Bible Study

What will the redeemed see and do before the throne of God?In this sermon on Revelation 7:9-17, Dr. Toby Holt connects Palm Sunday and Passover with John's vision of an innumerable multitude from every nation standing before God and the Lamb. He explains why salvation belongs to God, how Christ's blood makes sinners white, and why heaven's greatest joy is God's presence with His people.Questions this sermon answers:1. How does Revelation 7 fulfill the imagery of Palm Sunday?2. Who are the people in the great multitude wearing white robes?3. What does it mean to be saved from God by God?Revelation 7 assures believers that Jesus wins, His redeemed will dwell before the throne, and God will wipe away every tear.Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded over 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Find more verse-by-verse Bible teaching at newgeneva.org; support this ministry at newgeneva.org/give.

Why does the gospel stir up so much trouble?In Acts 17:1-15, the message of Jesus turns whole cities upside down. Dr. Toby Holt explains why the good news unsettles the world — and why that is exactly what it is meant to do. In Thessalonica, Paul reasoned from the Scriptures for three Sabbaths that Jesus is the Christ who had to die and rise. Some believed, but jealous opponents stirred up a mob, accusing the missionaries of proclaiming "another king — Jesus." Holt notes the real opposition is spiritual, and contrasts the angry crowd with the fair-minded Bereans, who searched the Scriptures daily.Questions this study answers:1. Why did the gospel cause such an uproar? Because it announces "another king, Jesus," and challenges the world's idols and power. A message calling for full allegiance to Christ always unsettles the way things are.2. What was the real source of the opposition? Holt points beyond the angry crowd to a spiritual enemy. The struggle over the gospel is ultimately not agai

How is the story of David and Goliath really about the gospel?In 1 Samuel 17, a shepherd from Bethlehem defeats a giant who defied the living God. In this sermon, Dr. Toby Holt shows how this famous account foreshadows Christ — the Gospel in Old Testament clothing.Questions this sermon answers:1. How was Goliath like the serpent? He was a defiant enemy of God's people — a "proxy" for the evil one, calling for a champion to defeat him.2. How does David point to Christ? Like David, Jesus is the unlikely Champion from Bethlehem who goes out alone to crush the enemy and win deliverance for His people.3. How do Genesis 3 and 1 Samuel 17 connect? Both anticipate the promised One who would crush the serpent's head — fulfilled finally in Christ. "Then David said to the Philistine, 'You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.'" — 1 Samuel 17:45 (NKJV)Dr. Toby Holt is Preside

Why do Christians experience both glory and grief? In Romans 8, Paul describes the tension of the Christian life — a glorious future secured, yet present suffering not yet ended. In this sermon, Dr. Toby Holt explains the "already, but not yet" reality believers live in.Questions this sermon answers:1. Why does all creation "groan"? Because the world was subjected to futility through sin and now awaits its redemption — a brokenness we feel deeply.2. How can we be sure of a brighter tomorrow? Because of Christ. Our future glory is guaranteed by His resurrection and the Spirit given to us as a pledge.3. How do we endure the "not yet"? By fixing our hope on the coming glory, which far outweighs our present sufferings. "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." — Romans 8:18 (NKJV)Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more

Why is worship hard for so many people? For many, worship feels unnatural — and in 2 Chronicles 7, we glimpse why true worship matters so much. In this sermon, Dr. Toby Holt shows that genuine worship grows from knowing the character of God.Questions this sermon answers:1. Why is worship difficult? Because we are used to glorifying ourselves. Worship redirects our hearts to glorify Someone infinitely greater.2. What happened when the temple was dedicated? God's glory filled the house, and the people bowed in worship, praising His goodness and enduring mercy.3. How do we grow in worship? By studying God Himself. The more we understand His character, the more natural and joyful worship becomes."...they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: 'For He is good, for His mercy endures forever.'" — 2 Chronicles 7:3 (NKJV)Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on Sermo

