Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

Communion is a time to soberly remember all that Christ did for us. 1 Corinthians 11:17-22  Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.  18)  For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.  19)  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.  20)  When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.  21)  For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.  22)  What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.  The Lord's Supper or taking communion as we know it, is to be a sober observance, a time of remembering a...

Wrongly observing Christ's sacrifice was due to divisions in the church.  1 Corinthians 11:17-19  Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.  18)  For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.  19)  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. In the context of addressing problems with observing the Lord's Supper, Paul establishes that this is a major issue causing division at Corinth. So far, this is the third time the apostle has rebuked them for division and discord within the church. He has rebuked them for not dealing with sexual immorality and for filing lawsuits against each other in civil courts. He has given them instruction and principles for Christian marriage to follow because some still practiced marriage as the pagans did.  Paul taught...

The Corinthians had a sin issue that Paul must address. 1 Corinthians 11:17  Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.  Paul turns to a different issue involving what we know as communion or the Lord's Supper.  His words are emphatic in a negative sense. He rebuked the Corinthians for how they inappropriately observed the Lord's Supper. Even though a strong correction must be given, Paul displays his love for the Corinthians as he administers rebuke. God's law commands that a sinning brother or sister be rebuked. Leviticus 19:17  Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Paul was a Jew by birth and education. He was trained by a well respected rabbi named Gamaliel such that Paul had an excellent understanding of the law of Moses. That holy law tells us that if we know a brother has sinned and we fail to address it wi...

  A note about the archive index containing all Bible lessons posted on this blog since its inception in 2019.   An index for  all lessons  posted from 2019 through 2021, was published on  September 7, 2022. An index for all lessons posted in 2022, was published  J anuary 24, 2023. An index for all lessons posted in 2023 was posted on  February 28, 2024.  Each index lists lesson titles and the date each one was posted, so that you can study subjects that we have written about. The link below will take you to the livestream of Sunday school and a lesson on the Book of Ezra. I want to clarify some in the livestream regarding the names of the men who were chosen to follow Ezra. Hebrew names often communicate truth about God or what He is doing.  I tried to put myself in the same setting as the men Ezra was preparing to lead to Jerusalem to restore right worship of Jehovah. This is why I gave the meanings of the names.  For example, it I wer...

Remember the apostolic ordinances and comply with them. 1 Corinthians 11:1-2  Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.  2)  Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.  In the context of urging us to follow him because Paul is following Christ, the apostle gives even more instruction. He uses the word "ordinances" and this same Greek word is translated "tradition" in the other 12 places where it is used.  Ordinances or traditions refer to inspired teaching and instruction from Spirit guided apostles, that are to be observed by each church. Paul urges the Corinthians and all other believers, to remember his instructions and to observe or live according to the apostolic instructions.  The church is instructed to keep the traditions and ordinances as delivered to us by the apostles. They are not to be changed or tweaked, but maintained in purity. The reason for this is so that...

Doing all for the glory of God is our chief aim. 1 Corinthians 10:31-33  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.  32)  Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:  33)  Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.  We move into chapter eleven today, but the first verse really connects with the last verses of chapter ten. Paul is reminding us that whatever we do, it should be done for the glory of God. We should not do anything that offends a Jew, a Gentile or those in the church of God.  Our goal is promoting the gospel of Jesus Christ and we must avoid doing or saying anything that impedes the progress of the gospel into our communities. Follow the apostles because they followed hard after Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1  Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.  The words...

I have a burden to speak about some of the great moral issues that we face today.  Abortion is a political hot button issue.  Christians need to know what God says about this sin so that we may vote wisely in elections.  Many professing Christians are pro-abortion. Many pastors are pro-abortion.  How is it possible for those who profess faith in the God who gave life to all living things, to demand a woman's right to kill her unborn baby? Our culture has devolved into a culture of death where women vehemently demand the right to kill their unborn babies. Globally, there are about 73 million abortions each year, a truly staggering number that shows how barbaric "civilized" people are. This is an issue that Christians must contend with and I want to give us the truth and principles from scripture to guide us. Man was created by God and did not evolve from other life forms. Genesis 1:27-28  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; ma...