Bereans of Trinity

Joseph's brothers return home with the dreaded task of reporting to their father, Jacob, the ugly turn of events in Egypt. How will they attempt to soften the blow to the aged and frail man? Jacob's response to the news, and to the discovery that someone in Egypt is out to get them, triggers a despairing reaction from Jacob. Why does he blame his sons? What is our reaction when tragic events and bad news would overwhelm us? What is the answer to despair? Why does Reuben react as he does with his proposal? How do we respond when we get desperate? What is the answer to desperation? (53 min)

An entire toledot of Genesis is devoted to the descendants of Esau. In this passage we look at the second part of that toledot. What were the Children of Israel supposed to learn from this genealogy, and how are we to learn from it? What are some of the key names which might have some importance to our understanding of the redemptive history? What is important to see about the structure of this genealogy, and how does the narrator use that structure to communicate something important to us? What great lesson can we learn from the Edomites that has a bearing on our lives and our future? (58 min.)

In this passage Paul transitions from the idea of being dead to sin and alive to God to another way of looking at things, being a slave to sin or a slave to obedience. What is our "mortal body?" What two things does Paul's imperative about not letting sin reign imply? What are the "members" of our bodies? What does Paul mean by talking about presenting our members? What promise does Paul offer the believer? What is the question Paul confronts in this passage? What does it mean to be under the law or under grace? What common knowledge did the Roman believers possess that was rooted in ancient slavery practices? Why are there only two options open to us? (50 min)

In this lesson we began looking at a psalm celebrating the wedding of the King. What is different about interpreting the Psalms from other portions of Scripture? What are some of the literary devices we encounter when we read the Psalms? What are the two main divisions of this psalm? What has the psalmist been meditating upon that has so filled his heart? Why do we believe that this is a messianic psalm? How does the True King of Israel differ from all others? What are the two contrasting features of the King which are praised in this psalm? How does the psalmist characterize the King's throne? How does the psalmist convey the beauty and splendor of the King's environment and His court? To whom are we introduced at the conclusion of this section of the psalm? (69 min)

Introductory considerations about Noah’s flood. Skeptics attacks on Genesis and the Flood. Three things that demonstrate the Flood was real and world-wide. Science and scripture. Uniformitarianism and catastrophism. Why build an ark?

In this passage Paul makes a rather abrupt shift in his subject matter. What has prompted him to interrupt his greetings to interject this warning about danger to the church? Paul mentions two impacts that these kind of peoples have. How are these impacts different? What is a scandal? Against what is the teaching and influence of these people contrasted? How did the New Testament era church know what was the faith "once for all delivered to the saints?" How can we know today? What is to be the relationship of the believer to the kind of people Paul is describing? Where does the motivation of these people fall short, and what actually motivates them? How do these people get Christians to overlook the faulty content of their teaching and to follow them? What kind of Christians are particularly vulnerable to these tactics? (61 min)

We continue the account of Jacob's adoption and blessing of Joseph's two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. What is this about the young men being at the knees of Jacob? Why did Joseph bow down before his father, who had earlier bowed to him? How is this a metaphor of our own adoption by God? Why did Joseph arrange his sons the way he did? Once again we find the rule of primogeniture set aside in the story of the patriarchs. What can we learn from this repeated disregard of this cultural norm? In what three ways does Jacob identify the God whom he invokes in his blessing? How are these significant? How has Jacob changed as he grew older? What brought about these changes in his life? How is the end of Jacob's life instructive to us? (67 min.)

Today's passage begins with two of the most wonderful words in Scripture: "but now." How does Paul intend us to understand these words, logically or temporally? What is the righteousness of God of which Paul speaks here and back in Romans 1:17? What do justification and righteousness have in common? How does the righteousness of God differ from what Paul calls "his righteousness" in verses 25 and 26? Why does Paul refer twice in one sentence to receiving the righteousness of God by faith? Is he arguing in a circle? What is the standard or mark that we have all missed when we sinned? How do Adam and Eve demonstrate this to us? How does God provide justification for us, and how does this contrast with his wrath at our sin? (51 min)

In chapter twelve Paul moves from the indicative (the way things are, the truth of the Gospel) to the imperative (the way we ought to be in view of the way things are). Gratitude for the great mercy of God in the Gospel becomes the basis for how we ought to be living as Christians. What is it that the believer is to present? Is this a one time event or an ongoing way of life? How does the Christian view of the body differ from that of the much of the Greek world of Paul's day? How does our modern idea of sacrifice differ from that of the ancient world? How was the Christian view of sacrifice a radical departure from the rest of the ancient world? Why did the Christian view of sacrifice make them hated in the Roman empire? What was revolutionary about the emperor Constantine's decrees regarding sacrifice? What is a "living" sacrifice? How do we, in the twenty first century, present our bodies as living sacrifices? (68 min)

The city of Rome, the "Eternal City," was the center of the Roman world, a cosmopolitan city which ignited the imagination of people throughout the empire. It was to this city with its vast and diverse population that Paul wrote this epistle. Yet he wrote to a small and very select group within this remarkable metropolis. How did Paul identify those to whom he wrote? What does it mean to be a saint? How did Paul begin in addressing these people? What was the fame of these to whom he wrote? What was Paul's longing regarding these Romans? What did he wish to impart to them, and why? What did Paul hope to receive in return? Did he ever receive this? Do you ever feel like you are "in Rome?" (55 min)

Continuing our study of the "Binding of Isaac," we consider the contrast of the two figures walking together up that mountain in Moriah. What is the contrast of these two? How did this experience affect their relationship? Clearly we are to understand the greatness of Abraham's personal struggle and sacrifice, but what else is it clear that Abraham was thinking. At what point did Abraham consider his son to be dead? Fatalistic faith and pollyanna faith.