Can God's promises really be trusted?The Bible is full of promises — some made by men, many made by God. In this sermon (Deuteronomy), Dr. Toby Holt contrasts our flimsy, often-broken promises with the iron-clad faithfulness of God's covenant word.Questions this sermon answers:1. What is a covenant? A binding promise or relationship. God repeatedly bound Himself to His people by covenant, pledging His faithfulness.2. How reliable are God's promises? Utterly. Unlike human promises, His word never fails — He keeps covenant and mercy across generations.3. What promises has God made to us? In Christ, God promises forgiveness, His abiding presence, and eternal life to all who trust Him — and He will keep every one. "Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments." — Deuteronomy 7:9 (NKJV)Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downl

Will God really provide for His children? In 1 Kings 17, God feeds the prophet Elijah by ravens and sustains a starving widow through a famine. In this sermon, Dr. Toby Holt shows how the God who provided then will look after His people now.Questions this sermon answers:1. What was Elijah's situation? He was in hiding from wicked Ahab and Jezebel, and God provided for him in the wilderness — even using ravens to bring him food.2. What happened with the widow of Zarephath? Down to her last meal, she trusted God's word through Elijah, and her flour and oil did not run out through the famine.3. What does this teach us? That God cares for His own and provides what they need. The God of the ravens and the widow's jar will look after you. "For thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.'" — 1 Kings 17:14 (NKJV)Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have be

What has God called His people to do? In Matthew 9-10, Jesus sees the crowds, has compassion, and sends out laborers into the harvest. In this sermon, Dr. Toby Holt explores the directions Christ gives His disciples — and the tasks He entrusts to us.Questions this sermon answers:1. What is the harvest field? The world full of lost people. Jesus says the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.2. Why did Christ send the disciples without provisions? To teach them to depend on God's provision rather than their own resources as they served.3. What responsibilities do we have? God doesn't need us, yet He invites us into work of great importance — to pray, to go, and to bear witness to Christ."Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'" — Matthew 9:37-38 (NKJV)Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 m

What really happened with Elisha and the bears? In 2 Kings 2, a crowd of youths mocks the prophet Elisha, and two bears maul them — a passage many find puzzling. In this sermon, Dr. Toby Holt explains what was actually happening and what it teaches us about God.Questions this sermon answers:1. What was so sinful about the mocking? This was no harmless teasing. A gang of young men contemptuously rejected God's appointed prophet — and, through him, God Himself.2. Why was the judgment so severe? Because the offense was against the LORD's messenger and message. To despise God's prophet was to despise God.3. What does this reveal about God? That He is holy and not to be mocked. He takes seriously the honor of His word and those who bear it. "So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths." — 2 Kings 2:24 (NKJV)Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his

Why would a God this great care about you?In Psalm 8, David looks at the night sky and asks, "What is man that You are mindful of him?" Dr. Toby Holt shows how God is both towering above all things and tender toward each of us. David is overwhelmed by God's majesty — the heavens, moon, and stars, all the work of His fingers. Against that vastness, people seem tiny. Yet the wonder is that this towering God stoops to care for us, crowning humanity with honor and dignity. We bear His image, and the God who set the stars in place is mindful of you.Questions this study answers:1. What is so striking about Psalm 8? That the God who made the vast heavens also cares about small, sinful people. His greatness and tenderness meet here.2. Why does David focus on the "name" of God? Because God's name carries His nature and majesty. To praise His name is to praise who He truly is.3. What proof do you have that God loves you? That the towering Creator stoops to be mindful of you and crowns you with digni

Is there really "a time for everything"? In Ecclesiastes 3, the Preacher reflects on the seasons of life — a time to be born and a time to die, a time for war and a time for peace. In this sermon, Dr. Toby Holt explores the rhythms of our existence and where lasting meaning is found.Questions this sermon answers:1. Who wrote this passage, and why? Traditionally Solomon, reflecting on life's fleeting seasons and the search for meaning "under the sun."2. Why does life seem futile "under the sun"? Because apart from God, everything passes and nothing satisfies — life feels like chasing the wind.3. What changes "under heaven"? When God is at the center, the seasons gain purpose. He makes everything beautiful in its time and sets eternity in our hearts."To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." — Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 mil

