Though God had to punish the Children of Israel for their many sins by sending them into exile in Babylon, the punishment had a promised limit of 70 years and at the end of the 70 years, He miraculously returned them to their land. In this lesson, we’ll go over the return, the leadership God used to make it possible, and challenges to us to be faithful to our promises. [Read more…]
Through the Bible Chronologically in 2023
Weekly lessons going through the Bible in Chronological order in 2023, taught by Yvon Prehn. There are links in the lessons to notes, podcasts, videos, plus teaching materials.
Following is a short video of some of the content in this category and then below this intro, the materials that are part of it.
For more on this topic and updates that will inform you about additional materials to help you know, trust, apply, and teach the Bible, sign up HERE for the Bible805 Newsletter, The Lion's Voice.
Whiner, Worker, Witness or Wonder Lessons learned from Ezekiel and Daniel
The setting for this lesson is that—time has run out. After hundreds of years of warnings and challenges, it’s over for Judah.
Daniel and Ezekiel are in Babylon taken there in an early deportation before the end came in Jerusalem. What seemed horrible to them at the time was a great blessing in disguise— they were kept from the horrors of the siege, the total destruction of Jerusalem, and final deportation. Daniel and his 3 friends were taken to the palace; Ezekiel was relocated with the captive people, near the river. [Read more…]
The Prophet Habakkuk & His Questions It’s OK to ask God “Why?”
Is it really OK to ask God “why?” We all have questions like these:
- Why does God allow evil?
- Why do evil people get away with things?
- Why do good people get caught up in the mess others make?
Live with the End in Mind, hopeful, joyful reminders from Micah, Isaiah, and Zephaniah
The bestselling book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People totally revolutionized the lives of millions of people and one of the habits he talked about is a great summary of our lesson today. The habit I’m talking about is Habit #2—Begin With the End in Mind
The prophets who preached after the fall of Israel and before Judah was conquered by Babylon preached to challenge people to do this. [Read more…]
Hosea, the Prophet, how God uses human lives as lessons
Just before Hosea appears, God sent the prophet Amos to condemn the sins of Israel. Amos preached forceful, harsh messages for about 3 years.
With Hosea God gives his people a similar message that they have violated his covenant and judgment is coming, but in a very different way. [Read more…]
Amos, when religion isn’t enough and the importance of justice in serving God
The prophet Amos and his message have captivated preachers, reformers, and Christian leaders from the earliest days it was preached until today, particularly with its emphasis on justice.
Martin Luther King used it in his I Have a Dream speech where he quoted the verse “Let justice roll down…” from Amos 5:24. [Read more…]
Jonah, about so much more than a fish, plus the imperative of follow-up for new Christians
We all know about the fish swallowing Jonah, but there is more in the book including the answers to these questions:
–What about people who haven’t heard the gospel if Jesus is the only way to God?
–What do we do about bad people, or when people treat us badly? What does God expect from us as His followers?
–How should we respond to continuing trials?
Solomon, a wasted life and how to make yours count
After studying the life of David, we couldn’t have a greater contrast between his life as a man “after God’s own heart,” and what we find in his son Solomon. [Read more…]
David, great goodness and great sins, yet always a man after God’s own heart
The Bible calls David, a man “after God’s own heart.” This phrase is part of a sermon of Paul’s in Acts 13:22—where he is talking about the history of Israel, and Paul says, “After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ [Read more…]
Samuel and Saul, the importance of listening to God & how to do it
Have you recently had someone say to you, “You aren’t listening to me?”
Most of us have. Maybe we weren’t paying attention, or maybe we didn’t want to hear what we knew someone was going to say. [Read more…]
Judges & Ruth, My Way or God’s Way, how to live the best way
There is a popular song that boasts “I did it my way!” Though it sounds appealing, is this really the best way to live?
We’re going to look at around 400 years of history when an entire nation decided to do it their way in our lesson on…..Judges & Ruth, My Way or God’s Way, how to live the best way. [Read more…]
How to Correctly Understand & Apply Bible Stories & Biblical Narratives
What is the purpose of the stories in the Bible?
If someone does something that seems a bit odd like Gideon setting out a fleece to determine God’s will or the Children of Israel walking around the walls of Jericho to conquer it— [Read more…]