Conservative Friends Bible Study of The Gospel of John #17

We trace how Ohio Wilburite Friends built a “guarded education,” from printed minutes and women’s records to a brick-by-brick boarding school culture that survived fire, standardized primary schools, and balanced conviction with modernization. A story of plain speech, strict standards, aid associations, and a networked push for quality.• women’s minutes printed and epistles included alongside men’s• boarding school built at Barnesville with local bricks and pride• guarded culture of plain dress, thee and thou, strict discipline• bans on baseball and careful curation of reading material• high academics with limited salaries and leadership turnover• aid associations and alumni organizing to raise funds and standards• tuition increases and building upgrades amid cultural unease• 1910 fire, rapid rebuilding, improved safety and infrastructure• primary schools revived, subsidized, and gradually standardized• custom readers published to align texts with Quaker testimonies• education associations set courses, exams, and reporting norms• cross-yearly meeting cooperation to supervise and improve schoolsA complete list of our podcasts, organized into topics, is available on our website. To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit ohioyearlymeeting.org. Those interested in exploring the distinctives of Conservative Friends waiting worship should consider checking out our many Zoom Online Worship opportunities during the week here. All are welcome! We also have several Zoom study groups. Check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. Advices read in these podcasts can be found on page 29 in our Book Of Discipline. We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website.

John 10:1-42 We read John 10 with attention to the gate, the Good Shepherd, and what it means to recognize a voice that leads to life. Greek insights on “amen amen,” voice and calling, and zoe versus bios deepen a conversation about obedience, abundance, and union with the Father.• historical context of shepherding and danger in the fields• the gate as a real threshold for discernment and salvation• voice recognition versus noise and false guides• good shepherd versus hired hand and motive under pressure• free will, temptation, Gethsemane, and chosen obedience• other sheep, one flock, universality without relativism• feast of dedication and the claim “The Father and I are one”• works as witness when belief feels hard• eternal life as zoe, the life of the ages, now• kingdom as divine state, not territory• practical prayer: making space to listen and followA complete list of our podcasts, organized into topics, is available on our website. To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit ohioyearlymeeting.org. Those interested in exploring the distinctives of Conservative Friends waiting worship should consider checking out our many Zoom Online Worship opportunities during the week here. All are welcome! We also have several Zoom study groups. Check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. Advices read in these podcasts can be found on page 29 in our Book Of Discipline. We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website.

A turning point in 1874 becomes a season of rebuilding, wider correspondence, and confident witness among conservative Friends, culminating in shared fundamentals and a stronger print and school culture. We trace how harmony, service, and publishing shaped a subculture that held firm as modern pressures rose.• relocation to Barnesville and renewed harmony• conservative separations forming new yearly meetings• circle of correspondence and tendered epistles• Philadelphia ties in funds, visitors and publications• tract associations, libraries and home reading• Indian concerns and service at Tunesassa• expanding memorials, journals and peace pamphlets• 1911–1913 synopsis of conservative principles• the Great War’s pressure on a rural subcultureA complete list of our podcasts, organized into topics, is available on our website. To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit ohioyearlymeeting.org. Those interested in exploring the distinctives of Conservative Friends waiting worship should consider checking out our many Zoom Online Worship opportunities during the week here. All are welcome! We also have several Zoom study groups. Check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. Advices read in these podcasts can be found on page 29 in our Book Of Discipline. We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website.

John 9:1-41We walk through John 9 and watch blame give way to purpose as a blind man sees, confronts power, and becomes a witness. Along the way we unpack signs vs miracles, the Sabbath dispute, Siloam as “sent,” and how spiritual sight grows from trust and humility.• cultural belief in generational sin vs Jesus’ reframing toward God’s work• “light of the world” as a thread through John 8–9• healing with mud on the Sabbath and social controversy• signs rather than miracles as Johannine theology• fear of synagogue expulsion and late-first-century context• Origen on spiritual truth and narrative arrangement• the healed man’s rising testimony against entrenched authority• movement from physical to spiritual blindness and the nature of belief• practical picture of spiritual sight as humility, readiness, and obedienceWe welcome feedback on this or any of our podcast episodes. We can be contacted through our website at Ohio Yearly Meeting.orgA complete list of our podcasts, organized into topics, is available on our website. To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit ohioyearlymeeting.org. Those interested in exploring the distinctives of Conservative Friends waiting worship should consider checking out our many Zoom Online Worship opportunities during the week here. All are welcome! We also have several Zoom study groups. Check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. Advices read in these podcasts can be found on page 29 in our Book Of Discipline. We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website.

