BIBL101: Bible Foundations

Year 1 • 3 Credits • Weekly Syllabus

BIBL101 is a 3-credit course in the Year 1 program at Sozo Bible College.

12-Week Course Outline

1. Week 1 The Bible's Origin, Canon, and Structure

   This week lays the groundwork for everything to follow: how the Bible came to be, how its 66 books were recognized as Scripture (the canon), and how it's organized. You'll see Scripture not as a single book dropped from heaven, but as one unified story, written by dozens of human authors across...

2. Week 2 The Pentateuch — Creation, Covenant, and Exodus

   The first five books (Genesis–Deuteronomy) lay the theological foundation for the entire Bible: creation, the fall, God's covenant promises to Abraham, the exodus from Egypt, and the giving of the Law at Sinai. Every major biblical theme — sin, covenant, redemption, God's faithfulness to His...

3. Week 3 Israel's Story — Conquest, Kingdom, and Exile

   The historical books (Joshua–Esther) trace Israel's journey from entering the Promised Land, through the period of judges, the united monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon, the divided kingdom, and ultimately exile. These books are honest about Israel's failures as much as God's faithfulness —...

4. Week 4 Wisdom Literature — Job, Psalms, and Proverbs

   Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon form Scripture's wisdom and poetic tradition. These books speak to the full range of human experience — suffering and unanswered questions (Job), honest worship and prayer in every emotional state (Psalms), practical daily wisdom...

5. Week 5 The Prophets — Justice, Judgment, and Hope

   The Major and Minor Prophets carry messages of God's justice, calls to repentance, and promises of restoration and a coming Messiah. These books were written into real historical crises — the threat of Assyria and Babylon — and their calls to justice, faithfulness, and genuine worship over empty...

6. Week 6 Entering the Gospels — Christ, the Fulfillment

   The four Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, John — each tell the story of Jesus from a distinct vantage point: Matthew to a Jewish audience showing Jesus as the promised Messiah-King; Mark fast-paced and action-oriented; Luke with special attention to the poor, the outsider, and the marginalized;...

7. Week 7 The Life and Teaching of Jesus

   This week goes deeper into Jesus' actual ministry: His parables, His Sermon on the Mount, His miracles, and His relationships with disciples, religious leaders, and outcasts alike. The Kingdom of God, sacrificial love, forgiveness, and costly discipleship are at the center of His teaching — and...

8. Week 8 Acts — The Spirit-Empowered Church

   The Book of Acts records what happened after Pentecost: ordinary men and women, filled with the Holy Spirit, turning the world upside down. This week traces the church's explosive growth, its persecutions, and its expansion from a small Jewish movement into a Gospel reaching every nation —...

9. Week 9 Paul's Letters — Doctrine for the Church

   Paul's letters — Romans through Philemon — lay out the church's core doctrine: justification by faith, grace over law, the believer's new identity in Christ, and Christ's supremacy over all things. These aren't abstract theology for its own sake — they were written to real churches with real...

10. Week 10 The General Epistles — Faith That Works

    Hebrews, James, Peter, John, and Jude round out the New Testament's letters, with strong emphasis on enduring faith through trials, faith expressed in action (not mere words), love and truth held together, and standing firm against false teaching. This week is squarely practical: how does real...

11. Week 11 Revelation — Hope for the End of the Story

    Revelation closes the biblical story with vivid, symbolic visions of judgment, Christ's return, and the new heaven and new earth. This week introduces the major interpretive approaches to apocalyptic literature, and — consistent with Sozo's conviction that the Gospel changes the world now, not...

12. Week 12 One Story, One Savior — Synthesis and Application

    In this final week, you'll bring it all together: from creation to new creation, the whole Bible tells one continuous story of God's redeeming love — and you are now part of that story, not merely a student of it. This week's reflection asks you to articulate, in your own words, the Bible's...