Richard Cravy

About Richard Cravy

Posts by Richard Cravy:

Preaching: What & Why on Doing a Mini-Biography Series, Part 1

July 17, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Mini-Biography Series, Preaching, Series

One wonderful way of preaching or teaching a series from Scripture is through presenting “mini-biographies” of lesser known Biblical characters. Now, doing extended studies on the major characters – Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, Paul, and such – is certainly rewarding as well. But the major characters have many chapters in the Scriptures devoted to them and are usually already well-known to our hearers.

Mini-biographies take characters which get little attention in the Biblical text and yet are in the story for a reason. It requires the preacher/teacher to dig into the context, background, meaning of the text and why the Holy Spirit and the Biblical writer saw the importance of including this person in the story. Here are a few “series” that could be done on people in Scripture:

Series: “I, Paul: The Life of the Great Apostle” Available Free

July 14, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Series

In 2011 at the Tanglewood Church of Christ in Odessa, Texas we presented a 38 lesson series on the apostle Paul, entitled, “I, Paul: The Life of the Great Apostle.” It was a comprehensive and in-depth examination of the historical record of the New Testament, plus the cultural and historical background, together with Paul’s writings – all woven into a narrative of his life (as much as we can know of it) from birth to death.

Raised in the most strict Jewish family, educated by the leading rabbi of the day, and well connected with the Sanhedrin leadership, Saul of Tarsus seemed incapable of being touched by the gospel message. . . until that fateful day outside Damascus! This is a study of the man who became the most prominent, and perhaps most effective, follower and spokesman for Jesus the world has ever known.

Follow this link, or find “I, Paul” on our Free Resources page, to listen.

Series: “Effective Bible Study” Audio Course free

July 11, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Series, Teaching & Study

In the Winter 2008 term at Sunset International Bible Institute, I taught the “Effective Bible Study” course to 49 students. MP3 files of all 13 class sessions are now available to listen to or download without charge by clicking on the link below. All handouts and presentation materials used in the class are also available for download or viewing. If you would like to have a copy of all the MP3 files, handouts, and presentation materials shipped to you on CD for use on your computer, you may order this series through our store.

ClickHEREto go to 2008 Effective Bible Study Course page.

Review: “Jerusalem: History, Archaeology and Apologetic Proof of Scripture” free book!

July 10, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Library, Reviews

In doing a series of lessons a few years ago on the city of Jerusalem as it appears through the Bible, I cast a wide net to find resources of a historical, geographical, and archaeological nature concerning this great city of the Old and New Testament period. One very valuable resource was a free (for download in PDF format) 250 page book written by Galyn Wiemers at www.generationword.com. It may also be read online at his website.

Entitled, “Jerusalem: History, Archaeologyand Apologetic Proof of Scripture,” it contains over 500 photos, maps and charts along with much explanatory text. Most or all the photos seem to have been taken by Mr. Wiemers during visits to Jerusalem. The book is divided into seven sections:

“The Student, the Fish, and Agassiz”

July 9, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Study

Perhaps my favorite illustration of the work involved in effective Bible study is a story dating from the 1850s. It is called, “The Student, the Fish, and Agassiz.” Dr. Louis Agassiz (see Wikipedia article) was one of the most respected scientists of the 19th Century, and a professor of zoology and geology at Harvard with sometimes controversial theories. The story is of a student of Agassiz’s who learns the critical importance of diligent close examination of the subject he was supposed to master. It provides a great but humorous demonstration of our need to devote the time and attention to gain all we can from the study of passages of Scripture. Click here to read or download the story. You can also access the audio and handouts of our entire “Effective Bible Study” class here.

The “10,000-Hour Rule”

July 7, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Study, Teaching & Study

I occasionally have my hearers and students ask me how I know so much about the historical background of the Scriptures. Perhaps they heard something I taught which connected in a way they had not thought of before, or learned something which had previously eluded them. My response is pretty uniform: I have spent most of my adult life diligently seeking to know more about the Scriptures!

In 2008 a book called Outliers: The Story of Success, by author and New Yorkermagazine writer Malcolm Gladwell became a best seller. Gladwell had previously written The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (2002) and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2007) – all three books examine the relationship between success, inspiration (i.e., genius), hard work, and opportunity in business and careers. Note that EBS may earn a small commission off any merchandise purchased through links on this page.

