Bible 805

How do we know what we’re told about Jesus is true? Wasn’t the New Testament written hundreds of years after He lived? How do we know it isn’t just legends about a good teacher? And why did some books get included and others didn’t? In addition to that, from the start, John the Baptist and Jesus both talked about the importance of the Kingdom of God—that with Jesus the Kingdom was now present. The whole idea of the Kingdom can be challenging to understand and though we won’t attempt to explain it totally, we will discuss it, what it meant then and what it means now to us in this lesson. The questions we started with and more we’ll answer in our podcast. To download notes from the lesson: https://wp.me/pazrJD-Vi --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

The New Testament makes some extraordinary claims including that the long-prophesied Messiah came into the world, lived, taught, died, and rose again to offer a restored relationship to God to all who believe in Him. For claims of such importance, naturally, not everyone believed them then or now and questions like these come up: Wasn’t the New Testament written hundreds of years after the events recorded in them? In the time between the events and the recording of them, did myth and legends replace reality? Therefore, are the stories of the miracles, the resurrection of Jesus, just wishful thinking? Properly dating when the New Testament documents were written is of critical importance to establish the claims of credibility of the Bible. In this lesson, we’ll go over ways we can know for certain when the New Testament documents were written using a variety of dating criteria including source criticism (what we learn from the documents themselves, the actual tangible copies of the historical records), when others quoted them, and statements from contemporary historical figures about Jesus and what he did. Click on the following link for notes of the content, an infographic that documents the superior number of supporting manuscripts for the New Testament in contrast with other historical documents, and video sources: https://wp.me/pazrJD-V5 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

From the close of the Old Testament to the start of the New Testament, it is a VERY different world—so many things had changed. There is a an infographic that goes through the changes that goes with the lesson. In this lesson,  we’ll go over how the changes came to be. We’ll also look at the various groups that emerged during this time, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and others we find in the New Testament. The lesson ends with some thoughts on the description of this time as the “400 Silent Years” and some suggested applications for us when God seems silent and because we also live in an in-between time. https://wp.me/pazrJD-Uh --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

The book of Malachi begins… with God saying, “I have always loved you, but you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?” Malachi 1:2 In some ways, these brief statements sum up the entire history of the Old Testament. God again and again both shows and declares His love for His people. And His people again and again, don’t believe Him, go their own ways, reap the punishment from it, repent, God loves and forgives them, and they do it all over again. In this lesson, we’ll first look at the history of God’s love for His people, His challenging conversations with them in the book of Malachi, and applications for us. Link to the Blog and Notes: https://wp.me/pazrJD-TP --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

These books were written 14‐16 years after the Jews returned to the land after their captivity. The return itself was a glorious work of God. Once in the land, there were challenges when the surrounding people tried to stop them, but God intervened there also. The Israelites had seen God conquer and give victory in much greater problems and He took care of this situation also and they got permission from the king to continue building. But they didn’t—even though God miraculously provided permission for them to continue building the temple, they got distracted, a lot like we do from the work God gives us to do. But God’s work is primary and to remind them of that He sent TWO prophets to them: Haggai and Zechariah, who preached at the same time, but in very different ways. Haggai is very practical about what to do NOW. Zechariah, like many prophets, jumps into the mind of God and challenges the people from His viewpoint with dreams and visions from the view of eternity. We’ll look at each one of the prophets in more detail in this lesson. Link to blog and handouts: https://wp.me/pazrJD-Tr --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

Though God had to punish the Children of Israel for their many sins by sending them into exile in Babylon, the punishment had a promised limit of 70 years and at the end of the 70 years, He miraculously returned them to their land. In this lesson we’ll go over the return and the leadership God used to make it possible. This is a lesson where knowing the correct chronology is especially important (and of course this lesson will teach it to you) because the books of the Bible that talk about the history Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, are just before the middle of our Bibles, are out of order in what happened, as Esther takes place shortly after the beginning of Ezra, and the books that contain the messages of the prophets who encouraged them at this time, Haggai and Zechariah are at the end of our Old Testaments. ***PLUS A VERY HELPFUL NEW Infographic on the order of events that make up the timeline of the return is included at the link at the end of this description. This lesson will not only put them in order, but will help you see how God is faithful to keep His promises. In addition, our applications will focus on how we need to be faithful to God in keeping our promises. Links to the blog, notes and charts with the lesson: https://wp.me/pazrJD-Tc --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

