This course is an overview of the person of the Holy Spirit and the manifestations of His presence in the Church and in the individual believer. Special attention would be paid to the following:

• Understanding the nature of the holy
• The tripartite nature of
• Developing the spirit of man,
• How to cultivate the presence of the Holy Spirit: the issue of silence (inner and outer), consistent pursuit (with the whole of your heart).
• Phases of spiritual growth-starting with baby steps (the example of Samuel).
• Gaining understanding of the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit as it relates to Christian living and
• The works of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of believer, and the world in
• The place of obedience in relating with the Holy
• Dealing with the problem of sin and the walk with the Holy Spirit; and
• The Holy Spirit, burn – out seasons and the place of solitude (example – Elijah on the mountain)

This course elucidates the nature and history of the church from the old to the New Testament. Various perspectives on the structure and function of the church would be examined. Specific issues to discuss include the priesthood of all believers and the clergy/laity distinction. We would also examine the   structure of the early church, focusing on the issue of team ministry in order to derive essential lessons for the contemporary church. Specific issues to be discussed include: prerequisite for membership of the church; dynamics of relationship between members; Biblical principles of conflict resolution; discipline of offending members and workers training with the objective of helping members understand their purpose, function, job description and how to maintain unity; Biblical principles and structure of church leadership; prerequisites for leadership; dynamics of team ministry and the unity of the five-fold ministry (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers); challenges of leadership and basic management and administrative principles; and financial management of the church.

Course objectives

At the end of this course, students are expected to be able to:-

• Explain the meaning of the Church in Biblical perspectives, as the Body of Christ, as the Bride of Christ, as the House of GOD, and as GOD’s own family.
• Describe the characteristics of the early Church and draw essential lessons from there for the Church
• Understand Church leadership structure and its requirements

Understand and gain practical knowledge in church administration and financial management

This course begins with a panoramic view of the history of the Bible, the origin, and the emergence of different translations of the Bible. It would also explain the formation of the Bible and the existence of some non-canonized writings,   manners and customs of Bible times. An insight into the traditions of the people who lived in Bible times from the Hebrews to the Babylonians to the Greeks (family life, hospitality, feasts, dressing and vocations) shall be studied as an introduction for an in-depth study of the first five books of the Old Testament. Emphasis would be on the theme and contents of each book along with the meaning and significance of the historical events and messages of the books. Emphasis would also be placed on how God’s moral foundation for the nation of Israel speaks to the people and nations of all times. The focus of our study includes an overview of:-  

• The structure of the Bible: Old and New Testaments along with the categorisation and broad themes of their books
• Canonology, translations and versions of the Bible

• Bible times

• The peoples referred to in the Bible and their cultures

• Basic questions often asked about the Bible

• The first five books of the Hebrew Bible called the ‘Pentateuch’ (Comprising Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy)
• To read and interpret the Pentateuch in light of its ancient near eastern and canonical texts
• To identify theological themes that run throughout the Pentateuch. Examples are themes pertaining to creation, origin of man, sin, choice of Abraham, the origin of the nation of Israel, and the messianic

• Practical implications of the central themes of the Pentateuch for the practice of Christianity

 

Course objectives

At the end of this course, students are expected to have a full understanding of:-

• The structure of the Bible

• Canons, translations and versions of the Bible

• Basic questions asked about the Bible

• The Pentateuch along with the basic theological themes included therein and the practical implications of these for Judaism and Christianity today
• Focus on the symbolic and linguistic indicators of the Messiah in the Pentateuch

This course focuses on the general nature, structure, content and significance of the historical books in the Bible: Joshua; Judges; Ruth; I Samuel; II Samuel; I Kings; II Kings; I Chronicles; II Chronicles; Ezra; Nehemiah; and Esther. This would span the period from the formation of the nation of Israel, the institution of the monarchy to the Babylonian captivity. It would summarise each of the historical books with emphasis on significance for the church today. Attention would also be paid to dating, authorship and the messianic prominence of each of the historical books. The purpose of this course is to enable students to do the following:-

• Gain an integrated overview of Israelite history from its pre-history to the close of the Old Testament period
• Explore the two great historical works of the Old Testament – the prophetic history of Joshua through second Kings, and the Priestly history of first Chronicles through Nehemiah, as well as the books of Ruth and Esther. The content of these works will be integrated with the outline of history from the first stated goal and the theological focus of each will be highlighted and
• Examine the salvation history of Israel so as to discover therein the pictures of GOD that arise from the records of HIS mighty acts and to learn what it means to be HIS people from the accounts of the Israelites’ interactions with their
• Relate the salvation history of Israel to the salvation of man

 

Course objectives

At the end of this course, the students are expected to be able to:-

• Relate the history of Israel to modern Christianity
• Relate in reasonable detail the content of the historical writings of the Old Testament
• Outline the similarities and differences in perspectives historically and literally of these writings

This course is an in - depth study of the prophetic books (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc.) and an introduction into Apocalyptic literature (Daniel and Revelation). For the prophetic books, special focus would be on the classification (major and minor, pre – exilic, exilic, and post exilic), historical background, authorship, scope, content, time of prophecy and general message of each book. This will be related to the place of prophetic ministry in the church today. The relevance of the messages in the books to effective Christian living would also be considered. With regards to the apocalyptic books, attention would be paid to the book of revelation and other apocalyptic literatures with a view to link prophecy to its partial fulfilment, and the expected future fulfilment. It would also examine the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ to John and the messages about the end times as applied to individuals and the church. An attempt would also be made to interpret current global events in the light of the contents of prophetic and apocalyptic books.

