Theology

The wrong question: how did all the animals fit in the ark?

The most crucial question of Genesis 6 is NOT about the animals. Not at all. Rather, it is this: why was an ark needed in the first place? In other words, why was God willing to flood the entire globe, only six chapters after creating it? Seems drastic. So why did God do it, and what does it tell us about the future?

Questions That We'll Answer:

A) In what way did the flood typify the wrath of God being 'poured out?'

B) In what way did the ark typify Jesus Christ? Is Jesus in this text?

C) Why did Christ refer to future days as being 'like the days of Noah?'

Website: www.fpcgulfport.org

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That didn't take long, did it?

You might have thought Genesis 4 couldn't go worse than Genesis 3 - that mankind would have learned its lesson. Surely man would do better! Surely he'd turn away from sin! However, before Genesis 4 was over, a blood soaked corpse proved otherwise.

Questions That We'll Answer:

A) Why did Cain kill his brother? And what was wrong with his sacrifice?

B) Why did God warn Cain that 'sin lay at his door?'

C) Is it possible that sin is at our door as well? What should we do?

Website: http://www.fpcgulfport.org

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How did one act of disobedience change everything?

In this study of Genesis 3, Dr. Toby Holt traces the entrance of sin into the world. Adam and Eve had lived at peace with their Creator; by the chapter's end they were exiled from the garden, a flaming sword barring their return. Dr. Holt examines the serpent's tactic — casting doubt on God's word — and shows that a single sin was enough to plunge the whole created order into ruin. Two truths follow: sin is far more serious than our culture pretends, and God is far more holy than we imagine. Yet Genesis 3 is not without hope. Even as He pronounces the curse, God promises a Redeemer — the seed of the woman who will crush the serpent — pointing forward to the second Adam, Jesus Christ, in whom fallen sinners find their only rescue.

Questions this study answers:

1. What "tool" did the serpent use against Eve? Doubt. He questioned and contradicted God's word, enticing her to distrust her Creator and to act as her own authority.

2. What does the fall reveal about sin and God? That sin is exceedingly serious — one transgression brought death and exile — and that God is perfectly, unbending holy.

3. Where is the hope in Genesis 3? In the first promise of the gospel: a coming Redeemer, the seed of the woman, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the second Adam. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." — Genesis 3:15 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Listen and go deeper: This study is part of New Geneva Theological Seminary's teaching on systematic theology and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Do faith and science really contradict each other?

In this study of Genesis 1, Dr. Toby Holt begins where the Bible begins: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." This opening verse, he argues, is the starting point for all right theology and philosophy — it declares God's existence and His transcendence over everything He has made. There is a God, and you are not Him.

Dr. Holt challenges the assumed war between faith and science, showing it to be a false dichotomy foreign to much of history. He addresses evolution, the "big bang," and the apparent age of the universe, but keeps the main point central: a creation testifies to a Creator, and to surrender Genesis 1:1 is to drift toward the nihilism of a world that answers to no one.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why is Genesis 1:1 so foundational? Because it establishes God's existence and His authority over all creation — the premise on which all true thinking about the world must rest.

2. Are faith and science truly at odds? No. Dr. Holt shows the supposed conflict to be a false dichotomy; the created order itself points beyond itself to a Creator.

3. What is at stake in denying creation? A slide into nihilism — a world with no Creator, no design, and no ultimate accountability to God.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." — Genesis 1:1 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Listen and go deeper: This study is part of New Geneva Theological Seminary's teaching on systematic theology and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

What proof is there that Jesus rose?

In John 20:1-18, Mary Magdalene finds the tomb empty and meets the risen Lord. Dr. Toby Holt walks through the evidence that Jesus truly rose from the dead.

Mary comes while it is still dark and finds the stone rolled away. Peter and John find the grave clothes lying in place and the face cloth folded by itself — not what robbers would leave. Two angels sit where the body had lain. Then Mary, weeping, mistakes Jesus for the gardener — until He speaks her name.