Series: “Jeremiah”

July 6, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Pages, Series, Teaching & Study

The Book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament provides a first-hand account of the death throes of the nation of Judah as it struggled against the judgment of Jehovah before succumbing to the might of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire in 587-586 BC. It is the second longest book in the Bible, just behind the Psalms in size. We have available two separate series I taught on Jeremiah.

“Jeremiah” is a six message series I preached at the Tanglewood Church of Christ in Odessa, Texas in 2010. You may listen to the entire series by clicking here.

“Jeremiah: The Prophet & His Book” is a classroom course I taught at the Sunset International Bible Institute in 2004. It is about 18 hours of instruction recorded on 7 DVDs. You may purchase it in our Store by clicking here.

Study: “Trusting in the Name(s) of God,” #4

July 4, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Series, Study, Teaching, Teaching & Study

Jehovah-Ra’ah ”¢ The LORD Shepherds Me

GOD’S NAMES

Reveals His attributes and character
“For His name’s sake” means He can always be counted on to act according to His names.

“THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD” – Psalm 23

Shepherds have been part of the Bible story from the beginning: Abel, Abraham, Jacob, David, etc.
Psalm 23 is a song by David, a shepherd who was chosen by Jehovah to become the Shepherd King over God’s people Israel.
No doubt, David’s long experience as a shepherd led him to more fully understand how Jehovah was shepherding in all of his life.
a. Someone has observed that sheep are more needy than many other domesticated animals
b. They need leadership, protection, food & water, rest, maintenance care (heal injuries, shearing), and be rescued when lost
Continue Reading

Study: “Trusting in the Name(s) of God,” #3

July 2, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Series, Teaching & Study

Jehovah-Rapha ”¢ Jehovah Who Heals

GOD’S MANY NAMES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

A few we have studied appear hundreds of times.
Others appear only once or twice.
Yet all are to help us know Him better and trust Him more.

“I AM JEHOVAH YOUR HEALER” – Exodus 15:26

“I AM” (YHWH or JEHOVAH) gave Israel deliverance from Egypt through the plagues
“I AM” delivered Israel from Pharoah’s armies at the Red Sea
Three days into the desert they reach Marah, but the water was undrinkable and the people grumbled against Moses (but really the LORD)
The LORD guided Moses to throw a certain wood into the water and it was “healed” and made sweet.
Then the LORD tested them by giving them a decree and a law…
The LORD called Himself, “The Lord Your Healer.” Rapha in Hebrew means to “heal, mend, or make whole.” Healing would depend on their obedience.
Their history through 40 years in the wilderness and the rest of the OT will be short times of faith and obedience followed by faithless disobedience.

Study: “Trusting in the Name(s) of God,” #2

July 1, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Series, Teaching & Study

Trusting in the Name(s) of God – Introduction

NAMES ARE IMPORTANT IN THE BIBLE:

Many examples: Eve, Abram, Sarai, Moses, John the Baptist, Jesus
In Hebrew culture an individual’s name was intended to reflect character or expectations – in retrospect, in that moment or in future expectation.

OUR STUDY OF THE “NAMES” OF GOD

One name is WHO or WHAT He is – “God”
One is His PROPER NAME – YHWH / Jehovah – “I Am That I Am” (6,000+ times in OT as “LORD.” Not same as “Lord”)
Many more are titles or descriptions of His character and nature – Holy, Almighty, Lord, etc.
These names, titles and descriptions have been revealed to us by Him so we can know without doubt WHO He is and WHY we can trust in Him.

Study: “Trusting in the Name(s) of God,” #1

June 30, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Library, Series, Teaching & Study

In the adult Sunday school class I attend at the Sunset congregation, we have just finished (2nd Quarter, 2019) a 13 week study entitled, Trusting in the Name(s) of God. I was privileged to teach three of the sessions, and hear some of the best teachers we have at Sunset International Bible Institute teach the other sessions. While I had studied in the past the various terms and names attributed to God, this time was especially rewarding. Over several posts, I want to share some of the resources I/we used as well as the three lessons I presented.

Audio Series: “The God Who Is There” Available

June 28, 2019 By Richard Cravy in News, Series

A great battle is now in progress in our American culture. It is a battle that has been going on for perhaps half a century now. Unfortunately the spiritual forces opposing belief in God and all that comes with it have been winning this battle.

At present many wonder why we are seeing the majority of our own youth abandoning their faith as they leave home. Perhaps it is because they have no deep conviction about the existence of God and the absolute necessity of seeking Him with all their hearts and lives (Hebrews 11:6).