 

Course objectives

At the end of this course, students should be able to:-

• Bridge the Biblical world and the world of today by paying due attention to the timely and timeless aspects of the apocalyptic and prophetic books
• Arrange the prophets chronologically and geographically, as well as classify them in their major, minor, pre – exilic, exilic, and post exilic groupings.
• State the general themes or purpose for each of the prophetic books

• Evaluate the particular issue each of the prophetic books is responding to

Identify common tools / symbols of apocalyptic interpretations, e.g. horns mean strength, beast means a ruler or a dispensation

This course is a study of the poetic literature of the Old Testament books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Songs of Solomon. The focus would be on the nature of poetry, its manifestations in the Bible, significance of studying the poetic books, historical settings, authorship, content, spiritual values and moral teachings inherent in these books. Special attention would be paid to the messianic content of the books as well as the relevance of the messages to effective Christian living.

 

Course objectives

At the end of this course, students are expected to have a comprehensive grasp of:-

• Nature of poetry
• Nature of poetry in the Bible
• Importance of studying the poetic books
• Characteristics of Hebrew poetry
• Messianic content of poetic books

 

This course examines the different perspectives from which the synoptic gospels view the birth, person and ministry of Christ, taking note of their essential differences and similarities. Jesus Christ is shown as the foretold Messiah of the Old Testament, the initiator of Gods new kingdom on earth. The activities of Peter, Paul and Barnabas as they were motivated by the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles will be examined. How Jesus Christ is revealed to men by the Holy Spirit through the early Apostles would be an important focus of the study of the Acts of the Apostles. This course helps the student to comprehend the essence of the Christian gospel message through studying the Gospels. It also helps to respond to various contemporary issues and challenges faced by Christian leaders and Churches today. It presents an overview of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) with emphasis on the Christological uniqueness of each Gospel’s portrait of Christ’s history, ministry, person and work. The course introduces the student to literary genres, structural analyses and the practical use of literary critical tools such as socio-historical and traditio- critical methodologies for gospel research. The course focusses mainly on how to apply the basic truths taught by Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry to our lives.

Course objectives

  After completing this course, the students should have achieved an understanding of:-

• The four canonical Gospels to see what each of these four portraits of Jesus tells us and the literary and theological relationships between the Gospels and the major themes each one
• The overall literary theme and design of each Gospel and how to interpret those messages according to each Gospel’s unique literary plan.
• The basic introductory issues of each gospel according to its author, its own historical-cultural context, traditional dating, and
• Attitudinal and behavioural changes made or mandated in your personal life as a result of increased understanding of the life and work of Jesus Christ.
• The basic historical sketch of Jesus’ Christological pre-existence, incarnation, birth, life, passion, death, burial and
• The story of the Acts of the Apostles
• Our personal lives within the continuing story of the Acts
• Sharing of the Gospel with others
• The importance of developing a deeper love for, and commitment to GOD.
• The importance of developing a deeper love for, and a commitment to the Church
• Effectively teach the Acts

The course would begin with a general introduction of the epistles before focusing on the authors, background prevailing at the times of writings, and the contents of each of the books. It would focus on the style, themes, purpose and primary teachings of each book. A primary objective of this course would be to show forth both the doctrinal and practical teachings inherent in the epistles and how they relate to Christians today. Basic issues addressed in the letters and circumstances surrounding them would be examined. The course will make adequate distinction among Pauline, Pastoral and General Epistles.

Course objectives

  At the end of the course, students are expected to:-

• Understand the differences between Pauline, Pastoral and General Epistles as well as the themes peculiar to each of these classifications of the Epistles
• Demonstrate an understanding of the main teachings of the Epistles in the light of their original contexts, and how to apply those teachings to the lives of believers and unbelievers living in the twenty first

Demonstrate an understanding of some of the textual and interpretive problems involved in understanding and applying the Epistles today

The thrust of the courses include the following:

• Clarification of what fundamental principles
• Identification of the fundamental principles and practices of the church:
• Inspiration and inerrancy of the scripture- II Tim.3:16-17; II Peter 1: 19- 21.
• Virgin birth and deity of Jesus Christ: Math.1:18; John 8:58; John 10:30; John 16:27-28; Luke 24:39.
• Substitutionary atonement of Christ - He died for our sins: Math. 20:28; I Cor.15:34; John 4: 25-26.

-Bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead - Acts1: 3; Luke 24: 2-6.
-Second coming of Christ- I Tess. 4: 16-17; Acts 1:9-11; Rev. 19: 11-16.

• Clarification of the relationship between principles and
• The extent to which the core principles of the Christian faith are upheld today.
• How to ensure that fundamental Christian principles are practiced
• Discussion of core Christian practices: being born again; baptism; communion; prayer; tithes and offering; praise and