Course Category Archives: Biblical Studies

The text regularly commends Joshua for his exemplary faith. What can we learn from him for today? The people in Judges seem to forget God and all he values over and over again. What is their spiritual weakness and how can we protect ourselves from making the same mistakes? And then there’s the whole issue of what it seems that God says about how his people should treat the Canaanites. Is our loving God authorizing genocide?? What should we make of this? Is that what the Bible really tells us? What are we to think?

• Time: Wednesday, 6:00-9:00 pm
  Credit: TBA
  Location: Online
  Instructor: Kenneth Cuffey

A survey of the seven churches addressed in Revelation 2-3. A consideration of what we know about each city in the 1st century and how that informs our reading of the book of Revelation. A Clarity in Context course.

This class will meet from Jan 20 to Mar 3 and then resume again on Mar 31.

• Time: Thursday, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
  Credit: 2 hours
  Location: Online
  Instructor: Ken Cuffey

A Clarity in Context Course

What was it like to follow Christ in an epicenter of secular power and false spirituality? Why was Ephesus a strategic center for the Gospel mission of the 1st century church? What can we learn from this for today?

This class offers an introduction to 1st century Ephesus as an early context for the faith of Jesus followers. The church in Ephesus provides a context for us today to think about how to live out our new life in Christ individually and in community. It also provides a paradigm for strategic mission and ministry today. Focusing on everything in the New Testament relating to the city of Ephesus as well as its cultural context, this class will begin by exploring how the church was established in the shadow of paganism and superstition (Acts), then will explore Paul’s letters to the church as a window into understanding our life in Christ (Ephesians, 1 Timothy, and 2 Timothy). From there, the class will examine John’s ministry and the letter to Ephesus in Revelation.

• Time: Thursday, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
  Credit: 3 hours
  Location: Online
  Instructor: Ken Cuffey

How did God launch his mission to reach the world and what does it imply for the church today? An exposition of the Book of Acts: text, history, geography, theology, and application to life.

[Note: This course is also helpful preparation for the Footsteps of Paul tour of Turkey and Greece, October 10 – 22, 2021]

• Time: Tuesday, 6:00-9:00
  Credit: 3 hours
  Location: Online
  Instructor: Kenneth Cuffey

Are you concerned with injustice and inequities in our world today? Did you know that the 8th century prophets of the Old Testament had a lot to say about inequality and divisions in society? Join us to delve into the world and message of Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah. Examination of their setting in a turbulent history and a deeply divided dysfunctional society as a backdrop to the powerful messages God gave to each of them. Consideration of how this parallels our day and age, and how a follower of Jesus should respond now to live prophetically and for justice.

• Time: Tuesday, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
  Credit: 3 hours
  Location: Online
  Instructor: Kenneth Cuffey

This course is a detailed investigation of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. The course will cover the exegetical issues of the book, including the cultural and historical contexts, authorship, and literary characteristics. The course will also discuss the role and theological contributions of Ephesians in Pauline theology. By facilitating critical understanding of the text, this course seeks to inform and shape lives of readers in the twenty-first century.

This course will meet on the following dates:
6/2, 6/4, 6/9, 6/11, 6/16, 6/18, 7/7, 7/14, 7/21, and 7/28

• Dates: June 2 - July 28
  Time: Tuesday and Thursday, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
  Credit: 2 hours
  Location: Online class
  Instructor: Chi-Ying Wang

How can I read the Bible and really understand what it says?

A survey of principles for and issues in interpretation of the Bible. Special emphasis on the history of interpretation, meaning and intention, genre analysis, the use of linguistics in Biblical interpretation, and coherence analysis. Course will explore the major methodologies and resources available as aids to Biblical interpretation, as well as issues arising in understanding Scripture, such as fulfillment of prophecy.

• Time: Wednesday, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
  Credit: 3 hours
  Location: Twin City Bible Church
  Instructor: Kenneth Cuffey

Why does the Bible say that Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did (2 Kings 23:25)? Why was he so extraordinary? What can we take from his life for our lives today? A study of the accounts of the reign of King Josiah of Judah in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, set against the cultural and historical background in Israel and the ancient Near East.

• Time: Wednesday, 8:15 - 9:15 pm
  Credit: 1 hour
  Location: Twin City Bible Church
  Instructor: Kenneth Cuffey

An exegetical study of the books of Ruth and Jonah in the original Hebrew, with special attention paid to what these texts say about God’s heart for the nations.  

• Time: by arrangement
  Credit: 3 hours
  Location: TBA
  Instructor: Kenneth Cuffey