Welcome to Expedition Bible!

I’m Joel Kramer—adventurer, archaeologist, and teacher. Since boyhood, I’ve had an adventurer’s heart. Growing up in the Middle East, the son of an oil company worker, my desire to explore was nurtured on family caravan trips through the Arabian desert.

After graduating from college, I pursued my passion for discovery by setting out on a two-man expedition across New Guinea. This harrowing experience brought me to the brink of death and transformed my understanding of what it means to lead by serving. I wrote a memoir about that experience called Beyond Fear: A Journey Across New Guinea.

Several years after returning from that expedition, I became the lay pastor of a small protestant church in northern Utah, where I gained a new passion—exploring Scripture. My desire to learn about the context of the Bible led me back to the Middle East, to Jerusalem, where I lived for nearly a decade. While there, I earned an M.A. in Archaeology, excavated extensively in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Ai, and explored the rich landscape of Biblical sites. My book, Where God Came Down: The Archaeological Evidence, comes out of my time there.

 

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These days, I live in Amman, Jordan, with my wife and three children. I stay busy writing, teaching, and exploring the many Biblical sites here in Jordan.

Studying the Bible and its lands as an archaeologist has expanded and forged my understanding of the truth and authority of Scripture. In this age of biblical skepticism, I teach from the perspective that the Bible is trustworthy and reliable, and I use the profound connection between archaeology and the Bible to present the evidence for its reliability.

That’s what the content on Expedition Bible is all about, leading you on the greatest adventure you can undertake...knowing and trusting God’s word!

Statement of Faith

We believe there is one true and living God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; with equal power and glory; that the triune God created everything, upholds everything, and governs everything.


We believe
 that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, fully inspired without error in the original manuscripts, and the infallible rule of faith and practice.


We believe 
in God the Father; an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We also believe He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.


We believe
 in Jesus Christ, God's unique only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teaching. We believe in His substitutional atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people and His personal, visible return to earth.


We believe
in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower for ministry all who believe in Jesus Christ; we believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding Helper, Teacher and Guide.


We believe
 that all men are sinners by nature and choice and, therefore, are under condemnation. We believe through the Holy Spirit, God regenerates those who repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord.


We believe
 that Jesus Christ baptizes the seeking believer with the Holy Spirit and empowers that believer for works of service.


We believe
 in the universal Church, the living spiritual body of Christ, who is the Head of the body which is comprised of all born-again and regenerated persons.


We believe
 that there are two ordinances committed to the church by Jesus Christ:

1. Water Baptism by Immersion; and,

2. The Lord's Supper (Communion)

...both of which are open to all believers in Jesus Christ.


We believe
 in what is termed "The Apostles' Creed" as embodying the primary doctrines of orthodox and historical Christianity.


THE APOSTLES' CREED

"I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth,

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord;

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucifed, died, and was buried. He descended into hades (the grave).

The third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven,

and sits at the right hand of the Father Almighty,

whence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church, the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, andlife everlasting.

Amen."

*catholic meaning universal, and not Roman Catholic