The following resources are provided to help you study what we cover each Friday at the Barn. Listed below are links to materials to help you know about what we believe and why we believe it. As you roll your cursor over each link you will see a note that describes what that link provides. We keep updating this page so check back for more resources.
Links to our current and recent Bible Studies:
A Wayward Prophet taught by Dr. Jeff Stivason
Recovering the Art of Discernment taught by Rev. Bob Cummings
Romans – The Gospel of God taught by Dr. Jeff Stivason
The Gospel of John taught by Doug Wicker, a Zoom Bible Study
2nd Thessalonians taught by Dr. Jeff Stivason
How to Study the Bible taught by Dr. Jeff Stivason
Isaiah – The Servant Songs taught by Dr. Jeff Stivason
The Great Chapters of the Bible taught by Dr. Bruce Bickel, a Zoom Bible Study
Fearing God a Zoom Bible Study led by our Founder Dr. Bruce Bickel
The Family of God a study of Ephesians by Dr. Jeff Stivason
A Walk Through the Old Testament, an overview by Dr. Jeff Stivason
A Wayward Prophet, a study of Jonah, taught by Dr. Jeff Stivason
Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, taught by Dr. Bruce Bickel
Fixing Our Eyes Upon Jesus, Our High Priest the Letter to the Hebrews, by Dr. Jeff Stivason
Living Wisely in an Unwise World on the book of Ruth, taught by Dr. Jeff Stivason
Click here for our series on “A Sermon to the Family of God” on the Sermon on the Mount
Click here for our series on “The Christological Pattern of the Christian Life”
Click here for our series on “Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification”
Click here for our series on “Penetrating a Dark World” on Paul’s letter to Titus.
Click here for our series on “Christian Liberty” on Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
Party Rock!! A Birthday Card to Bruce Bickel on his 77th Birthday, April 10, 2020
It’s Time to Feel Good!! A Greeting Card sent to Bruce Bickel on Palm Sunday, March 25, 2018.
Theology on the Go – series from the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (ACE)
Freedom & Authority by J.I. Packer
First Things First by Donald Barnhouse
These Last Days – The Christ of History by Sinclair Ferguson
The Invisible War by Dr. James Boice
Whom Shall I Send by Eric Alexander
Pleasing God in Our Worship by Robert Godfrey
Amidst Darkness by Dr. James Boice
Unique People of Christmas by Dr. James Boice
Theology Confessions & Reform from Reformation 21
How to Know the Will of God by Dr. James Boice
Sanctification edited by Jeff Stivason
Who’s Choosing Whom? by Dr. James Boice
How To Find Hope by Dr. James Boice
Celebrating Christmas 2018 by Dr. James Boice
Grace edited by Jeff Stivason
Adoption edited by Jeff Stivason
Reaching Out by Dr. James Boice
Introduction to the Death of Death in the Death of Christ by J.I. Packer
Authority of Scripture edited by Jeff Stivason, along with an article
Why and How to Study the Bible by Dr. James Boice
Why We’re Protestant by Daniel Hyde
Does Inerrancy Matter? by Dr. James Boice
Apologetics Jeff Stivason provides an article, “Spiritual Self-Defense.”
Evangelism Jeff Stivason wrote an article, “The Great Missionary Presupposition.”
The Fall an interview with Dr. Nick Needham, Church History Professor at Highland Theological College, Scotland
“Theology on the Go” is a brief conversation on eternal truths with Jonathan Master, executive editor of PlaceforTruth.org, a voice of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. Each program features pastors/theologians discussing key biblical doctrines in thoughtful and accessible ways. Theology on the Go will help you better understand the finer points of theology, while showing how relevant and important theology truly is for Christians today.
The Pilgrim’s Progress Our Brave Brother, John Kyriazis, has provided for us a link to Grace Gems so that we can read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress as well as listen to it. Both the text and the audio are downloadable. Thank you John!
“Unpopular” A resource for the church and a message for the World. Share with your friends and family.
