The Bible is a big book, containing around three-quarters of a million words. It’s easy to get lost in its pages. Readers often wonder what the Old Testament has to do with the New Testament and what Leviticus has to do with anything!
I have the privilege of co-teaching a class on how it all fits together, and I’m doing it with one of my favorite teachers: Kevin Looper. Kevin is an awesome teacher. His knowledge of the Old Testament, of original biblical languages and, even more, his love of the Bible and profound commitment to Jesus, make him the ideal teacher for this class.
As a pastor, I’ve known many sincere people who simply don’t have a solid grasp of what the Bible is about, which is to say, what God is doing in the world. Some only read the New Testament. Some only read the Gospels. And occasionally I meet someone who spends all their time in the Old Testament. A poor understanding of the entire message of the Bible inevitably leads to a narrow, culturally colored view of God.
So, Kevin and I are teaching a class on how it fits together. This, of course, means that we must leave a great deal out. Our goal is not to be exhaustive (which would be exhausting for class members and is more than we are qualified to do) but to be informative and helpful in bringing together the great passages of the Bible to understand God’s ongoing work with humanity.
Each Sunday, throughout the duration of the class, I will post a video session of the class. We will discuss the high points of revelation – Creation, the Fall, the Call of Abraham, etc. – in their context. We will then see how they contribute to the overall biblical message and how they connect to Jesus.
Hope you enjoy! If you have comments, please share them to make the class even better.
Please consider authoring a small book around this content. I’ve been looking for a resource like this for years. I was fortunate that I was saved in a church that had a library with commentaries and systematic theology books. It’s a challenge to put “it all together” without some good helps. As a voluntary chaplain at my county jail, this is a very real problem – the guys don’t have a simple resource that can help them with the overall story of the Bible.
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Terry, I would like to do that with Kevin, who is a capable scholar and teacher. Don’t know if time will allow, but I’ve spoken to him about it and perhaps, when we have worked through all the class notes, it will be something that is doable. Thanks for the suggestion.
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