away again and were sent…
Read MoreEzra/Nehemiah – The Renewing of the Covenant
After the completion of the wall, in the month of Tishrei, the people gather before the Water Gate to dedicate themselves as the people of God. It is around this time that the Festival of Booths occurred in the time of Moses, but the feast had fallen into disuse, as well as the day of…
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