God's Gift of Scripture with Belton Joyner

NC Conference of The UMC
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

Belton Joyner has enriched and enlivened our study of scripture with his insightful writing over the years. Now, we're offering a new way for you to engage with the Bible Study: an audio version of his weekly commentary, narrated by Belton himself. "God's Gift of Scripture with Belton Joyner" is a new way for you or your group to utilize this Bible Study.

  1. 3d ago

    Their Witness Speaks to Us, Part 2 (10/11/26)

    Good ol’ Jephthah. Unless you have been strolling through the Book of Judges lately, you probably don’t remember much about Jephthah. As one of the Israelite judges, he helped fend off the Ammonites. He’s the one who said that if he won the battle, he would sacrifice the first thing to come out of his house. Alas, it turned out to be his daughter and, keeping his promise, he sacrificed her. This is a biblical hero? At best, he  is a mixed bag.  The writer of Hebrews lists some who were seen as giants of the Israelite faith community (Hebrews 11:32). But, when all is said and done, God provided something even better. There is a lesson here: God provides in ways different from what we expect, but it is a better provision for us. Jesus Christ is the ultimate provision given by God (Hebrews 11:39). Sneak a look at next week’s study text—Hebrews 12:1-17—and get a glimpse of that better gift.  Hebrews 11:33-38 spells out many of the ways in which the giants of the Israelite community served and witnessed. We have to admire those sufferings and sacrifices, but the writer reminds us that even though these brave ones are commended for their faith (Hebrews 11:39), their reward is not instant. It takes strong faith to trust even when reward is not immediate.  Remember that this letter (Hebrews) is directed to the Jewish community. They would know of and value these who are celebrated in these verses. The writer of the letter joins them in that memory and that respect. But, there is more to come. Jesus Christ has come to fulfill the promises. Does my faith invite me to have the same assurance that the writer of Hebrews makes?  What Someone Else Has Said: In her commentary on Hebrews (Hebrews and James, Westminster John Knox Press), Frances Taylor Gench wrote: “Clearly, the lives of the saints in this world are not always easy. Indeed, the world is ‘not worthy’ of them. Still, Hebrews maintains that the saints of every generation are empowered by faith to endure suffering and even death if need be, because they know their ultimate destiny is in the hands of the unseen God whose promises are sure and because they know that God’s purposes will not fail to be achieved despite all appearances to the contrary. Indeed, with the faithful of preceding generations, we continue to wait for and move steadily toward the world’s redemption in Christ.”  Prayer: As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: “Come, Lord Jesus. Bring the grace of Your presence into our waiting hearts...”

  2. Oct 4

    Their Witness Speaks to Us, Part 1 (10/4/26)

    ne of my favorite programs on Game Show Network is “America Says.” Contestants are given an incomplete sentence and have to guess how that sentence has been completed in a survey of Americans. Okay. I am going to try that with you!  How would you complete this sentence? Among my faith ancestors in the Old Testament, I’d want to include: A______, I______, J______, S______, E______, J______.  Now, read the focal text for today: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-22. Does that help you complete the answers? (There will be more in next week’s lesson.)  For most of us, there have been persons who helped shape our faith journey. If I named a few from my experience, most would be people of whom you have never heard. My parents, F. B. and Mary Joyner. Mrs. Rowland, third grade Sunday School teacher. Mr. Smith, high school Sunday School teacher. Art Brandenburg. Blaine Taylor. Sally AsKew, Carl Michalson. Who is on your list? Whose list might you be on?  In reading this week’s text, it is interesting that none of the persons mentioned are stand-alone characters. It is in relationship that we remember them.  These Old Testament personnel prepare the way and point the way to our Savior, Christ Jesus. I ask myself: “Does my life prepare persons to meet Jesus? Does my life show the way to Christ?” When has that happened?  Faith is not a matter of filling out the order blank and immediately getting results. God’s calendar is not always the same as our calendar. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Esau, and Joseph (In case you didn’t find it, that’s the answer to the quiz up above) lived with faith that sometimes saw quick  fulfillment, but also lived with faith that was “the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).  What Someone Else Has Said: Richard Heitzenrater (Mirror and Memory: Reflections on Early Methodism, Kingswood Books) has written: “Thus true faith is always accompanied by assurance and evidenced by freedom from sin, fear, and doubt, three fruits which inseparably attend assurance and attest to a proper faith.”  Prayer: As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: “Holy and faithful God, I come  before You in confidence, knowing that You know what is best. In Your Son, You have shown me what love looks like; help me to live that love...”

