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MUSTARD
PLANT, BEER-SHEBA, ISRAEL |
BASIC BIBLE STUDIES |
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| SPIRITUALITY WORKSHOP |
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If we
acquire great understanding of the story and facts of the Bible
but do not personally know its "Author", we will have
fundamentally missed the mark. Therefore, this portion of the web
page is directed toward the end of knowing the God of the Bible.
Seven
"BASIC BIBLE STUDIES" have been developed and offered
here for your direct access. They focus on the
"essentials" of the Christian faith using over 120
Bible texts from 26 books in both the Old and New Testaments. If
you have never had the opportunity to carefully study
"Biblical Christianity" as opposed to "Religious
Christianity", you will want to spend some time in this
portion of the web page.
These seven Basic Bible
Studies are grouped into three categories in an effort to address
the essentials of the Christian faith.
REPENTANCE
--- FAITH --- THE NEW BIRTH
These three subjects
are vital to the issue of "salvation". REPENTANCE
involves a change of mind, a desire to turn away from our former
wrong ways to a new right way. FAITH is a decision to turn toward
the God of the Bible and implies not only an intellectual assent
for what He has done to enable our salvation, but also a
heartfelt desire to trust in Him to accomplish His work in our
lives. THE NEW BIRTH is His response to our FAITH, and is the
step required to get us to Heaven. Therefore, these three Basic
bible Studies are essential for becoming a "Christian"
in the Biblical sense.
GOD'S
NATURE --- GOD'S JUDGEMENTS
Who is the God of the
Bible and how does He operate? Christianity is really a
relationship with this God, so it is essential that we understand
Him in a personal way. God's nature is clearly spelled out in the
Bible and these Basic Bible Studies will help us to appreciate
His nature, desires, and requirements.
THE
CHURCH --"A-C-T-I-O-N-S"
When we experience THE
NEW BIRTH and become a Christian, we also become a member of THE
CHURCH. There is much misunderstanding concerning this body of
believers, so it is important to learn what the Bible says about
THE CHURCH. If you have never looked into this question, you may
be very surprised by what it says. Moreover, membership in THE
CHURCH is not only positional but also to be dynamic. Therefore,
it is important to understand that a Christian is not to remain
spiritually "static", but is to dynamically progress by
certain A-C-T-I-0-N-S for Christian growth.
This Basic
Bible Study will initially deal with "who" must REPENT
and "why". After defining the word REPENTANCE, two
stories are used from the Bible. One involved a false REPENTANCE
that God did not accept, while the other was one to which He
responded positively. You will be asked certain "Questions
To Ponder" so that you may examine your own form of
REPENTANCE relative to God's standard of acceptability.
"REPENTANCE"
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This Basic
Bible Study begins with a Scripture that declares the importance
of FAITH. It then moves to a discussion of the meaning of FAITH.
However, the real issue raised time and time again in group
discussions is not the definition of FAITH, but rather how much
FAITH is required to please God? This issue is dealt with by way
of another story in the Bible involving a man who we now know had
"enough" FAITH to please God. You will be asked to
compare your FAITH with his, and to identify the critical
elements of his FAITH that caused God to respond. It concludes
with a specific application of FAITH for you to determine whether
or not you have "enough".
"FAITH"
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There are
a lot of questions concerned with THE NEW BIRTH. Just what is it?
How can it be received? Why is it important? What are its
specific elements? Is water baptism a part of it? How can you
know if you have received it? All of these issues are taken up in
this Basic Bible Study using numerous Bible texts. THE NEW BIRTH
is an essential issue of the Christian faith, and you need to be
certain that you understand and have experienced it.
"THE
NEW BIRTH" (30 KB)
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One way to
study the nature of God is to study the names that the Bible uses
for Him. This Basic Bible Study sets forth three primary Old
Testament names for God and discusses each of them. With each
name, you are asked certain "Questions To Ponder"
concerning the implications of that "name" and your
personal reaction to it.
This Basic
Bible Study concludes by citing two sets of Bible texts that
define "two" potential ways to come to God. This
strikes at the heart of religion in general versus Biblical
Christianity in particular, finally challenging you to decide
which way it will be for you.
"GOD'S
NATURE" (29 KB)
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In our
quest to have a relationship with God and to get to Heaven, we
sometimes forget what we are being "saved from". This
Basic Bible Study drives home the point that God is not only love
but also justice.
Moreover, that perfect uncompromising justice will ultimately be
manifest by some form of "JUDGEMENT" against each and
every principality or person in His universe. This Basic Bible
Study begins with a litany of JUDGEMENTS that have already
occurred or will occur, citing the results of each. It then
raises a question often asked. Do members of God's CHURCH still
face a possible JUDGEMENT of condemnation? Finally, is there a
way to avoid God's JUDGEMENT altogether? These perplexing
questions have answers directly from the Bible, and you need to
understand them to equip yourself with the essentials of the
Christian faith.
