Word Studies: Pastoral Epistles

Class: Pastoral Epistles

Week #10-11: November 14-25
Professor: Mr. Dave James

Assignments:
Read 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus twice throughout both weeks of the course.
Read Chapters 1, 4, 5 and 6 of The Pastoral Epistles (Homer Kent) throughout both weeks of the course.

Dave James is a co-founder and the ministry coordinator for The Alliance for Biblical Integrity. Dave served with Word of Life for 22 years, with 16 of those as the founding director of the Word of Life Hungary Bible school. He has attended Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Word of Life Bible Institute and Dallas Theological Seminary.

These two weeks are filled with solid, Biblical teaching from Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus. These epistles expose the truth of what biblical church leadership needs to be. Mr. James enjoys sharing what Paul teaches in these New Testament books in a way which endeavors to involve the whole class. He takes time for group discussions which allows the students to understand that the Bible is straightforward in what it says. In their groups, they are able to come to a conclusion as to what the Bible teaches on various topics found in the Pastoral Epistles. Because of this method, the students begin to realize it is not what the teacher says which makes it true, but it is what the Bible says which makes it true. In and out of class, Mr. James is always willing to share the wealth of wisdom God has given him through years of Bible study and experience and the students are privileged to sit underneath his teaching.

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Missionary Profile: The Burns Family

Today in Dean's Chapel, the students had the opportunity to hear from Wes Burns. The Burns family will soon be calling the province of Quebec their home. Wes Burns and his wife have both been burdened with sharing Christ Jesus with the people of Quebec, specifically southern Quebec. Working with Baptist International Missions Inc. and being sent by the church in which they met, Jacksontown Baptist Church, New Brunswick. The Burns family is excited to be used by God in this amazing work He has planned for them. They have several different goals:

        - Evangelism - Reaching out to the people with the gospel of Jesus Christ

        - Church Planting - Working with the believers to form Bible-preaching churches in Quebec

        - Discipleship - Teaching believers how to base their lives on Biblical principles

        - Children's Ministry - Reaching and teaching children with the Bible


In Dean's chapel, Wes Burns s:hared that both he and his wife have a passion for the people of Quebec. After his presentation, Mr. Burns took time to teach from Matthew 28:16-20,  encouraging the students to be missionaries wherever God leads them in life.

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MIA: (Ministry in Action) Superbowl Edition

Word of Life Superbowl is an amazing outreach ministry, reaching unsaved youth across not only Ontario, but also Saskatchewan, Quebec, the Maritimes, and the United States. The event consists of games, prizes, food and, most importantly, the gospel message. Superbowl in Ontario takes place in Mississauga at the Hershey Centre and Playdium.
One of the ways the various departments of Word of Life help each other is by giving Bible Institute students a chance to help out at this great event. This year 17 students plus staff headed  down Friday afternoon. They made a big difference in the night, as they were available to counsel youth who responded to the gospel message, to lead the various on-ice games and the "Amazing Race" and to help out wherever they were needed.

Friday night, 511 people arrive at 6:30pm, starting the night with an OHL hockey game between the Mississauga Majors and the Peterborough Petes. Right after the game, the Associate Director of Word of Life Canada, Scott Foreman, gave the gospel message. To the glory of God, 6 teens called on Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour.

Scott Foreman gives the gospel.

After a quick break, things quickly became exciting as the on-ice rally started. Many well-known minute-to-win-it games were played on the ice and each winner was given a prize. Also, some of the Word of Life staff were in the stands doing games and handing out prizes.

On-ice Rally

Up next, pizza and pop were served in the Hershey Centre. So far, the evening had been a great success, but this was only the beginning. At midnight, the sports section of the Hershey Centre opened up for the teens enjoyment. These were some of the activities available:

- Plenty of gymnasium activities like volleyball, dodge ball and basketball!
- Ice skating!

- Fieldhouse activities (on the turf)... indoor soccer, football and ultimate frisbee!

Indoor Soccer

One of the most popular events was the Amazing Race Scavenger Hunt. Both members of the winning two-person team were awarded an iPod Touch! The race was intense all the way to the end. When 3:00 AM came around, since they were not needed anymore, the WOLBI students and staff made their way home. However, the teens though starting to feel the effects of no sleep were not about to slow down because Playdium was next on the schedule. For three hours teens were able to participate in free-play arcade and video games, batting cages and more. Six o'clock Saturday morning, the youth groups finally made their way home.

Superbowl is one of many ministry opportunities the students participate in throughout the year.
The sheer number of ministry opportunities at WOLBI is one of the best things about being a student. It's all about taking what you learn in the classroom and putting it to practice in real life. That's why the Word of Life Bible Institute is the perfect first choice for secondary education. It prepares you for a lifetime of ministry wherever God leads you.

 

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Click here for more info on the ministries at WOLBI.

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Word Studies: Acts

Class: 2 Peter/Jude

Week #7-#8: October 17-November 4
Professor: Mr. Frank Roe

Assignments: The entire book of Acts must be read within the week before and/or during the two weeks of the class.
A Bible Handbook to the Acts of the Apostles (edited by Mal Couch) must be read within the week before and/or during the two weeks of the class.
List of over 100 terms, people, etc.; each one defined in no more than four sentences.
Four maps charting Paul's missionary journeys and his trip to Rome.
Summarize the book of Acts in no more than fifty words.

Mr. Frank Roe has a history with Word of Life Bible Institute in Owen Sound, having worked with the school for over 17 years. In 1995, he joined Across Borders for World Evangelism (ABWE) in which he now holds the postion of Ministry Director of Canada. He and his family reside in London, ON.

