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Paul sends 1 Corinthians to the church at Corinth, and when they receive the epistle, they are livid! They immediately write back to Paul in very harsh terms (the letter from Corinth has been lost, but Paul alludes to it in 2 Corinthians), prompting Paul to get on board ship in Ephesus, sail to Corinth and address the church in person. It is not a pleasant visit. When Paul gets back to Ephesus he has second thoughts about his “short but painful visit”, and he writes 2 Corinthians to smooth things over.

Traditionally attributed to the apostle John, 1 John is a very personal discourse on a variety of topics by one who had an extraordinarily intimate relationship with Christ. In this epistle, John discusses the appeal and challenges of emerging Gnostic beliefs in the early Church and the impact such beliefs have on a believer’s view of salvation. Join Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy as we explore this intimate epistle.

Logos Bible Study presents another masterful presentation of a how a divided kingdom will surely fall. Join Dr. Bill Creasy as he guides us across the landscape of a broken nation ruled by evil kings, the prophets who confront them, and the idolatrous worshippers who turn their backs on God. In the end, both Israel and Judah fall into captivity, and once again it seems that God’s plan of salvation has come to an end.

From Genesis through Judges we have a straight, linear narrative; in Ruth we have a recapitulation, a backward glance into the main story. When we look over our shoulders at the linear path we have followed, we see only a charred, smoking and bloody landscape. Ruth is a diamond lying in the muck and mire of Judges, flashing in the sunlight. “Back in the days when the Judges ruled”... there was Ruth—the greatest love story in the Bible, a story of redemption.

The 4th of Paul’s so-called “Prison Epistles,” this personal letter to Philemon is the shortest of Paul’s writings, but it is perhaps the most self-revealing. Written from Rome during A.D. 60-62, Paul had met a runaway slave in Rome named Onesimus, owned by a man from Colossae named Philemon, an acquaintance of Paul’s. Under Paul’s tutelage, Onesimus had become a believer.

In Ezra we witness the exiles’ return to rebuild the temple. Destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C., the temple is rebuilt and dedicated in 516 B.C. But it is nothing like the fabulous temple Solomon built. In fact, when those who had seen Solomon’s temple see the second temple, they weep at its inadequacy!

If 1 & 2 Kings tell the story of the kings of Israel and Judah from man’s point of view, then 1 & 2 Chronicles tell the story of the kings of Israel and Judah from God’s point of view. From a literary perspective, 1 & 2 Chronicles form a recapitulation, a revisiting of familiar ground, offering new insights and new lessons. Join Logos Bible Study as Dr. Bill Creasy presents another masterful journey into one of the most compelling stories in human history.

For Paul, Corinth was nothing but trouble. In the winter of A.D. 54, a delegation from Corinth arrives in Ephesus to meet with Paul. They inform Paul that the church in Corinth has (1) developed factions and divisions among the believers, and that (2) believers are suing one another in the secular courts, and that (3) rampant sexual immorality is spreading throughout the church. In 1 Corinthians Paul addresses each of these issues.

Paul and Titus had worked together for many years, but in this letter Paul calls Titus to task. Left by Paul in Crete sometime between A.D. 63-67 to finish up the work they had started there, Titus has failed to complete the job. Paul writes this letter to give Titus a swift kick in the butt, telling him to complete the work quickly and to join Paul in western Greece as soon as possible.

Traditionally ascribed to Jude, a brother of both James and the Lord, mentioned in Matthew 13:58, Jude had wanted to write a rather thorough theological treatise, but present circumstances in the church compel him to address a different topic: what believers can do in days of apostasy. Written sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, this epistle offers very practical advice for those living in what appear to be the "end times".

Although Romans is not the earliest of Paul’s writings, like Isaiah and Matthew, Romans sits at the head of the epistles and letters. Written as a formal argument and structured as a scholastic diatribe, Romans presents Paul’s great thesis that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works of Law. This is revolutionary! Romans, perhaps more than any other book ever written, has fundamentally changed Western civilization, and it is foundational to understanding all of Paul’s other epistles and letters.

With Moses dead, Israel stands on the threshold of the Promised Land, looking to Joshua for leadership. Join Logos Bible Study as Dr. Bill Creasy takes us across the Jordan River and into the land of “milk and honey” in a brutal conquest - a campaign of extermination that raises profound moral and ethical questions in its day, as well as in ours.

As Proverbs fits squarely into the genre of “advice to a son” literature, so the Song of Songs fits squarely into the genre of erotic love poetry. Traditionally read as an allegory of God’s love for Israel or of Christ’s love for the Church, Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy explores the Song of Songs as what it is, first and foremost: an erotic love poem written by Solomon in the final years of his life, a poem tinged with deep regret and longing.

Once thought to have been written by Paul, Hebrews is in fact written by one of Paul’s inner circle prior to A.D. 70, but no one knows exactly who. Addressed to Jewish Christians, our author examines several key issues from a Jewish perspective, drawing heavily upon the Torah for his support. In the marvelous chapters 7-10, our author sees Christ foreshadowed in the Tabernacle; the five great sacrifices of Leviticus; the priest Melchezedek from Genesis 14; and the Law itself. All, our author argues, are merely copies or shadows of the good things that were to come.

Prophets are emphatically not seers who gaze into the future and predict far-off events; they are God’s spokesmen who always speak into their own historical context. Sometimes what they say may foreshadow messianic or “end time” events, but they always have an immediate historical reference. Understanding a prophet’s historical context is essential to understanding his message. Join Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy in this dazzling exposition of Isaiah, the first of the major prophets.

If Isaiah is the “thundering prophet”, then Jeremiah is the “weeping prophet”. Jeremiah holds the terrible position of being both a priest and a prophet; he represents both the people before God, and God before the people—not unlike a lawyer representing both husband and wife in a contentious and bitter divorce! Join Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy as he follows Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet”, through his many trials and tribulations.

In the Bible’s longest soliloquy, Moses imparts his final thoughts to the people of Israel. Deuteronomy is not a “repetition” of the Law, but a retelling of it to a new audience, on the backside of 40 years of experience. Join Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy as we listen to Moses address a new generation of God’s people on the plains of Jericho.

Often incorrectly referred to as one of Paul’s “prison epistles” (he was not in prison in Rome in A.D. 60-62; he was living in his own rented house, free to come and go as he pleased), Ephesians is a brilliant exposition of Paul’s thesis that we are “saved by grace through faith”. It is also a glittering display of Paul’s rhetorical fireworks. Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy examines this extraordinary epistle in detail.

In 1 Samuel we continue our narrative. Samuel is the last of the judges, and with his end approaching the people demand a king “so we can be like all the other nations.” As God tells Samuel, “it is not you they have rejected, they have rejected me as their king.” And indeed they have. The people choose a king, Saul of the tribe of Benjamin. Saul will rule Israel for an entire generation, but although he looks like a king, he does not have the heart of a king, and the weight of kingship crushes him.

Working hand-in-hand with the prophet Haggai, Zechariah also encourages the people to resume work on the temple in 520 B.C.; but unlike Haggai, Zechariah extends his prophecy to foreshadow future messianic and end-time events. Like Ezekiel, Zechariah has several “weird” visions, including that of an ugly woman in a flying bushel basket! Listen as Dr. Bill Creasy of Logos Bible Study explores this fascinating book.