When I prayed about the launch of the Rolling Hills Bible Institute in January 2010, I did not pray with enough imagination to anticipate the great turnout. What a blessing to see over 230 students embark upon their quest to dive deeper into the word of God, to develop their Christian thinking, and to be transformed.
The Winter Session was launched with Dr. J.P. Moreland speaking about loving God with all of our minds. He made an observation, “Jesus is the smartest man who ever lived.” This is an interesting thought. So often we think of Jesus as loving shepherd, righteous God, miraculous healer. It is true that he is all of these things, and so much more; but how often do we think of Him as the Great Scholar?
When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he gave a simple answer: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” As he continued, Jesus said that a second commandment is like the first, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-40). Brilliant! Jesus captured the entire heart of the law and the prophets in a couple verses that any of us can easily recall. The gospels are full of Jesus’ brilliance. We do well to keep this in mind as we seek to be more like him.
It is so encouraging to see that so many people in our congregation see the value of developing their minds for Christ.
As you seek to develop your mind, remember Jesus’ words… in addition to our minds he wants our hearts and our very souls… he wants us to live out our lives in service and love. Each of our instructors is committed to helping you grow in this total picture of what it means to be a follower Jesus, the smartest man who ever lived.
We’re excited about this upcoming session. We have several new classes that we’re introducing as well as our new web site (http://www.rhbi.org). We also have some classes that are repeating on different nights to help those who couldn’t make it last session.
We have a gifted team of teachers that are investing significant time in preparing to instruct you as you seek to be conformed increasingly to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).
With that, I invite you to explore our new website and to have a look at our upcoming session by clicking here: Spring Session 2010. Be sure to register early to take advantage of the discounted tuition ($25 instead of $35). Always remember that scholarships are readily available, so please don’t allow finances to get in the way of your growth!
Your brother in Christ,
- J.P. Poveda
