Evers Bible Class - A Gentle Ramble through the Bible

                                                              The Clash of Empires    A Glimpse of the Future Daniel has some pretty intense dreams and visions: a winged lion, a bear with ribs in its teeth, a leopard with four heads, and a great crushing, trampling beast with ten horns. He sees a similar vision a couple of years later, but this time it is a ram with two horns who conquers the world. It in turn is overcome by a goat with a large single horn that is broken off and replaced by four horns.  In both sets of visions, a final boastful and cruel horn arises--one that persecutes the holy people. And yet, it is not all death and destruction, for Daniel also sees the Ancient of Days and is present when the holy one enters and is given kingship over all nations and peoples and languages. Justice is meted out and time arrives for the kingdom to belong to God’s people forever. A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. More info at Evers

                                                             Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego    The Fiery Furnace and the Mentally ill King The book of Daniel is full of striking, extravagant stories, and we look at two of them this week. The first is the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace and the second is King Nebuchadnezzar’s rather bizarre mental illness.  We see world power begin to shift as Babylon shrinks and the Medes and Persians gain strength.  In our breakout session we pause to reflect on the bizarre details in these stories, on the various parts left out or added by Jews, Catholics, and Protestants. And we’ll wonder--where do you draw the line? A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. More info at EversBibleClass.com .

                                                            The Book of Job    How Could God Do This? The book of Job raises the question "Why do bad things happen to good people?"  From the bizarre opening scene through the various answers given rather emphatically by Job's friends and then finally to God's voice in the whirlwind, people have combed through this book to find the answer. And I have to be honest, most of their responses would not comfort me at all if I were in Job's situation.  As you might expect, we'll take a different tack in this class. We'll apply our backpack tools to see if we can make sense of this story. A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. More info at EversBibleClass.com .

                                                           God's Prophets Speak Comfort    God Has Not Forgotten You Isaiah 40-66 is often called the “Book of Comfort.” It contains some of the most well-known and memorable passages in all of Scripture. Big chunks of Handel’s Messiah come from this part of Isaiah. And big chunks of our understanding of who the Messiah is comes from this section as well. Ezekiel also has chapters of comfort. He gives a great deal of information on a Davidic king who will shepherd the people. And in this war-torn land he sees a battlefield where the dry bones of slain soldiers rise up, become enfleshed, and live again.  Ezekiel 38-39 are more End Time prophecies about the Lord showing up to defend Israel from attack. And the book ends with a very detailed vision of a brand new Temple and a redivision of the tribal lands. A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. More info at EversBibleClass.com .