Gilbert House Fellowship

THE CONCEPTS of holy ground and cosmic geography are behind most of the stories in today's Old Testament study. As we saw in the life of Elijah, God often did things to teach a lesson and/or send a message. In this case, it was the clear message that Israel belongs to Him. Continue reading →

SPIRITUAL WARFARE and the sin of the Watchers are the focus of this week's New Testament study. Peter and Jude were in accord with the letters we read this week, and there is a lot of meat in these four short chapters. Both apostles warned their readers of false prophets who had wormed their way into the church, spreading false doctrine, encouraging the pursuit of physical pleasure, and "blasphemi...

THE DIVINE COUNCIL in action and prophecy is the focus of this week's Old Testament study. Psalm 82 depicts a courtroom scene in the divine council with Yahweh declaring judgment on the lesser gods who "judge unjustly and show partiality … Continue reading →

FAITH AND perseverance are at the heart of today's New Testament study. We conclude the remarkable Book of Hebrews with a discussion of the Old Testament patriarchs who were accounted righteous because of their faith even though they never saw the fulfillment of the promises of God. The command to show hospitality to strangers is also examined in light of recent political developments. Then we mov...

GOD HAS a council that carries out His commands, and this week we get one of the few glimpses into its workings recorded in the Bible. It's the story of Ahab's demise in battle against the Syrians at Ramoth-Gilead, where the king of Israel is enticed by lying spirits to go to his doom. Continue reading →

AGAIN WE find it impossible to get through more than a few chapters of the incredible Book of Hebrews. These chapters systematically make the case for the superiority of Jesus and the new covenant in his blood to the old covenant under the Law given to Moses. It isn't expressed any more clearly in scripture than this: Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for unde...

THE MOST famous confrontation between a prophet of the Lord and prophets of a fallen lesser elohim is at the center of today's study. Of course we're referring to the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Continue reading →

THE SUPREMACY of Jesus is the theme of the Book of Hebrews. This week, we discuss his mission to restore humanity to the divine council, which will culminate in a wonderful scene on the mount of assembly: "I will tell of your name to my brothers;in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." Hebrews 2:12 (ESV) We also begin a discussion that will continue next week on why believers in...

THE TALE of two kingdoms continues in our Old Testament study this week. We get the stories of the northern kings of Israel Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri, and the southern kings of Judah Abijah, Asa, and Jehoshaphat. Continue reading →

ENDURANCE THROUGH suffering. That's the overarching message of the epistle of 1 Peter. But there's a lot more in there that we had forgotten. In his letter to the "exiles" -- which probably meant the Jewish converts outside Israel, but could also mean we Christians living in a world surrounded by the Enemy and their agents -- Peter exhorts women to subject themselves to their husbands, and for hus...

THE DIVISION of the kingdom of Israel is the focus of our Old Testament study this week. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, gets some bad advice from his young friends, not just rejecting the request of the northern tribes for tax relief, but doing so with a rather crude euphemism. Continue reading →

CHURCH LEADERSHIP and proper behavior for Christians is the focus of Paul's letters that we study this week. Timothy had been left in charge of the church Ephesus, while Titus had been left on the island of Crete to shepherd the new church there. Both Timothy and Titus faced challenges; Timothy was a young man charged with guiding older men and women, while Titus worked in a place notorious for it...

ENTANGLEMENTS WITH cares of the world, whether it's business, politics, or personal relationships, can distract us from what we're called to do by God. Continue reading →

OUR STUDY in the New Testament this week focuses on military formations and tactics, although it might not seem that way at first. We cover Ephesians 5 and 6, with a lot of time on the passages that instruct husbands and wives on their relationships to one another and a description of the whole armor of God -- and why those verses describe a holding action and not an attack on the Enemy. Note that...

ANOTHER BOOK of wisdom attributed to Solomon is our Old Testament study this week. The collected sayings of "the Preacher" are generally gloomy, but only in that they remind us of the folly of pursuing material things apart from God. Continue reading →

LETTERS FROM Paul in Rome are the focus of this week's New Testament study, and there is a lot of meat here. Paul addressed errant teachings that threatened to undermine the gospel of salvation by grace through faith at Colossae and Ephesus. It appears some teachers had arrived preaching that Gentiles needed to follow the Law of Moses to be saved. Paul was very direct about that: Therefore let no...

PROVERBS OF Solomon copied at the direction of King Hezekiah are the focus of our Old Testament study this week. Themes include the wisdom of accepting correction, the foolishness of contending with fools, and the happiness that results from pursuing righteousness instead of wealth. Continue reading →

PAUL TRAVELED to Rome in A.D. 60, but not the way he would have wanted.  Getting a ride on an Alexandrian grain ship, the biggest vessels crossing the Mediterranean Sea in the 1st century, Paul and his traveling companions, which included Luke and Aristarchus among the 276 people aboard the ship, suffered through a storm that blew them off course and left them adrift for a couple weeks. They final...

PRAISE THE Lord! That's the theme of the Psalms in today's Old Testament study. We examine a half dozen psalms of praise and find divine council language, making it clear that the psalmists knew that other gods existed, but only one God, Yahweh, created all the rest. Continue reading →

PAUL RETURNS to Jerusalem in this week's study, as we return to Luke's historical account of Paul's journey, in spite of warnings from believers from Asia to Judea that he would be arrested and possibly killed.  But Paul already knew that, since he'd been warned by the Holy Spirit that this is what God had in store for him. We also discuss Paul's teachings for Christian living to the church at Rom...

THE CONSECRATION of the Temple on Mount Zion is the focus of this week's Old Testament study. Solomon prays a prayer of dedication and asks the Lord to always see and hear his people when they call on His Name for forgiveness. Continue reading →

IT IS appropriate (and unplanned -- by us, anyway), but appropriate -- that our last New Testament study before the U.S. presidential election includes Romans 13:1-7. It is a command to Christians to "be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." That's not exactly a message we want to hear, especially after e...

WE RETURN to history in our Old Testament study this week. Our readings describe the process and design of the Temple built by Solomon. Continue reading →

THE RELATIONSHIP between the Law and grace is central to our New Testament study this week. Paul makes it clear that while the Law instructs us on the nature of sin, it does not help us overcome sin. That is the work of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Romans is the longest of Paul's letters, and the one in which he most thoroughly lays out the doctrine of salvation. This is why  the Romans Ro...

WE CONTINUE through the Book of Proverbs in this week's Old Testament study. Included are exhortations to seek and value wisdom, to avoid laziness and women of ill repute, and to train children in the way they should go -- a command that is increasingly out of step with our world today, which is embracing the idea that children should be free to choose their own paths even when they run counter to...