Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

We wrapped up Acts 1 and are ready to study a dynamic account of the birth of the New Testament church.  A special Holy Day came.  Acts 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  Pentecost is significant in both the Old and New Testaments. “Pentecost” is actually the Greek name for an Old Testament festival known as the Feast of Weeks (See Leviticus 23:15; Deuteronomy 16:9).    The Greek word means “fifty” because fifty days passed since the wave offering of Passover. The Feast of Weeks celebrated the end of a bountiful grain harvest by praising God.  We see in the very beginning of the New Testament church, an emphasis upon loving one another, caring and meeting needs, and enjoying a blessed and rich fellowship.  These believers were likeminded and focused upon hearing the scriptures, praying together and waiting for the promise of the Spirit to be fulfilled.  Celebrating the great Ingathering.   Exodus 23:16  And the feast of har

  Greetings to all of you. Please continue to pray for our church family as several families are battling COVID. We have canceled services for the second straight week. Pray for Pastor Alvis and his wife Laura as they are both sick with the virus.  Due to Pastor's illness, there will be a lag until I can post his sermons again. My wife has COVID but she is doing very well and has coughing as the only remaining symptom. I have somehow stayed healthy and am praising God. My wife's mom lived with us for about 4 years. We recently had to send her out for respite care so that Deb could recover from her illness. Her mom's health failed and she passed into glory Friday afternoon at 5:32 pm. She has been born again for a long time and she was a blessing to all who knew her.  I leave you with inspired words from Paul about death and what awaits us. 2 Corinthians 5:1-10  For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not m

So far, we have seen the reliability of the gospel record and the accuracy of all details of the life of Jesus Christ. We have been provided from God firsthand eyewitness accounts verifying the accuracy of the written gospel accounts.  Close scrutiny and a careful examination was done by Doctor Luke and the result is that we received a reliable and accurate record that is worthy of believing.   We also learned about the glory surrounding the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ when He was taken up in a cloud.  Returning to Jerusalem to wait for the Spirit.  Acts 1:12-14  Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.  13) And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.  14) These all continued with one accord in prayer and supp

We are seeing discipleship in action as we start our studies in the book of Acts.  We compared the introduction of Luke's gospel with his introduction to the Book of Acts. This gives us more background for the texts we are learning about. The Disciple's Question Acts 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?  The believers were assembled and Jesus' disciples asked the Lord about when He would restore the kingdom to Israel. This was an understandable question in light of the Roman empire's dominance in the ancient world.  Also, the church age at this point in time was still a mystery that was hid in Christ.  Christ's answer: The Father is in control. Act 1:7,8  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.  8) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witn

We have concluded our studies in New Testament discipleship and I hope that these lessons are a blessing for each one of us as we seek to be Christ's faithful disciples.  Now, I want to study through the book of Acts with you because most of the discipleship lessons taught from Christ, were lived out by the apostles.  My goal is to dig into this fascinating account of the birth of the New Testament church so that we can literally see discipleship in action.  The Spirit of God used Doctor Luke to be the author of this book, and it begins much the same way that his gospel did, a letter addressed to Theophilus.  Let us compare the introduction to Luke's gospel with his introduction to the Book of Acts. Luke's gospel an orderly collection of truth. Luke 1:1  Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,   Luke noted that other men had written gospel records of the life and ministry of Jesus. The

Jesus taught His disciples about the ministry of the Spirit of God that would begin when Christ ascended to His Father in heaven.  We learned that the Spirit has a three pronged ministry to reprove the world about sin, to convince mankind of the righteousness of Jesus Christ and His saving work on the cross, and to convict the world about impending future judgment. Next, Jesus taught us that the Holy Spirit will be our faithful comforter and guide into all truth.  The Spirit of God will always glorify Christ! John 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.  The Spirit will glorify Jesus Christ the God-Man because He is mankind's only hope for salvation from sin and eternal life with God.  The Spirit of God will amplify and illuminate the splendor and glories connected with Jesus Christ.  The word "glorify" means  to cause the dignity and worth of Jesus Christ to become manifest and acknowledged by all. It also means to praise, e

  God has given us many readers around the world for which I am very thankful.  I have some prayer requests. First, covid has hit close to our home.  Several people in our church family, including my wife, are dealing with covid or its after effects.    Please pray that the Lord will protect my wife and our church family as He deems best and that He will be glorified.  Please pray that the ministry of the Spirit of God with the Word of God in our church family will continue, in spite of the current sickness going around. Second, there are many major internet outages on a global scale. These have had a negative impact upon traffic to our Bible study blog. Please pray that the technical issues are resolved so that God's word may go forth freely through this Bible study blog.  I have found that there are very many people outside of America who are hungry for the truth of God's Word and this is my passion and focus for Christ: Sharing His Word with all of the people that He brings

 Below is the YouTube link to Pastor Alvis sermon on the topic of angels. It was a great introduction to this subject and you will be blessed.  Bob

  In our last post, Jesus expounded upon the ministry of the Spirit of God. We learned that the Spirit of Truth has threefold mission to rebuke, convict and convince sinners regarding sin, righteousness and future judgment.  Jesus had more to say but the disciples were not yet ready.   John 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.  As we think about Jesus' words in John 16:12, it is helpful to remember that the Old Testament scriptures from God was their Bible.  The first gospel would not be written until around 40 AD. The rest of the New Testament would be written many years later, and this is why Jesus said He had many more things to say to them.  During their last hours together, Jesus taught His disciples much detail about the cross and the vile treatment He would receive from Israel's religious leaders.  He made it clear that they would suffer for His name's sake as they preached the gospel. Truths Jesus shared filled their hearts wit