Junior/Senior High Campus
Bible 10 New Testament Survey
2015-2016 School Year
Teacher Name: Kevin Miller
Telephone: 513.892.8500 ext. 1051
Email: kevin.miller@cincinnatichristian.org
Course Description: The first semester of our study will focus on the Intertestamental
Period (the time from the end of the Old Testament to the beginning of the New
Testament) to form a background from which we enter the New Testament. Our study in
the Intertestamental Period will be over societies, institutions, and characters that
controlled the period. The second semester of our course of study will survey the New
Testament itself. We will begin with the life and teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, and
progress to the formation of the Early Church through Acts and the New Testament
Epistles.
Course Units:
1) Intertestamental history: Persian Exile – Roman dominance
To understand and interpret how the social and political history of the period
between the two testaments set the stage for the arrival of the Messiah.
2) Intertestamental social, political and religious backgrounds
To understand and analyze how the social, political, and religious background of
Palestine entering the New Testament period shaped the expectations of the
Messiah.
3) Intertestamental/New Testament Geography: lands, waterways, institutions
To understand and explain the geography of the Roman world and Palestine, and
its relationship to events before and during the first century.
4) New Testament: Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ
To understand the life and teachings of Jesus and his fulfillment of Old Testament
prophecy as the promised Messiah and savior of the world.
5) New Testament: Paul and the Early Church
To understand the formation and development of the Early Church following the
ascension of Jesus Christ, and the role of Paul in the spread of the Gospel across
the known world.
6) New Testament: the General Epistles and Revelation
To understand the contribution of the Apostle John to the formation of early
Christian thought, the spread of the Gospel to Asia Minor, and the central
meaning of the book of Revelation. Also, the role of the General Epistles in the
formation of the Early Church and the spread of the Gospel to specific peoples.
Textbooks and Resources:
The Bible, various translations
Encountering the New Testament, 2nd edition, Elwell, Walter A., Yarbrough, Robert W.,
Baker, 2005
Supply list: Laptop (provided by CCS), notebook, pen/pencil, paper Bible
Method of Instruction: Discussion, lecture, project-based-learning
Assessment (Grading):
Unit Assessments
Assignments
Scripture memorization
Quizzes
Class projects
Participation
Journal
25%
20%
20%
15%
10%
5%
5%
Classroom policies:
Homework: Homework will be posted to Haiku. Students and parents should check the
class page (not just their dashboard) for details and student grades.
Assessments: Assessments will be done on the laptop via Haiku.
Papers: Papers with any of the “No Excuse” errors will be returned and grade will be
reduced 20% immediately. Student must resubmit within two (2) school days to avoid a
late penalty. All papers will be submitted to an activity on the class Haiku page.
Late work: This course’s late work policy is as follows: 1) Students will be given twentyfour (24) hours of grace (any school break or weekend counts as “24” hours) past the
deadline to submit work for full credit 2) after that grace period, work will be reduced
10% for every day it is late 3) work will be graded and then the late penalty subtracted
from the graded work 4) student grade will max out at 50% of the total possible after five
(5) days post grace period.
Unit 1 - Intertestamental history: Persian Exile – Roman dominance
Essential Questions:
1. How did the Exilic Period lead to the rise of the Jewish High Priest?
2. Why did the religious practices of the Exilic Period continue into the New
Testament?
3. What aspects of foreign culture influence the people of the New Testament?
4. How did foreign kingdoms impact Israel and their expectation of the Messiah?
5. Which social forces arriving during the Intertestamental period were still in place
in the New Testament world?
6. How did the social, political and religious changes in the Intertestamental period
fulfill prophecy of the coming Messiah?
7. How do these different changes and developments aid the Gospel and its spread
later in time?
8. What was God’s purpose in waiting 400 years after the end of the Old Testament
to send the Messiah?
9. How does the history of the Intertestamental Period demonstrate God’s “fullness
of time”?
