Week Fifteen, Day One

“The Bible is God’s Word to us. Scripture is alive…2,000 years after it was written, it’s still relevant to our day to day lives. The Bible is God’s standard by which we can check our actions, motives, and lives…and know what He wants for us. Without the Bible, we would be like sailors
at sea with no compass or stars to guide us…”

Tyson, Youth Pastor

The Bible

The Bible is God’s message to man written down and it is the ultimate authority for our lives. When we hear “Bible,” we think one long book. The Bible is actually a library of sixty-six books all bound together. There are two sections, the Old Testament (39 books) and the New Testament (27 books). The Old Testament is before Jesus and the New Testament is the story and teaching of Jesus and His disciples. The books of the Bible were written by many different authors, in three different languages, over a thousand years in many different countries. Most of the writers of the Bible did not know each other (or even live at the same time period). When you read the Bible, remember the Bible was not written to give us a complete history of the world; it was written so that we would know God and know how to follow Him.

Study 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 2:20-21.

Include the following in your personal prayer time:

• Thank God for making the effort to communicate with us even though He doesn’t have to explain Himself to anyone.
• Thank God for the answers to life’s questions found in His Word.

Remember… My family on Monday.

FOR FURTHER STUDY: Jeremiah 30:2 or Exodus 17:14

 

Week Fifteen, Day Two

God’s Word

The Bible, otherwise known as God’s Word, is absolute truth. It does not contradict itself, and there are no mistakes (errors) in it. We know that the Bible is “inerrant” (without errors) because God is the author, and there are no mistakes in Him. His word is perfect and trustworthy. But, we have a couple challenges when understanding the Bible: first, we do not have the original copies of the books of the Bible (we have hundreds of copies) and the second major issue is actually living by His word.

Many scholars have spent their lives researching and studying the hundreds (and with some books thousands) of hand written copies of the original text. The original text was written in mainly Hebrew and Greek, but it has been translated into hundreds of different languages, including English. Some of these copies have some variations in them of a few letters or a number. Scholars work to discover which copy made the minor mistake when copying the text and which is the accurate original. It is important to anyone who studies the Bible that they can be confident that what they are reading is as close to what the writer wrote as possible. The good news is that ALL the major copies of the books of the Bible have no major disagreement on significant content. You can trust that the Bible that you are studying today is almost exactly what the original writers wrote down thousands of years ago.

The second issue about the Bible is tougher; deciding that what is written in the Bible will actually change our daily lives. The Bible was written so that we could know how to follow God, but we must decide if we are really going to live the truth of God’s word.

Study 2 Peter 1:16-21 .

Those who don’t know Jesus as their Savior have a hard time making sense of the Bible, but those who have the Holy Spirit inside of them are able to interpret what they read with His help.

Study 1 Corinthians 2:13-14.

Include the following in your personal prayer time:

• Praise God for His perfection and for being faithful and trustworthy.
• Thank God for helping you understand what you read in the Bible.

Remember…The Church I belong TO on TUESday.

FOR FURTHER STUDY: Romans 3:19-21

 

Week Fifteen, Day Three

The Church

The Church is a group of baptized believers organized to carry out God’s ministry and mission here on earth. God’s Church is world-wide, but it is broken down into smaller groups that take the form of the local church so that its members can function more effectively and support one another on a more personal level. Each church member has a distinct gift and function within the church, to make the local church body whole. We need each other in order to be complete.

Study 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

In the Bible, Jesus is called the Head, the Cornerstone, and the Bridegroom of the church. All of these terms illustrate Jesus’ intricate and intimate involvement in the Church and the Church’s complete dependence on Him in order to function in a God-pleasing way.

Include the following in your personal prayer time:

• Thank God for your brothers and sisters in Christ (those you enjoy spending time with and those you don’t) understanding that each of you is necessary in the body.
• Acknowledge Jesus as the Head, Cornerstone, and Bridegroom of the church. Ask Him to guide your church and care for the members within it as you try to do His will as a group.

Remember…My Witness on Wednesday.

FOR FURTHER STUDY: Colossians 3:11-15

 

Week Fifteen, Day Four

“Right-ness”

To be “righteous” is to be blameless. The Bible calls believers to be righteous, to live in such a way that brings glory to God. The problem is the only way to do that is to daily depend on the Holy Spirit within us for power and guidance. The moment that we begin to rely on ourselves or something/someone else to do life right, we lose the power to live a righteous life and please God. We can live kind or moral on our own, if we choose to, but we cannot live righteous without God’s help.

Study Psalm 1: 1-6 and Psalm 24:3-6.

Include the following in your personal prayer time:

• Tell God how much you want to bring Him glory in the way that you live your life.
• Commit to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to live a righteous life.

Remember…The THIRSty on THURSday.

FOR FURTHER STUDY: Matthew 5:6

 

Week Fifteen, Day Five

Holiness

To be “holy” is to be pure for God’s use. God calls His children to be holy because He is a holy God. When we live holy lives, we stick out and people understand that God has made a difference in our lives. Holiness is not acting spiritual or religious, it is actually being pure and Spirit led.

Study 1 Peter 1:13-19 and Leviticus 20:26.

Include the following in your personal prayer time:

• Tell God that you want to be used by Him. Ask Him to give you the desire to live a holy life so that you can be used.
• Tell God how much better He is than anything the world has to offer.

Remember…My Friends on Friday.

FOR FURTHER STUDY: 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

 

The Weekend

Suggested Reading: Daniel 1:1-21

This is the story of Daniel and his friends, who were kidnapped from their home and forced to live in a culture that didn’t support their convictions (way of life). Sound familiar? Keeping in mind what you learned during your personal Bible study this week, what can you learn from Daniel and his friends?

Study your memory verses! If you haven’t done so yet, say them to someone out loud.