The setting for this episode is that time has run out. After hundreds of years of warnings and challenges, it’s over for Judah. Daniel and Ezekiel are in Babylon taken there in an early deportation before the end came in Jerusalem. What seemed horrible to them at the time was a great blessing in disguise— they were kept from the horrors of the siege, the total destruction of Jerusalem, and final deportation. Daniel and his 3 friends were taken to the palace; Ezekiel was relocated with the captive people, near the river. This lesson is on both of them and we’ll see how in the midst of unimaginable challenges, Daniel and Ezekiel didn’t whine. They faithfully worked. Their lives became a witness. And then the wonder of God was revealed to and through them.   Link to the Blog and notes: https://wp.me/pazrJD-Os  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

This is a special podcast inspired by the Global Leadership Summit we recently attended. You are never too old, too young, too anything to not follow God's leading in your life and the dreams He gives you! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

When we read through the Prophets in the Old Testament, particularly when we get to Ezekiel and Daniel we are introduced to fantastic images, whirling wheels, fantastic beasts, and world-shaking prophecies. This type of writing is what is known as “apocalyptic” and it’s useful to take some time to understand this type of writing, this genre in the Bible to understand the books that contain it. There is a lot of confusion around the word “apocalyptic.” In the secular world, this term has taken on the idea of the end of the world, or a massive collapse of society, etc. The Biblical meaning, though it can be that, is a little different— The Greek term apokalypsis, from which we get our English word apocalypse, literally means “unveiling.” It also means a revelation. In the apocalyptic writings, God is unveiling, giving special revelation, special insight to His prophets, enabling them to see things from HIS viewpoint. And sometimes that view can get a bit wild and difficult to understand as he does that. In this lesson, we’ll look at a key characteristic that distinguishes apocalyptic writing from other prophetic writings and that is its use of images, why we need to understand the meaning behind the images if we are going to understand the writing, and why today we often have trouble with that. In addition, one of the most useful parts of this lesson will be an overview of commentaries you can go to for help in understanding these books. None of us and no one teacher has all the answers, but we have incredible resources today that can help. Below are links to the blog and downloadable notes and questions, the podcast, and video: Link to the blog and downloadable notes and questions: https://wp.me/pazrJD-M6 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

How are we supposed to act when things go wrong? Especially if we had nothing to do to cause the problems that plague us? How can we help others who are going through a hard time? I have answers to these questions and more in this lesson. First, the lesson goes into a little bit of history to set the stage. For centuries God has been patient, but now things are falling apart. After repeatedly sending prophets to His people to remind them of the covenant He made with them where they accepted His salvation and promised to obey His commands—they didn’t respond. The time for judgment had come for the Northern Kingdom when Assyria took them into captivity and now the time is almost up for the Southern Kingdom. The history gets VERY COMPLEX here and I created an infographic that is freely available to you at www.Bible805.com that will explain the final four kings and how they were related. Even for many of us who have read this section repeatedly, it can be a little complex trying to keep them all straight and I think this infographic will help. After the history, we’ll look at how Jeremiah preached starting during the reign of the good king Josiah, through the final four kings of Judah, and after the land was conquered Babylon when he wrote the book of Lamentations. Obediah, may or may not have been written at the same time. The book talks about the fall of Edom, the nation south of Israel, populated by the descendants of Jacob’s brother. Regardless of the exact timing, the theme is the same in all three books—how to act when God is judging His people and their world is falling apart.  The message is timeless as we face challenges in our world and personal lives. Link to the www.Biblea805.com entry and free download of the infographic: https://wp.me/pazrJD-LB --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

Is it really OK to ask God “why?” We all have questions like these: Why does God allow evil? Why do evil people get away with things? Why do good people get caught up in the mess others make? In this lesson we’ll look at the prophet Habakkuk and what happened when he not only asked God “Why?” but when he kept asking God when he didn’t like how God answered him the first time. In addition to the basic and yet challenging content of the book, we also look at the book's form, which is a CONVERSATION with God. This is different than the majority of the prophets because for most their writings are a record of God speaking through them. In Habakkuk, it is all about him speaking to God and listening for specific answers to his questions. The lesson goes on to talk about how we can develop a conversational nature with our God who talked with His creation in the Garden of Eden and who will one day, again physically walk and talk with His redeemed people when all things are renewed. As glorious as that will be, we can grow in that kind of relationship with Him now. Link to the blog and PDF of the notes and questions: https://wp.me/pazrJD-La --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

