24 Minute Bible - A Simple Journey to Understand the Bible

Episode #192

In these 3 short letters, penned by the Apostle John, it is easy to see the heart of this aged saint! John is almost 90 years of age. He is the only disciple and possible the only eyewitness left of the events of the Cross! As an old man and a ‘grandfather‘ in the faith, John has deep and personal words to share with his young readers. Those words? Love the Lord… and LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Episode # 191

Peter had some very public ‘failures’— his thrice denial of Jesus, his rebuke by Jesus, even his rescue from stormy waters after walking upon the sea. Peter was, however, PERSISTENT! He didn’t give up. That resilient and overcoming spirit is evident in 1 and 2 Peter, as he encourages the church to ‘hang in there’ against the very real persecution of King Nero and Roman society. Your faithfulness, Peter reminds them (and us) will be richly REWARDED!

Episode #190

Practical, down to earth, black and white! That is the book of James. A simple letter to the church, written by the half-brother of Jesus, encouraging us to avoid the lust of the flesh and follow the ‘straight and narrow’ way of the Cross.

Episode #189

For 400 years the Second Temple (the Temple of Jesus’ timeframe) served Israel as the center of Worship. That was about to come to an end. The destruction of the Temple at the hands of the Roman General Titus in 70AD, would signal a change. It would be the end of the Jewish Temple Worship practices— but was the destruction (prophesied by Jesus) a SIGN to Jew and Gentile alike, of a ‘new covenant’ and a new and living way. The book of Hebrews was written to confirm that, Yes, Jesus has fulfilled the Old Testament promises. All the promises of God find their ‘yes’ in Him!

The book of Philemon highlights a very important issue in Bible days… and in our culture today. That issue is SLAVERY! While slavery was a common practice in the New Testament world (approximately one third of the Roman world were slaves), the mission of the Gospel was not to end ‘institutional slavery’ (which it eventually did) but to end ‘personal slavery’ by destroying the darkness of our sin. Hope you enjoy the small but profound book of Philemon!

Episode #186

No business, no sports dynasty, no political movement is of any consequence unless it outlives its predecessor. That is equally true of the church of Jesus. Mentoring ‘leaders’ and ‘handing off the baton’ to a new generation is of ultimate importance. In the books of Timothy and Titus, the focus of Paul’s letters is training and empowering new church leaders (Timothy and Titus) who will carry on the Gospel work of Jesus!

Episode # 186

Whether now or 2000 years ago, the promised RETURN of Jesus was of great interest to all Believers. That was especially true of the church of Thessaloniki. Paul wrote two letters to this church (and to us) giving us Holy Spirit insights about the ‘how and when’ of the event— as well as encouraging us to not get ‘lazy’ in the ‘present’ while looking for the Glory of the future.

Episode # 185

It seems that ‘prison’ is the ‘birthplace’ of some great writing— Pilgrim’s Progress (John Bunyan), Civil Disobedience (Henry David Thoreau) and Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes) to name a few. By the same token, God wrote three powerful and inspired New Testament books — Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians— through the Paul’s incarceration. Known as the ‘prison epistles’, these books give us insight, practical wisdom and lessons in the joy of overcoming our difficult circumstances with the power of the Spirit.

Episode # 184

Sometimes it takes stern language to get attention. That is the case with with the book of Galatians. The churches of Galatia were being drawn back into legalism and a salvation based on works. In unmistakable terms, Paul says ‘no’. Grace and the atoning work of alone are the means of our salvation!

Episode #183

Paul’s letters to the church at Corinth are instructive and uniquely personal. Instructive in that Paul addresses a multitude of subjects to the church family living in Corinth. He speaks of divisions and lawsuits, sexuality and marriage, spiritual gifts and resurrection bodies. Then there are the personal stories Paul’s shares about himself that he share no where else— his persecution and shipwrecks, his deprivations and pressures… and of course his out of body ‘journey to Heaven’. The incredible letters of Paul to Corinth. Enjoy!