A Sweet Savor

Course Offerings

Winter 2024

Registration for Winter 2024 classes is now open! Classes will run for nine weeks from February 3 – April 4, 2024. Please register by February 1, 2024 using this Google Form or by using the “Enroll Now” button in the site menu.

All Christians start their new life in Christ with a desire to serve God and bear fruit to His glory, yet most fall far short of this goal. Once their natural energy runs out with very little to show for it, they give up. Watchman Nee, in his book The Release of the Spirit, examines the cause of this inability to live a life of fruitful service and shows us our real need. We, like Him, need to go into the ground to die, that the new life within our spirit can be released.

Class Size
Limit of 30
Syllabus
Instructor
Dave Shields

1. How to pronounce and read out the classic language versions in an efficient way.

2. Study Isaiah 53 and Ephesians 4 with four Bible interlinear versions (Hebrew-English Old Testament, Septuagint-English Old Testament, Greek-English New Testament, Vulgate-English Bible) together with the Bible Hub (software).

Class Size
No limit
Syllabus
Instructor
Steven Chu

What does it look like to meet the living God? How does such a meeting change your life? In this class, we will cover twelve different people from the Old and New Testaments, look at how they met the living God, and explore how their examples can set a pattern for our experience as Christians today. We hope each student will come away from the class with an appreciation for how intimately God likes to work with man and an expectation that God would appear to them in a similarly awesome way today.

Note: This class is limited to High School freshmen and sophomores

Class Size
Limit of 30
Syllabus
Instructors
Samuel Kuo
Philip Tsao

…that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel Ephesians 3:6

God never intended that we would be a burning ember outside of the fire, one sheep on a faraway mountain, or a hand that is cut off from the rest of the body and lying on the ground. God does not save us to be mere individual Christians. His salvation brings us into relationship with other believers in the closest way. He is still the center, but we are deeply connected with others. We become fellow partakers of God’s promises and enjoy them together. He makes us fellow members of Christ’s body, sheep in His flock, and part of His church—His called-out assembly. In His new creation, Christ has created a corporate new man where all participants are new and where they grow in true loving relationships. God’s kingdom grants us a heavenly citizenship, a new community under Christ the King. Together, God’s people are His loving bride—the final picture in the New Testament—the New Jerusalem.

This class will explore the “together” side of God’s full salvation. Pre-work will be assigned and reviewed for each class. Group work is encouraged.

Class Size
No limit
Syllabus
Instructors
Rex Beck
Benjamin Sheu

The book of Psalms is a book of poetry. As long as people have had hearts, they have written poetry—using words to convey the depths of their experiences, sentiments, and thoughts. The psalms compiled in the book of Psalms are the same; they express a multitude of feelings from many people arising from their real walks with God. They speak out praise to God, accusation of the enemy, resentment of evil ones, blessings to the righteous, criticism of man, and evaluations of themselves. But the Psalms are also different; expressing not just human feelings, but also God’s speaking. There is one Psalmist writing the Psalms—God Himself. The voice of this Psalmist rings out through the praises of David, the sighing of Moses, the prayers of Solomon, the yearning of the sons of Korah, and the aspirations of many anonymous writers.

The first part of this course will cover Book 2 (Psalms 42-72). The theme of Book 2 is “The Church Life.” The church life is so rich! In God’s authority, the psalmist wrote thirty-one psalms from Psalm 42 to 72 to show us the different aspects of the church life in different localities. These psalms portray the church life, the experience we must have, in a natural, detailed, and sensational way. Since they are experiences, the psalms are an active process, like a song, a story, an aspiration, or a cry that only God knows. Every phase of the process is moving and flowing and cannot be stopped.

The second part of this course will cover Book 3 (Psalms 73-89). The theme of Book 3 is “The Building Up of the Church.” Book 3 reveals the experiences of everyone living in the church life, both positive and negative. Through the experiences in Book 3 God gains the built up church through those who are pure.

Class Size
No limit
Syllabus
Instructors
Jeff Brown
Kurt Sheu

The church history class for this year of the Sweet Savor Bible School will highlight a number of the servants of the Lord from the mid-18th century to the early 19th century, spanning both the fall and spring semesters of the 2023-2024 school year.

These spiritual men have each contributed to the growth and maturity of the Kingdom of God while serving the people of their age in both - Words & Deeds. This particular fruitful time of church history was brought upon by the spiritual awakening and revivals from the late 17th and early 18th centuries before; by having the Word of God opened freshly to the saints and applied practically in many of the Lord's churches around the world; this time period saw revivals among the believers, many sinners added to the Body of Christ, missions and missionaries operating both at home and abroad, as well as the light and life supply of truth in the scriptures opened objectively and applied subjectively, in newness of Spirit and life, throughout the world and among many of the Lord's children.

This century of church history included an incredible wave of faithful and consecrated bible teachers, evangelists, missionaries, and many other gifted members who operated among believers and unbelievers alike; resulting in many blessed lives that were offered up and spent; surely that were pleasing to the Lord and are now wonderful patterns for us to look at and consider today.

Class Size
No limit
Syllabus
Instructor
Mike Samulak

Margaret Emma Barber’s legacy of 52 hymns and poems give us a window into her inner journey with the Lord. They tell her spiritual biography. Through them we find evidence of a deep knowledge of Christ and a history of fellowship, speakings from the Lord, and obediences.

