Course Information
Description of the Course
The Life of Jesus of Nazareth is without question, The Greatest Life ever lived. In four short years of ministry, He not only launched a movement which changed history, but He displayed God the Father. The Holy Spirit knows, even if we sometimes do not, that the best way to communicate spiritual verities is to clothe them with flesh and blood. In the Incarnation of the Son of God, God became man, and lived life as God intended men to live.
Ways to Take This Course
- Independent Study - You make take this course as independent study with no necessary involvement with a facilitator. You may access the course on line or by downloading either the paper or multimedia version to your hard disk. Go to the downloads area on http://www.internetseminary.org in the Bookstore.
- Facilitated. The course is best studied in the context of a group of fellow students under the guidance of a facilitator. This may be conducted in person with paper versions of the course (or CD ROM) or, if you prefer, online with a virtual group on line. This is called a "Class" in distinction from a "Course." To take this course on line goto http://www.internetseminary.org.
Only facilitated courses or "classes" qualify for credit towards a diploma or degree.
Length of Course
There are twelve lessons requiring about 3 hours each - total = 36 hours.
Cost
Free to those in almost all countries. If it is not, don't worry, we will tell you.
For those living in the United States:
Independent Study - Free
Facilitated - $99.95
Go to the Bookstore for more detail. (http://www.internetseminary.org )Your expense can be viewed as a donation or scholarship making this course available to those in many languages.
Author
This course was written by Dr. Joseph Dillow. It is partially based upon the work of Dr. Bob Meltebeke's course The Greatest Life.
Why Should I Take This Course?
It is always important when beginning a study of any biblical topic to firmly grasp WHY you are taking the time to do this. What difference will it make in your life? Why is it important? We have identified four overall objectives you should keep in mind as you study The Greatest Life. At the end of this course you should be able to:
- Have you ever wanted to understand the story of Christ life's and how the events, parables, miracles, and teachings fit into the overall plan of his life?
- Have you ever asked yourself, "What can I learn about God and how he feels about me and what he is really like? Jesus came to explain this to us by revealing God's personality, love, and character in his life and actions.
- Have you ever wanted to know how to disciple others? How was Jesus able to launch a world wide movement with only twelve very ordinary men as the founders? By the end of this course you will write a brief paper summarizing what you have learned about how Jesus trained the Twelve, and how this might apply to your own desires to mentor others.
- What was the overall strategy Jesus employed in brining his message to earth? What was his plan? When you have finished this study you will identify the major themes of His ministry. Also you will see how His life and teaching revealed a gradual outworking of those themes, particularly that of the offer and rejection of the Kingdom to Israel.
- Have you ever wondered why Jesus often placed such stringent requirements on those who would be disciples? In this course you will learn to distinguish between the concept of discipleship and the nature of saving faith.
- Would you like to be able to identify key events in the life of Christ and know where to find them in the four Gospels? In this course you will identify the 61 key events of The Greatest Life. Then, by use of diagrams, maps, and a chronological chart, you will develop a teaching outline of The Greatest Life.
How Does This Course Fit Into the Over All Internet Biblical Seminary Curriculum?
This course is required for the successful completion of the Diploma in Practical Ministry.
What Computer Skills Do I Need to Take This Course?
- Basic skill using a Microsoft Word
- Basic skill in using Internet Explorer as your Web Browser
- Using Outlook Express for student discussions. We have prepared a brief course which trains you how to do this.
What are the hardware requirements?
- Computer memory - 256 MB (512 would be better)
- Screen Colors should be set to highest (32 bit) but medium (16 bit will work)
- Screen resolution should be set to width = 1024 and height = 768
- CD ROM - You will need this only if you are taking the course from a CD ROM!
- Audio - The course can be taking without audio, but you will be missing a lot
- Free Hard disk space - If you are taking it on line you will need none. If you are taking it on your hard disk after downloading it, you will need about 8 MB for he software and about 10 MB for each course you take.
What Software Must I Have?
- Internet Explorer version 5.5 or above - We cannot guarantee it will work on other browsers.
- Players - Flash 7 or above.
- Acrobat Reader or Microsoft Word for course downloads
- MicroWeb - You will need this 7 MB download if you desire to download multimedia versions of the course to your local hard disk.
- Outlook Express - This program is used for email and for interactive discussion among students who are taking the course on line. It comes with every windows operating system and can be found at
C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe.
What are the Available Formats for Taking This Course?
- Web Based - take it on line
- CD ROM
- Paper - either PDF or Word downloads
Course Organization
At any time during your online study, you can click the "Course Outline" button located in the top frame to get the "linked" course outline to display in the left frame.
Units of Study
The lessons are grouped into seven units:
Unit 1 - Lessons 1-3
Unit 2 - Lessons 4-5
Unit 3 - Lessons 6-9
Unit 4 - Lessons 10-11
Unit 5 - Lessons 12-14
Unit 6 - Lessons 17-19
Unit 7 - Lesson 20-21
Unit 8 - Lesson 22-24
As you plan your study schedule, decide on what dates you want to finish each unit. You can then divide this time into study periods for each lesson.
We suggest that you try to do a lesson a week or three lessons per month. The lessons vary in length but you should allocate about four hours per lesson. You can do this if you study about one hour each day. At this rate, it will take you approximately eight months to complete the course. Many will desire to speed this up and do two or three lessons per week.
Lesson Organization
Please give careful attention to every part of the lesson:
1. Title
2. Lesson outline
3. Lesson objectives
4. Lesson assignments
5. Lesson development
The title, outline, and objectives provide a preview of the lesson. Your mind will be more alert and receptive and you will learn better because of this preview.
The lesson assignments describe how and in what order to complete the lesson.
The word study prepares you for special terms in the lesson.
The lesson development follows the lesson outline. Its comments, suggestions, and questions all help you reach the lesson objectives. Be sure to check your answers with the ones given for the study questions. These will fix your attention once more on the main points of the lesson. This procedure is designed to make your learning more effective and long-lasting.
Make special note of the maps, charts, and other illustrations because they will help you to identify with a part of the early church, sharing its problems, and letting the tremendous truths of these letters grip your heart. Also, you will find these illustrations useful in your preaching and teaching.
Author
This course was written by Dr. Joseph Dillow. It is partially based upon the work of Dr. Bob Meltebeke's course The Greatest Life.
Recommended for Further Reading
This course will include readings in the following works:
- The Life of Christ by Frederick Farrar. (Available for free download in the Bookstore).
- The Training of the Twelve by A. B. Bruce. (Available for free download in the Bookstore).
- Jesus Christ: The Greatest Life Ever Lived, A Unique Blending of the Four Gospels. Complied and Translated (from Greek) by Johnston M. Cheney and Stanley Ellisen, Th.D. Published by Paradise Publishing Inc., 1999.
- The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman. (Available for free download in the Bookstore).
