Logos Bible Study

In Part 4 of Dr. Creasy’s Podcast series on “Mary, the Mother of Jesus,” he explores the role of Mary in Scripture, starting with Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and ascension and moves into how the Church has thought about Mary over the many centuries ever since. He closes the Podcast with a very personal note about his own relationship with Mary.

In Part 1 of Dr. Creasy’s Podcast series on “Mary, the Mother of Jesus,” he explored the Annunciation, God’s offer to Mary to become the mother of God’s son, Jesus. Her “yes” demonstrated not only her great faith, but her great courage as well. In Part 2, Dr. C. examined Jesus’ birth in a stable in Bethlehem, an most unlikely place for the son of God to be born! Here in Part 3, Dr. C. will follow Mary’s involvement in Jesus’ public ministry, beginning with his baptism in the Jordan River by Jesus’ cousin, John; Jesus’ move from Nazareth to Capernaum; his teaching and preaching in Galilee; and his final journey to Jerusalem and the cross.

Last week Dr. Creasy began a 3-part Podcast on Mary, the Mother of Jesus, focusing on the Annunciation. We learned that Mary’s “yes” not only demonstrated great faith, but great courage, as well. With the Annunciation, Mary was the first person to place her faith in Christ, the child she would bear. This week, Dr. Creasy explores Jesus’ birth and his childhood, from Mary’s perspective, giving us insight into Mary as a mother.

Last Wednesday was the Feast of “The Assumption of the Virgin Mary,” a teaching in the Roman Catholic Church that Jesus’ mother, Mary, “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” The teaching was defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950. In this week’s Podcast, Dr. C. explores Mary, her role in Jesus’ life, her role in the Church and her role in our lives today. This Podcast is Part 1 of a 3-part series!

This past Monday we celebrated the Feast of “The Transfiguration of the Lord.” The feast remembers when Jesus took his inner circle of disciples—Peter, James and John—to a high mountain, and there in the presence of Moses and Elijah, Jesus was transfigured—literally metamorphosed—like caterpillar to butterfly, as the voice of God says: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him” (Mark 9: 7). Dr. C. peers behind the veil of this remarkable story, probing its inner, deeper meaning.

Dr. Creasy announces our first Webinar session, coming September 15!

Another year has rolled by . . . and they seem to be picking up speed, as they do! Yes, this week was Dr. C.’s birthday, which got him to thinking about birth, our walk across the stage of life, and our inevitable exit. What’s it all mean . . . and what awaits us in eternity? Interesting stuff! Also, Dr. C. addresses a slew of questions that you have submitted.

At Mass this Sunday (the 17th Sunday in Ordinary time) the Old Testament reading was the very short story of the prophet Elisha feeding 100 people with five barley loaves and some “grain in the ear” (2 Kings 4: 42-44), and the Gospel reading was the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with five barley loaves and two fish (John 6: 1-15). The parallels got Dr. C. to thinking . . . And we also have a listener question. Tom in Arizona asks: Did the disciples know that the Messiah (Jesus) was God?

After last week’s episode on “The Big Lie”—that success brings happiness—Dr. Creasy continues thinking about the problem, arriving at a very simple solution . . . thanks to advice from a very old and wise man. Plus, we have an audio question from Frances in New Zealand on the origin of evil. Also, this week we are launching a campaign on Patreon, a wonderful service that allows patrons (that's you!) to support creators (that's us!). Visit www.patreon.com/scripture to find out more. In exchange for your support (for as little as $10 - $20 a month), you will get access to all kinds of Logos Bible Study material, including free courses in the Logos Online Classroom. The first 50 supporters on Patreon will get free access to Dr. Creasy's live Webinar in September.

In this week’s episode, Dr. Creasy takes on contemporary American culture and the mantra that “Success brings happiness.” It’s a lie. Wait until you hear what he has to say! He’s on a roll with this one, folks! And Dr. Creasy also answers listeners' questions: “Why do we have four Gospels, rather than one . . . and why do they sometimes contradict one another?” “What do you mean when you say Scripture is ‘inspired’ by God?”

Last week Dr. Creasy finished the Logos Bible Study spring quarter, teaching “St. Paul’s Prison Epistles” (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon); this week he begins the Logos summer quarter, teaching “The Return from Captivity” (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther and Job). In this week’s podcast, Dr. C. ruminates on summer, summer in childhood and summer now . . . a curious lead-in to the Israelites returning from the Babylonian captivity! Dr. Creasy also answers a listener question: James S. asks about Jesus healing the blind man in Mark 8: 22-26. What is the lesson for us?