Questions this study answers:

1. What is the evidence for the resurrection? The empty tomb, the neatly folded grave clothes, the angelic witnesses, and the appearances of the risen Jesus all point to a real resurrection, not a stolen body.

2. Why does it matter that Mary first thought Jesus was the gardener? It shows the resurrection caught even His friends by surprise. She knew Him the instant He spoke her name.

3. What did Jesus tell Mary? He sent her to tell the others He was ascending to "My Father and your Father" — making His people part of God's family.

"Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him, 'Rabboni!' (which is to say, Teacher)." — John 20:16 (NKJV)

Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Find more verse-by-verse Bible teaching at newgeneva.org; support this ministry at newgeneva.org/give.

Why did John the Baptist call Jesus "the Lamb of God"?

In this study, Dr. Toby Holt views the events surrounding Palm Sunday through the eyes of John the Baptist, who saw what others missed. As Israel searched for a spotless lamb for the Passover, the true "Lamb of God" was drawing near. Dr. Holt asks why John alone named Him so, and what it means that Jesus came to take away the sin of the world.

Central to the study is the difference between appeasement and atonement. Fallen men try to appease God by their own works, hoping to offset their sins; but no one is saved that way. Atonement is God's own provision — the Lamb He supplies, bearing sin in the sinner's place. Salvation comes not by what we offer God, but by the sacrifice God offers for us.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why is Jesus called the "Lamb of God"? Because, like the Passover lamb, He is the spotless sacrifice God Himself provides to bear away the sin of His people.

2. What is the difference between appeasement and atonement? Appeasement is man's attempt to pacify God by his own works; atonement is God's provision of a substitute who satisfies divine justice on our behalf.

3. Can we be saved by appeasing God? No. Salvation is never earned by our efforts; it is received through the atoning work of Christ, the Lamb of God.

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'" — John 1:29 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Listen and go deeper: This study is part of New Geneva Theological Seminary's teaching on systematic theology and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

You won't find 'utopia' in a warzone.

So many people misunderstand their reality. They think that this world is their home, irrespective of how little time they'll spend here. They think this world is great, irrespective of the landmines going off around them. Conversely, the Bible says that this world is filled with trials and hardships. And so, our hope is not found in this 'valley of death,' but in the Shepherd that leads us to someplace better.

Questions That We'll Answer:

A) What words of encouragement did Peter have to the suffering?

B) Why does God allow His children to be tested and tried?

C) How do we know that our story ends well? How can we be sure?

Website: www.fpcgulfport.org

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What makes 'love' greater than faith or hope?

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul said "now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." So, why is 'love' superior? Well, for starters, it is the only one of those three words that applies to God. God does not have 'faith.' God does not hope. But HE DOES LOVE - in fact, HE IS LOVE!

Questions That We'll Consider:

A) What sort of mess was Corinth in, that they needed a primer on love?

B) How does love motivate us in ways that no other emotion can?

C) What sets love apart (both now and in Heaven)?

Website: www.fpcgulfport.org

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The desert is home to some of the Bible's most fascinating stories.

In Acts 8, there was a caravan traveling in the desert of Judea. At its head was a pagan eunuch - someone well outside of the covenant community, but not outside of God's plan of salvation. And in order to reach this man, God sent an evangelist into the wasteland. His name was Phillip, and this is his story.

Questions That We'll Answer:

A) Why does God care for rebels, pagans, and sinners?

B) What book was the Ethiopian reading when Philip found him?

C) What hope does Acts 8 give for the 'lost people' in our lives?

Website: www.fpcgulfport.org

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Rebellion. Rejection. Disdain.

The nations have long rejected God's rule in favor of their own. But why? What causes the nations to rage against God, and to plot so many vain things? In today's sermon, we'll consider mankind's ongoing rebellion and God's response.

Questions That We'll Answer:

A) How do nations, leaders, and political parties foment their insurrection?

B) What does it mean that God 'sits' in Heaven and laughs at them?

C) In what way is Psalm 2 a 'Messianic' Psalm? What hope does it offer?

Web: www.fpcgulfport.org

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.