THE BALANCE between grace and Law is the focus of this week's New Testament study. We discuss the Council of Jerusalem, a gathering of the apostles in A.D. 49 to settle the question of whether Gentile converts were required to be circumcised and keep the Law to be saved.

Then we read Paul's letter to the Galatians, churches in what is now central Turkey. The Galatians had apparently come under the influence of Judaizers, Jewish converts to Christianity who insisted that salvation required following the Mosaic Law. Paul makes it clear that loving our neighbors as ourselves fulfills all of the Law.

THE LONGEST Psalm in the Bible is part of our study this week. The 176 verses of Psalm 119 are divided into 22 stanzas, each of which begins with one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Then we look at the first acts of the reign of Solomon: His request for wisdom and the famous Judgment of Solomon, when he ordered the two women arguing over a baby to divide the child with a sword—a ploy to discern which of the women was the child's mother.

Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date.

THE HOLY Spirit finally reveals His true purpose for Saul of Tarsus, called Paul for the first time in the readings that we study this week. Paul and Barnabas travel from Antioch to Cyprus, confronting a sorcerer named Elymas, and then move on to several towns in Asia Minor (Turkey), preaching the gospel (and nearly getting stoned to death) before returning to Antioch.

Then we turn to the epistle of James, a remarkable letter from the half-brother of Jesus, a man who didn't believe while Jesus was alive (see John 7:1-5). James guides us on the difference between faith and saving faith

Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date.

ANOTHER SON, another rebellion: Adonijah, son of Haggish, makes his play for the throne before David's death. This was backstory to the ascension of Solomon that was not recorded in the account in 1 Chronicles. Adonijah was David's fourth son and the heir apparent—the second of David's sons to try to usurp the throne.

We also read a number of psalms, including several that make it clear God's justice comes in due time.

Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date.

OUR JOURNEY through the book of Acts continues with the account of Saul's vision on the road to Damascus and the beginning of the outreach of the church to Gentiles.

We discuss Saul's early years in the faith, the difficulty the Jewish Christians had with the news that Peter had gone to the house of Cornelius the centurion—an uncircumcised man—and the implications of Peter's vision of the unrolled sheet.

Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date.

DAVID PROCLAIMS Solomon his successor and announces the construction of the Temple. Interestingly, the account of Solomon's anointing in 1 Chronicles skips over the rebellion of his half-brother, Adonijah (spoiler!).

We also discuss the final psalms of David in our study, which make clear that God has known us since the beginning of time, and the first of the psalms of Solomon we'll study, a wonderful reminder that our efforts in life are in vain unless the Lord is in it.

Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date.

THE EARLY church grows by leaps and bounds in the days after Pentecost. But things aren't perfect because (surprise!) the apostles were human, too.

We discuss the dispute between Greek and Jewish believers over the care of widows and the deception of Ananias and Sapphire. We also cover the sort-of conversion of Simon Magus, the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, and the stoning of Stephen — our introduction to Saul of Tarsus, who would arguably become the greatest of all the apostles.

Here is the link Derek promised to the article at Lion and Lamb Ministries on the Ethiopian tradition about the Ark of the Covenant.

Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date.

AS DAVID approached the end of his life, he focused his efforts on handing power to Solomon and preparing things for the Temple. Today we read several Psalms from this time in David's life and the details of how the priests and musicians were organized — a timely topic, since there are groups in Israel making similar preparations today for the Third Temple.

WE CONCLUDE our study of the gospels this week with the accounts of the Resurrection. We discuss the gospel accounts of the encounter at the empty tomb and why the apparent contradictions are not contradictions at all, the significance of the first witnesses to the risen Christ being women, and Peter's sermon on Pentecost, the first post-Resurrection sermon in the history of Christianity.

You can find the videos of Derek's presentation at Morningside Church, "The Great Inception: Satan's PSYOPs from Eden to Armageddon", at www.ptlnetwork.com/the-prophets-speak/

THIS WEEK is another great example of why we're doing our Bible study in chronological order. The accounts of David's census and the resulting punishment by Yahweh make more sense when the versions in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles are compared side by side. The chronicler records that the idea to conduct the census, presumably not in accordance with the Law (see Exodus 30:11-16), was Satan's (or, more properly, the satan's).

Also: David begins to assemble materials to build the Temple on the spot where the Angel of Yahweh (i.e., Jesus) stayed his hand.