Challenge for 2017

Posted by Jonathan Bingham on January 15, 2017 under Audio, Bible study, Single | Be the First to Comment

Here we are at the beginning of another year!  This lesson is a break from our James study, though the topic flows directly from our discussion from the first two verses in James 4, and we will actually land right back in James 4 for our conclusion.  God had given me this topic back in October for our annual New Year’s lesson, and I had been thinking about it since late 2015.

Lately there has been a lot of talk about “casual Christianity” in church and among our leadership.  The more I think about it, the more concerned I am that I and many others are practically living exactly that type of Christian walk, and aren’t even aware of it.

It is because of that possibility that this study compares Jesus’ “greatest commandment” and our lives to see if we are living up to His expectation of us – and our commitment to Him.

The Most Important Thing

AAC format playable in most browsers, iTunes, and iDevices.  39 min., 19MB

Palm Sunday – The Last Week of Jesus’ Life

Posted by Jonathan Bingham on March 20, 2016 under Audio, Bible study, Single | Be the First to Comment

This lesson is a detailed timeline of the last week of Jesus’ early ministry, and will likely be very controversial for those who are stuck on a traditional Good Friday crucifixion.  But, I believe it is the best fitting explanation of all of the biblical data.

Palm Sunday – Last Week of Jesus’ Life

AAC format playable in most browsers, iTunes, and iDevices.  46 min., 23MB

 

The following week began with more discussion around this topic.

AAC format playable in most browsers, iTunes, and iDevices.  10 min., 5MB

Be Ready!

Posted by Jonathan Bingham on May 31, 2015 under Audio, Bible study, Multiweek, Series | Be the First to Comment

This (rather lengthy) series grew out of the previous study on the Shemitah and Blood Moon Tetrad.  During one of our discussion times in class, one of the members asked, “If this stuff is possibly true, what should we do about it?  How should we prepare?”  And that question of how we could be ready for the possible return of Christ drove us to the Scripture to answer that question.  There are five overarching questions that came out of trying to discover how to be ready.

  • What are the signs of the end?
  • How to be ready?
  • What do you do when told to deny Christ?
  • Should we be preppers?
  • What should we do if our government tells us we can’t obey God?

Here are the (again, rather lengthy – 25 pages!) notes from the study, but be warned that even as lengthy as they are, there are many important things that do not come out clearly in the notes, but are clear in the audio recordings.  So, please listen to them if you can.  Especially if you’re trying to deal seriously with any of these very timely questions.

Also, as quickly becomes clear in the audio recordings, you will understand many of the references much better if you join us and read the book, Killing Christians, by Tom Doyle.  This lesson series is in no way a book study, but that book certainly illuminates many of the topics we discuss and provides relevant background examples, and is otherwise a fantastic book every Christ-follower should read.

Further, the book, Do Love, by Andrew Rankin provides great background for the practical application of how we should be living in the light of the Scriptures we study here.

Be Ready

As mentioned above, please listen to these to get the full gist of this study!  AAC format playable in most browsers, iTunes, and iDevices.

Week 1 (2/8/15), 51 min., 25MB

 

Week 2 (2/15/15), 46 min., 23MB

 

Week 3 (2/22/15), 41 min., 20MB

 

Week 4 (3/15/15), 33 min., 16MB

 

Week 5 (3/22/15), 48 min., 24MB

 

Week 6 (3/29/15), 48 min., 24MB

 

Week 7 (4/12/15), 51 min., 25MB

 

Week 8 (4/19/15), 41 min., 20MB

 

Week 9 (4/26/15), 39 min., 19MB

 

Week 10 (5/3/15), 20 min., 10MB

 

Week 11 (5/17/15) (Question 5), 34 min., 17MB

 

Week 12 (5/24/15), 62 min., 31MB

 

Week 13 (5/31/15), 40 min., 20MB

The Seven Feasts of the Jewish Year

Posted by Jonathan Bingham on December 21, 2014 under Audio, Bible study, Multiweek | Be the First to Comment

This significant study has taken much more research than most, and I believe the results were worth it.  In this study, we look at the seven religious feasts that God instructed the Jews to celebrate each year.  A very very important feature of this study focuses on the Messiah’s past and future fulfillment of each feast exactly at the right time and precisely in the proper way.  I spent a great deal of time reconciling the general feast calendar with the scriptural statements about Jesus’ last week before His death in order to establish a detailed most likely calendar of that particular week in history.

There are three takeaways from this study:

  • Nearly all of the writers of the NT had lived these annual rituals since they had been born. Knowing the background and meaning of the feasts will dramatically expand our understanding of what they wrote.
  • Seeing God’s careful precision with which He designed and fulfilled the feasts over thousands of years should encourage us to know He can and will be with us at ever point of need in our lives, as well.
  • Knowing more about the Jewish religion can better equip us to tell our Jewish friends about their Messiah.

There are three written resources:  the usual teaching outline (but much more detailed than usual):  The Jewish Feasts, a table with the annual feast calendar along with meanings and a surprise addition on the right side:  Feasts Calendar, and my proposed calendar of Jesus’ last week of earthly ministry:  Passover calendar.

In addition, here are the audio podcasts of my presentation of the second and fourth lesson to my Bible Study class.  AAC format usable in iTunes and with iPods.  (Blame my audio engineer for the absence of the other two.  BTW, I’m my audio engineer.)

Week 2, 41 min., 20MB

 

Week 4, 52 min., 26MB