Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

Psalm 119:17-22  GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.  18)  Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.  19)  I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.  20)  My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.  21)  Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.  22)  Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.  Thinking about God's truth is antidote to those who speak lies. Psalm 119:23  Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.  We learned a lot about how God can use those who oppose us to try our faith and help us mature as believers.  We also learned that the Devil will use people like this to attack us so that we become discouraged or disenchanted with serving God.  We also learned that this is part of the spiritual warfare that all believers face. Now, w

Psalm 119:17-22  GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.  18) Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.  19) I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.  20) My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.  21) Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.  22) Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.  We are nearing the end of this eight verse section of Psalm 119. We have two more verses to consider before we move on.  People in power often speak evil of Christians.  Psalm 119:23  Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. In this verse the Psalmist describes his trouble and his remedy. He encountered trouble from people who spoke malicious things against him. His remedy was turning his thoughts to the wonderful word of God.  It is a fact that the darkness h

In our last post, we learned about how God is revealed through His providential care.  In this post, we will learn how God is revealed through the preservation of all things. The universe functions with regularity and predictability that defies evolutionary views.  The doctrine of revelation shows us how God preserves all life and the systemic order that we see in the universe around us.  It all belongs to God because He created it all.  Colossians 1:16,17  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:  17)  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.  This text shows that Jesus Christ is the Creator of the universe and that He made all things visible and invisible. He is the Creator of all things that had a beginning, whether they exist in time or in eternity.  Creation therefore, is the work of Christ

Here are the YouTube links to Pastor Alvis from Sunday, April 24, 2022. This includes his Sunday School lesson on the Word of God, his Sunday sermon on the Plain Man series, and his afternoon thoughts. I know these will be a blessing to all who are able to watch them. Bob  

  Here is the YouTube link to Pastor Alvis's midweek sermon preached on April 20, 2022. He began a study through the book of Colossians. I know this will bless all who are able to watch the livestream. Bob

Psalm 119:17-21  GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.  18)  Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.  19)  I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.  20)  My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.  21)  Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.  Faith in the Word while suffering reproaches.  Psalm 119:22  Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies .  If we suffer reproaches what might God be seeking to teach us? One purpose in suffering reproach is that Jehovah will humble us, and test our hearts and through the process of suffering reproaches, He will turn it for our good (See Deuteronomy 8:16).  We noted how Paul learned to embrace suffering, reproaches and weakness because God was glorified in them. Reproach is a good antidote for our spirit when we are infected with pride or self conceit.

In our last post we touched upon a few highlights of how God is clearly revealed in creation.  [For those who desire more resources showing how creation reveals God, I suggest the "Answers in Genesis" website. Also, "The Flood" written by A. Rehwinkle, "The Genesis Flood" by Dr. Henry Morris, and  "Darwin's Black Box" & "Darwin Evolves" both written by Michael Behe.  In addition, Gerald Scanlon has written books that delve into physics, and the four fundamental forces that govern our universe, that can be found at Christian Books.com or at Amazon.]   In this post we will look at how He is revealed in "providence" and we need to define what the word means. In theology, "providence" is the care and superintendence which God exercises over his creatures.  Those who acknowledge creation but deny God's providence, face a contradiction. The same power which created life is necessary to continue or sustain its

Today we are going to look at a subset of the doctrine of  "Bibliology."   The doctrine of Bibliology is simply a study of the Bible and its supernatural origin.  Bibliology also includes understanding the general divisions of the Bible and the time periods, sometimes referred to as dispensations.  Bibliology includes studying the major themes of scripture such as the covenants that are mentioned, the prophetic periods, the earthly kingdom along with a few other things. However, I want to focus upon the doctrine of "revelation" which as you probably guessed, is also connected with the doctrine of verbal inspiration.  The word "revelation" means that God has communicated to mankind that which we otherwise would never know.  It especially means that God reveals Himself to us, which is what the root of the word "revelation" means. It is the act of revealing or uncovering. Revelation is the act of God disclosing or discovering to us what was befor

  I have been born again for many years, and have benefited from sitting under sound, accurate preaching and learning from men who are seasoned in their faith and careful in their teaching.  The good side of this spiritual equation is that in my mind I have a good store of Bible truth and a working understanding of its holy doctrines.  The less good part of this spiritual equation, is that I may not always communicate the doctrinal foundation for a particular subject I am teaching in the blog. Therefore, I would like to introduce a series of lessons teaching doctrines that are clearly taught in God's holy word.  There are quite a few doctrines in scripture and though they may have "scholarly" names, they are easy to understand. For example" the doctrine of "eschatology" is simply the doctrine of last things, prophecies to be fulfilled in the future.  These lessons should move along at a good pace but they will not be exhaustive. I will give you enough Bibl