Seven Minute Seminary

Most Christians in North American imagine that missions work is the church in the West bringing the gospel to the undeveloped world. In this Seven Minute Seminary video, Dr. Stanley John dispels this myth by highlighting important statistics about global Christianity, and shares stories about how the global church is reaching a globalized world.

The truth is that grace, or gift, was not a concept unique to the Christian faith in the first century. In fact, even pagan religion afforded grace a role in the relationship between the gods and their followers. What makes the grace of the Christian gospel unique? In today's Seven Minute Seminary video, Dr. John Barclay explains that it's the nature of the recipients-us-that is so telling about the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

The Book of Psalms in the Old Testament has helped sustain the faith of innumerable saints throughout the centuries. They were central to worship for ancient Jews, and have continued to be of use both in private devotion and public worship for Christians. Rather than being a collection of random works arbitrarily pieced together, there is an intentional structure of five books, each with its own themes and emphases. It is important to consider this context as we look to the Psalms to teach us ab

What are the origins of Halloween? Halloween is a contraction of "All Hallows' Eve," which is also known as "All Saints' Eve." As with other holidays, Halloween seems to have a mixture of both pagan and Christian origins. It is a testimony to the uneasy relationship that church tradition has often had with the culture it meets and then inhabits. Listen to this Seven Minute Seminary from Ben Witherington III suggesting ways we can engage with culture at this critical holiday.

Much has changed in America since 1963 when Martin Luther King's prophetic rang from the Birmingham jail. At the same time, many things remain the same. The reality is that celebrating the diversity of races and cultures in Christ's church remains an ongoing and intentional struggle. Much of the New Testament was written in response to Jewish Christians having...

Is sin essential to what it means to be human? In today's Seven Minute Seminary video, Matt O'Reilly reminds us that Jesus - as fully God and fully man - is who defines our humanity, and argues that our journey to holiness is indeed what it means to become fully human like Jesus.

John Wesley called the means of grace "signs, words, or actions ordained of God" and "channels of conveying his grace to souls of men." The means of grace are discipleship practices that we draw from the biblical witness. Watch this Seven Minute Seminary video as Dr. Andrew C. Thompson explains critical paths to spiritual formation and discipleship.

Many traditional hymns and contemporary Christian songs have taught us that the afterlife is a place where we will live as disembodied souls, often as a private experience between us and God. However, the Bible and the early Christian church had as its hope not disembodied souls but a resurrected body, just like Jesus had after being raised from the dead. Instead of hoping to escape from persecution to the immaterial realm, the church trusted that they would inherit the eternal bodies promised i

The Bible teaches that the fundamental problem in our world is human sinfulness. Sin affects not only our own personal lives, but the lives of others, including the harmful consequences on future generations. Ultimately, creation itself is subject to the pain and suffering resultant of human sinfulness. As creator and sustainer of our entire universe, sin is also an offense against God himself. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the solution for human sinfulness, and the Holy S

What does it mean to be called by God, and is it only pastors and missionaries who can be called? Watch today's Seven Minute Seminary with Dwight Gibson from Acton Institute to learn about how all work can be done for the glory of God.

When God's people repeatedly broke their covenant in the Old Testament they were finally relegated to captivity and removed from Israel and Judah to dwell in another land. This displacement, which happened in two major phases (first for the northern kingdom and then the southern kingdom), resulted in the loss of power, political leadership, and in a sense, an identity crisis.

The Bible was originally written primarily in two languages, Hebrew and Greek, because these were the cultures that God worked through to covenant with his people. Though our modern Bible translations are very reliable and trustworthy, we must realize that there are instances where interpretive decisions were made about what the text means, making us dependent on the scholarship of other Bible translator-interpreters. This means that as you're using a translation, you're already one step away fr

Both John Wesley and George Whitefield were 18th century ministers who won thousands of converts to Christ, leading to a great revival of the church. Whitefield often relied on Wesley to organize and offer spiritual oversight to new converts. Having people participate in Wesleyan small groups, whether select societies, class meetings, or bands, was the key to catalyzing real spiritual growth.

John Wesley was an 18th century Anglican minister, Henri Nouwen a 20th century catholic priest. What could the two possibly have in common? In today's Seven Minute Seminary, watch Dr. Michael J. Christensen discuss the profound parallels between Catholic spiritual direction and Wesleyan class meetings, bands, and societies

It may be hard to understand the message and reception of John Wesley's ministry in the 18th century if you don't know the back-story. In today's Seven Minute Seminary, Dr. Ryan Danker offers insights into the political, religious, and social climate before England experienced its spiritual awakening.

The biblical mandate is clear - the people of God should be welcoming the stranger, even when it's risky and uncomfortable, because in doing so, they are welcoming God. In today's Seven Minute Seminary, Dr. Amy Oden shares about this essential Christian practice as its woven throughout Scripture and in early Christian tradition.

Part 6 - Continuity between the Old and New Testaments

Part 5 - Jesus and the Temple

Part 4 - The Temple in the New Testament

Part 3 - The Old Testament Laws Today