Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

Psalm 18:16-18  He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.  17  He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.  18  They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.  So far in this Psalm, David spent much time showing us the glory of God, describing His majesty, awesome power, abundant mercy, unfailing love, perfect righteousness and His holy judgments. The LORD is compared to a solid rock for believers to stand upon, a high tower to run into during troubles and afflictions, a place of refuge and comfort when we need Him. The LORD is a fortress where we find safety and shelter. He shields us from our enemies and is our mighty defender. After describing the LORD coming to the earth like a powerful thunderstorm, to protect His people and to judge the wicked, David is ready to tell us what God did in his life. See these beautiful words: "He sent from above!" The LOR...

  Psalm 18:6-7  In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.  7  Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.  We noted in our last post that this Psalm of David was also Messianic, in that it has portions that foreshadow the Lord Jesus Christ in some manner. The next several verses describe the majesty and power of God and imply His holiness and righteousness and judgments. Psalm 18:8  There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.  The ancients said that the seat of human anger was centered in the nose, or nostrils.  They thought that when our passions are hot they are revealed by stronger than normal breathing, much like an angry moose that snorts loudly. Therefore in ancient times, flared nostrils and snorting was a si...

Here is where to find indexes to all Bible lessons posted on this blog since its inception in 2019. Click on the drop down menu and look for the archives tab. Then find the date listed below to find the appropriate index. I hope this will help you find lessons on a particular book of topic that we have studied through. An index for all lessons posted from 2019 through 2021 , was published on September 7, 2022. An index for all lessons posted in 2022 , was published J anuary 24, 2023. An index for all lessons posted in 202 3 was published on February 28, 2024.  An index for all lessons posted in 2024 was published on January 21, 2025. An index for all lessons posted in 2025 was published on January 24, 2026. We studied King Uzziah in Sunday School and learned some important truths. Uzziah had a long and productive reign over Judah, lasting 52 years. One of the most important aspects of King Uzziah is that scripture says he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD. His ...

  Good morning to all of our Readers... Below is the link to Pastor Alvis' final sermon on the Christian sabbath day of rest. He preached a total of four sermons about the sabbath day, the fourth commandment where God tells us to remember it and to keep it as a holy day dedicated to God. Pastor Alvis led us through all of the scriptures to teach us the full history about the sabbath  and the Hebrew word "sabbath" simply means "rest." The Church in America has caved to the culture on this issue. Many pastors teach that God does not care about the sabbath day of rest any longer. Some say that the sabbath rest is strictly a Jewish thing and not to be observed by Christ's church. This is why Pastor Alvis took the time to lead us through the history of the sabbath day of rest from creation to the patriarchs to the giving of the law and its continuation in the New Testament. The Ten Commandments are the fullest expression of God's righteousness and God has nev...

Psalm 18:1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.  This beautiful Psalm of King David flows out from his response to the all encompassing love and mercy God showed toward him. Psalm 18:2-3  The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.  David said "The Lord is my rock" because He is the one to whom the saints have recourse for shelter and safety.  The LORD our rock provides shelter for us and supplies our needs.  In that place, we find divine refreshment knowing that we are secure  and safe in Christ, our Rock. In Christ we receive eternal life and hope for a future home in heaven, in a city made by God for us. Thus,...

  Psalm 18:1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.  The Jewish people have believed that the headings to a Psalm are part of the inspired scriptures, and this Psalm has one of the longest introductions of them all. This is a Psalm of David.  The occasion of this Psalm is when Jehovah delivered David from Saul and all his enemies. Deliverance in this case pictures the LORD snatching His faithful servant David away from the grasp of wicked men at the last second. When David saw that he was saved from the hands of his enemies, he was guided by God's Spirit to speak or literally, to sing to God all the words in this Psalm. The Psalm is longer, having fifty verses so we will use a few posts to explore the truths it contains. It is a private express...

  Here is where to find indexes to all Bible lessons posted on this blog since its inception in 2019. Click on the drop down menu and look for the archives tab. Then find the date listed below to find the appropriate index. I hope this will help you find lessons on a particular book of topic that we have studied through. An index for all lessons posted from 2019 through 2021 , was published on September 7, 2022. An index for all lessons posted in 2022 , was published J anuary 24, 2023. An index for all lessons posted in 202 3 was published on February 28, 2024.  An index for all lessons posted in 2024 was published on January 21, 2025. An index for all lessons posted in 2025 was published on January 24, 2026. In Sunday School September 13, 2026, I continued to teach about revival in the Old Testament, among the good kings of Judah. In this lesson, we learned that Amaziah did what was right in the sight of God, but he did so with a flawed, divided heart. Like his father be...

  Pastor Alvis has been preaching through the book of Romans for almost four years and we are now in chapter 14. Pastor began showing us about the importance of the LORD's day beginning at Genesis, before the law, and all the way through the book of Revelation. America was founded by Pilgrims and Puritans and one major impact they had was a determination to honor the LORD's day. Thus, Sunday was a day set aside for worshiping God, hearing from His Word, fellowshipping with other Christians and mutually encouraging each other in their walk with Christ. From the 1600's to the 1970's, businesses were closed on Sundays. Schools did not schedule events or games on Sundays. In the early 1900's baseball games were not played on Sundays. This all changed when radical, leftists Supreme Court justices began attacking any vestige of Christianity in public spaces. The Ten Commandments were almost universally posted in most cities and towns but they were systematically removed. ...

Psalm 17:1  A Prayer of David. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.  David's prayer in this Psalm came from one of many times when he was being persecuted, most likely by wicked King Saul. He pleaded for Jehovah to pay attention to his cry of distress, being confident that he would be heard in heaven. David asked that the LORD would hear him, that He would turn His attention to the Psalmist and that His ears would be attuned to the cries of His dear sheep. The idea is a vocal prayer with expressions of mourning and distress indicative of the troubles David faced. David was not like pretentious people who prayed to be heard by others, or whose prayers were self centered, or deceitful. His lips spoke words of truth and honesty before God which is how our prayers ought to be. Ecclesiastes 3:8  A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.  King David's son Solomon, reminds us t...