The book of Acts in the New Testament is a lengthy chronological record of the movements of the newly born church. Luke, though usually only recognized for his gospel, also wrote the book of Acts as a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Both books are written as letters to a man in high authority, Theophilus, who was probably a high ranking Roman official. The author, from what is known, is most likely a Greek doctor who Paul led to Christ during one of his missionary journeys. Acts is Luke's testimony of the Christian faith to Theophilus as he seeks to lead Theolphilus to Christ. God's purpose for Acts was to show how the Holy Spirit was the major influence in the movements of the church and the apostles. Acts shows how the gospel first went out to Jerusalem, second, to Samaria, and lastly, to the ends of the world and how the Holy Spirit worked through those movements. In the book, Peter's, Philip's and Paul's evangelistic efforts and missionary journeys are described in detail. Paul's personal testimony is told, following his life from being a persecutor of the gospel to being a preacher of the same. Several sermons which the apostles preach throughout their ministry are also recorded in Acts. The work of the Holy Spirit is evident in the book and it is amazing to realize that the Holy Spirit is still at work in the ministry today. For it is only by the work of the Spirit the gospel has any effect.

One of the assignments the students had to complete was a fifty word summary of Acts, and two of the students shared their work:

"A book written by Luke. It describes how Acts bridges the gospels to the Epistles or law to grace, as well as the spread of the gospel to the world within 30 years. It also shows the beginning of the church and Israel's rejection of it."
- Allison, Owen Sound

"Acts, recounting the ministry of the apostles, primarily Peter, Phillip and Paul, from the ascension of Christ until Paul’s imprisonment, tells of the filling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the expansion of the church, the missionary journeys of Paul, and shows the transition from law to grace and Gospels to Epistles."

- Jonathan, Huntsville

Mr. Roe has a marvelous way of expounding the book of Acts using a variety of teaching methods. He also loves spending time with students. Since he will be joining them on their missionary trip to Jamaica in March he also took some time to encourage the students to participate in the trip. These are some comments he made about the class and some parting words for the students.

"What a great blessing to teach the book of Acts once again at WOLBI. Each class is unique and offers many opportunities to see the Lord work in hearts to better understand, apply, and practice the lessons. What a great time we had together and I look forward to seeing how God uses this great class. Keep in touch and keep those sails full."

- Mr. Frank Roe

This class is foundational to understanding the General Epistles which the students will be studying throughout the year. It is vital for understanding the context in which Paul is writing to churches such as Corinth, Ephesus, Colosse and others. Acts also contains important doctrine on the Holy Spirit and Its work in the lives of believers and their ministry. Never is it appropriate to think it isn't necessary to study a book of the Bible. 2 Timothy explains how all scripture is profitable and therefore even stories from Acts and other historical records in the Bible are all equally important as the rest of the Bible which is why WOLBI places such a heavy emphasis on studying the entire Word of God.

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Autumn Fun!

This last friday, WOLBI students and staff had some fun together after a hard week of classes, quizzes and exams. It was an evening of costumes, pumpkin carving, food, and so much more. Everyone  had a really great time at the Somewhat Annual WOLBI Harvest Bash!

Contrary to popular belief, the Deans at WOLBI do not necessarily completely retain all of their mental facilities 100% of the time. Therefore, any event the Deans are involved is bound to be ridiculously fun as the students soon found out at the Harvest Bash. The only requirement for the event was for rooms to dress up in a cartoon theme. Many well-known and some unknown characters showed up at the gym ready for the fun to start.

All the crazy characters!

The Justice League: Superman, Batman and the Green Lantern (Mr. Ward and his sons)

The Fairies from Pixie Hollow (left to right) Allison, Brittany, Sarah and Cassie

(left to right) Megamind (John), Metroman (Jonathan) and Bernard (Robert)

Some of the other folks who made it out included Dumbo, the Grinch, Arthur, Eeyore, Goofy and a host of other cartoon favourites.

The schedule looked something like this:
                                    Corn-Chucking at the Reiders (not the actual Reiders but some caricatures)
                                    Pumpkin-Carving Contest
                                    FOOD!
                                    Pumpkin Puzzle Contest
                                    Pumpkin Guts Grab for Prizes
                                    Pinata Fun!

Corn-Chucking at the Reiders involved throwing a corn-on-the-cob into the mouth of one of the caricatures of the Reiders. The guys and girls lined up and each group tried to get as many points as possible in a short amount of time. Up next was the classic Autumn activity, Pumpkin Carving. The students quickly got creative and even ambitious with their designs. After that, since this was a WOLBI event, everyone took some time to enjoy some snacks and drinks and just hang out with friends. But things quickly became competitive with the Pumpkin Puzzle contest. Each team cut up a pumpkin into 25 pieces. Then the teams switched places and each team had to put the pumpkins back together again using only tooth picks. With all this pumpkin cutting and carving there was plenty of pumpkin pulp to go around, so the Deans planned a special game. They filled a large bucket with the pumpkin pulp or "guts" and the students had the pleasure of searching through the pumpkin "guts" for various prizes, including free van runs, get-out-of-study-hours free cards and even some TimCards. The night ended with some pinata craziness as the students discovered their skills or lack thereof, with a baseball bat.

Overall, everyone had a fantastic time, enjoying not only the great activities, but also spending time together.

    At  Word of Life Bible Institute, every day has potential for adventure.

 Every day can be exciting. Every day has the potential of life.

Imagine one year that could change your life.

It's more than a motto.

It's a principle.

 "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it

                                       more

     abundantly."

- Jesus

John 10:10