Weekly Bible Study Review
February 12, 2012

 


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Class Schedule
Go to www.theocentrix.org click on the "Events" tab
for maps and more information.

Cafe Class
Culture Cafe
1359 N Altadena Drive
Pasadena CA 91104
Wednesdays 10:00 am

classroom
Read-to-Believe Class
Lake Avenue Church
Hutchins Hall Room 402
309 N Lake Avenue
Pasadena CA 91101
Thursdays 7:00 pm

peacock 1
Arbo Class
LA County Arboretum
301 N Baldwin Ave
Arcadia CA 91007
Saturday 12:00 noon
Once per month

 

January 7, 2012 

February 4, 2012 

March 3, 2012

March 31, 2012 

 April 28, 2012 

May no class

June 2, 2012 

July 14, 2012 

August 11, 2012 

September 8, 2012 

October 6, 2012
November 3, 2012
December 1, 2012
 
topofpageGreetings! 

This newsletter is sent to people who attend one of Sandy's weekly Bible studies. The left column has the current class schedule. Be sure to watch for the links in each article. Clicking on them will lead you to charts, diagrams and additional articles related to your class. 

Anyone can subscribe to this free newsletter by using the link in the upper left corner. If you would like to forward this issue to a friend all you have to do is click on the link below.



cafeclasssWednesday Cafe Class

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 7:32-9:27

7:32-35 Paul wants the readers "to be free from concern." An unmarried man or woman is able to focus on pleasing the Lord, while a married person is focused on pleasing their spouse. The married person's interests are divided between the Lord and the spouse. Paul is saying this not to unnecessarily restrict them but to encourage them to live "in undivided devotion to the Lord."

 

v. 36-38 If a man is engaged to a virgin and "he is acting improperly toward her; and if the woman is "getting along in years" and he feels he ought to marry her-- then he should marry her. It's not a sin for them to marry. But if another man who has better self-control and is under no compulsion to marry makes a decision not to get married then he also does the right thing. According to Paul the man who marries does right but the man who doesn't marry does even better because he has greater control of his own will. 

 

v. 39-40 Finally, a believing woman is bound to her husband for life. If he dies she may remarry as long as she marries a believer. But Paul still thinks she would be "happier" if she remained unmarried.

 

Next Paul changes the subject to food sacrificed to idols.

Click to read more...   

rtbclassThursday Read-to-Believe Class  
Genesis

Come at 6:30 this week for a meal of BJ's curry.

Genesis 15:1-18:33

15:1 After his incredible victory over the four kings Abram had a vision in which the Lord said, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." Notice the three parts of this message and how closely they relate to what Abram had just been through.

  1) He's told not to be "afraid" at a time when he was probably still shaken up from fighting the four kings.

  2) The Lord is his "shield"-- it was certainly the Lord who shielded him in battle.

  3) The Lord is his "very great reward"-- a much greater reward than what was offered by the king of Sodom.

 

v. 2-5 Abram had no children to inherit the land the Lord had promised to give him. He had only a trusted servant who would be his heir. The Lord said "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." Abram's descendants would be as countless as the stars in the sky.

 

v. 6 "Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness." Abram believed the Lord and trusted Him to tell the truth. The Lord credited Abram's belief as righteousness.

 

v. 7 The Lord was the one who brought Abram out of Ur and led him to Canaan to take possession of the land that would eventually be passed down to his descendants (the Israelites). Abram needed to know that the Lord who spoke to him in Haran and all the other places he had traveled was the same Lord who was speaking to Him now. In Abram's day, people worshiped many local gods. For example, those who lived in the mountains worshiped certain gods. People living near the sea worshiped other gods. When a person moved from one place to another they adapted to the local rituals and worshiped the gods of that place. But Abram was being led, sustained and protected by a God who was not stuck in one place. Abram's God was everywhere he went.

Click to read more... 

 
Since ancient times the Bible has been read aloud to groups of people who were eager to hear the words of Life. We're really no different today. Believers still look to the Bible for wisdom and instruction. We belong in the Word together. Thank you for your participation in these classes. I hope you will pass this email on to others and invite them to attend a Bible study.

Grace and peace,
Sandy Blank
cafeWednesday Cafe Class (continued)
1 Corinthians 7:32-9:27

Chapters 8-10 deal mainly with idolatry and espeicially food sacrificed to idols. In the first century there were many large temples in which people worshiped pagan gods. Animal sacrifices were offered in those temples and some of the meat that was left over was sold in the public markets. People living in the city did not have their own herds and flocks so they bought meat at the local market. Some Christians had no qualms about eating meat that had been sacrificed to an idol but there were others who felt guilty about doing so. Also, the pagan temples had large banquet rooms that were used for weddings and other celebrations. A believer might be invited to an event and therefore needed to know whether it was alright to eat at a pagan banquet.

