Course Offerings

The book Maturity with God: Lessons from the Life of Jeremiah is not a study of the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, although it uses that book extensively. Rather it is a study of Jeremiah’s maturing process as he interacts with God. Through this interaction, God causes Jeremiah to eventually become a prophet useful for His purpose. The book’s Introduction says, “This book seeks to highlight God’s shaping of Jeremiah in such a way as to allow Jeremiah to make his specific contribution to God’s eternal plan. Jeremiah might be one of the best examples of a man laid hold of by God, a man who journeys with God to become the person God requires.” As we go through this book together, we will see many encouraging parallels to God’s dealing with us as He makes us fit for His use today.

This nine-week course is designed to equip participants with the essential principles for living a steadfast Christian life while eagerly awaiting the return of Christ. The curriculum will guide participants through key themes in the Old Testament and other biblical passages. We will study the lives of specific people so that we can have a practical and joyful understanding of what it means to be a faithful follower of Christ preparing for His return.

Course description:

1. How to pronounce and read the Hebrew Bible in an efficient way.

2. Study Psalm 51 in Hebrew with the aid of Bible resources

The prophetic books of the Old Testament contain some of the most awe-inspiring, confronting and compelling passages in the entire Bible. From their uncompromising proclamation of God’s work in salvation and judgement to their incessant and pressing calls for social justice, they speak with a power and urgency which continues to challenge the Church and its witness in the world today. Yet many Christians remain confused and frustrated by these works. They are full of dramatic imagery whose meaning is not always clear. Sometimes there appears to be little rhyme or reason in the flow of their thought. They include numerous references to events from Israel’s history and life, the significance of which we do not grasp. It is perhaps little wonder, therefore, that the prophets are so frequently misunderstood and misapplied by many within the Church, conservative and liberal alike. (Aaron Chalmers, Interpreting the Prophets, 2015:1)

This class is not a description or an overview of the Old Testament prophets. Instead, we will cover keys for how to read the prophets, giving us the tools and framework to discover the riches of the prophets for ourselves. This class is seeking to make fishermen, rather than merely giving the fish.

Isaiah is possibly the most “New Testament” of Old Testament books. Written about 700 years before Christ’s birth, it prophesies the virgin birth, the tender humanity of Jesus, His ministry under the anointing of the Spirit, His death for redemption, His resurrection, and the building of the church based on Him as the cornerstone. As literature, the book is written beautifully. The imagery is dreamy. The depictions are vivid. Isaiah might be the best written, most consequential writing ever. We will study it. We will taste it. We will learn Christ from these beautiful words.

Classes will be lecture style, joining with the regular sharing of the teacher with this year’s Christian internship. There will be a short time for discussion afterwards over Zoom.

“As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!” (Haggai 2:5).

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of Hosts (Zech. 4:6).

Thus declared the prophets Haggai and Zechariah in the latter part of the divine history of God’s dealings with His people, the Israelites, wherein a remnant returned from Babylon to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. For any of God’s people interested in the building up of his church today, the rebukes, encouragements, and visionary scenes of these two prophets are unmatched in their continued relevance in the age of the new covenant. This nine-week class will cover all the prophecies linked to the time of rebuilding, and will feature both lecture and discussion portions.

Daniel holds a unique place among the books of the Old Testament Prophets. In the book we find many well-known and treasured depictions of the happenings of Daniel and those with him during the years of captivity of the nation of Isreal in Babylon. Some of these stories include: Daniel refusing to eat the food of his captives that was against God’s order for His people; Daniel’s companions overcoming the fiery furnace for refusing to participate in idolatry; and Daniel escaping the punishment of death by the lion’s den. In addition to these encouraging stories that inspire faith in the people of God today, the book also covers many unique visions that the Lord gave to Daniel during this time: Visions related to the Lord’s move on the earth with His people and the coming Christ, following the rise and fall of empires and nations of the world, and that will see God’s plan and purpose ultimately fulfilled in the end of days. During this course of the winter semester of the Sweet Savor Bible School participants will have an intentional and succinct look at the book of Daniel that will primarily cover these two aspects of the book during the study.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Visuals portray insights, emotions, and details that words cannot adequately express. Ezekiel’s visions in particular explained God’s message / prophecy to His people in a practical and easily appliable way. How do you study visions? Draw it yourself. In this class, each student will be asked to draw each of the 6 major visions and then to explain their drawing to the other students. The best of the drawings will be collected and put into book format. The printed book will be made available to everyone in the class.