In studying her inner life, we will seek to enrich our own. Through her hymns we will study 18 of her experiences, prayerfully looking to the Lord to do a similar work in our own hearts. This is primarily an inner-life class. Cultivating a richer experience of Christ will be our course objective.

When we consider Miss Barber’s poems chronologically, we can trace a spiritual pathway in 5 stages. Her early poems show her 1) Choosing The Narrow Path “Woo me O Lord from easy paths”. Then this narrow path leads her to many experiences of 2) Obedience where she finds herself “wrecked” in the eyes of her peers and her own. In these dark days, receives many 3) Exhortations of Tough-Love from the Lord, such as “Hush Thee, Jesus Went Before”. In this way she found her “spirit-ministry”—4) Life out of Death. Finally she saw time and time again that 5) “There Is Always Something Over” in the Lord’s ways and miraculous supply. What a rich testimony of praise extends from these poems!

Class Size
Limit of 30
Syllabus
Instructor
James Reinarz

Good pleasure, Purpose, Economy, Body of Christ, Propitiation, Transformation – Just a sample of terms found only in the Apostle Paul’s letters to the churches. Why did Paul craft specific phraseology to express his burden and teaching? Was Paul merely a skilled wordsmith or was his unique spiritual vocabulary necessary to describe his vision to the saints? In this class we will study some of these words in the Apostle’s writings.

Class Size
No limit
Syllabus
Instructor
Vern Yoder

Which epistle in the New Testament has engendered so much debate concerning its authorship? Who is the author? Who are the Hebrews? The epistle to the Hebrews is unique in unveiling the Son of God as the author. It is unique in its interpretation of the types and figures in the Old Testament, to portray the surpassing excellence and superiority of the Son of God, Christ, as revealed in the new covenant. In the 303 verses of this epistle, the Old Testament is quoted 210 times. No other epistle walks us through, in such a detailed manner, the superiority of Christ to the angels, to Moses as the true Apostle, to Aaron in His earthly ministry as the High Priest with better sacrifices and better blood, and in His heavenly ministry as High Priest according to the order of Melchisedec, as the source of eternal salvation. He is superior to the first tabernacle as the second and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, and He is superior to the old covenant as the Mediator of a new and better covenant. No other book warns us, the true Hebrews, not to shrink back, but to enter into the holy of holies, the true rest that God has prepared for us. As we read this book, we discover that every believer in Christ is a Hebrew, and that there is an incentive and a serious warning not to neglect such a great salvation that God has given us. The epistle to the Hebrews is a wake-up call with at least five warnings, and a coming judgment, shaking us out of our complacency, our sluggishness, our lassitude, and our disobedience, with inspiring examples of clouds of Old Testament witnesses who, through faith, endured, suffered and agonized, all for our sake so that we could obtain the better promises that they did not obtain. What more could drive us to run with endurance the race set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith? This is a one year (three semester) course which will walk us through the epistle to the Hebrews, chapter by chapter, and often verse by verse.

Class Size
No limit
Syllabus
Instructor
Antipas Desai

Quelle épître du Nouveau Testament a suscité tant de débats concernant l’auteur ? Qui est l'auteur? Qui sont les Hébreux ? L'épître aux Hébreux est unique en ce qu'elle dévoile le Fils de Dieu en tant qu'auteur. Il est unique dans son interprétation des types et des figures de l'Ancien Testament, pour dépeindre l'excellence et la supériorité de Christ telles qu'elles sont révélées dans la nouvelle alliance. Dans les 303 versets de cette épître, l'Ancien Testament est cité 210 fois. Aucune autre épître ne nous explique, de manière détaillée, la supériorité de Christ sur les anges, sur Moïse en tant que véritable apôtre, sur Aaron dans son ministère terrestre en tant que Souverain Sacrificateur avec de meilleurs sacrifices et un meilleur sang, et dans son ministère céleste en tant que Souverain Sacrificateur selon l'ordre de Melchisédek, comme source du salut éternel. Il est supérieur au premier tabernacle en tant que deuxième tabernacle plus grand et plus parfait et non fait de main d’homme, et Il est supérieur à l'ancienne alliance en tant que Médiateur d'une nouvelle et meilleure alliance. Aucun autre livre ne nous avertit, nous les vrais Hébreux, de ne pas nous retirer, mais plutôt d'entrer dans le saint des saints, le vrai repos que Dieu a préparé pour nous. En lisant ce livre, nous découvrons que chaque croyant en Christ est un Hébreu, et qu'il y a une incitation et un sérieux avertissement à ne pas négliger un si grand salut que Dieu nous a donné. L'épître aux Hébreux est un appel au réveil avec au moins cinq avertissements, avec un jugement prévu, nous secouant de notre complaisance, de notre indolence, de notre lassitude, et de notre désobéissance, avec des exemples inspirants de nuées de témoins de l'Ancien Testament qui, par la foi, ont enduré, souffert et agonisé, tout cela pour nous afin que nous puissions obtenir les meilleures promesses qu'ils n'ont pas obtenues. Qu'est-ce qui pourrait nous pousser à courir avec endurance la course qui nous est proposée, regardant Jésus, l'auteur et le consommateur de notre foi ? Il s'agit d'un cours d'un an (trois semestres) qui nous guidera à travers l'épître aux Hébreux, chapitre par chapitre, et souvent verset par verset.

Class Size
pas de limite de classe
Syllabus
Professeur
Antipas Desai