So you might be wondering how this Bible school thing works.  I thought I would write up what a typical week’s schedule looks like and also what classes we have this term and what the homework looks like.  You’ll notice that we have two classes each week; each class generally meets twice a day – once in the morning and once in the evening.  Here’s the schedule:

• Monday:
  • 9:00 Devotions
  • 9:30 Test over the previous week’s classes
  • 10:30 Break
  • 11:00 Class
  • 12:00 Lunch
  • 5:15 Dinner
  • 7:00 Class
  • 8:00 Class
  • 9:00 Dorm Meetings
• Tuesday:
  • 9:00 Devotions
  • 9:30 Class
  • 10:30 Break
  • 11:00 Class
  • 12:00 Lunch
  • 1:30 Help at the Good News Club (my area of ministry)
  • 5:15 Dinner
  • 6:30 Singing/Worship
  • 7:00 Class
  • 8:00 Class
• Wednesday:
  • 9:00 Devotions
  • 9:30 Class
  • 10:30 Break
  • 11:00 Class
  • 12:00 Lunch
  • 1:30 Class
  • (sometimes another class at 2:30)
  • 5:15 Dinner
• Thursday:
  • 9:00 Devotions
  • 9:30 Class
  • 10:30 Break
  • 11:00 Class
  • 12:00 Lunch
  • 5:15 Dinner
  • 7:00 Class
  • 8:00 Class
• Friday:
  • 9:00 Prayer Groups
  • 9:30 Class
  • 10:30 Break
  • 11:00 Class
  • 12:00 Lunch
  • 5:15 Dinner
  • 6:30 Singing/Worship
  • 7:00 Class
  • 8:00 Class

Here are the classes we’ve had so far with the homework assignments, and the rest of the classes for the term:

• Week 1:
  • Orientation
  • Romans (taught by Prof. Corey Miller):
    • Read through Romans at least twice
    • Write a 3-page paper reconciling Justification in Romans with that of James.  Lay out the key texts, reveal potential problems and attempt a solution.
• Week 2:
  • James (taught by Bill Blank):
    • Read through James five times
    • Write a paper about your purpose
    • Look up given scriptures (from James and Matthew 5-7) and explain the similarities between James and the teaching of Jesus for each set of verses.
  • Matthew (Dr. Louis Barbieri)
    • Develop a lesson on Matthew 2:1-12; identify the audience, write an introduction, outline your main points, write a conclusion
• Week 3:
  • Christian Life (Ken Smith):
    • Read a book of the Bible you have never read or haven’t read for a while
    • Pick a verse from that book to memorize
    • Make a list of things you are thankful for
    • Make a list of things you are trusting God for.
  • Bible Study Methods (actually focused on Hermeneutics; Dr. Dave Reid):
    • Examine the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15
    • Write out points in favor of the conversion of an unbeliever in application today
    • Write out points in favor of the restoration of a believer in application today
    • Write your conclusion and the key factors in your decision
• Week 4:
  • Missions (Dave Burdette):
    • Write a paragraph explaining the place adn purpose of Genesis 1 to 11 in the context of the whole Bible.  Do you agree with the position presented in class?  Why or why not?
    • Write a paragraph explaining one of the following:
      • Your basic reason for not being a cross-cultural missionary (if you are not planning on being one)
      • Your biblical rationale for planning on being a missionary (if you are planning on it)
      • Your biggest question/confusion/issue if you are undecided
  • Old Testament Survey (Nate Foreman):
    • Take 2.5 hours to get all by yourself and work on meditating on God’s Word and praying
    • Write down what God has been teaching you here, where you are in life, who you fail to pray for
    • Re-write the experience – how it helped you and the highlights of it – and turn this paper in
• Week 5:
  • Acts (Brad Buser):
    • Read the whole book of Acts
    • Find where Luke joins up with Paul
  • Genesis (Dr. Bill Spear):
    • List 10 aspects of the character and attributes of God that you see as you read in chapters 1-3 of Genesis
    • Write a paragraph explaining where you think God came from
    • Explain the primary reasons people will not accept God’s plan of salvation and what those reasons have to do with pride and/or humility
    • Explain what we mean when we talk about the difference between having faith in God and having faith in faith
    • How many chapters of Genesis you read
• Week 6:
  • Creation (Dr. Donald Chittick):
    • Summarize and evaluate an article from Institute for Creation Research
  • Philippians (Dr. Joey Dodson):
    • Write a letter to a fictional friend who is an undercover missionary in an undisclosed location in Asia encouraging her as persecution is increasing and there is increased pressure on her from the government.  Also, there is some division between two of the leaders in the church.  Use Philippians as your model and email this friend your prayer for her and the church as well as a note of encouragement and advice.  However, since the government monitors all her emails, you must be creative and not speak in obvious Christian terms.
• Week 7:
  • Ecclesiology (Dr. Brad Harper)
  • Soteriology (Dr. Keith Krell)
• Week 8:
  • Eschatology (Dr. Keith Krell)
  • Doctrine of God (Dave Jongeward)
• Week 9:
  • Life of David (Darrin Ratcliff)
  • 1 John (Mark Canady)

Well, I just previewed this post…it’s really long, and I probably wouldn’t read it if it were on someone else’s blog.  But, just in case anyone really wants to know what goes on over here, there it is.  And if you actually read the whole thing (especially if you aren’t directly related to me), I’m very impressed.  You deserve some kind of prize.  I hope to post again soon with some things I am learning from the classes as well as write about some of the “extra-curricular” things I’ve done.