The best-selling book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People totally revolutionized the lives of millions of people and one of the habits he talked about is a great summary of our lesson today. The habit I’m talking about is Habit #2—Begin With the End in Mind The prophets who preached after the fall of Israel and before Judah was conquered by Babylon preached to challenge people to do this. We will briefly talk about 3 prophets Micah, Isaiah, and Zephaniah, and how they encouraged people to live with the end in mind. There are several related topics we also cover including how Christianity is a linear religion unlike many Eastern ones with a clear beginning of planet Earth and also a clear end. Related to this is the reality that our lives have a clear ending where we will meet Jesus and not vague reincarnation where people imagine a series of do-overs. We also talk about judgment and rewards. The prophets and the point of this lesson is that we have ONE opportunity in this life to determine the outcome of our eternity and we want everyone to as C.S. Lewis says, "choose the right side." Below are links to the podcast and video of the lesson, plus a PDF of the notes. Link to Bible805 PDF of notes: https://wp.me/pazrJD-L2 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

When God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, they met God at Mt. Sinai and there God not only gave them the 10 Commandments and His other laws for how to live, but He offered them a covenant, an agreement with Him that if they would obey and follow His commands, they would be His people, His treasured possession who He would bless. He also told them that if they did not follow His laws and worship Him only that God would discipline them, life would not go well for them, and if they persisted in their sin, they would be removed from the land. He set forth the terms of His covenant clearly and the people enthusiastically agreed to it. An additional part of this lesson goes into a timeline of when the people agreed to the covenant with God and the importance of that timing as a foundation for the legitimacy of the challenges of the prophets. But their obedience was short-lived, and their remaining history was one of alternating between times of obedience and blessing and times of oppression and judgment. To call them back to Himself and the covenant they promised to keep, God sent His prophets, who again and again warned them of the consequences of disobedience, and again and again, they disobeyed. This lesson is a story of how God finally deals with Israel, and they are conquered by Assyria, never to a nation again. Yet God doesn’t give up on them and this lesson talks about that also. Link to the links and video of this lesson: https://wp.me/pazrJD-Kz --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

Just before Hosea appears, God sent the prophet Amos to condemn the sins of Israel. Amos preached forceful, harsh messages for about 3 years. With Hosea God gives his people a similar message that they have violated his covenant and judgment is coming, but in a very different way. In Hosea, his overall message is of God’s incredible love for His people, no matter how badly they treated him. The book is an excellent rebuttal to those who say that the Old Testament God is one of vengeance and hurtful actions. In addition to that, the book is a challenge to us because to show people His love, God used Hosea to live out his message of love with a wife who was unfaithful to him. God uses people to show His messages to the world and it isn’t always easy for the people being used in this way. The book is also an encouragement if you feel God has you in a situation you’d rather not be in. He may be using you to teach a lesson that will be a blessing to many, even though at this present time it gives you great pain. We learn a lot from this book, not only about the history of Israel, but how God works and how we must keep an eternal viewpoint in mind, realizing much in this life won’t make sense, though we need to trust God regardless. One day our pain will end, God’s purposes will be clear, and we can rejoice with Hosea that we trusted our God. Below are links to the blog & notes, podcast, video, and Bible805 Resources on the lesson: Blog and notes of the Lesson: https://wp.me/pazrJD-JX --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

Reading the prophets can be confusing and to help, and Bible805 did a preliminary lesson to help you understand them, CLICK HERE to go to it. As I was preparing this section on the prophets, especially as you start to read Isaiah, I realized that an explanation of two more things are very important to keep in mind as we study the prophets as we go through the Bible. They are: The prophet’s expansive view of time The prophet’s expansive view of God’s sovereignty, His requirements, love, and plans permeating ALL of life In this lesson, I’ll clarify these 2 characteristics in order to help your study of the individual books because they can be confusing and overwhelming if you don’t. Of special importance is that you understand God’s view of time and a copy of the chart that helps explain it is in the notes, check them out here: https://wp.me/pazrJD-JD --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