  3. Sep 27

    You Can Do This! (9/27/26)

    After reading this week’s focal text, go back over it and count the number of times a plural pronoun is used. I counted ten. Us. We. Our. Plural you. This call to a covenant with Jesus Christ is clearly a call to community. Provoking one another to love and good deeds (v. 24). Meeting together (v. 25). Encouraging one another (v. 25). This is not a solo sport!  The writer of Hebrews is addressing the Jewish community, many of whom have come to believe in Jesus Christ. Those who are believers in Christ now are in a community that includes Gentiles, those who have not traveled the Jewish road. In other words, this Christian community contains some folks unlike the ones the writer is addressing. I am left to wonder who in the community of Jesus Christ is different from the folks I am used to being around.  Race? Language? Sexual orientation? Social status? Income? When I am invited to be in the community of Jesus Christ, I am invited to be with all kinds of people! Hebrews 10:20 describes what could be translated as “a new and different way.” If it is business as usual, I have to wonder if it is of Jesus Christ.  Last week included my 91st birthday. If I have counted correctly, this is the 1,290th in this series of Adult Bible Study commentaries. I have been at this for a long time, but if there is not the freshness of new relationships, new understandings, new possibilities, I have failed to accept what Hebrews 10:20 calls “a new and living way.” If I try to go it alone, I have missed the community described in Hebrews 10:24-25. If I have wavered in my assurance, I have missed the faithfulness of the promises of Jesus (Hebrews 10:23). If I figure that I have done this faith on my own, I have not heard Hebrews 10:19 tell me that I am here because of what Jesus has done.  I’m not going to call Terry by name because it would embarrass him -oops! I just did! -but I am inspired by his commitments to community expressions of the faith: a weekly accountability group, service teams, corporate worship, Zoom meetings on anti-racism, ongoing dialogue with persons of other faiths, hospitality, Sunday School class discussion, support of family variety, openness to others. Thanks be to God for those who live out the faith in community!  What Someone Else Has Said: Thomas Moore (Soul Mates, Harper Collins) has written: “... Community is a paradox... It doesn’t operate on the level of personalities and ideas, but from a deeper location in the soul.”  Prayer: As you prepare this lesson let your prayer begin: “Lord, You have given me community; grant me the fullness of that community...”

  4. Sep 20

    The High Priest with a New Covenant (9/20/26)

    Theologians and other biblical scholars sometimes like to argue with one another. This week’s focal text (Hebrews 8:1-13) has given them a good issue to squabble over. Is God’s original covenant no longer in effect (Hebrews 8:13) or has it just been improved (Hebrews 8:6)? No matter which theological team you join in this debate, the writer of Hebrews is clear that Jesus Christ is the difference.

  5. Sep 13

    Jesus, Our High Priest Forever (9/13/26)

    Last night, I went to the Duke women’s basketball game. A friend was visiting me and he wanted to go to the game. He had never been to a basketball game. I kept wondering what I should try to explain to him. Why did some baskets made earn one point, some two points, and some three points? Why does the referee take the ball away from the player who ran (traveled) down the court? What is a full court press? Why don’t players try to block the shot of someone trying a free throw?  Well, you get the idea. The game is different when you have not been before! After the game which Duke won, hooray! I asked him what he had enjoyed the most. His favorite part of the evening was a performance by the cheerleaders during one of the breaks in the game.  The writer of Hebrews is having to do sort of what I did at that game. He is trying to explain about Jesus to a community of Jews who were friendly, but didn’t know about the Savior. In this week’s focal text, the writer uses language and images that would ring a bell for this Jewish readership. He writes about high priests. His readers would remember Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, lthamar, and others.  Then, the writer brings the news of Jesus Christ. He has had the same life experiences as we do, yet He has not sinned (Hebrews 4:15). He is perfect (Hebrews 5:3). He is the source of salvation (Hebrews 5:9). The high priests of the Jewish tradition were to be honored and respected, but should not be confused with this great high priest, Jesus Christ.  Let me slip in another basketball image. The Jewish priests were like the warm-up before the game. It was important. It helped prepare for the game. It was good to enjoy. However! Jesus Christ was the game Himself. There is no need to keep score during warm-up, but with the call and claim of Jesus, knowing the score is important. And He has won the game! Who Jesus was and what He did...who Jesus is and what He does...this is the real thing and not just a warm-up. If we know Jesus, we know the final score. Melchizedek got it all started (Genesis 14:17-24) and Jesus completes the order of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-24). Enjoy the pre-game warm-up, but in the grace of salvation celebrate the final score!  What Someone Else Has Said: T. A. Langford (God Made Known, Abingdon) wrote: “To speak of God at all requires both humility and courage. To be aware of God is to be overwhelmed.”  Prayer: As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: “Holy Priest, Lord Jesus...”

