Updating...
The Jews of Jesus’ day lived in homes meant to house an entire extended family, with several rooms situated around a common courtyard. A family’s home in that patriarchal society was known as a “beth ab,” which means, &ldqu...
When the disciples arrived with Jesus in Jerusalem, they marveled at the unbelievable beauty of the Lord’s temple. According to the Bible, the original temple built by Solomon was also absolutely stunning. And yet, in both cases it wasn't en...
When the believers began to bring the message of the gospel to the world of the Gentiles, they quickly realized that their faith made them extremely countercultural. How would they explain the good news in places where they couldn't engage in the ...
The apostle Paul was no stranger to the duties of a rabbi, having studied under one of the most famous rabbis in Israel before becoming one himself. He understood exactly what Jesus meant before His ascension, when He commanded the church to go ou...
The Lord defied the gods of Egypt with mighty displays of power so that Israel, Egypt, Pharaoh, and ultimately the entire world would see the strength of the one and only God. Pharaoh hardened his heart, but the Israelites responded to the power o...
God desired a people who would partner with Him in bringing shalom to the chaos of a broken, hurting world. Israel experienced a taste of the peace He brings when He rescued them out of Egypt. In this lesson, you will continue on the road of the e...
Psalm 78 says that God led his people Israel "like sheep through the desert." Their wanderings through the Sinai provide a striking image of God's leading in our lives today. In this lesson, you will follow God's people through this barr...
During their forty years of testing in the desert, God continued to teach and shape the Israelite nation. By the time they entered the Promised Land, a new generation had formed, a people who obeyed and trusted God with all their heart, soul, and ...
The Bible compares those who trust in the word of the Lord to great trees planted by streams of water. What would this image mean to someone living in the desert, where water is scarce and trees are few and far between? Is it possible to live out ...
Sheep and shepherds were so much a part of the Biblical world, it's no wonder Jesus uses the imagery as a metaphor in several of His teachings. The shepherds of His day knew every one of the animals in their flock by sight and spent their lives pr...
The Colosseum in Rome is famous for many reasons, not least of which because it was built by the spoils of war from the destruction of Jerusalem, the military defeat of the Jews. In the Roman world, it was assumed that if Caesar was...
Jesus came with a unique message, preaching to the Jewish people that “the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17). But from the beginning, there was another king who hates the shalom that God creates and loves life’...
When the time came for God to choose a people, He didn’t pick the strongest kingdom He could find. He chose the weak, the nobodies – a family that would become the nation of Israel. God rescued them from Egypt and brought them into the...
When questioned about his message, Paul tells the Athenians that the one and only God "does not live in temples made with hands" (Acts 17:24). Naturally, anyone who was curious about Jesus in the Greco-Roman world would ask the early bel...
WHAT S YOUR MISSION?God gave the assignment to His people thousands of years ago: to bring "lost sheep" back into the love and safety of His kingdom. He said to become a "Kingdom of Priests," and put God on display to show the ...
Are you going through a difficult period of life? The loss of a loved one? Unemployment? A crisis of faith? During these desert times, it's easy to think God has disappeared. In this six-session video series, the 12th volume of the Faith Lessons s...
Faith Lesson Discovery Guides are designed to interact with and support the video sessions. A group outline and video discussion segments are provided for the weekly meeting, plus five days of personal reflection and study between the video sessio...
This guide is designed to interact with and support the video sessions. A group outline and video discussion segments are provided for the weekly meeting, plus five days of personal reflection and study between the video sessions.In With All Your ...
When the Israelites left Egypt, they were finally free. Free from persecution, free from oppression, and free to worship their own God. But with that freedom comes a new challenge learning how to live together the way God intends. In this ninth vo...
Discover how God answers the cry of His persecuted people and proclaims himself LORD to them and their oppressors in this eighth volume of Faith Lessons.Thirty personal Bible studies help you deepen your learningexperience between sessions, and tu...
Are you passionate about your walk with Jesus? Why is it often easier to be excited about hobbies, sports, homes, and occupations than about our faith? Walk As Jesus Walked: Making Disciples, a small group video series curriculum, presents teacher...
Five interactive sessions take you on a journey to the land and culture in which the disciples learned to follow Jesus, their Rabbi, so closely that they were covered by the dust kicked up by his feet. Discover how you can get dusty and be closer ...
The Early Church Discovery Guide contains questions for discussion and reflection, making it an ideal companion to the Early Church video series - the fifth volume of the "That the World May Know" series. You'll discover the passion and ...
Faith Lessons by Ray Vander Laan illuminate the historical, geographical, and cultural context of the sacred Scriptures. The Death & Resurrection of the Messiah Discovery Guide focuses on Scripture explored in the videos, and includes sidebars, ma...
This series by Ray Vander Laan illuminates the historical, geographical, and cultural context of the sacred Scriptures. The Life & Ministry of the Messiah Discovery Guide focuses on Scripture explored in the videos, and includes sidebars, maps, ph...
The Prophets & Kings Discovery Guide contains questions for discussion and reflection, making it an ideal companion to the Prophets & Kings video series. You'll explore the turbulent history of Israel's prophets and kings and learn from their stor...
The Promised Land Discovery Guide contains questions for discussion and reflection on Scripture passages explored in the videos, the first volume of the "That the World May Know" series. Discover how God guided his people to a specific p...
The people of the Bible used cisterns regularly for their water supply. Rainfall was limited, coming only five months of the year from November through March. People would dig pits into the rock, sometimes entirely underground (as in the cistern a...
God created human beings with the ability, even the deep need, to be in relationship with Him. When Adam and Eve sinned, they broke the friendship between God and his creatures. So God developed a plan of salvation that would restore His children ...
The Decapolis is mentioned by name only three times in the New Testament. In addition to these three instances, on at least two other occasions, Jesus visited specific locations in the largely pagan league of cities to the east of the Sea of Galil...
A Galilean BoatThis replica has been constructed based on the remains of a first-century boat found recently in the mud of the Sea of Galilee.It is considered to represent the type of boat the disciples used for fishing and in their travels across...
This room was the center of family life. It was probably used for eating, for storing food, and for socializing with extended family. Guests could be invited in if the weather was inappropriate for dining outdoors in the courtyard.A small wooden t...
This kitchen is near the door of the house. A domed oven has been reconstructed; it was probably used for heating and cooking when the weather was cold. There would be similar ovens outside for use at other times.The outer part of the oven gathere...
Throughout Bible times, the burial ritual was regarded as very important. Jesus, sharing fully in our humanity (Heb. 2:14), was given a typical, though hurried, burial. Understanding the burial customs and practices of first-century Israel can hel...
Jesus disciples, the ones he called into a relationship with him as talmidim, made such an impact on the province of Asia Minor-the most pagan of all the Roman provinces, that it became the most Christian province in the Roman Empire. Jesus desire...
Hellenism the dominant worldview in the first century, stands in stark contrast to the truths of God found in the Bible. Hellenism Biblical Perspective Human beings are the image of gods. Only God is God. He is the Lord of the Univers...
In the Middle East, floods in the desert are a frequent occurrence because of the topography of the land. The mountains to the north of the Negev and to the west of the Judea Wilderness get significant amounts of rainfall during the short rainy se...
An Aramaic word for father, used by Jesus and Paul to address God in a relation of personal intimacy.