Spiritual Formation

by with No Comment AnnouncementsSpiritual Formation
https://youtu.be/aGULxqVsOrk?si=OviLT4KXW4y6Z4kp

“…the process of being conformed to the image of Christ by the gracious working of God’s Spirit and for the transformation of the world”

(Dallas Willard)

In this module, taught by Heather Holdsworth, the Gospel of Matthew will be the discipleship handbook from which Jesus’ discourses will be studied. ‘Kingdom Focussed Discipleship’, studies the principles and depths in Christ’s first sermon set out in Matthew 5-7.

The course will run over 10 Tuesday mornings, from 11.00am – 1.00pm, starting on January 9th, and since they are held over zoom you don’t even need to leave home!

There are two ways to get involved:

  • You can audit the course – simply taking part, enjoying the teaching and online fellowship, and benefitting from lots of notes and materials; cost £150
  • you can submit assessments – completing an assignment for marking and gaining EBC study credits; cost £200

Please note that fees must be paid in advance. Registration is essential and can be done here.

You can download a Module Description: here

If you have any questions or want more information, please email info@edinburghbiblecollege.co.uk

The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

by with No Comment AnnouncementsPneumatology

The Christian life is a spiritual life, because the Holy Spirit should be at the heart of our daily Christian experience. There is no Christian life apart from the presence, power and resources of the Holy Spirit.  This course will seek to teach clearly the biblical truths about the person and work of the Holy Spirit, while also addressing the areas of controversy and confusion.

Taught by EBC’s Principal, Rev John Brand, the course will run over 10 Tuesday afternoons, from 2.00 – 4.00pm, starting on January 9th, and since they are held over zoom you don’t even need to leave home!

There are two ways to get involved:

  • You can audit the course – simply taking part, enjoying the teaching and online fellowship, and benefitting from lots of notes and materials; cost £150
  • you can submit assessments – completing an assignment for marking and gaining EBC study credits; cost £200

Please note that fees must be paid in advance. Registration is essential and can be done here.

You can download a Module Description: here

If you have any questions or want more information, please email info@edinburghbiblecollege.co.uk

Anthropology: The Doctrine of Humanity

by with No Comment AnnouncementsAnthropology

John Calvin wisely stated that “Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists in two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves……Accordingly, the knowledge of ourselves not only arouses us to seek God, but also, as it were, leads us by the hand to find him.”

This module will examine the biblical teaching on the doctrine of humanity, emphasising the constitutional nature of human beings, what it means to be made in the image of God and the effects of sin on human nature.

Taught by EBC’s Principal, Rev John Brand, the course will run over 10 Thursday mornings, from 9.30 – 10.30am, starting on January 11th, and since they are held over zoom you don’t even need to leave home!

There are two ways to get involved:

  • You can audit the course – simply taking part, enjoying the teaching and online fellowship, and benefitting from lots of notes and materials; cost £75
  • you can submit assessments – completing an assignment for marking and gaining EBC study credits; cost £100

Please note that fees must be paid in advance. Registration is essential and can be done here.

You can download a Module Description: here

If you have any questions or want more information, please email info@edinburghbiblecollege.co.uk

The Synoptic Gospels

by with No Comment AnnouncementsSynoptic Gospels

This module introduces the student to Matthew, Mark and Luke, both as individual books with their own distinctive agendas, structures and themes, and also as a synoptic record of the life and ministry of Christ as distinct from the fourth gospel.  It address the issue of the supposed ‘synoptic problem’ and gives reasons why we can have confidence in the reliability of the gospel accounts.

Taught by EBC’s Principal, Rev John Brand, the course will run over 10 Wednesday afternoons, from 2.00 – 4.00pm, starting on January 10th, and since they are held over zoom you don’t even need to leave home!

There are two ways to get involved:

  • You can audit the course – simply taking part, enjoying the teaching and online fellowship, and benefitting from lots of notes and materials; cost £150
  • you can submit assessments – completing an assignment for marking and gaining EBC study credits; cost £200

Please note that fees must be paid in advance. Registration is essential and can be done here.

You can download a Module Description: here

If you have any questions or want more information, please email info@edinburghbiblecollege.co.uk

The Doctrine of Christ

by with No Comment AnnouncementsChristology

“What think ye of Christ? is the test to try both your state and your scheme; 

you cannot be right in the rest, unless you think rightly of him.”

(John Newton)

In this module, taught by Rev Dr Sandy Roger and EBC’s Principal, Rev John Brand, we will study the biblical teaching on the doctrine of Christ, focussing on his being and the main aspects of his life, work, death, resurrection and continuing ministry, as well as considering some of the inadequate Christological views that have been held through the centuries.

The course will run over 10 Wednesday mornings, from 11.00 – 1.00pm, starting on January 10th, and since they are held over zoom you don’t even need to leave home!

There are two ways to get involved:

  • You can audit the course – simply taking part, enjoying the teaching and online fellowship, and benefitting from lots of notes and materials; cost £150
  • you can submit assessments – completing an assignment for marking and gaining EBC study credits; cost £200

Please note that fees must be paid in advance. Registration is essential and can be done here.

You can download a Module Description: here

If you have any questions or want more information, please email info@edinburghbiblecollege.co.uk

Comings and Goings

by with No Comment AnnouncementsBoard of Directors

This week saw two major changes to EBC’s Board of Directors.