Paul’s epistle to the Galatians is the most severe of his epistles. In no other epistle does he call the recipients of his epistles “foolish.” In no other epistle does he publicly rebuke two of his fellow apostles, and subtly implicate a third. In no other epistle does he refer to certain brothers as “false,” smuggled in to “spy out” the “freedom” that others enjoyed in Christ. In no other epistle does he call these ones “dogs.” Who were these people? How did they exercise such a strong influence on the churches? What provoked Paul’s ire? Join us as we embark on a nine week journey to diagnose the spiritual malady that afflicted not only one church, but a cluster of churches, that threatened to pervert the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and reduce the Christian faith to a sect of Judaism. The epistle to the Galatians is a catalyst that determines the direction and continuity of the Christian faith. It is the first of the four seminal epistles of Paul (Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians), known as the “heart of the divine revelation.” Without Galatians, we would not have the adequate revelation of the church (Ephesians). Nor the proper experience of Christ (Philippians), nor the proper revelation of the headship of Christ (Colossians). If Paul’s epistle to the Romans gives us a clear definition of the law and faith, and their respective roles, his epistle to the Galatians goes deeper to lead us into the condition of churches which had begun by the regeneration of the Spirit through faith in Christ, and had been “bewitched” into attempting to live the Christian life by their own works, and the disastrous consequence of living a life of the flesh.

This is a one year (two semester) course, each semester (Fall and Winter) comprising nine weeks. Having examined the first three chapters during the Fall Semester, we will examine the last three chapters during the Winter Semester, with a recap of the first three chapters.

L’épître de Paul aux Galates est la plus sévère de ses épîtres. Dans aucune autre épître il n’appelle les destinataires de ses épîtres « insensés ». Dans aucune autre épître il ne réprimande publiquement deux de ses compagnons apôtres, et n’implique subtilement un troisième. Dans aucune autre épître il ne réfère à certains frères comme étant « faux », introduits en contrebande pour « espionner » la « liberté » dont d’autres jouissaient dans le Christ. Dans aucune autre épître il n’appelle ces personnes « chiens ». Qui étaient ces gens ? Comment exerçaient-ils une si forte influence sur les églises ? Qu’est-ce qui a provoqué la colère de Paul ? Rejoignez-nous alors que nous entreprenons un voyage de neuf semaines pour diagnostiquer le mal spirituel qui a affligé non seulement une église, mais un groupe d’églises, qui menaçait de pervertir le véritable évangile de Jésus-Christ, et de réduire la foi chrétienne à une secte du judaïsme. L’épître aux Galates est un catalyseur qui détermine la direction et la continuité de la foi chrétienne. Elle est la première des quatre épîtres fondamentales de Paul (Galates, Éphésiens, Philippiens et Colossiens), connues comme étant le « cœur de la révélation divine ». Sans Galates, nous n’aurions pas la révélation adéquate de l’église (Éphésiens), ni l’expérience appropriée de Christ (Philippiens), ni la révélation appropriée de la tête qu’est Christ (Colossiens). Si l’épître de Paul aux Romains nous donne une définition claire de la loi et de la foi, et de leurs rôles respectifs, son épître aux Galates va plus en profondeur pour nous introduire dans l’état d’églises qui avaient commencé par la régénération de l’Esprit à travers la foi en Christ, et qui avaient été « ensorcelées » pour tenter de vivre la vie chrétienne par leurs propres œuvres, avec pour conséquence désastreuse de vivre une vie selon la chair.

Ceci est un cours d’un an (deux semestres), chaque semestre (automne et hiver) comprenant neuf semaines. Ayant abordé les trois premiers chapitres pendant le semestre d’automne, nous aborderons les trois derniers chapitres pendant le semestre d'hiver, avec un résumé des trois premiers chapitres.