New Testament Basics: Things We Thought We Knew provides an introduction to the New Testament as it surveys vital information that guides the student’s thinking in the study of the New Testament books. This information is both basic and essential to an accurate understanding of New Testament Scriptures.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Matthew - Mark: Two Presentations of Jesus introduces students to the Gospels as literature and then focuses in on the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Students will study the specific purposes of each book and how the writers told the account of Jesus’ life to accomplish their unique goals.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Luke - John: Two Interpretations of Jesus provides two different renditions of Jesus’ life and ministry. Adding the perspectives of Luke and John to those given by Matthew and Mark will provide additional detail and explanation to the incredible life of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

During Jesus’ time in Galilee, He introduced the basic rules of life for the Kingdom He was offering to His people. This course, Jesus in Galilee: Popularity and Misunderstanding, studies the great Galilean phase of Jesus’ ministry, which is the setting for the Sermon on the Mount, and then actually studies the Sermon itself.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

As amazing as it seems, the people Jesus came to save actually rejected Him. In Luke – John: Jesus in Judea—Opposition and Rejection students will survey the Judean phase of Jesus’ ministry and gain insight into His teachings and actions that increased the Jewish opposition to the point where they would turn one of their own countrymen over to the Romans for crucifixion.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Most people recognize the fact that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ was the turning point of world history. After His resurrection and ascension, His disciples spread His Church across the Roman Empire and changed the world. Acts: Crucifixion, Resurrection & Proclamation will add depth to the student’s understanding and appreciation of these world-changing and individual life-changing events.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

The New Testament epistles to the Galatians and Thessalonians are Paul’s earliest preserved letters. In them he began to lay a theological and behavioral foundation for Christian belief and conduct. This course, Galatians - 1 Corinthians: Paul’s Earliest Letters, surveys these early writings.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

The Corinthian church was planted in a moral cesspool. The people who came to Christ and formed that church brought a wagon-load of philosophical, religious, and moral baggage with them that made this a tough church. The two letters we have from Paul to the Corinthians deal with some of the most thorny spiritual and moral issues addressed anywhere in the Bible. This course, 1 & 2 Corinthians: Two Letters to a Tough Church, contains essential help for the Church in any age.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Rome was the capital of the world. Although Paul hadn’t yet visited there when he wrote his epistle to the Christians at Rome, he wanted to make certain they were clear on what the Gospel really was. In the Roman epistle, we have Paul’s great theological statement on God’s salvation. Later, Paul was imprisoned in Rome while waiting for his trial before Caesar. While there, he wrote four letters. In this course, Romans - Ephesians: The Letter to the Roman Church & Letters from a Roman Prison, we study the letters Paul wrote both to and from Rome.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

This course, 1 Timothy - Hebrews: Letters to Pastors & a Church Struggling to Believe, combines three letters of instruction to young pastors and a letter to a church struggling with its foundational beliefs. The Pastoral Epistles provide doctrinal and tactical help to those who lead God’s people; and Hebrews presents Jesus Christ as the sovereign Savior and Lord of His church and encourages its readers to pursue unreservedly their relationship with Him.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Unlike Paul’s epistles, the general epistles were not addressed to a particular city or person. These letters deal more with the broader topics of suffering and the dangers of false teachings and unbelief among Christians. This course, James - Jude: Letters to Everyone – General & Johannine Epistles, covers these epistles.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

In Revelation: The Book of Revelation – The End and the Beginning, the New Testament and the Bible culminate with this glorious description of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. All of history’s events are culminated in this fantastic story of Christ’s ultimate triumph over evil and the restoration of all things to their created design.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Genesis - Leviticus: God Builds a People for Himself tells the story of Israel’s roots. From the creation of all things to the creation of Israel as a nation at Sinai, this course studies God’s process of building a nation to represent Him on earth. It is the foundation for understanding the struggles and triumphs of the relationship between God and Israel that is recorded in the rest of the Old Testament books.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Numbers-Joshua: The Tragedy of Fear and the Glory of Faith is a study of contrasts. Israel’s fear prevented them from entering the land God promised to give them, resulting in the story of wandering and death recorded in Numbers. In contrast, the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua record the preparation and triumph of faith as the people allowed God to win the Promised Land for them.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

This course, Judges-1 Samuel: Israel’s Choice From God-Rule to Human-Rule, covers the books of Judges, Ruth and the book of 1 Samuel. These books contrast Israel as they rebelled against God’s rule in the period of Judges, but Ruth gives a snapshot of obedience during that same period. 1 Samuel examines Israel’s amazing transition from having God-as-their-King to having men-as-their kings.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

