Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi: It is an unfortunate misconception that because these books are called The Minor Prophets, their relevance to our lives is also minor. This couldn't be further from the truth. The richness of life's lessons and our prophetic hope permeate every word. Don't be tricked into missing these overwhelmingly rich studies.

Hosea, a contemporary of Isaiah (for most of his ministry) and Amos (in his earlier years) was the Jeremiah of the Northern Kingdom. His main target was the Northern Kingdom, yet his message was for the people of God. When Solomon died, Jeroboam rebelled and plunged the Northern Kingdom into a prosperous but idolatrous separation. After two centuries of abandoning their heritage, God sent Hosea to present His indictment and declare that He would use their enemies as His judgment.

Jonah, the reluctant prophet, was called to prophesy against the pagan capital of the world, Nineveh. He attempted to shun the assignment until God explained it to him a little more clearly! His message to Nineveh: 40 days and you get yours! The greatest miracle in the book of Jonah was Nineveh's repentance, within the allotted 40 days, on speculation! They reasoned that maybe, if they repented, God might change His mind. They did. And He did. A century later, Nahum was sent to ask them to repent and Nineveh failed. Judgment resulted.  

I and II Kings provide a record of Israel's history from the beginning of the movement to place Solomon on David's throne through the end of the reign of Zedekiah, Judah's last king. There are great lessons to be learned from Israel's desire to be "like those around us" and its consequences. 

The book of Ezekiel contains some of the most incredible prophecies in the Bible, including detailed description of a nuclear war and the cleanup afterward. Ezekiel ministered to a nation experiencing judgment for its sins, and may have some lessons for us today. Ezekiel's name means "God strengthens, or God will strengthen". Ezekiel is one of the three that were called Captivity Prophets (the other two are Jeremiah and Daniel). Ezekiel never mentions Jeremiah in his writings, but he does mention Daniel three times. 

The city of Corinth was Hollywood, Las Vegas, and New York all rolled into one. Corinth was intellectually alert, materially prosperous, but morally corrupt. Its citizens were devoted to the reckless development of the individual. The church at Corinth is the "carnal church" - spiritual babes, immature and undeveloped. Paul seeks to provide them with the necessary guidance to bring them to full maturity. This study contains more than 22 hours of verse-by-verse teachings.

Jesus said that the psalms spoke about him (Lk 24:44). Christ's birth, betrayal, agony, death, resurrection, ascension, coming again in glory, and his worldwide reign - all are pictured in inspired vividness. They constitute irrefutable testimony to the divine inspiration of the Scripture. 

The Book of Job pulls away our illusions and presents life as it really is. Nothing is more valuable than a valid perspective. One of the most painful - but essential - blessings is the stripping away of our delusions and erroneous presuppositions! That is why it is so important to let the Spirit of God set us straight by the Word of God, correcting our thinking and "renewing our minds" (Romans 12:2).

Fans of historical romance, military history, soap operas, conspiracy theories, spy novels, swashbuckling adventure, or political intrigue will find it all here in The Book of Judges! But from a broader and deeper perspective, Judges is essentially the story of a deteriorating nation - and it serves as a sober warning against deterioration in our own nation and in our own personal lives.

During Jeremiah's 40 years of ministry, he never received a hint of gratitude. As one of the most important of the "Major Prophets", Jeremiah is a rich, rewarding study. It is full of surprises, deeply touching episodes, and extremely moving tale. It is also, in many ways, profoundly timely for us today.

It may come as a surprise to discover that there are a number of biblical experts who regard the book of Leviticus as the most important book of the Bible! The Book of Leviticus cannot be "listened to"; it has to be studied. But fasten your seat belts! It's going to be an exciting and highly privileged excursion!

"Finishing Well" is the name of the game. Here was a rich, young ruler - a first century "yuppie" if you will - who, although getting off to a rather problematic beginning, finished well, indeed. A rich young ruler questioned Christ about what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Mark's Gospel includes a detail that Matthew and Luke failed to mention: "And Jesus looking upon him loved him..." This hints at the possibility that young John Mark himself may have been that rich young man.

Whose sermons are quoted most in the Bible? The answer may surprise you. Deuteronomy is essentially a series of sermons by the greatest Old Testament prophet. Jesus himself quoted more from Deuteronomy than from any other portion of the Old Testament.

In Hebrew, this book is called dibhere ha-yamim: ''the words concerning the days.'' The Jewish Bible regards the Old Testament as 22 books and Chronicles is counted as a single book. I and II Chronicles take the form of a history: David and Judah are the focal points. The emphasis of I and II Chronicles is on the Southern Kingdom and the preservation of the Davidic line.   

Revelation is a lens that puts the entire Bible into focus. The lens is focused on the person of Jesus Christ, and his destiny is imminent. This is a book of victory: We are overcomers! We are the ultimate winners in the game of life! (I read the ending: We win!) One of the reasons this book strikes us as strange is because of our lack of understanding concerning the Old Testament. The Book of Revelation consists of 404 verses that contain over 800 allusions to the Old Testament. These are detailed, along with Chuck's analysis of the design and structure of this fascinating book.