Resultados de "Bill Creasy" en Todas las categorias

Abraham’s son, Isaac, plays a key role in God’s plan of salvation. But in Genesis 22, God says to Abraham: “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering…!

At the end of Judges (c. 1000-1050 B.C.) we read: “In those days Israel had no king, and everyone did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21: 25). It was a time of moral, political and economic chaos. As we move into 1 Samuel, things get worse. Although Samuel strives mightily to bring the Israelites back to God, the priesthood and the people continue their downward spiral.

Isaac survives, and our story continues with tales of Isaac and his twin sons, Jacob and Esau.

With good intentions David’s commanding general, Joab, engineers Absalom’s return from exile to an uneasy peace between father and son. All the while, Absalom chafes under David’s refusal to reinstate him as his eldest surviving son and heir to the throne, and as time passes, Absalom gains support, raises an army, and marches against his father. If David stays in Jerusalem and defends the city, he knows he will ultimately face his own son in battle, and when he does, David will kill him.

In Joshua we conquer the land; in Judges we settle it. This book recounts the chaotic downward spiral of a people who turn away from God. Not a nation, but a loose confederation of 12 tribes, Israel spirals downward from a people obeying God to one that turns their back on him, a nation in which everyone “does that which is right in his own eyes.” By the end of Judges, Israel is in total apostasy—and God’s plan of salvation seems to have vanished.

Seventy-three of the 150 psalms are traditionally ascribed to David. As we read the "Davidic Psalms," we see deeply into David's heart as he struggles with God, with others and with himself. These psalms are deeply moving and often, brutally honest.

Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of those who return to Judah to rebuild the temple and Jerusalem. In fact, little more than 40,000 people return, only about 10% of the Jewish population in the Persian Empire. Esther tells the story of the 90% who remain behind. This is a fabulous story - and Dr. Creasy tells us the “X-rated” version!

We continue our story of Paul as he begins his 2nd missionary journey, A.D. 50 – 52, leaving Syrian Antioch and making his way across Asia Minor, into Macedonia and finally arriving in Greece, where he spends 18 months at Corinth. Then it’s on to his third missionary journey to Ephesus, A.D. 54 – 57, and finally he is caught in a thicket of legal problems that take him to Rome and an audience before Caesar himself.

Although the primary meaning of what a prophet says always emerges from the historical context in which he writes, what he says will sometimes foreshadow messianic or eschatological (“end time”) events. It is our responsibility as educated readers of Scripture to determine when such foreshadowing occurs and when it does not.

Paul had a special love for the church and people of Philippi, a Roman military garrison town in northern Greece, known as Macedonia in Paul’s day. During his second missionary journey (A.D. 50-52) this was the first church he founded on the continent of Europe, and it is the home of Lydia, Paul’s confidante and very close friend. Join Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy as he explores the tone and content of this very affectionate epistle, written during Paul’s stay in Rome, A.D. 60-62.

After Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection he commissions his disciples to take the gospel “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1: 8). And they do just that. Those who were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life and works travel throughout the Roman Empire, telling stories about him: What he said, what he did, miracles he performed, conversations and debates he had. Over time, those oral stories take on shape and form—not changing from telling to telling, as many insist—but solidifying into a standardized form.

Paul sends 1 Corinthians to the church at Corinth, and when they receive the epistle, they are livid! They immediately write back to Paul in very harsh terms (the letter from Corinth has been lost, but Paul alludes to it in 2 Corinthians), prompting Paul to get on board ship in Ephesus, sail to Corinth and address the church in person. It is not a pleasant visit. When Paul gets back to Ephesus he has second thoughts about his “short but painful visit”, and he writes 2 Corinthians to smooth things over.

From Genesis through Judges we have a straight, linear narrative; in Ruth we have a recapitulation, a backward glance into the main story. When we look over our shoulders at the linear path we have followed, we see only a charred, smoking and bloody landscape. Ruth is a diamond lying in the muck and mire of Judges, flashing in the sunlight. “Back in the days when the Judges ruled”... there was Ruth—the greatest love story in the Bible, a story of redemption.

God then gives his people their second greatest gift: The Tabernacle, a portable structure by which a sinful people gains access to an infinitely holy God.

As we move through the Bible, we encounter both oral and writing prophets. Elijah and Elisha, for example, are oral prophets, neither one writes anything that we know of. We simply have their stories in 1 & 2 Kings, stories about what they said and did. Writing prophets, on the other hand, write books. Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the twelve Minor Prophets commit what they have to say to writing, sometimes in long books like Isaiah (66 chapters), and other times in short books like Obadiah (1 chapter).

In this book Paul continues his discussion about the return of Jesus Christ that he introduced in 1 Thessalonians. Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy explains how this critical issue dominates much discussion during the first generation of the church and what answers Paul provides for those who expect the Lord to return in the very near future.

Paul meets Timothy at the beginning of his second missionary journey. On the first missionary journey (A.D. 46 – 48), Paul visits Lystra, a city in central Asia Minor. It seems he had little success there, as in Lystra “they stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead” (Acts 14: 19). On his return to Lystra in A.D. 50, however, Paul meets Timothy, a young man whose grandmother Lois and mother Eunice had become believers, apparently during Paul’s first visit to Lystra.

The Book of Job explores “why bad things happen to good people.” Job is indeed a righteous man, so why are terrible things happening to him? We find our answer in these chapters.

In Ezra we witness the exiles’ return to rebuild the temple. Destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C., the temple is rebuilt and dedicated in 516 B.C. But it is nothing like the fabulous temple Solomon built. In fact, when those who had seen Solomon’s temple see the second temple, they weep at its inadequacy!

Jesus resurrection is the single most important event in human history. In last week’s lesson, we followed Jesus through his death, burial and resurrection; this week we shall delve deeply into the resurrection, understanding it’s full impact on both Jesus...and on us.