Believe Chapter 4: The Bible--Take His Word For It

    When I first went into the ministry as Education Pastor at FBC Brownsville, even though I had a master’s degree in Religious Education, I really didn’t know what education ministers do all week…Order Sunday School material, then what?? I called up the music minister and asked him what Frank, my predecessor, did. He said, “You would have to ask him,” almost as if he didn’t know either. 

     At First Baptist Killeen, the education ministry is all about the Bible. The 12 deacons we are considering are asked if they believe the Bible is the Word of God. We believe that God’s Word has the right to command our beliefs and our actions! 

     Many of those who attend Sunday morning only and

don’t come to a LifeGroup...

   ...don’t come to a study on Sunday or Wednesday evenings... 

       ...and don’t study the Bible in a small group...

...they do not really get the whole picture of our church, Christianity and what it means to be a disciple of Christ in the context of a small group of believers. 

    This BELIEVE series is a great time for those who only attend the FBC Killeen worship service to become a part of a small group study. The text book BELIEVE is about 95% specifically selected Scriptures to reinforce 30 key Beliefs, Practices and Virtues. The other 5% is explanation of how to Think, Act and Be like Jesus. 

The following devotional comes from Zondervan:

KEY QUESTION: How can I know God and his will for my life?

    How do we know God? How do we understand and see the world we live in? How do we grasp where we came from and why we are here? How do we know where this story is ultimately heading?

    The answer is profound—God reveals himself and his grand plan to us. Our Role is to listen and believe. The Bible repeatedly records that God communicated to his people at specific times with specific messages. In some cases, such as with Moses at the burning bush, he spoke audibly.

    In other instances he spoke through dreams or visions or less direct impressions. But the words of the Lord were always given to his people to reveal his plan for them and for all humanity. God revealed his story because he loves us. 

    The Lord spoke mostly through prophets in the Old Testament and through Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament. 

    Throughout the Bible the writers warned readers that they should not add or take away from God’s Word. God has given and preserved his Word for us so we can rely on it to guide our lives into all truth and according to God’s good plan. Therefore, Christians revere the Bible and affirm its right to command our beliefs and actions.

 KEY VERSE

     All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

KEY IDEA

     I believe the Bible is the God-inspired Word of God that is the Supreme Authority which guides my beliefs and action.

KEY APPLICATION: What difference does this make in the way I live? 

    The Bible is the lens from which we view the world. God’s Word informs what we      think and feel about everything we encounter. We see the intervention of God in history, in our present lives, and on into the future as He continues to write his grand story.

    We are obligated and motivated to study the Bible to understand God’s will for our lives. The Bible forms the content of truth we seek to marinate our minds in.

    The principles in the Bible must govern our lives, even when we don’t fully      understand or like what it teaches.

YOUR TURN

    In what ways have you experienced the Word of God as “alive and active” in your own spiritual life?