  6. Sep 6

    God’s Son and the Angels (9/6/26)

    Hebrews is a letter to the Jewish community. The writer seems to want to make sure the readers do not confuse the messengers-angels--with the message. Jesus Christ is the message (Hebrews 1:8).  Angel. It is a word that means “messenger.” Who have been God’s messengers in your life? For whom have you been a messenger for God?  These days, I think the angels in my life do not recognize themselves as angels. Are they perfect? No. Have they conveyed to me the saving, healing, loving presence of Jesus Christ? Yes. (In my heart now, I am with thanksgiving naming some of them. Take a moment to give God thanks for your angels.)  Some friends give me a vocabulary calendar each year at Christmas. On the pages of the calendar, every day is given a word. On the day I write this, the word is “perfunctory.” What I note is that when an angel is recognized, it is anything but perfunctory. For example, when the angel Gabriel greeted Mary and then told her about the child to be born to her (Luke 1:26-38), Mary at first ponders the situation and is perplexed. It ain’t business as usual!  In writing the Jewish people, the author of these verses acknowledges that God has indeed spoken to them “in many and various ways” (Hebrews 1:1). But now, there is another Voice, even Jesus Christ, Son of God. It ain’t business as usual!  The measuring stick for the truth of what angels say to us is Jesus Christ. In the edition of the Bible I am using today, there is a heading each time the subject changes. At the head of this chapter, it reads “God Has Spoken by His Son.” Messengers may come in divine service (as it says in Acts 1:14), but the message is true only if it is Jesus Christ!  As James Montgomery wrote (hymn 220, The United Methodist Hymnal): “Angels from the  realms of glory, wing your flight o’er all the earth; ye who sang creation’s story, now proclaim Messiah’s birth...Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the new born King.”  What Someone Else Has Said: In Christ for the World (editor, James Logan, Kingswood Books), Bishop Arthur Kulah wrote: “...no matter what culture is one’s own, the gospel of Jesus Christ is universal and transcultural.”  Prayer: As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: “Help me listen, Lord, to those who bring Your Good News to me...”

  7. Aug 30

    Paul’s Impatience with the Jewish Mission (8/30/26)

    How did you come to have faith in Jesus Christ?  That question stirred in me as I read this focal text. Look at Acts 28:24. The key word in that verse is peitho. Different translators choose different ways of putting that word into English. The King James Version says “believed,” as if some simply accepted what they heard. The Revised Standard Version indicates that some were “convinced,” suggesting that they initially resisted. The Common English Bible reads “persuaded,” as if logic led them to the truth.  In The New Testament According to Eastern Texts the word is rendered “hearkened,” with an understanding of a sudden new insight, like waking up. “Inclined to believe” is the way The Twentieth Century New Testament translates it. This sounds as if someone has not come fully to faith. How did you come to have faith in Jesus Christ?  Paul was still a prisoner when this scene occurred. Some who heard him no doubt  figured he was not worth listening to if he were a prisoner. Others would have been impressed that Paul still professed his faith, even under duress. How did you come to have faith in Jesus Christ?  In this week’s focal text, Paul is speaking to persons in the Jewish community, persons who Luke closes out this account of Paul’s ministry, depicting Paul’s work as bold and not blocked by anything put in his way (v. 31). What adjectives could be used to describe your witness for Jesus Christ?  What Someone Else Has Said: Edgardo Colón-Emeric (Dean of Duke Divinity School) has written (Wesley, Aquinas, and Christian Perfection: An Ecumenical Dialogue, Baylor University Press): “Faced with the enormity of the problems of this present age, a church without saints easily falls prey to presumption (the right theology or technology can fix everything) or despair (all love’s labors are lost).  Prayer: As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: “Lord God, You sent Paul. Where now would You send me?...”

  8. Aug 23

    A Journey Fraught with Dangers and Opportunities (8/23/26)

    These days, Malta is a tourist destination. This island just south of Italy gets three times as many tourists as it has residents! That is not exactly the way it was when the ship that prisoner Paul was on slammed into a reef and Paul found himself on the island. He was well treated (Acts 28:2). Paul survived an episode with a snake, so the islanders honored him. Paul ministered with many acts of healing. Great story! As one writer has said, it unfolds like the script of a Hollywood action movie.

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Belton Joyner has enriched and enlivened our study of scripture with his insightful writing over the years. Now, we're offering a new way for you to engage with the Bible Study: an audio version of his weekly commentary, narrated by Belton himself. "God's Gift of Scripture with Belton Joyner" is a new way for you or your group to utilize this Bible Study.

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