Observe The Word: Romans With Michael Brent

In John 3:1-21, an influential, religious leader comes to Jesus at night, and though he has everything going for him, he cannot see the light Jesus reveals. But maybe we can.

In John 2:13-25, Jesus clears out the temple revealing truth about himself and motivating three different responses from Jewish leaders, his disciples, and people in the crowd.

In John 2:1-12, we begin part 1 section 1 Jesus Revealed with the first sign which was performed at a wedding in Cana. We consider both the big obvious lettering on the sign and also the smaller, easier to miss lettering.

In John 1:19-51, we start by considering the overall structure of day before moving on to the four days of witness described in this introduction to the narrative.

In John 1:1-18, we follow the chiastic structure of John's prologue to consider the major themes that will play out in his gospel, regarding the nature of Jesus, the nature of faith, and the nature of discipleship.

In the twenty-ninth lesson of the Pentateuch series, we complete our series, considering three aspects of deuteronomic law code with an emphasis on the laws for leadership found at the center of the book, the laws of king, priest, and prophet.

In the twenty-eighth lesson of the Pentateuch series, we examine the relationship between covenant obedience, covenant blessing, and covenant curse in the theological exhortation chapters of Deuteronomy 27-30 with a focus on the call to listen, love, and live.

In the twenty-seventh lesson of the Pentateuch series, we continue to follow Jesus' lead in the Sermon on the Mount as a guide for understanding the Ten Commandments as a moral paradigm for the whole law. Our focus in this lesson is on the first half of the Ten Commandments with a focus on loving God.

In the twenty-sixth lesson of the Pentateuch series, we follow Jesus' lead in the Sermon on the Mount as a guide for understanding the Ten Commandments as a moral paradigm for the whole law. Our focus in this lesson is on the second half of the Ten Commandments.

In the twenty-fifth lesson of the Pentateuch series, we consider the chiastic structure of the first theological exhortation section of Deuteronomy, chapters 4-11, and also consider the themes of exclusive faithfulness, self-awareness, and right motives in relation to the overarching theme of covenant obedience.

In the twenty-fourth lesson of the Pentateuch series, we get a handle on the overall structure of Deuteronomy by considering how style, form, and structure are developed through the three literary devices of discourse by Moses, suzerain-vassal treaty, and chiastic parallelism.

In the twenty-third lesson of the Pentateuch series, we pause between the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy to consider the issue of biblical parallels with Ancient Near Eastern texts, such as the flood story from the Gilgamesh Epic and the creation narrative from Enuma Elish. How do we explain parallel accounts of events, ideas, and rituals that occur outside the Bible?

In the twenty-second lesson of the Pentateuch series, we make the transition from the Grumbling Generation to the Second Generation with a concentrated look at the intriguing story of Balaam Blessing Israel, better known as Balaam and the donkey.

In the twenty-first lesson of the Pentateuch series, we consider the second set of four incidents of grumbling during the Israelite's 40 years of wandering with a focus on Moses striking the rock and why God responded with such harsh punishment.

In the twentieth lesson of the Pentateuch series, we consider the grumbling of Israel through the middle section of Numbers and note principles of leadership modeled by Moses as he leads this contentious people.

In the nineteenth lesson of the Pentateuch series, we overview the book of Numbers and consider several legal passages in the Torah that seem to degrade women, beginning with the adultery test in Numbers 5.

In the eighteenth lesson of the Pentateuch series, we focus in on the Day of Atonement, the central point to the book of Leviticus.

In the seventeenth lesson of the Pentateuch series, we address the moral purity code of Leviticus considering the low bar of law as a code to govern civil society and the high bar of law as a call to moral perfection.

In the sixteenth lesson of the Pentateuch series, we address the ceremonial purity code categorizing the requirements, defining the meaning and function of the code, and asking, "Does any of this apply to me as a Christian?"

In the fifteenth lesson of the Pentateuch series we consider the priesthood sections of Leviticus and also consider the difficulty of three narrative passages describing God’s severe execution of the death penalty.