Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

  This missionary family is supported by our church and over the course of many years, the Lord has blessed them with a fruitful and productive ministry. They have finally come home on furlough after being on the field for a very long time. Please pray that they can add to their support from the churches here in America, as their living and ministry costs are also rising. Bob June 2022 After a rocky start to our trip to the U.S.A. (we almost weren't allowed to board the plane in Brisbane, Australia), we arrived safely in Charleston, WV. Our four flights totaled over 20 hours in the air and our jet lag lasted for over a week! But please don't take any of this as complaining. We are overjoyed to be back in the U.S. for our furlough ministry. What a joy to spend time with our daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren. We look forward to seeing our son, Jacob soon. Mihy...

Psalm 119:25,26  DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.  26)  I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.  Understanding God's precepts so our hearts are ready to serve. Psalm 119:27  Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.  We are learning from the Psalmist what should be important to believers in Christ. It is knowing God, fearing Him and learning His house rules so that we might live our lives for His honor and glory. The Psalmist craves to grasp the wonderful things of God with his mind. He wants his speech, and the meditation of his heart to be centered upon Jehovah. He wants the Word to shape his thoughts, words and activities. We began learning about the benefits of sound and saving knowledge because it settles our heart, and leaves us firmly anchored to our Rock, Jesus Christ. All believers need to be disciples of Jesus Christ, s...

Colossians 1:10  That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;  We looked at this text in our last post. God is always aiming at our heart, so that we learn to trust Him by obeying His Word. Here, Paul means we are to live a God pleasing life when he uses the expression "walk worthy of the Lord." Walking worthy of our Lord is a natural outcome of believing the gospel of Christ, and receiving a regenerated heart.  Walk worthy of Jesus Christ our King, Master & Savior.  Ephesians 4:1-3  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,  2)  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;  3)  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Paul wrote to the Ephesian Christians reminding them to walk worthy of their calling as believers...

Psalm 119:25,26  DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.  26)  I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.  In the first two verses of this eight verse section of Psalm 119, we learned about being downcast in our soul and cleaving in the dust.  We learned about various reasons why this may happen to us. We also learned that God may allow affliction, trials or trouble in our lives in order to bring us to this state.  We may have unconfessed sin in us that we need to confess and forsake. We may suffer when we live a godly life, for the world hated Jesus Christ and it will hate us too.  We may have external afflictions from family problems, financial hardship, health issues or friends who betray us. All of these situations can cause us to cleave in the dust.   His good purpose in permitting hard times in our lives is so that we cry out to Him for help and comfort. Jehovah will...

Paul's letter to the church at Colosse is a very important one. It addresses some key doctrinal issues because Gnostic heresy and Greek philosophy were being promoted by false teachers.  They were trying to influence the Colossian believers to listen to a voice other than the voice of God. Impact of the gospel upon the Colossians Colossians 1:3-8  We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,  4)  Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,  5)  For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;  6)  Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:  7)  As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;  8)  Who...

Psalm 119:25,26  DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.  26)  I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy stat utes.  Psalm 119:25 teaches us about persevering through afflictions and turning our hearts to the LORD God, who will hear our cries and do good work in our hearts.  Psalm 119:26 has taught us about what it means to live transparently before God so that we may declare our ways to Him.  Sometimes, we may confess our sins in order to receive forgiveness. Other times we may share what is happening to us and seek His aid. Or, we may tell God our plans and seek His guidance for our path.  Then, we learned the glorious truth that God hears the prayers of all believers who are "in Christ." This is a wonderful truth for each believer to fully dwell on.  God who is Creator and Sustainer of all life and who holds the entire universe together with the word of His power, hears the prayers o...

  Here is the link to our YouTube livestream of Pastor Alvis' midweek sermon, MAy 11, 2022.  Pastor has been preaching through the book of Colossians since March of this year. He carefully expounds the scriptures so that we can understand what God is saying and what He expects from us. I know it will bless all who are able to view the livestream. Bob

Here are the links to our YouTube livestream of Pastor Alvis's Sunday school and Sunday sermon preached on May 11, 2022. I hope you are able to watch the livestream as Pastor has been preaching about God's Word and about the "Plain Man" who is reading his Bible for the first time. It will be a blessing to you. Bob  

Good evening to all of our Readers. Here are the YouTube links to our Sunday services from May 8, 2022.  We had a guest speaker, Mark Perry and his wife, Bekah.  They are the missionaries that we support who minister in Antofagasta, Chile. We heard a very detailed report, including prayer requests and praises for how God has built a church in a large city, where none previously existed.  I hope you are able to watch the video and learn more of this young couple's ministry in South America. Bob  

Colossians 1:1,2  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,  2)  To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul's greeting underscores his God given authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ.  He also emphasized the unique relationship of Jesus Christ and His Father, because he is going to go after the spiritual error of Gnosticism, which was beginning to influence this church. Do we thank God for new believers and pray for them? Colossians 1:3  We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,  A believer in Christ can go directly to the Father in prayer. No mediator, human or otherwise, is needed and this statement strikes at the foolish idea of emanations propagated by the Gnostics. Paul began to pray constantly for the Christians at Colosse. Though he had not met t...