2 Samuel-2 Kings: The Difference Leaders Make will guide students through a study of Israel’s kingdom era—as a united nation and as a nation divided into Israel and Judah. It not only covers this critical time in Israel’s history, but also provides an essential foundation for studying Israel’s prophets.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

1 Chronicles - Nehemiah describes the fact that while Israel and Judah flaunted their disobedience in God’s face and persecuted His prophets, He kept His commitment to His covenant promises. Chronicles traces the Davidic kings through whom God would bring His Messiah. Although God exiled His people, Ezra and Nehemiah tell how He restored them to their land and life.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Pressure and pain are realities of life. One of the verifying realities of the Old Testament record is its openness about the difficulties God’s people often suffered—and were often confused by. This course, Job-Lamentations: God’s Path Through Pain, studies three books that deal head-on with the pain and pressure often associated with being God’s people.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Times change and life’s issues take new forms. Solomon never sat in a traffic jam on the freeway and we never fret over an attack by the Philistines, but human emotions remain the same. In this course, Proverbs-Psalms: Singing the Sounds of Real Life, students will study the distilled language of Israel’s poets as they sang the songs of their lives. They are, amazingly, like the songs of people’s lives today.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

God’s prophets stood up and spoke out when it was very unpopular to do so. As men with a message from God, they were preachers with a message that God-rejecting Israel and Judah wanted no part of. This course, Daniel-Micah: Studies of Integrity—Good Men in Bad Times, presents the men, their messages and their times.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

This course, Ecclesiastes-Isaiah: God Guides His People Through Poets and Prophets, takes students through two of the Old Testament books of poetry and then introduces them to the writing prophets—who also used a great deal of poetry in their writings. Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs present the importance of living life under God’s direction. Isaiah introduces the prophetic literature, which is a series of calls to abandon the pursuit of alternative lifestyles and live life God’s way.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

In this course you will study two prophets whose ministry related to Jerusalem’s fall to the Babylonians. This unthinkable event – that the city where God lived in His temple could be destroyed – is studied as a threat in Jeremiah and as a historical reality in Ezekiel. The miserable failure of God’s people, and God’s success in judging and yet preserving His people, are surveyed in this course that studies these two prophets.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

This course demonstrates the fact that while God had chosen Israel as His covenant people, His compassion extended beyond Israel to all people. We study prophets whom God sent to Israel’s great oppressor and prophets God sent to Judah.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

The prophets studied in this course ministered after Jerusalem’s destruction and, in Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, during the return and reconstruction of Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon. They demonstrate God’s concern for all His people, Jew and Gentile and emphasize the essential place of obedience to His moral will.

0.5 Credit

90 Days

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

This course will help to teach you the basic research and writing skills that are necessary for clear and accurate written communication.  The goal is to prepare you for research project requirements for courses at CUGN, but also in any academic endeavor you might pursue.  The course includes five lectures on topics including selecting a topic, conducting research, citing sources, ethics and legalities, and, finally, proofreading and publishing.  These topics, which are succinctly presented, will serve as an online resource for you to return to often in your academic pursuits.  The ultimate goal of this course is to equip you to deliver clear written communication, not just in your studies but throughout your life.

0 Credits

90 Days

Linda Triemstra-Cook

Spiritual formation is a topic of discussion in many circles. We all long for intimacy with God, but how is spiritual growth and maturity developed? What are the dynamics in which God most often works in the heart of believers to make them like His Son, Jesus Christ? In this seminar, Dr. Richard Averbeck addresses these and other questions in order to lay a biblical foundation for proper Christian thought and behavior. In this course, he identifies and describes specific practices that can be applied immediately to your walk of faith.

This course is designed to help students grow in intimacy with God and to mature in spiritual life and relationships. Averbeck traces the work of the Holy Spirit through the Old and New Testaments and identifies specific spiritual practices that encourage growth in the spiritual life. The course utilizes lectures from SF403 as a basis for the practice of contemplative exercises and online discussion of issues related to the spiritual life.

1 Credit

8 Weeks

Richard E. Averbeck, Ph.D.

How is spirituality formed both in private and in community? This course explores the meaning of biblical Christianity and its relation to faith and practice, giving special attention to spiritual formation through prayer, meditation, and personal disciplines. The lectures form a paradigm of spiritual growth and maturity that will affect both the individual and the church.

1 Credit

8 Weeks

Gordon T. Smith, Ph.D.