Showing results by author "Christian History Institute" in All Categories

Luke is the story of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. It tells of his origin, life, teachings, ministry, and miracles. It tells of his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. Consequently, Luke may be the most informative book in the Bible. Before writing his book, Luke examined written materials and talked to eyewitnesses. Eyewitness Bible Series: Luke is meant to imitate some of the stories Luke might have heard, as well as explore their meaning and importance. This series is true to the Bible, but fills in storylines based on history, geography, and imagination.

A purpose of the Eyewitness Bible Series: Acts is to tell some of the information of the book of Acts from different vantage points. Luke said that he made a careful investigation of the facts before writing Luke and Acts. His three primary sources of information probably were his own experiences, written sources, and talking to people who were personally involved. Eyewitness Bible Series: Acts illustrates the stories that he might have heard from a dozen of the characters featured in the book of Acts.

The New Testament starts with the three Gospel books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These three are known as the Synoptic Gospels. Gospel means “Good News,” and Synoptic refers to the fact that all three give an account of the same general events from the same point of view. The fourth book, John, is distinctly different from the three Synoptic Gospels and includes much information not in the other three Gospels. The four Gospels differ in what stories they include and how the stories are told. None of the four Gospels are meant to be a complete, detailed life of Jesus.

Revelation was likely the last book of the New Testament to be written and was placed last in the New Testament. It was probably written in the 80s or 90s AD by the Apostle John while he was exiled on the Island of Patmos. The apocalyptic imagery in Revelation makes the book difficult to understand and open to a wide variety of interpretations. Some believe the book describes events of John’s time, others believe it describes portions of the history of the Roman empire, while others believe it describes events that still have yet to occur.

James was possibly the first New Testament book written, probably penned in the very late 40s AD. It is generally accepted that the book was written by James, the leader of the Jerusalem Church, also known as James the brother of Jesus. From the very first, some people objected to having James in the New Testament. Martin Luther pushed for its exclusion (as well as some other books) because he thought it crossed some Protestant doctrines.

The most casual listener soon recognizes the majority of the writings of the Old Testament have to do with the history of the Israelites (also known as Hebrews or Jews). Embedded in the Old Testament is a wealth of knowledge about God and his character, books of poetry and proverbs, and a host of prophecies. Genesis & Job describes the creation of Earth, gives the history of all mankind, and describes a brief history of the Israelite nation from its beginning until it moves to Egypt.

This entry of the Eyewitness Bible Series explores the birth of Jesus and is designed to be listened to on the three Sundays prior to Christmas week, plus the seven days of Christmas week, ending on Christmas Day. Each segment is told from the perspective of a different individual: the prophet Isaiah, a Magi, Elizabeth, Mary's mother, Mary, Joseph, a tax collector, King Herod, a shepherd, and an angel.

The Promised Land Series covers the books in the Bible from Exodus to Judges. These books describe events from the birth of Moses to the end of the era of the judges of Israel. In Genesis, God promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan, so Canaan became known as The Promised Land. Modern Israel and Palestine encompass the majority of Canaan. Abraham’s grandson was Jacob, whose name was changed to “Israel” by God. His descendants became known as the Hebrews or Israelites.

There is treasure hidden in Paul’s thirteen letters, but the path to find it is not obvious. Here is a tip: in the Bible, Paul’s letters are not sequenced in chronological order. The Bible rarely gives us specific dates about events it addresses, which can be frustrating for modern audiences.

Few Christians have a deep understanding of the Old Testament kings of Israel or the prophets and their messages. The purpose of this series is to allow anybody to quickly gain a better understanding of those things as well as an appreciation of how that information is relevant today. The Old Testament prophets were real people who proclaimed important messages from God that have stayed true for thousands of years. Jesus and the apostles thought the kings and prophets were important, so we should too. Their truths stand important today.

This entry in the fascinating behind-the-scenes Eyewitness Bible Series studies the people and stories that are bedrock to the Christian faith as presented in Hebrews, First and Second Peter, First, Second, and Third John, and Jude. Surprisingly little information is known about the letters in this series. The exact dates of all of them are unknown, and the author of Hebrews is disputed. Even the target audience of each of these letters is broadly described, if described at all.