Matthew: A Study Guide

For more than three decades a group of people from the First Christian Reformed Church of Seattle has come together to pray, eat, and the study the Bible. They made their own lessons. The discussion would go deep but then be relieved by a humorous twist that restored perspective. This book is a collection of questions and comments made  in the study of the book of Matthew. The questions were most useful if studied before the meeting but—we must confess—we often saw the questions for the first time during the meeting. The questions and comments were compiled by Johanna van Belle. We had to think of a name for the group and came up with SAMOBISTUS (Saturday Morning Bible Students); the name coined at the time that the Sandinistas were active in Central America.


Johanna van Belle was born and raised in the Netherlands. She immigrated to Canada in 1958 with her family. She completed two years of medical school at the University of Groningen, completing her medical education at the University of Toronto where she earned her M.D. degree. She practiced college medicine for more that 35 years  at Florida State University, Tallahassee and at the University of Washington, Seattle. She currently volunteers at the Puget Sound Christian Clinic in Seattle which serves without charge people who have no medical insurance. She and her husband make their home in Seattle, WA where they have raised five children. She immensely and gratefully enjoys the gift of twelve grown, and growing grandchildren. This is her second book with Xulon Press. Her first book, Coram Deo: Before the Face of God appeared in 2009. This book describes the history of her parents as they moved from the Netherlands to Canada. It documents the struggle to remain orthodox in a rapidly changing religious climate. It also gives a glimpse of the many issues faced by an immigrant family when leaving family and homeland behind, entering a new community, interacting with a different culture, and learning a second language. The book celebrates God’s providence, his mercy, and grace for those who love Him.