The prophet Amos and his message has captivated preachers, reformers, and Christian leaders from the earliest days it was preached until today, particularly with its emphasis on justice. Martin Luther King used it in his I Have a Dream speech where he quoted the verse “Let justice roll down…” from Amos 5:24. And in June 2023 Pope Francis chose “Let justice and peace flow” (citing the book of Amos) as the theme for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which will be on Sept. 1. In this lesson we’ll first look at the meaning of the word justice in the Old Testament and how it is far more than a legal term but about “giving people what they are due, whether punishment or protection or care.” We will confirm Amos as a historical figure through what archeology tells us and then look at his challenges to the people of his time and how they apply to us as followers of God today. In his time sadly there was a “famine for the Words of the Lord,” in both the land and in their religious observances. There was much religious observance and little true obedience to God—similarities we find in our world. Amos tells us how to live in the midst of these challenges. For a transcript of the notes for Amos and links to other materials – https://wp.me/pazrJD-Jv The prophet Amos and his message has captivated preachers, reformers, and Christian leaders from the earliest days it was preached until today, particularly with its emphasis on justice. Martin Luther King used it in his I Have a Dream speech where he quoted the verse “Let justice roll down…” from Amos 5:24. And in June 2023 Pope Francis chose “Let justice and peace flow” (citing the book of Amos) as the theme for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which will be on Sept. 1. In this lesson we’ll first look at the meaning of the word justice in the Old Testament and how it is far more than a legal term but about “giving people what they are due, whether punishment or protection or care.” We will confirm Amos as a historical figure through what archeology tells us and then look at his challenges to the people of his time and how they apply to us as followers of God today. In his time sadly there was a “famine for the Words of the Lord,” in both the land and in their religious observances. There was much religious observance and little true obedience to God—similarities we find in our world. Amos tells us how to live in the midst of these challenges. For a transcript of the notes for Amos and links to other materials – https://wp.me/pazrJD-Jv --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

We all know about the fish swallowing Jonah, but there is more in the book including the answers to these questions: What about people who haven’t heard the gospel if Jesus is the only way to God What do we do about bad people, or when people treat us badly? What does God expect from us as His followers? How should we respond to continuing trials? Answers to these questions and other elated applications are what we will cover in our lesson on Jonah. In addition, we’ll look at the importance of follow-up after someone becomes a Christian. This is inspired by Jonah because world history at that time could have been very different if Jonah hadn’t stomped off with a bad attitude and had stayed to teach the people of Nineveh after their great national repentance. But we’ll never know because Jonah didn’t stay and do what he should have done. That is the last we hear of Jonah, but not the last of Nineveh. They return to their evil, aggressive ways and less than 40 years later conquer Israel, and the nation is destroyed. New believers need follow-up—they need to learn about the God they have trusted for salvation. They need to know HisWord and His ways. The lesson then talks about the importance of follow-up and shares a chart of 5 Assurances of the Disciple of Jesus, a modification of a chart on follow-up that I learned from the Navigator ministry. With this additional lesson, I’m also introducing a series on Discipleship for Bible805, a series of blogs, videos, podcasts, and other materials in addition to going through the Bible in chronological order. Please sign up for the Bible805 newsletter for notifications of new materials on this topic both for your personal spiritual growth and to use in helping others grow in their spiritual lives. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

When people think of the Old Testament prophets, most often two areas come to mind: First, most people think of the prophecies of Jesus’ coming, and though that is important and a significant validation of the truth of the Christian faith, only 2% of prophecies are about the coming of Jesus. Second, many think of the Old Testament prophets as a group of angry old guys railing against evil and the coming final judgment. Though they were frequently angry and did rail against evil, only about 1% of what the prophets talked about was end-time judgment. As you’ll see in this lesson they are about so much more, not only in their messages to the audience of their day, but in the challenges that apply to us in our current lives and as representatives of Jesus. If you are joining us in reading through the Bible in chronological order (for more info on that, go to https://www.Bible805.com) this is an essential lesson for understanding how we will place the prophets in their proper historical context. Link to the website, notes, and charts: https://wp.me/pazrJD-I2 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

After studying the life of David, we couldn’t have a greater contrast between his life as a man “after God’s own heart,” than what we find in his son Solomon. This lesson will show you the solid foundation of Biblical instruction he had, how he started well, but progressively deteriorated into self-indulgent sins that destroyed not only his life but split his nation and condemned it to continual war and trouble throughout Old Testament history. We’ll overview the books he wrote, Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes along with the probable progress of his life as he wrote each one. We will end with the challenge of what a true king should be like, the model of it in our Lord Jesus, and a challenge for how we should live to please Him. Link to website links to podcast, video, other resources, and downloadable notes: https://wp.me/pazrJD-HR --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

The Bible calls David, a man “after God’s own heart.” Thisphrase is part of a sermon of Paul’s in the NT Acts 13:22—where he is talking about the history of Israel, and Paul says, “After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” It’s a goal I think we’d like to describe all our lives and how to do that is what we will cover in this lesson. The most encouraging characteristic about David’s life is that it wasn’t perfect—he sinned, sometimes in big ways that affected not only him but his family and nation. Yet, what made his life commendable to God was that when he sinned, he deeply repented, accepted God’s forgiveness, and moved forward in serving Him. We can learn a lot from him as all our lives have ups and downs, times of sin, and goodness as we progress to become all our Lord wants us to be—this lesson will help you in that. Link to blog and downloadable handouts: https://wp.me/pazrJD-HI --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support