Unit 2 - Intertestamental social, political and religious backgrounds
Essential Questions:
1. Who were the Pharisees and what did they believe?
2. Who were the Sadducees and what did they believe?
3. Who were the Essenes, what did they believe, how are they similar to John the
Baptist and what contribution have they given to biblical studies?
4. How do the roles of the Synagogue and the Temple foreshadow the Messiah, and
how will the Messiah surpass those expectations?
5. How did the Synagogue shape social and political power in the first century?
What impact did Synagogue leaders have over the lives and faith of the Jewish
people?
6. How and why did the Synagogue and the Temple exist together?
7. In what ways does the person and ministry of Jesus fulfill the expectations and
role of the Temple?
8. Which social forces arriving during the Intertestamental period were still in place
in the New Testament world?
9. How did the social, political and religious changes in the Intertestamental period
fulfill prophecy of the coming Messiah?
10. How did the Roman presence in Palestine shape expectations of the Messiah?
11. How did the Roman military and political structures give a framework for New
Testament teachings?
Unit 3 - Intertestamental/New Testament Geography: lands, waterways, institutions
Essential Questions:
1. Why was a Roman presence in Palestine so important, for Rome and the Gospel?
2. What role did geography play in the Crucifixion? Why is it significant?
3. What connection to the Old Testament do geographical locations in the New
Testament hold?
4. What is significant about the location of the Temple within the city of Jerusalem?
Why?
5. What is the most important place in the Temple? Why? What connection does
that place in the Tempe have to Christ?
6. How did the physical presence of the Temple affect life in Jerusalem?
7. What was God’s purpose in establishing the Temple with its courts leading up to
the Crucifixion?
Unit 4 - New Testament: Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ
Essential Questions:
1. How does Jesus fulfill prophecies of the Messiah in his teaching/ministry/death
and resurrection?
2. What do each of the New Testament Gospel writers endeavor to teach readers
about Jesus?
3. Who wrote their Gospel first, why is that important?
4. What exactly is a Gospel in literary and historical terms?
5. Is there a “problem” with our four Gospels?
6. What exactly is the “Synoptic Problem” and what are some possible “solutions”
to that problem?
7. Who are the authors and audiences of each Gospel and why is that important?
8. What is the central message/portrait of Jesus in each of the four Gospels?
9. In what ways do the Gospel writers use prophecy from the Old Testament to
prove that Jesus in the Christ, the Son of God?
10. Explain Jesus’ use of the title – Son of Man. What connection does this term
have to prophecy and why is that important to understanding God’s plan and
the “fullness of time”?
Unit 5 - New Testament: Paul and the Early Church
Essential Questions:
1. What are aspects of Paul’s sociological background that influence reading,
exegesis and application of Paul’s texts?
2. Why did Paul write letters and how should that impact the way his letters are
read?
3. How did Paul and his letters effect the development of the Early Church? What
role did Paul play in “crystalizing” Christianity?
4. How are Paul’s texts properly made relevant in the contemporary Church
settings?
5. Where does Paul draw information from when teaching? Why is it important that
he gets his information and understanding from that source?
6. Explain Paul’s view of Salvation by grace.
7. What is the catalytic event that launches the Early Church? Why?
8. What was the role of the Counsel in Jerusalem for the Early Church and what
critical decision did they make?
9. Which letters did Paul write on which missionary trips? Why is that significant?
Unit 6 - New Testament: the General Epistles and Revelation
Essential Questions:
1. What are the “General Epistles” and why are they important?
2. Explain the options for who wrote the book of Hebrews?
3. What are “Johannine Literature” and the “Johannine Community”?
4. What are the most significant theological points from the Gospel of John that are
also clearly noticed in the letters of John and Revelation?
5. What is the central message of the book of Revelation?
6. How does a Johannine understanding of Jesus Christ help us understand Jesus
Christ today?
7. What is the central message of: James, Jude, Hebrews, 1-2 Peter, and 1-3 John?
8. Who wrote the General Epistles and to whom did they write?