LAUNCH
What comes to your mind when you think of the Bible? Why do you think the Bible is important to Christians and the Christian life? What would the Christian faith look like if we didn’t have the Bible?
THE WORD
2 Timothy 3:14-17
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
EXPLORE
According to verses 14-15, what does Paul say Scripture does in our lives? What is Paul’s charge here?
In verse 16, what does Paul claim about the ultimate origin of Scripture?
According to verse 16, what roles does Scripture play in the Christian life? What does teaching, reproof, and correction look like practically (take them one by one)? Is it possible for Scripture to play these roles in your life if you are not reading Scripture?
According to verse 17, what is the result of a person allowing themselves to be taught, reproved, corrected and trained by Scripture?
APPLY
If the ultimate origin of Scripture is God Himself, how should that impact the way we view Scripture? (How should we see the commands, promises, truth, and even teachings in Scripture that confront us or our beliefs about the world?)
After looking at this passage, why do you think it is beneficial for us to be in God’s Word regularly? What do we gain from reading God’s Word?
If ALL Scripture is profitable for teaching, reproof, correcting, and training, what does that mean it will inevitably do when you are reading it? Are there any ways you think Scripture is doing this to you currently? Are there ways you think you might have to reevaluate the way you’ve read Scripture?
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Scripture is essential for all of the Christian life! The Bible teaches us the path to walk on, reproves us when we step off of the path, corrects us to get us back on the path, and then trains us to continue walking on that path.
Would you be willing to commit to a Bible reading plan?
MEMORIZE
2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
God’s Word
2 Timothy 3:14–17, 2 Timothy 3:16–17
The Grace of God
The Grace of God
Ephesians 2:1–10
LAUNCH When was a time when someone gave you a really lavish or expensive gift? THE WORD Ephesians 2:1-10 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. EXPLORE Why are people spiritually “dead” according to verse 1-3? Pick one word to summarize the condition of people in verses 1-3. Pick another word to summarize the condition of people in verses 4-6. What was God’s motivation for doing what He did in verse 4? (Look for two). “grace” - unmerited favor, undeserved gift With that definition in mind, what do you think it means in v. 8 that it is by “grace you have been saved”? Saved from what? “Faith” - trust, confidence With that definition in mind, what do you think v. 8 means when it says that “you have been saved through faith”? What do you think the text means when it says “And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”? Why would this exclude boasting in self? If v. 9 just said that salvation is “not a result of works” what do you think it means that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”? APPLY Think back to the first question you answered. When someone gave you that expensive gift, how did you respond? How is this related to salvation that we looked at in this passage? Sometimes we think that acceptance before God is based on performance (works), but according to this passage, salvation is based on grace - a free gift. How does that affect you to know that we are freed from performance to be accepted by God? How should this passage affect your relationship with God if salvation is not a result of works, but salvation actually produces works? MEMORIZE Ephesians 2:8-10 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Assurance of Salvation
1 John 5:11–13, 1 John 5:9–13
LAUNCH On a scale from 0-100%, how sure are you that you’d spend eternity with God? Why? What gives you that confidence? What causes doubt? THE WORD 1 John 5:9-13 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. EXPLORE When a witness gives a testimony, what is a testimony? How do you know whether to trust or not trust a testimony? According to this passage, what is God’s testimony? According to v. 9-10, why should we accept God’s testimony? How do we receive eternal life? Why does John say that he writes these things? APPLY Click the "Apply" button below to view image. MEMORIZE 1 John 5:11-13 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.