Dr. J. Vernon McGee
1904-1988

      John Vernon McGee was born in Hillsboro, Texas, in 1904. Dr. McGee remarked, "When I was born and the doctor gave me the customary whack, my mother said that I let out a yell that could be heard on all four borders of Texas!" His Creator well knew that he would need a powerful voice to deliver a powerful message.

      As a student pastor, Dr. McGee's first church was located on a red clay hill in Midway Georgia. After completing his education (earning his A.B. from Southwestern University in Memphis, Tennessee; his B.D. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia; his Th.M. and Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas), and after pastoring Presbyterian churches in Decatur, GA, Nashville, TN, and Cleburne, TX, he and his wife came west, settling in Pasadena, where he accepted a call to the Lincoln Avenue Presbyterian Church. He recalls this period as the happiest in his life, with a young family and a young congregation whom he loved.

      Dr. McGee's greatest pastorate was at the historic, Church of the Open Door in downtown Los Angeles, where he served from 1949 to 1970. Here he began a daily radio broadcast called "High Noon Bible Class" on a single station.

      Dr. McGee began teaching Thru the Bible in 1967. After retiring from the pastorate, he set up radio headquarters in Pasadena, and the radio ministry expanded rapidly. Today the program airs on over 400 stations each day in the United States and Canada, is heard in more than 100 languages around the world and is broadcast worldwide via the Internet.

      During his last few years failing health demanded the cancellation of many speaking engagements. This was extremely distressing to him. There was no recurrence of an earlier bout with cancer during this time, only a weakening heart. Back in 1965, after radical surgery, the doctors had given him 6 months to live. The Lord gave him 23 years.

      Dr. McGee and the Board of Directors planned in advance how the program would continue in the event of Dr. McGee's homegoing. The message would remain the same and the "voice" of Thru the Bible Radio would continue to be Dr. McGee, through the use of the taped 5-year program, except for those foreign language broadcasts, where the producers use the printed 5-volume Bible study to translate and produce the program.

      On the morning of December 1, 1988, a few minutes after a visit with the Associate Director of Thru the Bible, alert and in conversation centered around his concern for the continuance of the radio ministry, Dr. McGee fell asleep in his chair and quietly passed into the presence of his Savior.
      

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1.) Christ-Likeness
      I just threw into the wastebasket a magazine from a so called Christian organization which told about all the things that you can get through prayer. The article promised that God will make you prosperous, that He will give you health and that He will give you everything. My friend, God is not a glorified Santa Claus! But our God is moving in a ver ...read more

2.) Guidelines for the Understanding of the Scriptues: Introduction
      IS THE BIBLE IMPORTANT? The Bible is probably the most maligned Book that ever has been written. It has been attacked as no other book has ever been attacked. Yet it has ministered and does minister to literally millions of people around the globe, and it has been doing this now for several thousand years. A Book of this nature and with this ...read more

3.) Guidelines: Part 1 IN WHAT WAY IS THE BIBLE UNIQUE?
      IN WHAT WAY IS THE BIBLE UNIQUE? In many ways the Bible is a most unusual Book. For instance, it has a dual authorship. In other words, God is the Author of the Bible, and in another sense man is the author of the Bible. Actually, the Bible was written by about forty authors over a period of approximately fifteen hundred years. Some of these ...read more

4.) Guidelines: Part 2 HOW DO YOU KNOW THE BIBLE IS FROM GOD?
      HOW DO YOU KNOW THE BIBLE IS FROM GOD? How do you know the Bible is the Word of God? This is a good question, and it should be asked and answered. 1. Preservation-One of the objective proofs, one of the external proofs, has been the marvelous preservation of the Bible. There was a king of old-we read about him in Jeremiah-who, when the Word was ...read more

5.) Guidelines: Part 3 WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY REVELATION? INSPIRATION? ILLUMINATION? INTERPRETATION?
      WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY REVELATION? INSPIRATION? ILLUMINATION? INTERPRETATION? Revelation means that God has spoken and that God has communicated to man. Inspiration guarantees the revelation of God. Illumination has to do with the Spirit of God being the Teacher-He communicates. Interpretation has to do with the interpretation that you and I g ...read more

6.) Guidelines: Part 4 GUIDELINES
      GUIDELINES Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. (Psalm 119:18) There are certain guidelines that each of us should follow relative to the Word of God. I guarantee that if you will follow these guidelines, blessing will come to your heart and life. Certainly there should be these directions in the study ...read more

7.) Guidelines: Part 5 HOW TO STUDY YOUR BIBLE
      HOW TO STUDY YOUR BIBLE 1. Begin with prayer 1 Corinthians 2:9-14; John 16:12-15; John 14:26 2. Read the Bible Nehemiah 8:1-3 3. Study the Bible Nehemiah 8:8 4. Meditate upon the Bible Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Psalm 1 5. Pass the Bible on to others Hebrews 5:12; Romans 12:7 HOW TO STUDY EACH CHAPTE ...read more