The St. Paul Center
For further study of the Bible, be sure to check out The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, which offers free Catholic Bible studies inSonitus Sanctus
If you enjoy downloading and listening to free Catholic audio recordings, then you'll definitely want to check out Sonitus Sanctus at catholicaudio.blogspot.com
The Great Adventure
If you're desiring to offer a great Catholic group Bible study for your parish, group, or organization, then you should seriously look into implementing The Great Adventure, which can be previewed and purchased at BibleStudyForCatholics.com
Start with either A Quick Journey Through the Bible or The Bible Timeline, then move into the other studies. Watch the introductory video.
Each Great Adventure Bible study uses a participant workbook in conjunction with inspiring teaching on DVD by extremely talented and solid Catholic Bible scholars.
Choose an episode:
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Ch. 1 – What Is the Bible?
We kick off this exciting Bible course by describing the sacred, inspired nature of the Bible, which is a quality unique to the 72 books of Sacred Scripture. What do... -
Ch. 2 – The Old Testament
We take a closer look at the golden thread that holds the Bible and all of Salvation History together: the covenant. You will learn the different important aspects of a... -
Ch. 3 – The Creation of the World
We focus upon the language and structure of the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis. This allows us to discover the interpretive clues that the author of Genesis... -
Ch. 4 – The Early World
We go through Chapters 4 through 11 in the Book of Genesis. The author of Genesis contrasts the descendants of Cain (the evil seed of the serpent) with the line... -
Ch. 5 – Abraham, Our Father
The remainder of Salvation History is foretold in the three covenants God successively formed with Abram in Genesis 15, with Abraham in Genesis 17, and with Abraham’s seed (Hb zerah)... -
Ch. 6 – The Patriarchs
We study the Biblical account from the end of Abraham’s life through the end of the Book of Genesis when all is well for the 12 tribes of Israel in... -
Ch. 7 – The Exodus
We delve into an explanation of the background to the narrative in the Book of Exodus, which in turn sheds light upon the story we read. Moses is presented as... -
Ch. 8 – The Law
We begin where the last lesson left off with the Sinai Covenant wherein God enters into a solemn covenant relationship with the 12 Tribes of Israel. This covenant, which involves... -
Ch. 9 – The Rise of the Kingdom
We cover the history of salvation between the 40 years of Israel’s wilderness wanderings and the rise of King Saul to the throne. We delve into one of the most... -
Ch. 10 – The Kingdom of David
We begin with the ascension of Saul to the throne of kingship over all 12 tribes of Israel in the First Book of Samuel. However, due to Saul’s repetitious sin,... -
Ch. 11 – Wise King Solomon
We review the defining characteristics of the Davidic Covenant before moving into the reign of King Solomon. Bethsheba, whose name means Daughter of the Oath is elevated by her son,... -
Ch. 12 – The Divided Kingdom
We cover First and Second Kings, showing how the united Davidic Kingdom under Solomon split in 930 B.C. when Solomon died. This split in the Kingdom was ultimately God’s punishment... -
Ch. 13 – Conquest and Exile
We come to understand how the Deuteronomic curses (outlined in the Book of Deuteronomy) are fulfilled in both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms as they break the Old Covenant by... -
Ch. 14 – A Remnant Returns
We take a look at some of the key Old Testament prophetic passages that foretell the restoration of all Israel under the descendant of King David: the Davidic King. We... -
Ch. 15 – Revolt of the Maccabees
We view of the history between when the exiled Jews first began to return to the Holy Land (i.e. Palestine) in 538 B.C. and the rule of Herod the Great... -
Ch. 16 – The World of the New Testament
We go over the various religious groups in the Holy Land both when Jesus was born and when he went about his ministry at approximately the age of 30. In... -
Ch. 17 – The New Testament
An introduction to the 27 books of the New Testament is given. We look at who wrote the 4 Gospels, who their audiences most probably were, as well as the... -
Ch. 18 – The Incarnation
We begin with an explanation of the Christological definition formulated at the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. (a location which is now a part of the modern day... -
Ch. 19 – What Jesus Did
We uncover the deeper meaning behind the baptism of Jesus, his temptation in the desert wilderness, the Wedding at Cana (found in John 2), as well as Jesus’ proclamation of... -
Ch. 20 – What Jesus Taught
We come to better understand what Jesus says in Mark’s Gospel: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark... -
Ch. 21 – The Cup of Consummation
We delve into the theme of Jesus as the New Passover lamb. We are told in the Gospels that the Last Supper was specifically the Passover meal, which was celebrated... -
Ch. 22 – The Resurrection
We begin speaking of the resurrection of Jesus not with the Gospel narratives, nor with St. Paul’s testimony of the Risen Christ, but with the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel,... -
Ch. 23 – Jesus Fulfills the Old Testament
We discuss how Jesus perfectly fulfills the Old Testament in two main ways: (1) Jesus fulfills various Old Testament foretypes that point to him, and (2) Jesus is the answer... -
Ch. 24 – The Birth of the Church
We come to understand how the birth of the Church is none other than the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom under the Son of David: Jesus the Christ. We spend... -
Ch. 25 – Reaching Out to All Nations
We look back at the whole of Salvation History to better understand God’s purpose for Israel, which is to be a light to the nations. Ultimately, this purpose is fulfilled... -
Ch. 26 – Paul, An Apostle
We look at the person, history, and theology of one of the greatest saints in the 2,000 year history of the Catholic Church: St. Paul the Apostle. In this episode,... -
Ch. 27 – The New Kingdom
We reexamine the 12 characteristics of the Davidic Kingdom in the Old Testament. Since the New Covenant is a renewal and extension of the Davidic Covenant, we find these characteristics... -
Ch. 28 – The Catholic Church in Scripture
We divide the lesson into four parts. First, we discuss the historical meaning of the term catholic. While it literally means “according to the whole” or “universal,” when the early... -
Ch. 29 – The End of History
We go through the historical context surrounding St. John’s Apocalypse, which is also known as “Revelation” – the final book of the canon of Sacred Scripture. Its genre is “Apocalyptic”... -
Ch. 30 – How to Read the Bible
We wrap up the Understanding the Scriptures Bible course by learning how to read and interpret Scripture faithfully. We do this by examining paragraphs 109 through 119 of the Catechism...