Judges 12:1-7 Where did the term, “Shibboleth” come from? What did it mean? And what can it meanfor us today? While the answer is found in JG 12 and the judge, Jephthah, to trulyunderstand its context, we have to go back a bit further: to an earlier judge we maybe a bit more familiar with: Gideon.
1 John 1:1-4 This year, the Bible Bowl team will be looking at the General Epistles (with Revelation). These books tend to be rarely focused upon in our churches. The focus of these letters was helping tell truth from counterfeit—the real thing. To the inspired writers of the New Testament, who were very familiar with Christ, they could tell the difference at…
Matthew 16:1-20 This Bible class explores the parable-like sayings in Matthew 16:1–20, where Jesus challenges superficial faith and calls His disciples to deeper spiritual insight. From the cryptic warning about the “leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” to His probing question, “Who do you say that I am?”, Jesus uses metaphor and dialogue to reveal truths about spiritual blindness, discernment, and identity.…
Ephesians 6:10-24 In a world filled with uncertainty and spiritual conflict, Paul’s message in Ephesians 6 calls Christians to “armor up” with truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation, and the Word of God—spiritual tools powered by prayer. This sermon reminds us that our true enemy is not people, but the devil and his schemes, and that victory comes not through our own strength,…
Matt. 15:21-28 Was Jesus insulting the Gentile woman when he referred to helping her as “giving it to the dogs”? What was His intended message? And what can we learn from it, today?
1 Samuel 15
Deut. 13:6-18 One of the greatest moments of every church is when we present the invitation, and people respond: when they accept God’s message, repent of their sins, and submit in faith in baptism. When they rise from the waters, so does our heart: a soul has been saved! The angels in heaven are rejoicing! But then, the water dries, the smiles…
Matthew 15:12-28 How is one defiled? And if the Jewish leadership was proving unfaithful, to whom would Jesus turn next?
Deut. 12:29-13:5 Today, we often spend so much of our attention on getting people to “obey the gospel”—but after a person comes up out of the waters, what’s next? We encourage them to keep coming—twice on Sundays and once on Wednesdays. We call on them to continue their study of God’s Word and to apply it to their lives—becoming a new person…
Aquila and Priscila were left behind in Ephesus to continue the work—supporting the local church and continuing to evangelize the city while Paul moved on to Caesarea and beyond. It’s then that Luke takes a break from following Paul’s journey and, instead, remains in Ephesus to account for the arrival of a Jewish man: Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria,…