Biblical Studies Certificate

Aug 26 - Intro and Overview

Sep 3 - Joshua L 1:  An Introduction to Joshua  L  2:  The Victorious Conquest (1:1 - 12:24)
Introduces the book of Joshua, including what it meant for its original audience and what it means for us today and lesson 2 addresses the original audience's challenges associated with warfare by drawing attention to Israel's extensive victory over the land of Canaan.

Sep 10 - Joshua L 3:  Tribal Inheritances (13:1 - 22:34)  L 4: Covenant Loyalty (23:1 - 24:33)
Explores how Joshua called the people of Israel to live together as heirs of the Promised Land and lesson 4 reveals the significance of Israel's call to be faithful to the terms of their covenant with God.

Sep 17 - Samuel 1: An Introduction to Samuel
Introduces the book of Samuel, including why and under what circumstances the book was written and how it applies to Christians today.

Sep 24 - Samuel 2: Samuel and Saul
Examines Samuel's role in Israel's prelude to kingship and Saul's failed kingship before the establishment of David as Israel's king.

Oct 1 - Samuel 3: King David
Follows David's kingship from his earlier years to his death and reveals the ongoing blessings offered to Israel through the righteous rule of David's house.

Oct 8 - Hosea 1: An Introduction to Hosea
Introduces the background of the prophet Hosea and his book, and provides an overview of the book's content and structure

Oct 15 - Hosea 2: Revelations for the Wise
Focuses on how Hosea designed his book to impart wisdom to God's ancient people and explores the revelations that Hosea included in each major division of his book.

Oct 29 - He Gave Us Prophets  1: Essential Hermeneutical Perspectives
Explores the confusion about prophecy, a prophet's experience, original meaning and New Testament perspectives on Old Testament prophecy.

Nov 5 - He Gave Us Prophets  2: A Prophet's Job
Explores the job titles, transitions and expectations of a prophet.

Nov 12 - He Gave Us Prophets  3: The People of the Covenant
Examines humanity and covenant, Israel and covenant as well as salvation and covenant.

Nov 19 - He Gave Us Prophets  4: Dynamics of the Covenants
Explores covenant ideals, judgments and blessings.

Nov 26 - Heart of Paul’s Theology  1: Paul and His Theology
Explores Paul's theology—how his beliefs related to his ministry as well as his central theological outlooks.

Dec 3 - Heart of Paul’s Theology  2: Paul and the Galatians
Explores the background of Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, the content of Galatians, and Paul's central theological outlooks.

Dec 10 - Heart of Paul’s Theology  3: Paul and the Thessalonians
Investigates the background to Paul's letters to the Thessalonians, examines the structure and content of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and reveals his eschatology.

Dec 17 - Heart of Paul’s Theology  4: Paul and the Corinthians
Explores the background to Paul's letters to the Corinthians, examines the structure and content of 1 and 2 Corinthians, and reveals his eschatology.

Jan 7 - Paul’s Prison Epistles  1: Paul's Imprisonment
Surveys the circumstances that gave rise to Paul's letters to the Colossians, Philemon, the Ephesians and the Philippians.

Jan 14 - Paul’s Prison Epistles  2: Paul and the Colossians
Examines Paul's response to the heretical teachings that introduced the veneration of lesser spiritual beings into Christian worship.

Jan 21 - Paul’s Prison Epistles 3: Paul and the Ephesians
Examines how Paul designed Ephesians to teach Christians how to build, maintain and thrive in God's kingdom.

Jan 28 - Paul’s Prison Epistles  4: Paul and Philemon
Paul wrote Philemon for a favor, asking Philemon to reconcile himself to Onesimus.

Feb 4 - Paul’s Prison Epistles  5: Paul and the Philippians
Examines Paul's letter of hope and encouragement for the times of persecution and distress he and the Philippians faced.

Feb 11 - Revelation 1: The Background of Revelation
Explains how Revelation's context and setting can help us understand its original meaning and apply its message to our own lives in the modern world.

Feb 18 - Revelation 2: Structure and Content
Explores the literary composition of Revelation and explains the significance of its outline and major arguments.

Feb 25 - Revelation 3: The King and His Kingdom
Explores how the central theme of the kingdom of God runs through the entire book of Revelation and unites all its various teachings (Lectures)

Mar 11 - Hebrews 1 The Book of Hebrews: The Background and Purpose of Hebrews
Introduces perspectives on the author, audience, date and purpose of the book of Hebrews that can help us interpret the original meaning and apply this book to our modern world.

Mar 18 - James 1 The Epistle of James: Introduction to James
Introduces the epistle of James as the New Testament book of wisdom, and examines the author, audience, occasion of writing, and the letter's structure and content.

Mar 25 - He Gave Us Scriptures   1: Foundations of Interpretation: Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics
Introduces a basic framework for sound and scholarly biblical interpretation.

Apr 1 - He Gave Us Scriptures   2: Foundations of Interpretation: Preparation for Interpretation
Focuses on helpful things to do before reading and interpreting the Scriptures.

Apr 8 - He Gave Us Scriptures   3: Foundations of Interpretation: Investigating Scripture
Focuses on concepts important to exploring and discovering the meaning of Scripture.

Apr 15 - He Gave Us Scriptures 4: Foundations of Interpretation: Approaches to Meaning
Looks at some of the major ways interpreters have identified and described the meaning of Scripture.

Apr 22 - He Gave Us Scriptures   5: Foundations of Interpretation: The Complexity of Meaning
Explores the ways in which Christians throughout the ages have attributed different types and numbers of meaning to biblical passages.

Apr 29 - He Gave Us Scriptures   6: Foundations of Interpretation: Discovering Meaning
Focuses on hermeneutical strategies that help reveal the original meaning of Scripture.