Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

Beautiful weather continues for us and we are very grateful for mild temps and low humidity.  Today we begin Proverbs 6 and we will see the blessing of wisdom is going to be illustrated differently. King Solomon demonstrated financial wisdom to his sons in a very practical way. He taught them the wisdom of avoiding certain kinds of financial entanglements and the wisdom of bring productive workers. Wisdom tells us to always avoid being a cosigner for a debt.  Proverbs 6:1-5  My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,  2) Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.  3) Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.  4) Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.  5) Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of ...

Good evening Here is the link to Pastor Alvis' sermon which is a study on the prophet Elisha. "Elisha- In the Middle but not at the center." We heard this sermon preached last night and it was very good. I hope it is a blessing to you. Bob

King Solomon continued to speak to his son about the adulteress and his need to live a pure life. He gave practical guidance to his son that was founded upon wisdom from God. Perils of pursuing the strange woman. Proverbs 5:7-14  Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.  8) Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:  9) Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:  10) Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;  11) And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,  12) And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;  13) And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!  14) I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.    We looked at Proverbs 5:7-8 in our last post. The text contained S...

  Today we move into Proverbs 5. The chapter begins with King Solomon admonishing his son for the third time to attend to his teaching. I thought it would be beneficial to see all four places where this expression is used in Proverbs. Attention! Hear & Heed My Words. Proverbs 4:1  Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. Proverbs 4:20  My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Proverbs 5:1  My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: Proverbs 7:24  Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. The word "attend: means to hear carefully with the intent to obey. It is hearing and heeding Godly instruction. The first time Solomon said this was in regards to his son listening carefully to know understanding. Understanding happens when we begin to comprehend how holy God really is from His Word. We gain knowledge of the holy (...

Good morning and praise God that He has given us another day to live for His glory! Wisdom exposes wickedness for all to see and avoid. Proverbs 4:13-17 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.  14)  Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.  15) Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.  16) For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.  17) For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.  King Solomon put the way of life into stark contrast with the way that leads to death and separation from God. He urged his son to latch on to all of the careful teaching and God honoring instruction  that the king gave him. He told his son that instruction in the wisdom from God is life and he must hang on to this teaching as if his life depended upon it.  Why did Solomon give his son this ...

Psalm 5:7  But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. We enjoyed a great Lord's day with our church family this morning. The weather was very fall like and incredibly beautiful. We praised the Lord in songs and hymns and listened to Pastor preach from John's gospel. I hope that you all were able to worship God today and that your spirit was encouraged. Exalt and Embrace Wisdom. Proverbs 4:8  Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.  We learned about the meaning of imperatives in our last study together. This word can refer to something that is of vital importance and it also means something that is commanded. As we see some more imperatives in our texts today, it helps to remember that both of these  meanings are in view .  What does it mean to use personification? To personify something is to ascribe human qualities...

 Good morning..... Here is the YouTube link to Pastor Alvis' Sunday Sermon. It is titled "An Inglorious Response to a Glorious Redeemer. May the Lord bless His word as it goes forth. Bob

This Saturday morning we woke to our first frost on our rooftops.  The crisp air is a reminder that Fall officially begins this week.   We are going to see more of what King Solomon taught his son regarding wisdom.  Wisdom & Understanding from God. Proverbs 4:5-7  Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.  6) Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.  7)Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.   The word "imperative" has two definitions and both apply in this text. First, the word means something that is vital or necessary. Second, the word means a command to do something. In this text there are seven imperatives because King Solomon  emphasized the vital importance of wisdom, as well as commanding his son to do something about wisdom.  The word "get" is a word that means to acquire something ...

Praise the Lord. The winds aloft that brought California's smoke over Ohio for several days has cleared out and now we enjoy bright sunshine and bright blue skies! Please continue to pray for all those being impacted by wildfires. I understand the fires are only about 3% contained so far which means there is still a lot of work to do combatting the blaze. This morning we move into Proverbs 4.  A father told his children to hear and heed what he said. Proverbs 4:1-2  Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.  2)  For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.  King Solomon is the author of this book of wisdom, writing as the Spirit of God directed  him. Solomon is broadening  his scope by including all his children, and by extension he is speaking to us as well.  Another pattern in the book of Proverbs we see, is that the first 9 chapters all begin with exhortations to pursue wisdom from God. Thus, King...

The smoke from wildfires on the west coast of America have been carried by strong winds aloft all the way to the east coast. We have a very sunny day in Ohio but the smoke makes the normal bright blue skies look like a foggy, gray color and the brightness of the sun is dimmed. We are thankful that the Lord allowed us to live where we do and are praying for all the people impacted by the fires.  The benefit of keeping sound wisdom. Proverbs 3:21,22  My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:  22) So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.  Solomon used a tender plea of "My son" as a demonstration of parental love and concern so his offspring was able to fully grasp the importance of what the King shared. He wanted his son to carefully watch over sound wisdom like a parent watches over their  children to protect them from danger. The king's son must learn to treasure sound wisdom that is based upon knowing ...