Archives of Previous Studies
Here you can download videos and handouts of previous Bible studies
May 23, 2019
Psalm 146: Praise God With Every Breath
After some comments on the Flame of Love devotion, our study of Psalm 146 starts with the psalmist's exuberant burst of praise which we explore in two directions, viz., in liturgy as the eternal loving work of God's people and the need to make use of the time we have on Earth according to Paul's admonition to "redeem the time." The latter led to a lengthy discussion about why our spiritual lives seem to become more arduous as we grow close to God.
We go on to examine the psalmist's comparison of relying upon man to relying upon God and dwell on how God is not only all powerful and eternal but faithful.
May 9, 2019
Is 38:10-20:Deliverance From Certain Death and Ps 85: Promise of Hope and a Way Forward
The first half of tonight's study explores Hezekiah's canticle of thanksgiving in Is 38:10-20. We examine the context, the interesting side bar that God left him to himself after his illness so that he could see and repent of his pride, several linguistic nuances sometimes lost in the English translation, and various verses that appear corrupt. We also briefly review Sheol, discuss the idea of death at the completion of God's work in us and the challenges we often face for our own welfare.
The second half expounds Psalm 85. We briefly review who the Sons of Korah were and posit a couple of reasons why there is both a statement that God's anger has turned away and a plea the He turn His anger away. We look at some significant variations in translation, briefly touch upon the relationship between righteousness and the health of a nation, but spend most of our time discussing the differences between the Jewish and Christian perspectives on the promises in this psalm. This leads us to examine the importance of Jesus as fully human and fully divine and the source of our righteousness.