Bible Seminar Bridge Course September 2010 James Galatians 1 ...

Bible Seminar Bridge Course September 2010 James
Galatians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians James G. McCarthy
© 2010 Lesson 1
Bible Seminar Bridge Course Introduction
The Bible Seminar curriculum is currently under development. When
completed, there will be twelve courses in the series. Each course will
have thirteen classes. Students will be able to study the Bible from
Genesis to Revelation, one book at a time, in approximately chronological
order. Materials for each book will include an introduction, an outline, a
key verse to memorize, a series of study questions, and instruction in
Bible study techniques. In the Old Testament, students will read
approximately eleven chapters each week and answer ten to twelve questions.
Psalms will be studied in five sections, corresponding to its five books.
In the New Testament, students will read four chapters each week and answer
sixteen to twenty questions. Homework assignments will require a minimum of
three hours.
Recent changes in the structure of the material require that we offer a
course to bridge students from old curriculum to new curriculum. In this
bridge course, students will study six books of the New Testament.
1. James-Probably the first book of the New Testament to have been
written, the purpose of this book was to exhort Jewish Christians
living outside Israel to demonstrate their faith through good works
and righteous living.
2. Galatians-Paul's sternest letter, he wrote this book to rebuke the
Christians in Galatia for embracing a false gospel of justification
by faith plus works.
3. 1 Thessalonians-Paul wrote this letter to the fledgling church in
Thessalonica to exhort them to live godly lives and to explain
events associated with the Lord's return for His church and the
judgments on earth to follow.
4. 2 Thessalonians-Paul wrote this letter to correct confusion about
the timing of the Day of the Lord.
5. 1 Corinthians-In this letter, Paul rebukes the Corinthians for bad
behavior in four areas and answers six questions with which they
had been struggling.
6. 2 Corinthians-In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul defends
himself against a growing number of critics. Students who successfully complete this bridge course and who have
completed the two courses offered at Grace Bible Chapel in the fall of 2009
and spring of 2010 will be given credit for Bible Seminar courses VIII, IX,
and X. Bible Seminar
Course Overview |Course |Bible Seminar Course Curriculum |
|Number | |
|I |Genesis 1-11; Job; Genesis 12-50; Exodus |
|II |Leviticus; Numbers; Deuteronomy; Joshua |
|III |Judges; Ruth; 1 Samuel; 2 Samuel; Psalms I |
|IV |1 Chronicles; Psalms II; 1 Kings 1-11; Ecclesiastes; 2 Chronicles|
| |1-9; Proverbs; Psalms III |
|V |Psalms IV; Song of Solomon; 1 Kings 12-22; Joel; 2 Kings; Jonah; |
| |2 Chronicles 10-36; Psalms V |
|VI |Amos; Micah; Hosea; Isaiah; Nahum; Zephaniah; Habakkuk; Jeremiah |
| |1-33 |
|VII |Jeremiah 34-52; Lamentations; Obadiah; Ezekiel; Daniel; Ezra; |
| |Haggai; Zechariah; Esther; Nehemiah; Malachi |
|VIII |Gospel of Luke; Acts 1:1-14:28; James; Galatians; Acts 15:1-35 |
|IX |Acts 15:36-18:22; 1 Thessalonians; 2 Thessalonians; Acts |
| |18:23-20:3; 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians; Romans |
|X |Matthew; Acts 20:3-28:31; Ephesians; Colossians; Philippians; |
| |Philemon |
|XI |Mark; First Timothy; First Peter; Titus; Second Timothy; Second |
| |Peter; Hebrews; Jude |
|XII |John; 1 John; 2 John; 3 John; Revelation | Course Requirements
When completed, each Bible Seminar course will be fourteen weeks long. This
bridge course, however, will meet for only thirteen weeks. A table listing
the classes and dates is below. In preparation for each lesson, students
should read the assigned chapters and answer the assigned questions. A
Microsoft Word file of the course is available for students who would