This week Dr. Creasy will finish his teaching his spring quarter live classes on “St. Paul’s Prison Epistles” (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon). In the great “Christ Hymn” of Colossians 1: 15-20, St. Paul elevates Christ to a position of cosmic significance, one is “the image of the invisible God, and one in whom “all things hold together,” both in heaven and on earth. This is an extraordinarily high “Christology.” Where did St. Paul learn all of this?

This coming January Dr. Creasy will lead his 59th teaching tour to Israel. Over the years more than 2,000 of his Logos Bible Study students have traveled with him to the Holy Land and throughout the Mediterranean world. For many, Dr. C’s teaching tours are a life-changing experience, bringing the Scriptures alive by adding color, tone and texture to the characters and stories of the Bible. In this week’s podcast, Dr. Creasy talks about his first tour to Israel and how visiting the Holy Land changes one’s encounter with Scripture and deepens one’s relationship with Christ.

In this podcast, we bring you the final episode walking in the footsteps of St. Paul in Greece. Dr. Creasy teaches live from Ephesus! Sign up for our upcoming tour, in the Footsteps of Jesus: Israel Highlights. Visit www.logosbiblestudy.com/israel

In this week's podcast, we're back in Corinth with Dr. Creasy and his Logos travelers. Don't forget to checkout our new online course on Corinthians in the Logos Online Classroom!

“St. Paul Arrives in Corinth” Leaving Athens, St. Paul made his way southwest to Corinth, the ultra-modern, cosmopolitan city straddling the isthmus linking the mainland of Greece to the Peloponnesian Peninsula. In 44 B.C. Julius Caesar rebuilt Corinth to be a major hub for maritime trade. Ships would sail from the Saronic Gulf on the eastern side of the isthmus, unload their cargo and passengers at the port of Cenchreae, transport passengers and cargo across the ingenious Diolkos (the prototype of a modern railroad), reload their passengers and cargo at the western port of Lechaeum, and sail onward through the Gulf of Corinth toward the western regions of the Roman Empire. Corinth was a dazzling, multicultural, multiethnic and polytheistic metropolis, one of St. Paul’s greatest missionary challenges. In this podcast, Dr. Creasy teaches live at Corinth!

In this bonus episode, we're airing Dr. Creasy's introduction to the Psalms, part of his new release, The Psalms: A Journey through the Poetry of Experience - available now at www.logosbiblestudy.com/psalms

Dr. Creasy and his intrepid Logos students arrive in Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece, where St. Paul had little success. St. Paul spent only three Sabbath days there . . . and he was chased out of town. Not to be discouraged, St. Paul, Silas, Timothy and Dr. Luke continue west across Macedonia, about 45 miles to Berea, a much smaller town. Here, the Bereans are much more accepting of St. Paul’s message, although, being more noble than the Thessalonians, they “checked the Scriptures every day to see if what St. Paul said was true.” And then the Thessalonian trouble makers show up . . . Dr. Creasy teaches live at St. Paul’s Square in Berea! After the Thessalonian mob caught up with St. Paul in Berea, Silas and Timothy put Paul on board a ship bound for Athens to save him from being stoned. Athens was well past its golden age of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., but the patina of culture and learning still clung to its somewhat worn and faded image. When St. Paul entered the city, he took

Dr. Creasy just arrived in Greece with his intrepid Logos students, traveling “In the Footsteps of St. Paul.” Their first stop is Philippi, where St. Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke set foot on the continent of Europe for the first time. In St. Paul’s day, Philippi was a Roman Garrison town, and there were not even ten Jewish men there to form a synagogue, St. Paul’s typical starting place for his missionary work in a new city. So, what to do? Ah, ha! Go down by the Zyagtis River on the Sabbath, and perhaps there will be some god-fearing people there praying. And sure enough, St. Paul meets Lydia and her friends “down by the riverside,” and they become St. Paul’s first converts on the continent of Europe! In the second segment of the Podcast, Dr. Creasy and his adventurers continue exploring Philippi, including the 5,000-seat Greco-Roman theater, the Agora and the prison where St. Paul and Silas cooled their heels after being arrested and flogged! This podcast was recorded live in Philippi, Greece!

Dr. Creasy is leaving this week with 38 of his intrepid Logos students on a teaching tour of Greece, walking (and sailing) “in the footsteps of St. Paul.” Teaching tours to the Holy Land and the Mediterranean world are an integral part of the “Logos experience,” for teaching Scripture onsite, where the stories actually occur, adds color, tone and texture to the narratives. When you read the Bible today, you read it in black-and-white—black letters on a white page—but after traveling with Dr. Creasy to the sites where the stories take place, you’ll read the Bible in Technicolor! This week’s Podcast is an introduction to St. Paul and to some of the sites Dr. Creasy and his students will be visiting. At each site Dr. Creasy will record his teaching, and you’ll hear it right here on Scripture Uncovered over the next several weeks! So, stay tuned . . . and tell a friend!