 

8:1-7 Paul begins by setting up a contrast between knowledge and love.  

 

Knowledge
  • we all possess knowledge
  • knowledge puffs up
  • the man who thinks he knows does not know
  • we know an idol is nothing
  • we know God is one
  • we know there are many "gods" and "lords"
  • we know there is one God the Father "through whom all things came and through whom we live"
  • we know there is one Lord Jesus Christ "through whom all things came and through whom we live"
  • but not everybody knows all this

 Love 

  • love builds up
  • the man who loves God is known by God
  • love your brother enough to restrict your own freedom to protect his weak conscience.

 

8:8-13 Food does not bring the believer closer to God. The pagans thought that participating in the festivals and banquets to the gods would bring them close to those deities or offer them some kind of benefits (prosperity, fertility, good health, etc.) and refusing to participate would bring some kind of misfortune.

 

But Paul says they are no worse off if they don't eat and no better off if they do. Christians are free to eat (or not eat) food sacrificed to idols. However, they are not to use this freedom to the detriment of their brothers. The weaker brother may see you eating and sin against Christ because of you. Eating this food is a sin for the weaker brother because he believes it's a sin and he does it anyway. When the stronger brothers sin against their weaker brothers they are sinning against Christ. Paul is willing to go so far as to become a vegetarian to avoid causing someone else to fall. That is the way of love.

 

9:1-6 Paul launches into a series of rhetorical questions to show how he has restricted his own rights as an apostle. He's showing his readers that he's not asking them to do anything that he would not do. Apparently the other apostles were being supported financially by the Corinthians even though it was Paul and Barnabas who started the church there. Paul and Barnabas had to work to support themselves rather than be supported by the church.

 

v. 7-11 Soldiers are paid by the government, vineyard workers eat the grapes, shepherds drink the milk, and even the Law says an ox should be allowed to eat the grain while it's working. The man who plows and the one who harvests should expect to share in the harvest. Paul has "sown spiritual seed" by preaching the gospel to them and he has a right to be supported financially by them. The Corinthians are supporting other apostles but not Paul.

 

v. 12 Interestingly, Paul is not demanding his rights. He's merely using this as an example to help convince them to restrict their own right to eat food sacrificed to idols. Paul restricted his rights for them and he wants them to do the same for their weaker brothers. The priests in the Jewish temple receive their food from the temple. "The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel." But Paul is not begging the Corinthian believers to support him, instead he says, "I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast."

 

v. 13-18 Paul is "compelled" to preach the gospel. He's not doing it for the money. Preaching voluntarily results in a heavenly reward (rewards are something different than salvation because no one is saved by preaching the gospel to others.) Preaching involuntarily is merely fulfilling an obligation and does not deserve a reward. Paul desires to offer the gospel free of charge and does not demand to be paid for preaching it.

 

v. 19-23 Although Paul is free, he makes himself a slave to others in order to win them to Christ. He became like Jews, preaching in synagogues and reasoning from their scriptures. He became like those under the law, even though he is no longer under the law of Moses. He became like the Gentiles who don't have the law, though he is still under Christ's law of love. He became like the weak in faith, though he is not weak in faith. He became like all these people not to exploit them or to take their money, but so they would come to faith in Christ.

 

v. 24-27 In a race everyone runs but not everyone wins. Athletes go into strict training to win a perishable crown that will not last very long. Then shouldn't believers work hard for a crown (rewards) that will last forever?

  

Much more about this next time.

--Sandy Blank
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readtobelieveThursday Read-to-Believe Class (continued)

Genesis 15:1-18:33

15:8-11 Abram asked the Lord how he could know for certain that he would gain possession of the land. It was currently occupied by several nations and they weren't likely to just give it to him. So the Lord made a covenant with Abram. It was the practice in those days that when men made a solemn agreement with each other they would "cut a treaty." They'd kill an animal, cut it in half and walk between the two halves to signify that if either man broke the agreement then he would be cut in two just like the animal. In Abram's case the Lord told him to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram and two birds. Abram killed them and arranged the pieces opposite each other. Birds of prey came down on the carcasses but Abram drove them away.

 

v. 12-14 That evening Abram fell into a deep sleep. The Lord told him that his descendants (the Israelites) would be enslaved and mistreated for 400 years in a land that was not their own (Egypt). But the Lord would punish (with plagues) the nation they served as slaves. Afterward they (the Israelites) would come out with great possessions (Egypt's wealth). We talked in class about how this prediction of suffering was recorded for the benefit of the Israelites who would read it later. They would have seen that the Lord knew about them long before they were even born.