Laban's plan to trick Jacob into marrying Leah instead of Rachel is very risky. So much could have gone wrong. How did he pull it off? Where was God in this, and why didn't He intervene? In a sudden moment, when least expected, Jacob's great anticipation and hope is shattered. Can any good come out of this? What is God doing in Jacob's life, in the future of Israel, and in Leah's life? Speaking of Leah, she was complicit in this scheme. Why? What is Jacob's attitude to Leah, and was it justified? Why does Paul warn husbands not to be embittered towards their wives? What great good comes in Leah's life? How did she respond? (62 min.)

In showing the exceeding greatness of Christ's death as the basis of the certainty of our hope, Paul continues his comparison of Christ's death to Adam's one act of transgression. First he introduces the concept of Adam as a type of Christ. What does this mean? Having introduced such an idea, Paul seems almost to back away from it in the following verses. Why? What are the three ways in which Christ's death is different from Adam's sin? Why is Paul contrasting Christ's act of atonement with Adam's transgression? What was the extent of the consequences of Adam's sin? What is the key word revealing the contrast between Adam and Christ? Who are "the many?” How should we understand the second use of "the many" in this verse? Why? Why does the idea of the atonement being intended for all who sinned, even those who will not believe, not degrade the glory of Christ's death? How would the view that the intent of the atonement was limited only to those who would ultimately be saved eviscerate Paul's very argument? How can the truth of the abundance of grace in Christ's atonement bring comfort to us? (42 min)

The subject which Paul introduced in the verses in our last lesson raises a subject he enjoins us to give careful thought to: the kindness and severity of God. This is the subject of the present verse we consider in this lesson. How are we to understand Paul's discussion of groups or nations, as opposed to individuals? What is a common error people make in their view of God? What is an "eccentric" Christian? What is Paul's point in bringing up the subject of God's kindness and severity? How does this truth about God have bearing on Gentile Christians? What personal application can we make from God's kindness and severity? Do God's forgiven people ever encounter the severity of God? What can one who is encountering the severity of God do to experience God's kindness? (62 min)

In these verses Paul begins to explain how it is that those who believe like Abraham believed are Abraham's descendants. What is the promise made to Abraham that he believed? What are the two categories that Paul presents for our consideration? What is the consequence of confusing these categories? What is it that the Law brings about? Why can it not bring about the inheritance of the promise? Why must the inheritance come by faith? What is it that is "in the presence of God?" What did Paul have in mind when he spoke of God giving life to the dead? Why is it important that God calls into being that which did not exist? (58 min)

In this lesson we explore many more of the individuals to whom Paul sends greetings in Rome. We find that this is much more than just a list of names, but that Paul finds something positive to say about each one of them. What is a key question about Junias? What four things were significant about Adronicus Junias? What did Paul mean by pointing out the Apelles was approved or tested in Christ? What is significant about those of the households of Aristobulus and Narcissus and the man Herodian? What was particularly special about Rufus that Paul would call him "chosen?" What do we think we know about the two groups listed at the end of this section? What is important about the women in Paul's list? What lessons can we learn from how Paul speaks of these 26 individuals? (66 min)

In this lesson we take an introductory look at Psalm 18. This was a psalm apparently composed by David after his deliverance from the pursuit of King Saul. It is believed that David also used this psalm in celebration after other great deliverances in his life. What are some of the things about David and his life which serve as a background to the imagery and metaphors David uses in this psalm? What was David like as a person? What are a couple of things that are important to remember about suffering and deliverance as we begin to consider this psalm? What was very unusual about David's expression of love for God? What should we keep in mind when we openly confess to God our love for him? (38 min.)

We are now ready to tackle one of the more challenging passages in Scripture to interpret (7:14-25), and believers throughout church history have differed in their understanding of it. We often come with preset ideas that color our view of the passage. In this lesson we examine the importance of verse 13, and consider how it should set the direction of our interpretation of the following verses. How does Paul's own background bear on the meaning of this passage? How does the situation in the church in Rome relate to what Paul says? How do verses 14-20 demonstrate Paul's train of logic following on verse 13? What are the two chief ways this passage is understood? What is not an issue in these differing views? What things are at issue? How do verses 14-20 show how someone discovers the utter sinfulness of sin mentioned in verse 13? What does Paul mean when he says that he does "not understand" what is happening, and yet goes on to explain what was happening? (63 min)

This passage is one of the most poignant passages in all of Scripture. It relates to us how Joseph's brothers come to the realization that they are now encountering the consequences of their long ago sin. Meanwhile, Joseph overhears their discussion. What, particularly, do his brothers' consciences seem to trouble them with? This is an important point to the narrator, and has important implications to our own lives. Joseph responds to what he hears by weeping. Why does Joseph weep? Why, after hearing his brother's confession, does Joseph continue with his disguise and his plan? Why are his brothers so filled with fear upon discovering the money in one of their sacks? How has their sin distorted the brothers' perception of God's processes in their lives? (53 min.)

The first “toledot” of Genesis. The difference between the first two chapters of Genesis. How the world used to be. How did we get into the human predicament? The two components in the creation of man. When God created Paradise. When God brought Adam to the Garden.