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Every Day Bible Files

Week 18 Files: Understanding the Psalms

This week’s files are an overview to understanding the Psalms of the Bible. We delved a bit into the basics of Hebrew poetry, literary devices, as well as categorization of psalms. We closed with a bit of homework: analyze a particular psalm using the analysis form. If you’re reading here, feel free to share your results in the comments. :)

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Every Day Bible Files

Week 17 Files: Compare and Contrast David & Saul

This week we dipped a bit into restoration history to tell the stories of two preachers in Nashville: Jesse B Ferguson and David Lipscomb. One you’ve heard of, the other you haven’t

Here’s the Powerpoint..

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Every Day Bible

Week 16: WikiSermon

This week we discussed the overall, big-picture life of David. We split into three groups and each group wrote a sermonette from one of the texts covered. I hope to post those lessons soon… No other files this week.

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Every Day Bible Files

Week 15 Files: Saul, a WikiClass

This week we studied Saul and his mistakes — and the class made the PowerPoint in class. I’ve also included in our class files a PDF that describes some of the ways that David prefigured Christ.

Download zipped class notes on Saul and David from week 15.

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Every Day Bible Files

Week 14 Files: The Kingdom Came

Well, they asked for it, and boy, do they get it. I hope you enjoyed reading about the beginning of Israel’s monarchy this past week. Here’s a compressed version of our PowerPoint lecture.

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Every Day Bible

Eli’s Fall

For those of you who haven’t had your Dr. Pepper today, the title of this post is an intended pun. Feel free to chuckle…

Eli’s first reference in scripture (that I’m aware of) is in 1 Samuel 1. He’s introduced to us as a background detail of another story. In essence, in the first book of Samuel Eli’s role is as a supporting character of Samuel. (surprised?)

It’s also noteworthy that his introduction, after the introduction of Hannah and Peninnah, the wives of Elkanah, is secondary to the introduction of his sons, Hophni and Phinehas.

Eli’s first actions aren’t glamorous: he’s "sitting on a chair  by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple." We see him next watching and criticizing the worship of others.

Eli’s next reference other than Samuel’s arrival is because of his sons who, by the way, were priests. "Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the Lord."

I’m probably being too harsh on Eli, but after God brings this to his attention Eli gives them a verbal slap on the wrist and lets them go on. I can think of some other Old Testament fathers who didn’t put up with this sort of thing. I can’t help but wonder if a large portion of Eli’s sons’ failure was simply because Eli did what he always did in chapter one: sit on his chair and watch people.

I know the text doesn’t necessarily prove this conclusion, but it doesn’t shut the door to it either.

What do you think?

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Every Day Bible Files

Week 13 Stuff

Better late than never, right?

This ZIP File contains two PowerPoints: Mine and Keith’s covering the Judges. Enjoy!

(Yes, I corrected the error. I can’t count to 13…)

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Every Day Bible

Worthless Sons

When God gets angry, it’s good to take notice.

Isaiah 5:20, an Old Testament version of the "Seven Woes" of Matthew 25 is explicit: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil!

Jeremiah railed against the people for taking things too lightly: Jeremiah 6:14, 8:11, etc.

Malachi 2:3 describes God’s promise to, yes, really, smear dung on the offenders’ faces.

Of course, Jesus said a few things along these lines too. There’s that "unpardonable sin" of Matthew 12:31-32 and Luke 12:10, and the whole "it would have been better if you had never been born" line in Matthew 26:21-25.

In this week’s reading, Eli’s "worthless" sons were given this sort of treatment. The text said that the guilt of Eli’s house would never be atoned for. It appears there was a laundry list of sins these guys committed (including sleeping with those who had gathered to worship), but the one that got the most attention was the way they "treated the Lord’s offering with contempt" (page 387 of the Daily Bible).

I’ll leave as an exercise to the reader to determine the common thread between these offenses.