 

v. 15-16 Abram would live a long life and be "buried at a good old age." But in the fourth generation his descendants would come back to Canaan, "for the sins of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." This statement shows the patience of the Lord. He is not quick to punish sin.

 

v. 17-21 Later that evening when it was dark there was a "smoking firepot and a blazing torch" that passed between the cut up animals. Only the Lord passed between the pieces-- Abram did not. This indicates a unilateral treaty in which the Lord not only initiated it, He also took on Himself full responsibility for the terms. It's not as if He told Abram to "do this or that and then I will give the land to your descendants." There were no conditions. The Lord was making this covenant with Abram without any strings attached.

 

16:1-3 Ten years after they arrived in Canaan Sarai was still childless. Since she wanted to build a family she gave her Egyptian maidservant Hagar to Abram as his wife. Any children that Hagar had would be reckoned as Sarai's children. Abram agreed to this.

 

v. 4-14 He slept with Hagar and she became pregnant. When Hagar realized she was pregnant she despised Sarai. Sarai blamed Abram for her misery so Abram told her to do whatever she thought best. Sarai mistreated Hagar and she ran away. The angel of the Lord found Hagar in the desert near a spring. The angel told her to go back to Sarai and submit to her. He also said Hagar would have countless descendants. Her child's name would be Ishmael which means "God hears." He would be a "wild donkey" of a man who would live in hostility with all his brothers. Hagar called the Lord "the God who sees me."

 

v. 15-26 Hagar bore a son and Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old. When Abram was 99 years old the Lord appeared to him again to confirm the covenant He had made earlier. Let's look at the time frame.

  • Age 75-- Abram left Haran, entered Canaan, and is promised a son
  • Age 85-- Ishmael is conceived
  • Age 86-- Ishmael is born
  • Age 99-- the Lord confirms His covenant, Abram is circumcised, Ishmael is 13 years old
  • Age 100-- Isaac is born 

It's been 24 years since the Lord first made His covenant with Abram. Now He confirms it by giving Abram the sign of circumcision. But first the Lord changes Abram's name to Abraham. Abram means "exalted father" which likely points back to his father who may have been from a royal family. But the name Abraham means "father of many nations" and looks ahead to Abram's future descendants.

 

v. 9-27 The Lord told Abram that he and all his male descendants must be circumcised. Any uncircumcised male would be cut off from his people and have no share in the inheritance associated with this covenant. Then the Lord changed Sarai's name to Sarah. He confirmed that she would give birth to a son and she would become the mother of many nations. Abraham laughed to himself and wondered whether Sarah could really bear a child when she was 90 years old. He said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!" God certainly would bless Ishmael, making him the father of 12 rulers. But God's covenant would be established with Sarah's son Isaac who would be born the following year. That same day, Abraham and Ishmael and all the males in his household were circumcised. Abraham was 99 years old and Ishmael was 13 years old.

 

18:1-15 Sometime soon after this Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day when he saw three men standing nearby. He offered them water to wash their feet and some food and drink. They agreed so he told Sarah to bake bread and had a servant kill a calf and prepare it. Abraham served the meal to his guests and stood nearby while they ate. One of the three men was the Lord and He asked Abraham where Sarah was. The Lord said that at this time next year Sarah would have a son. Sarah was listening from the tent and she laughed to herself at what He said. The Lord asked Abraham why she laughed. "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" Sarah was afraid and said she did not laugh but the Lord said, "Yes, you did laugh." (Isaac means "he laughs")

 

v. 16-33 As the men got up to leave they looked down toward Sodom. The Lord told Abraham that He heard about the wickedness of the people in Sodom and He was going there to see if it was true. The two others left but Abraham stood before the Lord and appealed to Him to spare the city. Remember, his nephew Lot lived in Sodom. Abraham asked Him if only 50 righteous people are there then would the Lord spare the whole city. The Lord agreed that He would spare it. Then Abraham reduced the number of righteous to 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, then 10. The Lord said He would not destroy Sodom if He found even ten righteous people there.

 

Next time we'll see if there were ten righteous people in Sodom.  

 --Sandy Blank

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This newsletter is maintained by Sandy Blank (Ph.D. Educational Studies, Biola; MA Biblical Studies, Grace University). If you would like further information about any of her classes or would like to know how to start a Bible study in your area please contact her at sandyblank@theocentrix.org. This newsletter is sponsored by Theocentrix, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting God-centered Bible literacy. Visit www.theocentrix.org for more information.