First we reluctantly accepted the resignation of Greig Ferguson, Pastor of Yoker Evangelical Church. Greig has decided to stand down because of growing ministry commitments and, while thanking him for his contribution to the work of the College in recent years, we commend him and his ministry to the Lord.

Then we welcomed Rev Gavino Fioretti, Minister of Evanton Free Church, to the Board. Gavino has taught a couple of modules at the College which have been very well received and we are delighted at this new level of involvement.

The Land of the Book Needs People of the Book

by with No Comment AnnouncementsScotland

This piece expresses the passion and vision of EBC

Affectionately known around the world – at least at one time – as ‘The Land of the Book’, Scotland, the land of the Covenanters, of Knox, of the saintly Bonar brothers, Samuel Rutherford, and so many more, is, today, in a dark place spiritually. 

As of old, “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” (Nehemiah 1:3)

As in much of the UK as a whole, the Church in Scotland is in steep decline and most of the mainline denominations are confused and compromised.  In Scotland, it is estimated that the Church of Scotland itself will be extinct in the next decade if things continue on the current trajectory.

Much of the blame for all of this is put on the world around us and its influence on the church, but the truth is that the churches are emptying and closing at an alarming rate, not because of opposition or persecution or even secularism; not because of external influences, but due to internal decay, because of biblical illiteracy in the pew and biblical error and unbelief in the pulpit.

As John MacArthur has rightly said, “Satan is most effective in the church, when he comes, not as an open enemy, but as a false friend; not when he persecutes the church, but when he joins it; not when he attacks the pulpit, but when he stands in it.”

Or as Sinclair Ferguson expresses it, “The decay of the church is never the fault of the world.  Inward spiritual decline always precedes outward collapse.”

Not everything is bleak.  There has been a rediscovery of biblical expository preaching in some quarters, the forging of gospel partnerships, and a passion for the planting of new churches.

EBC was born out of a vision and a burden to not just weep and lament, as did Nehemiah, but, like him, to do something to help rebuild the walls, to restore the glory of what once was.

The Church in Scotland needs strengthening – not just by truly regenerate preachers in the pulpit but by biblically literate men and women in the pews.

We exist to meet both pressing needs – serve the churches and equip the saints, and the more the saints are equipped the more effectively they can serve their churches.

Apologetics

by with No Comment AnnouncementsApologetics
https://youtu.be/6s8ed9bbrlE?si=y7eD29zF-y57ONa7

“…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…” (1 Peter 3:15)

Steve Osmond of Solas CPC, the newest member of our teaching team, will teach this course which explores the questions, doubts and thinking of contemporary culture, in order to enable you to reasonably defend the Christian faith, and engage in persuasive evangelism using apologetics.  The course also seeks to challenge your own thinking in order to strengthen your faith.

The course will run over 10 Thursday mornings, from 11.00 – 1.00pm, starting on January 11th, and since they are held over zoom you don’t even need to leave home!

There are two ways to get involved:

  • You can audit the course – simply taking part, enjoying the teaching and online fellowship, and benefitting from lots of notes and materials; cost £150
  • you can submit assessments – completing an assignment for marking and gaining EBC study credits; cost £200

Please note that fees must be paid in advance. Registration is essential and can be done here.

You can download a Module Description: here

If you have any questions or want more information, please email info@edinburghbiblecollege.co.uk

EBC’s Team of Lecturers Keeps Growing!

by with No Comment AnnouncementsNews

One of the key distinctives of EBC is that we use what we call practitioners, rather than professionals. This means that all our teaching is done by people who live and breathe their subject and ministry, and for whom this is not theoretical but practical.

With that in mind, we’re thrilled to welcome Tony Brown to our team. Tony will be teaching on World Religions and Cults.

Tony is a missionary / evangelist to those caught in New Religious Movements, especially Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. As a former JW, he is keen to help Christians share the truth in love with those trapped in falsehood. He works with Reachout Trust and is a member of the Association of Evangelists. He has served as co-Pastor of Sunbridge Road Mission in Bradford and before that was a Teacher of Religious Education and School Chaplain

Tony is married to Cath and they have three children.

New Faculty Member at EBC

by with No Comment AnnouncementsApologetics

We are delighted to welcome Steve Osmond to our team of EBC Lecturers.

Steve, who currently works full time for Solas Centre For Public Christianity, will be teaching Apologetics in the Spring 2024 term.

Steve was trained in the sciences and earned his MSc cum laude in Zoology from the University of Johannesburg where he specialised in ecotoxicology and ecological risk assessment. He has run his own environmental consulting business for several years, focussing on specialist assessments for biomonitoring and exploration studies, as well as managing a marine biosecurity consultancy. Along with his passion for the natural world, he also has a love for theology and exploring the connections between faith and reason, and how Christianity makes sense of the world and answers life’s big questions.

He has spent several years in church ministry where he has been involved in pastoral ministry and creating training programmes for discipleship in theology and apologetics, as well as having spoken evangelistically at churches and universities in South Africa. Steve holds a MA in Apologetics & Theology from Southern Evangelical Seminary (North Carolina, USA)

Steve moved to Scotland from South Africa in 2023 with his wife, Robyn, and two daughters, Olivia and Hazel.