The scorching summer of 1854 became a crucible of division for Ohio Yearly Meeting as Thomas Gould's controversial presence catalyzed a long-brewing theological conflict between Wilburite and Gurneyite Quakers. What began as tension over recognizing a visiting minister culminated in the dramatic establishment of competing clerks and separate meetings that would divide Quaker communities for more than a century.• Thomas Gould represented the "smaller body" of New England Yearly Meeting, seen by Gurneyites as insubordinate and by Wilburites as upholding traditional Quaker principles• The yearly meeting of 1854 took place during extreme heat, drought, and cholera epidemics• Benjamin Hoyle, the clerk, found himself caught between factions while trying to prevent separation• The breaking point came Tuesday when Jabiz Coulson nominated Jonathan Benz as a competing clerk• After Hoyle read a minute of adjournment, the Gurneyites remained behind while Wilburites had to wait outside• The separation caused deep personal grief, as recorded in diaries of Friends like Aaron Frame• The division reflected fundamental differences over Quaker identity, with Wilburites emphasizing plainness and tradition while Gurneyites viewed these as "small matters"• Local meetings throughout Ohio were eventually forced to choose sides, creating painful divisions in communities and familiesA complete list of our podcasts, organized into topics, is available on our website. To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit ohioyearlymeeting.org. Those interested in exploring the distinctives of Conservative Friends waiting worship should consider checking out our many Zoom Online Worship opportunities during the week here. All are welcome! We also have several Zoom study groups. Check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. Advices read in these podcasts can be found on page 29 in our Book Of Discipline. We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website.

John 8:21-59We continue our study of John's Gospel, focusing on chapter 8 where Jesus reveals himself as "the light of the world" and offers profound insights about spiritual freedom and his divine nature.• Examining the challenging declaration "I am the light of the world" and how it connects thematically to chapter 9• Understanding Jesus' confrontation with religious leaders who misunderstood his spiritual origin• Exploring the liberating concept that "you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free"• Analyzing how sin enslaves and Christ liberates, connecting to the Greek concepts of redemption and salvation• Contemplating Jesus' climactic claim "Before Abraham was, I AM" and its implications for understanding Christ's eternal nature• Recognizing the importance of experiencing the inward, transformative power of Christ rather than focusing solely on historical accountsJoin us next time as we continue our journey through the Gospel of John.A complete list of our podcasts, organized into topics, is available on our website. To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit ohioyearlymeeting.org. Those interested in exploring the distinctives of Conservative Friends waiting worship should consider checking out our many Zoom Online Worship opportunities during the week here. All are welcome! We also have several Zoom study groups. Check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. Advices read in these podcasts can be found on page 29 in our Book Of Discipline. We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website.

The painful second great schism of Ohio Yearly Meeting Conservative unfolds through a historical account of dividing tensions between Gurneyite and Wilburite Quakers from 1845-1874. This detailed historical narrative chronicles how theological differences surrounding Joseph John Gurney's theological interpretations of Quakerism fractured a once-united religious community.• Conflict began in 1845 when Ohio received competing epistles from two separate New England yearly meetings• Benjamin Hoyle, Ohio's clerk, openly favored the smaller Wilburite body, creating tensions• Representatives repeatedly failed to agree on new clerks, effectively freezing leadership• Traveling ministers increasingly identified as either Gurneyite or Wilburite, intensifying divisions• Local problems like rejected certificates, withheld ministry minutes, and unrecognized ministers worsened tensions• In 1853, the yearly meeting couldn't conduct business for four days due to objections over visiting Wilburites• The formal separation occurred in 1854, though groups didn't officially disown each other until 1864• Final division came in 1874 when courts granted the Gurneyite branch possession of the Mount Pleasant Boarding SchoolA complete list of our podcasts, organized into topics, is available on our website. To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit ohioyearlymeeting.org. Those interested in exploring the distinctives of Conservative Friends waiting worship should consider checking out our many Zoom Online Worship opportunities during the week here. All are welcome! We also have several Zoom study groups. Check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. Advices read in these podcasts can be found on page 29 in our Book Of Discipline. We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website.

