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Pete the fisherman wrote this with the help of Paul’s frequent coworker Silas (1 Peter 5:12) in around 62 AD. This letter provides...

This letter is commonly attributed to James the Just, the son of Joseph and therefore the half-brother of Jesus Christ (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3, Galatians 1:19). (He is frequently confused with James the Apostle, brother of John. However, the letter does not specify which James/Jacob speaks, and it was a common name.) James the Just didn’t believe in Jesus as Messiah until after the Resurrection (John 7:1-5, Acts 1:14, 1 Corinthians 15:7). He was apparently known as “Camel Kn

The next batch of letters were addressed to Jewish Christians. As you recall, they were still zealous for the Law of Moses (Acts 21:20)...

Paul wrote this letter earlier than the Pastoral Epistles to Timothy and Titus, perhaps during his first Roman imprisonment. It is placed...

This letter was from Paul to Titus, who had been sent to appoint and supervise elders, making him the Bishop of Crete. Titus is an...

This letter contains Paul’s farewell instructions to Timothy before being executed. 1:6 Laying on of hands is traditional for...

The letters we’ve studied so far have been to congregations. These next few “pastoral Epistles” are to fellow church leaders and provide...

1:2 Again, grace and shalom are ours up front. 1:3 Again, “Believe” and “Love”. 1:4 See 1 Thessalonians 2:14. 1:5 Again, He is the Vine ,...

Paul spent a few weeks with this young church in the capital city of Macedonia in Acts 17, and they had some follow-up questions. They...

Did you enjoy Ephesians? I hope so, because this letter is a lot like Ephesians. Paul wrote to a church that was planted by Epaphras (who...

Paul wrote this letter to his first European church during his imprisonment in Rome. To remember how this church in Philippi in Macedonia...

Ephesus was a coastal city that the Romans considered the most important in Asia Minor. See the Acts 18 and Acts 19 notes. It was known...

Galatia was a province in what is now modern Turkey that had been settled by Gauls. Think of the French, Swiss, Belgians, etc., living...

The response to 1 Corinthians was bad. The missing “severe letter” mentioned in 2 Corinthians 2:3-4 might be 2 Corinthians 10 through 2...

You can read about this church’s origins in Acts 18. Paul wrote this letter to them on his third missionary journey, probably from Ephesus. There were several letters to this congregation from Paul; for example, see 1 Corinthians 5:9. 1 Corinthians is probably the second letter, and 2 Corinthians is probably the fourth letter. We just finished studying Romans, which is well-polished and thorough in its treatment of religious issues. Romans had to be that way; Paul had yet to

Paul wrote to the Romans on his third missionary journey. As it is a church he had yet to speak to in person, this letter provides a wealth of Paul’s thoughts. That visit he wanted to take that was delayed (Romans 15:22) led to this letter for our edification (Romans 8:28). He later got to preach in Rome for two years (Acts 28:31). Before Paul wrote to the Romans, Emperor Claudius had expelled the Jews from the city of Rome for disputing over “Chrestus”; they returned after h

Acts is the sequel to Luke. Luke and Acts point to what the Holy Spirit did. It was written to (likely rich) Theophilus. The same Lukan emphases of believing in Christ, repenting from cheating financially, putting Jesus before profit, being generous and a good steward of resources, trusting God rather than money, and being humble continue in this installment. The notion of Jesus rising before the General Resurrection (Daniel 12:2) was a very un-Jewish thing to think back then

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels because they share a perspective. The Gospel of John is different. It is too-often dismissed as a spiritualized supplement to other works like Matthew, but its description of Jesus’ three year ministry before the Crucifixion along with the accompanying details about holidays, etc., make John’s timeline more plausible. A supplement wouldn’t need to repeat miracles like the Feeding of the Five Thousand; John’s gospel is an

Luke was a physician who was born a Gentile. He was an associate of Paul. This gospel and Acts are one history book sometimes referred to as “Luke/Acts”. He could have named it for one of the major themes: “What the Holy Spirit Did”. There is a special focus on outsiders like tax collectors, soldiers, and notorious sinners (Luke 3:12-14, Luke 5:27-30, Luke 7:2-10, Luke 15:1, Luke 18:9-14, etc.). The gospels were originally regional: this one was popular in Greece, so Jesus is

Mark (also known as John Mark and Mark the Evangelist) is more involved in the overall story of the Bible than many people think. The Church, including those who walked with Jesus on Earth, hung out at Mark’s house (Acts 12:12). Mark traveled with Barnabas and Paul (Acts 12:25, Acts 13:5, Acts 13:13). Mark is Barnabas’ cousin (Colossians 4:10). Mark and Paul were reconciled by 2 Timothy 4:11. Mark became Peter’s helper (1 Peter 5:13). A first century church “father” named Pap