Dr. Bruce Bickel has provided us with a valuable resource to share with our friends who may not yet know Christ as their savior. This link, www.unpopularethemovie.com, will take you to a film that Bruce describes as, “a clear presentation of biblical Christianity and covers what we have been learning over the years together about the God of biblical revelation not the God of human imagination. Grace and Truth, Bruce” It was produced by some friends of Bruce’s. At the end of the film, “Unpopular” are other links to resources concerning Christianity and our culture.
Don Maurer complied a detailed presentation about The Bible, titled, “The Bible, The Book of Books”. This was the basis of a Sunday School class he lead at his church. It was based upon R. C. Sproul’s book, “Now That’s a Good Question.” Don’s outline incorporates 10 key questions about the Bible and surrounds the Scriptural Foundation, an Introduction, then the 10 Questions that cover, Truth, Transmission and Inspiration of Scripture, Biblical Interpretation, and Translations and the Authority of Scripture. This is a rich resource for the benefit of all us as we learn more about this valuable artifact that God has provided for us, his holy word.
In our recent series on “Christian Liberty” (from April 29, 2016 to January 27, 2017) Dr. Bickel taught about the “Fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5. He quoted Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, a gifted preacher and teacher from 10th Presbyterian Church in center city Philadelphia. Rev. Barnhouse wrote:
“Love is the key. Joy is love singing. Peace is love resting. Long-suffering is love enduring. Kindness is love’s touch. Goodness is love’s character. Faithfulness is love’s habit. Gentleness is love’s self-forgetfulness. Self-control is love holding the reins.”
Shattered Dreams by Os Hillman, from Today God Is First (TGIF). A commentary about the Book of Ruth as it relates to our study, “Living Wisely in an Unwise World”; provided by our Brother Brook Swinston.
“Grace Gems” Dr. Bruce Bickel has introduced to us a wonderful website, www.gracegems.org. This site contains lots of sermons, quotes, books and videos as well as daily Puritan Devotionals. The purpose is “to humble the pride of man, to exalt the grace of God in salvation and to promote real holiness in heart and life.” Check it out.
From Grace Gems, “We Begin at the Lowest Grade” by J. R. Miller.
Click the arrow above to listen to this gem of an audio presentation. Recommended by Dr. Bickel, “critical for our men to hear.”
Grace Gems – The Utilitarian Christ by A. W. Tozer, from Grace Gems. Recommended reading by Dr. Bickel.
“Meet The Puritans” We have added a new resource for all of us to enjoy in our study of God’s word. Many times Dr. Bickel has read from the Puritans that he studied during his pursuit of his Ph.D. This is another website to learn more about the Puritans for our benefit and education. This website is supported by the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals with books, articles and resources “where the dead still speak.” It is a “voice of Puritan and Reformed Theology.” Check it out. www.meetthepuritans.org
“How Wide the Divide: Sexuality at the Forefront, Culture at the Crossroads” an article by Ravi Zacharias, from his website, posted August 15, 2015. Click to read the entire article. Some key excerpts:
“As the liberal church swung to the extreme of religion without absolutes, the evangelical church flirted with emotionalism without intellect, while some of the mass distributors of spirituality peddled a cosmetic version of truth that was hollow and hairstyles became more important than what was going on in the head itself.”
“There probably is no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Relativism is the open door to fun, absolutes the closed door that destroys fun. That is the way it is seen.”
“. . . it moves the debate from what is right to what are one’s rights. Ironically, the political party now most aligned with arguing for rights was once the same party that argued against the emancipation of slaves because of the slave-owners’ “rights.” In that case, those rights were overruled by what was right. Interesting that a new word wasn’t coined then to describe those who made moral arguments against the slave-owners’ rights as ‘slaveophobes’.”
“. . . it is vacuous to say that if two people love each other they may express it in any way they choose. Love is not defined in a way that is self-referencing. It ultimately hangs on the peg of God’s love and how He defines love.”