"GOD'S
JUDGEMENTS" (31 KB)
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THE CHURCH
is greatly misunderstood in our time. This Basic Bible Study
begins with two diverse views of THE CHURCH, one is the view of
most people while the other is God's view. Since this is such a
prevalent issue in modern times, you are asked some
"Questions To Ponder" concerning your own views about
THE CHURCH. God's Plan for His CHURCH is revealed in a New
Testament text, where those who become "members" of
God's CHURCH are identified as part of a five-step process
involving "foreknowledge", "predestination",
"calling", "justification", and
"glorification". This study walks you through each of
these steps by incorporating related Bible texts, and concludes
with other Scriptures that define resulting relationships with
the "FATHER", the "SON", and the "HOLY
SPIRIT".
"THE
CHURCH" (27 KB)
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The
purpose of this Basic Bible Study is to define some A-C-T-I-O-N-S
that you may want to consider to make Christianity become a
life-changing experience for you. The title of the study is
actually an acronym, where each letter of the word stands for an
"action" to be taken that does not involve works but
rather a decision that needs to be made. These A-C-T-I-O-N-S are
broken down into three sub-groupings:
"A-C"
relate to two decisions you need to make before you can
honestly say you are a Christian in a Biblical sense.
"T-I-O"
relate to three more decisions you need to contemplate if you
want to grow spiritually as a Christian.
"N-S"
relate to decisions you must consider if you want to serve
effectively as a Christian.
Thus these
"A-C-T-I-O-N-S" describe a path whose goal is Heaven on
which the race is to be run. Are you interested?
"A-C-T-I-O-N-S"
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"SPIRITUALITY
WORKSHOP" is designed for people who may be thinking in the
following kinds of ways:
I'm
fed up with religion as simply a tradition, but I still
believe in God and want to have a spiritual component in
my life.
I'm
actively involved in religious activities, but somehow am
not experiencing spiritual growth in my life.
I'm
confused about religion. Is one approach any better than
another and if so, how can I sort it out?
I'm
not into the Bible at the present time, but I believe in
a Creator and if possible would like to have a
relationship with Him.
I'm
satisfied with my present level of spirituality but am
always open to new options for improvement.
If you can
identify with one or more of the above views, you undoubtedly
possess at least this "kinship" with most of humanity.
Moreover, you are a potential candidate for the
"SPIRITUALITY WORKSHOP".
The SPIRITUALITY
WORKSHOP is a structured approach on the subject of personal
SPIRITUALITY. It is designed to enable you to first evaluate your
life by identifying problems, then examine your understanding of
"GOD". The final steps will allow you to examine your
options for SPIRITUALITY consequent with "GOD" as your
understand Him, so that you might set life changing goals.
The four ACTIVITIES
should be undertaken in the order given below and each one fully
completed before the next one is started.
(YOUR
PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT)
You will
be presented a generalized "model" of human personality
with which you may interact so as to tailor it to your individual
personality. The results will be specified in terms of
genetically related TEMPERAMENTS, experientially acquired
ATTITUDES, modes of DECISION MAKING, and consequent BEHAVIORS.
The "model" is designed so that your personalized
result will illuminate negative
rather than positive traits. It is important to first discern,
then acknowledge individual problems, before the potential value
of SPIRITUALITY can be appreciated.
(THE
ATTRIBUTES OF YOUR "GOD")
SPIRITUALITY
inherently requires some kind of association or relationship with
"GOD" as you understand Him. Obviously you can't get to
know or have a rewarding relationship with anyone including your
"GOD" unless you are on speaking terms with Him. Your
personal views about the attributes of your "GOD", in
terms of His ABILITY, LOVE, and JUSTICE, will be shown to
strongly influence the type and degree of relationship (thus
SPIRITUALITY) that you can expect to have with your
"GOD".
(A
RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR "GOD")
Since the
particular way in which you viewed the inherent tension between
LOVE and JUSTICE will dictate the kind of relationship you can
have with your "GOD", you will be given some feedback
here on the implications of your choices in ACTIVITY II so you
may make a reassessment as you see fit.
(EVALUATING
YOUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH)
You will
be asked to return to your personality model developed earlier in
ACTIVITY I, using it to assist in the construction of a Biblical
"yardstick" to measure your potential
SPIRITUALITY. This "yardstick" should now give you a
way of measuring your present spiritual state and progress toward
an ultimate goal.
I WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN "SPIRITUALITY WORKSHOP"