What is the finish line of your life?Every choice we make moves us toward some destination. In Philippians 3, Paul presses on toward the goal of knowing Christ. In this sermon, Dr. Toby Holt asks where your life is heading, and how to run toward the right finish line.Questions this sermon answers:1. What does our past have to do with our future? Paul refused to be defined by his past — neither his failures nor his achievements. He pressed forward toward Christ.2. What was Paul's aim? To "press toward the goal for the prize" — to finish the race well, with Christ as his ultimate prize.3. What does it mean to "press toward the prize"? To live with purpose and perseverance, running the Christian life as a race worth finishing."I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." — Philippians 3:14 (NKJV)Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Find more

Is it okay to ask God "why"?In this bonus study from Job 10, Dr. Toby Holt asks a question every hurting believer has felt: is it allowed to bring God our raw, grief-filled "why"? Job, the most righteous man on earth, tells God plainly that he loathes his life and wants to know why God is contending with him. God is big enough to receive our honest laments — asking "why" in our pain does not mean God loves us less. Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, David, and Paul all cried out the same way. Bringing our questions to God is an act of faith.Questions this study answers:1. Is it wrong to ask God "why" when we suffer? No. Job, the most righteous man on earth, asked God why — and so did Moses, Elijah, and David. God welcomes our honest cries.2. Does asking "why" mean our faith is weak? Not at all. Bringing our pain to God is itself an act of trust. It turns toward Him rather than away from Him.3. Is God indifferent to our pain? No. God is not cold or distant. He receives t

Will you walk in the light or the darkness? In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul reminds believers that they are "sons of light" living in a dark world. In this sermon, Dr. Toby Holt calls Christians to live as agents of light amid the shadows of this age.Questions this sermon answers:1. What were the Thessalonians anxious about? The future — especially the coming "day of the LORD" and the fate of those who had died.2. How did Paul comfort them? By assuring them they belong to the light and the day, not to the darkness, and are destined for salvation through Christ.3. How should this change how we live? We are to live awake and self-controlled, as people of the light, encouraging one another while we wait."You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness." — 1 Thessalonians 5:5 (NKJV)Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Find more verse-by-verse Bi

Would the apostle John never die?A rumor once spread that the apostle John would never die. In John 21:20-25, the very end of the Gospel, Dr. Toby Holt explains what Jesus actually said — and what He really meant. When Peter asked about John's future, Jesus replied, "If I want him to remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me." People took this to mean John would never die, but John corrects the rumor. Holt explains Jesus' words point to His coming in judgment on Jerusalem in A.D. 70, when the temple was destroyed — an event John lived to see. The Gospel closes with John's sign-off.Questions this study answers:1. What did Jesus mean that John might "remain" until He came? Not that John would never die. He told Peter to stop comparing and simply follow Him; John later corrected the rumor.2. What happened in A.D. 70, and how does it connect? Rome destroyed Jerusalem and its temple, exactly as Jesus warned. Holt links Jesus' words here to that coming in judgment.3. How does John's

Can Jesus restore you after you fail Him?Yes. In John 21:15-19, the risen Jesus meets Peter — who had denied Him three times — and gently restores him. Dr. Toby Holt shows that failure is not the end for those Jesus loves.Over a breakfast on the shore, Jesus asks Peter three times, "Do you love Me?" — one for each denial. Each time Peter says yes, Jesus gives a charge: feed My lambs, tend My sheep, feed My sheep. Love shows itself in faithful service. Jesus then foretells Peter would one day die for Him, and closes: "Follow Me."Questions this study answers:1. Why did Jesus ask Peter the same question three times? Peter had denied Jesus three times, so Jesus gave him three chances to affirm his love — a tender restoration, not an interrogation.2. What did Jesus mean by "feed My sheep"? He was calling Peter to care for His people — to nourish and protect them. Real love for Jesus shows itself in serving others.3. What does this say to us when we fail? Jesus restores those who fall

