Prompts and notes-The bible, God, and people

Prompts and Notes - THE BIBLE, GOD, and PEOPLE

Purpose of this OPTIONAL STARTING POINT: 1) To explain why Christians believe and follow: the Bible as the standard for faith, doctrine, and conduct. 2) To teach who God is. 3) To illustrate what God has done in Jesus Christ for our salvation.

Remember: It is not necessary to have all the answers. A simple witness to the reality of: Jesus in our lives powerfully impacts others (even when they will not admit it). Once when a man told me that he didn't understand all this stuff about Jesus and that he was an agnostic I responded by saying "I don't understand a lot of this either, but there is one thing I do know and that is that Jesus loves you very much. Wouldn't you like to know Him? The man said yes he would, and prayed to receive Jesus right then. (I used the Miniature Plan of Salvation - Step One)

Note: The Bible is an amazing book written by forty authors ranging from humble peasants to great leaders. All of them contributed to this marvelous work whose preparation took some 1,600 years. It is extremely interesting when we recall that in spite of its different literary styles and distinct authors, there is an amazing harmony and focus from cover to cover. God loves people and seeks to have fellowship with us.
A Bible dictionary and a concordance (lists all the words in the Bible and shows where they appear in each book) will give you help in understanding what the Bible says about God.

2.8 "Trinity" is a word that describes biblical data. It is not a word in the Bible but rather a: theological word. It deals with a mystery that no one can fully understand. It is always easier to say what the Trinity is NOT than to say exactly what it is. It is NOT three Gods. It is NOT God changing his costume - first you see Him as Father, then as Son etc. One close analogy is that of the three states of water -- vapor, liquid, and ice -- but of course in God the three exist all at the same time.

What does the Bible say about you and me? Read each reference.
Sum up all that God has done for us when he sent His Son, Jesus, to live among us and to die for us so that we do not have to die.

6.1 What do you think it means to be conformed to the likeness or image of Jesus?

6.2A 1Cor 15:45-49 speaks of two kinds of people. Describe them. How can we become one: whobears the likeness of the man from heaven? Verse 57 gives us the answer. "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
6.2B How might we become aware of this process of transformation going on in our lives: after we change our allegiance from self to Jesus? It may be that we begin to notice a distaste for things that we used to do and/or a desire to do things that we did not do before such as read the Bible, etc. Each person is different, but one thing is sure - we will start discovering new likes and dislikes when we know Jesus and have His Spirit living in us-- 2 Cor 5:17.
7.1A Look at another passage of the Bible (besides Rom 8:29) that gives insight into the: way God works in our lives and shows His purposes for our growth -- Eph 4:11-16.
7.2 What happens to people in whom Christ lives? Look at the following subpoints.

7.2A To be in the flesh as some versions say means to be controlled by the sinful nature.: What is the new control center in a Christian's life? The Holy Spirit.
7.2B By whom are the children of God led? -- Rom 8:14. The Spirit of God.
8.6 If Jesus is our model what can we learn from such passages of Scripture as Heb 5:8: and Heb 12:1-3?

A prompt is an

followed by a number from the step page and gives the discipler a possible conversation starter. Relax, be yourself and trust the Lord to give you original questions.

Opitional Step for this prompt