“It is the eternal that must guide the temporal.”
“For those who follow Jesus Christ, our message to the world must be clear. God transforms the heart and mind and we become his children and his ambassadors. Let us so live that we will never be accused of hate or indifference. But let us also know that compromising the truth is a serious blunder and ends up celebrating that which is not in the will of our Father. This is a painful tension for a believer. To be seen as rejecting a belief or a behavior is not the same as rejecting the person. But God helps us to carry that burden.”
Audio: “Can God Be Trusted?“ A Speech by Dr. Bickel This is the Keynote Speech by Dr. Bruce Bickel at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Leaders Prayer Breakfast held on March 6, 2015 at the Sheraton Station Square before over 670 people from various ministries. This annual event is hosted by the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation (PLF) and supported by many dedicated men and women from all walks of life and faith. Protestants, Catholics and Jews participated in the greetings, scripture readings and prayers for our community. Click here for a link to the Community Leaders website with details for the Prayer Breakfast for this year.
Contrast in Leadership – Dr. Bickel’s summary of “What the World Looks for versus God’s Way of Qualifying a Leader.” From August 12, 2011, during our series on “The Formation and Function of the Church.”
Seven Contrasts – Compiled by Dr. Bickel during our study on the “Tests and Traits of True Saving Faith” as we studied John’s Epistle (1 John) in 2009-2010.
The Focus of the Gospel – Dr. Bickel’s comparison of “Modern Evangelism” based upon Neo-Finneyism from Charles Finney in the 19th Century vs “Puritan Evangelism” based upon Biblical principals, from the Puritans of the 14th Century.
The Rights a lecture on Spiritual Warfare, by John Bishop, presented on Friday, August 21, 2015.
Conversations for a Modern Reformation
The Bondage of the Will – a lecture by Rod Rosenblatt
28 Attributes of God – developed by Dr. Bruce Bickel
The Attributes of God – A PowerPoint Presentation
The Attributes of God – PDF version of Presentation
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Interview This program, first aired in December 1970, was one of a series in which Joan Bakewell (British TV Reporter) interviewed public figures of all stripes who were trying to change society in some form or other, and so it was not religious programming – It had a broader mandate. As a result, this interview is an articulation by Dr. Lloyd-Jones of what the evangelical Christian message is, and why it is so important for humankind to change and be reconciled to God.
The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul Now celebrating 25 years of publication, this classic can help you better understand the biblical picture of God’s awesome holiness and why it is so foundational to God-centered, God-honoring theology and Christian living. In “The Holiness of God”, R.C. Sproul demonstrates that encountering God’s holy presence is a terrifying experience. Dr. Sproul argues that this struggle is nonetheless necessary because it is the only way to cure our propensity to trust in ourselves and our own righteousness for salvation.
Power of the Blood of Christ Dr. Bickel outlined 16 aspects of “the Power of the Blood of Christ” to bring us awe and reverence as we approach the throne of grace. This is an excerpt from Dr. Bickel’s talk on “A Life of Reverence” in our series on Holiness given September 19, 2014 at the Barn.
Dr. Benjamin E. Mays On Friday March 4, 2016, Bishop Carl Jones read a poem during our Bible Study by Dr. Mays entitled, Just A Minute. This link to his poem will also provide you with more background on this brave man.
2016 The Word Made Flesh: The Ligonier Statement on Christology Thanks to a couple of our Brave Men we were able to add this summary on the orthodox doctrine of Christ, presented at this years Ligonier Conference. The concise document fits in with what Dr. Bickel has taught us over the years. It proclaims the Christ of history and Biblical revelation and not our human imagination. There is a preface by Dr. R.C. Sproul, followed by the Ligonier Statement, then the 25 Articles of Affirmation and Denial with Scripture proofs and then wrapped up with an Explanatory Essay with suggestions for use. This is a PDF version. We also have a few printed versions available in our Lending Library.
Link to learn more “About” the Brave Men’s Bible Study.