Is it wrong to doubt?Not always — but doubt can blind us to plain evidence. In John 20:19-29, the risen Jesus meets the doubting disciple Thomas. Dr. Toby Holt looks at faith, evidence, and the scars of Christ. On the evening of the resurrection, Jesus appears in a locked room, shows His wounded hands and side, and gives peace. Thomas, absent, refuses to believe unless he can touch the wounds. A week later Jesus returns and offers exactly that. Thomas already had ample evidence — and face to face with the risen Christ, he gives the Bible's clearest confession: "My Lord and my God!"Questions this study answers:1. What are the proofs of the resurrection? Jesus appeared bodily, showed His wounds, and was seen by many witnesses over many days. Even Thomas's about-face is part of that evidence.2. Was Thomas only a doubter? No. Elsewhere he was brave and loyal. His doubt here stands out precisely because he had already seen and heard so much.3. What does this teach about faith? Genuine faith rests on real

What proof is there that Jesus rose?In John 20:1-18, Mary Magdalene finds the tomb empty and meets the risen Lord. Dr. Toby Holt walks through the evidence that Jesus truly rose from the dead.Mary comes while it is still dark and finds the stone rolled away. Peter and John find the grave clothes lying in place and the face cloth folded by itself — not what robbers would leave. Two angels sit where the body had lain. Then Mary, weeping, mistakes Jesus for the gardener — until He speaks her name.Questions this study answers:1. What is the evidence for the resurrection? The empty tomb, the neatly folded grave clothes, the angelic witnesses, and the appearances of the risen Jesus all point to a real resurrection, not a stolen body.2. Why does it matter that Mary first thought Jesus was the gardener? It shows the resurrection caught even His friends by surprise. She knew Him the instant He spoke her name.3. What did Jesus tell Mary? He sent her to tell the others He was ascending to "My Father and your Father

What did Jesus mean, "It is finished"?In John 19:25-37, Jesus speaks His final words from the cross: "It is finished." Dr. Toby Holt explains why those three words are the heart of the gospel.From the cross, Jesus entrusts His mother to John. Then, having borne the full weight of God's judgment against sin, He cries, "It is finished," and gives up His spirit. The debt is paid in full — nothing left for us to add — and the Old Testament sacrifices are complete. To confirm His death, a soldier pierces His side, and blood and water flow out, fulfilling Scripture.Questions this study answers:1. What was "finished"? The full payment for sin. Jesus bore God's judgment in the place of His people, so nothing more needs to be added to be saved.2. Why does it matter that Jesus' bones were not broken? It fulfilled Scripture about the Passover lamb, showing Jesus is the true Lamb of God whose death rescues His people.3. How do we know Jesus really died? A soldier pierced His side a

Why call a crucified man a king?In John 19:14-24, Pilate fixes a sign above the dying Jesus: "The King of the Jews." Dr. Toby Holt shows how the cross is the true throne of the King. Jesus is handed over on the day the Passover lambs were prepared — the true Lamb dying at the appointed hour. He carries the crossbar to Golgotha and is crucified between two criminals. Pilate writes the charge in three languages and refuses to change it. The soldiers gamble for His seamless robe, unknowingly fulfilling Scripture written a thousand years earlier.Questions this study answers:1. Did Jesus really have to die? Yes. His death was God's plan to rescue sinners, foretold long before in Scripture. He died willingly as the true Passover Lamb.2. Why was Jesus called a king? Pilate meant it as mockery, but it was the truth. Jesus reigns as King — and the cross, not a palace, is where He won His people.3. What prophecies were fulfilled at the cross? Details like the soldiers casting lots for His clothing fulfilled S