Alva Review-Courier -

Hebrews 11 is about faith, beginning with a definition. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Is faith important? Verse 6 says, “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God, must...

Last week we read about baptism defined as immersion in water. We also read about the purpose of baptism: Jesus said “he who believes and is baptized shall be saved” and Paul said “repent and be baptized for forgiveness of sins.” Both Peter and Pau...

Baptism is a word that is often misunderstood. The word as used in the New Testament refers to immersion. The original word, instead of being translated as immersion, was transliterated from baptizo to baptism. Today sprinkling or pouring water over...

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5-7. This was His first teaching for those He had chosen to become His apostles, and for those who were following Him wanting to know more. They were followers because of His abil...

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 signals a change in what people thought was acceptable to God. The old law, the Law of Moses, that Jews of Jesus’ day knew so well was about to be nailed to the Cross. The people were expecting and hoping for a...

In Matthew 4 Jesus begins His ministry of teaching and healing. Just prior to this He was baptized by John the Baptist, tempted in the wilderness, and starts choosing His apostles. People are coming from everywhere to be healed. In chapter 5 Jesus...

There are many, many prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus, the Messiah. There were promises of blessings to Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac in Genesis. There are many more that are more specific in other places. Isaiah 7:14 “The virgin will c...

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” God had a plan from before creation. He chose His people to bring Christ into the world. He chose the time Christ would be born. He was promised for cen...

There were many Old Testament prophets who were sent to bring the Israelites back to God. The people and the kings would forget who God was and what He had done for them and follow after someone else’s idols. Moses warned them about this from the b...

Noah lived at a time when there were no righteous men left of his generation. The world was full of evil. The Lord saw “that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” Noah was the exception. Noah found favor in...

David was called a man after God’s own heart. From the first encounter with David, we see his great faith and trust in God. He knows God will be with him as he faces Goliath. Later as he is being pursued by King Saul, David refuses to harm God’s ano...

“Choose this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, divided the land among the 12 tribes and established them there. Numerous times he told them to “be strong and courageous to do according to all...

Moses was revered by the Jewish nation during Jesus’ lifetime. He was remembered as a great leader and as the man who brought the Old Testament law, or Law of Moses from Mt. Sinai to the people. He led the 12 tribes of Israel out of bondage in E...

Last week we looked at the promises God gave to Abraham. He repeated those promises to his son Isaac, and his son Jacob. The first century Jews were very aware of their heritage and their lineage. They knew they were God’s chosen people from the t...

Abraham was revered by the Israelite nation from the time of Moses leading the twelve tribes out of Egypt through the time of Christ. Abraham was the grandfather of Jacob who was the father of the 12 tribes. In Genesis 12 Abraham is given a promise...

Last week we looked at the Creation and the Creator beginning in Genesis. This week in Genesis we will look at Adam and Eve and the first encounter with evil, with Satan. Satan, in the form of a serpent, tempts Eve and she fails the test. Then Adam f...

This past year we read through the Bible. We read about 40-50 pages per week and did not really spend much time on lessons to be learned. For the next few weeks, we will go back and think a little deeper about what we have read. Genesis 1:1, “In t...

We set out to read through the Bible in one year and to read the Bible for one year. This week we will read First John through the book of Revelation. We have read all of the Old Testament and will have read the New Testament twice. From creation to...

We are nearing the end of our reading through the Bible. This week we will finish the Old Testament by reading the books of Obadiah through Malachi. These are all prophets sent by God to bring His people back to Him. These prophets have a little...

We will be reading Paul’s epistles from Ephesians through Philemon this week. Paul was always an encourager, a teacher, a man of prayer, and wished for all to be obedient Christians. He wrote to correct problems in the church and to correct false t...

Daniel, Hosea, Joel and Amos are the books of the Old Testament we will read this week. These are all prophets of God, speaking truth to the Israelites and in some cases other nations. Each book is a little different. Daniel interprets his own...

Paul was an encourager. He wrote letters to churches to help them grow spiritually. This week we will read I and II Corinthians. Corinth was a center of trade and a crossroads of cultures, and as a result the church had challenges in uniting for the...

This week we will read Romans and Galatians. These are both letters from Paul. Paul was educated in the law of Moses and the traditions of the Jews. His mission was to preach Christ to the gentiles, the non-Jews. With his background and knowledge...

In Ezekiel, chapters 25 through 48, he continues the prophecy of God. In the first few chapters, Ezekiel is warning the Israelites what to expect if they do not repent and return to doing God’s will. The last few chapters are a warning of things t...

We will go back to the Old Testament and read the first 24 chapters of Ezekiel this week. Ezekiel was a prophet who lived about the same time as Jeremiah and gave many of the same warnings to the Israelites. Ezekiel speaks the Words of God, and also...