 John 7:53 - 8:20This Greek Bible study examines the powerful story of the woman caught in adultery and Jesus's transformative teaching about judgment, sin, and spiritual illumination.• Exploration of John 7:53-8:20, including the authenticity questions surrounding this passage in early manuscripts• Discussion of Jesus writing in the sand—one of the few references to his literacy in the Gospels• Analysis of Jesus' challenge to the woman's accusers about their own sinfulness• Context of how Jesus transforms understanding of sin from external rules to inward reflection• Examination of the Greek word "hamartia" (sin) and its theological implications• Jesus' declaration "I am the light of the world" and its connection to Quaker understanding of inner light• References to 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 about God shining in our hearts• Discussion of biblical support for Quaker beliefs and recommended resources for further studyA complete list of our podcasts, organized into topics, is available on our website. To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit ohioyearlymeeting.org. Those interested in exploring the distinctives of Conservative Friends waiting worship should consider checking out our many Zoom Online Worship opportunities during the week here. All are welcome! We also have several Zoom study groups. Check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. Advices read in these podcasts can be found on page 29 in our Book Of Discipline. We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website.

Ohio Yearly Meeting takes another step in our journey through "The Eye of Faith," continuing William P. Taber Jr.'s history with Chapter 3, "Refining the Form: 1828-1845," which examines the theological tensions that nearly split our community.Orthodox Friends consolidated their community after the 1828 Hicksite separation by refining Quaker practices and strengthening biblical foundations. This period of reform would ultimately lead to new tensions between traditional and progressive elements in Ohio Yearly Meeting.• Two committees helped meetings navigate separation issues and coordinate with other Orthodox Yearly Meetings• Increased emphasis on Bible reading in families with committees ensuring every Quaker household owned a Bible• Friends established numerous schools under monthly meeting supervision to provide "guarded education" for youth• Mount Pleasant boarding school opened in 1837 after 23 years of planning• Growing tensions between those following Joseph John Gurney's evangelical approach and John Wilbur's traditional Quakerism• National Road brought economic opportunities and outside influences challenging Quaker insularity• Abolition movement created friction with traditional Quaker approaches to social reform• Leaders like Joseph Edgerton warned against "modified Quakerism" and "lifeless ministry"• Seeds were planted for the second Ohio separation that would occur in 1854A complete list of our podcasts, organized into topics, is available on our website. To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit ohioyearlymeeting.org. Those interested in exploring the distinctives of Conservative Friends waiting worship should consider checking out our many Zoom Online Worship opportunities during the week here. All are welcome! We also have several Zoom study groups. Check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. Advices read in these podcasts can be found on page 29 in our Book Of Discipline. We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website.

 John 7:19 - 7:39We explore the concept of righteous judgment from John 7:24 and examine what it means to judge with Christ's guidance rather than by appearances.• Judging righteously requires consulting Christ within rather than relying on our own understanding• The distinction between worldly judgment that condemns and righteous discernment guided by the Spirit• When human laws contradict divine justice, Christians may need to stand against popular opinion• The challenge of loving enemies while preventing ongoing harm• Understanding the metaphor of "rivers of living water" as the Holy Spirit flowing through believers• The hunger and thirst for righteousness that only God can truly satisfy• The limitations of attempting to establish holiness through external laws alone• How Nicodemus represents someone quietly following Jesus while remaining in established religious structuresA complete list of our podcasts, organized into topics, is available on our website. To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit ohioyearlymeeting.org. Those interested in exploring the distinctives of Conservative Friends waiting worship should consider checking out our many Zoom Online Worship opportunities during the week here. All are welcome! We also have several Zoom study groups. Check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. Advices read in these podcasts can be found on page 29 in our Book Of Discipline. We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website.