prefer to complete homework assignments on a computer. There is no written
homework for Lesson 1. Bible Seminar Bridge Course
Schedule |Lesson |Date |Topic |
|1 |September 8 |Introduction-No Homework Due |
|2 |September 15 |James 1-5 |
|3 |September 22 |Galatians 1-3 |
|4 |September 29 |Galatians 4-6 |
|5 |October 6 |1 Thessalonians 1-5 |
|6 |October 13 |2 Thessalonians 1-3 |
|7 |October 20 |1 Corinthians 1-4-Midterm |
| | |Review |
|8 |October 27 |1 Corinthians 5-10 |
|9 |November 3 |1 Corinthians 11-13 |
|10 |November 10 |1 Corinthians 14-16 |
|11 |November 17 |2 Corinthians 1-7 |
|12 |December 1 |2 Corinthians 8-13 |
Class Formats
The class will meet weekly for ninety minutes each week. This time will be
divided between lecture and discussion. Instructors usually choose one of
the following two formats. |Typical Class Formats |
| Format A | Format B |
| | |
|7:00 p.m. Lecture 1 |7:00 p.m. Lecture 1 |
|7:25 p.m. Discussion Groups |7:30 p.m. Discussion Groups & |
|7:50 p.m. Break & Refreshments |Refreshments |
|8:10 p.m. Lecture 2 |8:00 p.m. Lecture 2 |
|8:30 p.m. End |8:30 p.m. End |
Lesson Seven will include a review. The format for that class will be
slightly different. | Review Class Format |
| |
|7:00 p.m. Lecture |
|7:30 p.m. Class Discussion |
|7:50 p.m. Midcourse Review |
|8:30 p.m. End | It is important that students arrive early for class, so that instruction
can begin on time.
Graduation Requirements
To successfully complete this course, a student must:
. complete all reading assignments
. complete and turn in all homework assignments, performing them at
the students personal ability level
. attend class each week, not missing more than three classes Lesson 2
Bible Seminar Bridge Course James 1-5
James is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Jacob. It was a popular name
among the Jews, because of its association with Jacob of the book of
Genesis, also known as Israel, the father of the Jewish nation. As such, it
is not surprising to find several men named James in the New Testament. It
mentions four.
. "James the son of Zebedee" (Matthew 4:21), one of the twelve
apostles and brother of the apostle John. He was the first apostle
to die. Herod put him to death by the sword in about 44 ad (Acts
12:1-2).
. "James the son of Alphaeus" (Matthew 10:3), also one of the Twelve,
known as "James the Less" (Mark 15:40).
. The father of "Judas the son of James" (Luke 6:16). James' son was
one of the twelve apostles, not Judas Iscariot, but the other
Judas.
. "James, the Lord's brother" (Matthew 13:55; Galatians 1:19), or
more precisely, His half-brother
Acts 1:13-14 refers to all four of these men named James.
The author of the Letter of James is most likely the Lord's half-brother.
Though initially skeptical about Jesus' claims to be the Christ (Mark 3:21;
John 7:5), James later came to faith in Him, possibly as a result of the
Lord's appearance to him soon after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7,
assuming that the "James" referred to in this verse is the Lord's brother).
Following the Lord's ascension, we find James in the upper room in prayer
with the apostles (Acts 1:13-14). He later became a leader in the church in
Jerusalem (Acts 12:17; 15:13; Galatians 1:19; 2:9; 2:12).
James addresses his letter to Jewish Christians living in regions outside
Israel, mainly the result of earlier conquests, some by the Assyrians (722
bc), more by the Babylonians (586 bc), others during the Greek period (332-
134 bc), yet others following Roman conquest (63 bc). Jews living outside
the Jewish homeland are sometimes referred to as the Diaspora, from the
Greek word for scattering or sowing. James begins his letter, writing,
"James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve
tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings" (James 1:1). The phrase
translated here "who are dispersed abroad," reads in the Greek, "in the
diaspora." This word occurs in two other places in the New Testament. The
first is in