Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

Psalm 37:39-40  But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.40  And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.  Psalm 46:1-3  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  (2)  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;  (3)  Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. Photo of Ukrainian hills.  May the words of the sweet Psalmist of Israel calm our own hearts and guide us as we pray for the needs of brothers and sisters around the world, where they face hostility for the sake of the gospel of Christ. Jehovah is our strength in times of trouble . He will help and deliver His people from the wicked because they put their trust in Him. God is an ever prese...

Psalm 119:9  BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.  The second section of eight verses begins by asking a very important question: "How shall a young man (or a person of any age) cleanse his way?" The Psalmist gave us the answer by telling us that we must take heed to God's word. We studied what it means to read and heed the Bible in previous posts.  Psalm 119:10  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.  Next, we have a declaration of the Psalmist's past action regarding scripture, and his prayer for present help as he studied the Word. We learned what it means to seek God with all of our being and for our need to pray for the help He promised to supply.  Psalm 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.  The Psalmist then teaches us about hiding God's truth in our heart and he tells us why this is so vital to o...

  Here is the link to Pastor Alvis' midweek sermon titled "God's Provision For Spiritual Victory." Pastor wraps up a series of sermons dedicated to exposing our great enemy, Satan. This is a much needed series of sermons to help us survive and understand spiritual warfare. Bob

  Here is the link to Pastor Alvis' Sunday Sermon titled "The Plain Man is Granted a Helper." His series of sermons about a "Plain Man" begin at the beginning in Genesis 1. The idea is to set aside all that we know from previously reading the Bible, and thinking like a plain man (or woman) who is reading and learning these truths for the very first time.  Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible approximately after 2,000 years of history had elapsed. Thus, God guided him to tell us what He deemed most important for us to learn.  This sermon will be a blessing to all who are able to view the live stream. Bob

  Here is the YouTube link to Pastor Alvis Sunday School lesson titled "The Word in My Life" based upon Psalm 119. Pastor has been teaching us about the importance and impact of scripture in the lives of believers and this series is very beneficial. I know it will bless all who can watch the livestream. Bob

Psalm 119:9,10  BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.  10)  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.  The Psalmist raised a question about how a young man might cleanse his way. The question applies to people of all ages, but young men are often headstrong and immature.  Young men often think they have all the answers and are prone to giving in to fleshly lusts.  Therefore, they will become defiled and the Psalmist wants us all to see how we can be cleansed.  Taking heed to the Word of God is the first step and we explored what this means in previous posts.  Seeking God with all of our heart is the second step toward cleansing and we looked at how we should approach God. The third step is praying to God seeking His help so that we do not wander from His truth. The fourth step is hiding God's Word in our hearts so that we do not sin against Him. A...

Act 18:1-3  After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;  2)  And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.  3)  And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.  This is Luke's introduction to Paul's ministry in Corinth. God providentially led him to meet a Christian couple name Aquila and Priscilla, who would become faithful helpers of Paul. Paul faithfully preached the gospel. Act 18:4  And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.  Paul continued his pattern of preaching in the synagogues to begin a dialogue with Jews and God fearing Greeks, using the Old Testament scriptures to show the Jews that Jesus Christ was their Messiah and King.  Paul driven by the Spirit to ...

The second eight verse section of Psalm 119 began by asking how a young man can cleanse his way. From that point, the remaining verses are dedicated to answering the question. Cleansing comes from reading and heeding the Word of God. We studied to see what that means.  Cleansing comes from seeking God with our whole heart, and we studied to see what that means.  Cleansing comes from hiding God's truth in our hearts and we are learning about this aspect.  Psalm 119:9-11  BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.  10)  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.  11)  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.  We should hide the scriptures in our hearts because this is connected to the work of God when we are converted to Jesus Christ.  Hide God's Word because it changes our heart! Psalm 19:7,8  The law of the LO...

One note about the blog. I am sure that most of you already know this, but we may have some newer readers who do not.  Photo of the Gutenberg  Bible. When viewing the blog you will find a column on the left side, where you can search for words or search the archives.  Below the search and archive buttons is a  "translate"  button. It contains a drop down list of more than 100 languages. Then, you select the language that you need and the post will be seen in that language.  In my mind, this is one of the most beautiful and beneficial uses of technology available today. I thank God for helping the platform developers include the translation feature.  There can be no doubt that the ability to translate this blog into many other languages, is a big reason this blog has been read in more than 120 nations.  For this, we can all rejoice  and praise God  together . I praise God for each one who comes to read God's Word in each post. May He cont...

Paul was not persecuted in Athens like he had been in many other cities. However, the entrenched idolatry and pursuit of philosophic speculation by the Greeks, allowed little progress for the gospel.  Paul left behind the few new believers at Athens, under the care of Dionysius. Paul traveled to Corinth, which was about 46 miles east from Athens. It's public buildings were stunningly beautiful and superb.  Corinth was capital of the Roman province of Achaia, and residence of the Roman Governor. It was wealthy with a booming economy, because it was a center of commerce between the East and West. The city had a large Jewish population after Caesar banned Jews from living in Rome. An architectural style named the "Corinthian Order" became widely used and can still be found in many places today. The temple of Aphrodite on the Acro- Corinth had a thousand consecrated prostitutes and the term  to Corinthianize meant lead people into gross sexual immorality. God's providen...