Believewhat we
how to disciple through the word
WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY ALL ABOUT?
The Story
WHO IS GOD?
Trinity Father Son Holy Spirit
WHAT IS GOD LIKE?
God is Transcendent & Immanent
God is Self-Sufficient & Self-Existent
God has no Limits
God is Holy
God is Good & Great
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN?
“In the Image of God, He created them”
Physical & Spiritual
“It is not good for man to be alone”
“Male & Female He created them”
Rule and Dominion Purpose
WHAT WENT WRONG?
Sin Leads to Death
Enemies of God
The Solution
WHO IS JESUS?
Jesus is fully God
Jesus is fully Human
Jesus is God’s Ultimate Self-Revelation
Jesus is the Fulfillment of the Bible
Jesus is Our Salvation
Jesus is the source of all Spiritual Blessing
WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
The Spirit Glorifies Jesus
The Spirit is the Author of Scripture
The Spirit Intercedes for us in Prayer
The Spirit Builds His Church
The Spirit Equips His Church
The Spirit Perfects His Church
WHAT IS THE CHURCH?
The Body/its head (Jesus)/The Spirit
Its Commission
Universal expressed local
Its structure (elders & deacons)
Ordinances: Baptism/Lords Supper
HOW DO WE KNOW ALL THIS?
Revelation (natural & Special: Scripture/Jesus)
Scripture: Inspired & Inerrant
Scripture: Authoritative,
Scripture: Necessary, & Sufficient
Scripture: Knowable
HOW DOES THE STORY END?
Return Final Judgement
Consummation
HOW SHOULD WE THEN LIVE?
Spirit led/empowered therefore…
Gospel Centered
Word & Prayer
Body (together)
Sanctified
Disciple Making
WHAT IS THE AIM OF SANCTIFICATION?
Love (love fulfills the law)
Love that acts (1 John)
What is Christianity all about?
week
1 the story
The Story week 1
table talk
what is christianity all about? at its core christianity is about the gospel, which is the story of god and his salvation for us.
What is Christianity all about? One way of explaining Christianity is by telling the Gospel Story in 4 parts: Creation/Corruption/Christ/Completion.
creation corruption
In the beginning God created all things and it was good, with no evil, no sadness, no suffering, and no death. (Genesis 1 & 2)
Human beings rebelled against God. Instead of trusting Him they tried to become “like him” and this brought evil and its consequences into the world. (Genesis 3)
christ completion
The 2nd person of the Trinity, the Son of God, became a human being (Jesus), lived the perfect life that we could never live, took the punishment of our sins in our place (death), and rose again allowing all who repented of their sins and put their faith in Jesus to receive forgiveness for our sins and be adopted as children of God.
We are promised the Jesus will return and restore everything that was broken in the fall, and that all of God’s people will live in paradise with God forever. (Revelation 21 & 22)
Read Togetherrevelation
22:1-5
How does what is described in this text remind you of the description of Eden? How is it better than Eden?
head hands feet
heart
How do you become an adopted Child of God?
If someone were to ask you what is Christianity and how do I become a Christian how would you answer that?
Have you become a child of God yet? If so when and how did this happen?
Who is someone you can tell about Jesus and His story this week?
week 1
Who is god?
week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5
trinity
father son
holy spirit
Trinity Trinity week 2
table talk
how many gods are there? there is one god and there are three persons in the one godhead: the father, the son, and the holy spirit.
Trinity
Who is God? There is one God, the creator of all things, holy infinite and perfect, eternally existing in a loving relationship of 3 equally divine persons: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.
matthew 28:19
Notice that the Scripture says to baptize in “the name” (singular) and then proceeds to name each person of the trinity (Father, Son, and Spirit). Discuss together why it might be significant that our first act as Christians (baptism), this ritual that shows our new identity in God, is so focused on the trinitarian identity of God?
head
As Christians we believe there is only one God. In the one Godhead there are 3 persons: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, each eternal and equal in their God’ness. The Father is not the Son or Spirit, The Son is not the Father, or Spirit, and The Spirit is not the Father or Son. And yet there is one God. Discuss as a family/ group which of these statements is the hardest to grasp when you are thinking of our God.
Read Together
hands feet heart
Because Human Beings are made in God’s image the truth of the Trinity affects many areas of our life; the basis for unity in diversity, the eternalness of love, and the foundation for Christian unity to name a few. All of these reflect the Triune nature of God. Discuss as a family/group one of these areas of human life and how understanding the doctrine of the Trinity expands your understanding of it.
Pray together as a family/group and consciously think through the fact that you are praying “to the Father, “through the Son”, “by the Holy Spirit”. Thank the Father for sending the Son as a sacrifice for our sins, and for sending the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sin and to save and sanctify us.
Prayer for one person in your family/group every day this week to grow in their relationship with our Trinitarian God.
week 2
The FatherThe Father week 3
table talk
who is the father? the father is god, the first person of the trinity.
Father
Who is the Father? The Father is God, the first person of the Trinity. The Father sent The Son (Jesus) to die for our sins, and through The Spirit He raised Jesus back to life. The Father and the Son sent The Spirit to bring people into God’s family and make us more like Jesus. If we become followers of Jesus, The Father who is Jesus’ Father, will become our Father as well.
head heart
When someone repents of their sins and puts their trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins The Father becomes their Father.
Discuss as a family/group what are some benefits of having God as “our father”?
Discuss as a family/ group do you have trouble viewing God as your father? If so, what do you think makes that difficult?
hands feet
Pray together as a family/group to The Father thanking him for adopting us as His children.
One of the great things about telling our friends about Jesus is that when a friend of ours becomes a Christian they are no longer just a friend. They are now family. Who is one friend of yours who doesn’t know Jesus? Pray together as a family/group for opportunities to tell this friend about Jesus.
Notice how when Jesus teaches us to pray it is to the Father. Discuss as a family/group what we can learn about having a relationship with “Our Father” from this prayer?
Read Togethermatthew 6:9-16
week 3
The Son The Son week 4
Son
table talk
who is the son? the son is god, the second person of the trinity.
Who is the Son? The Son is God, the second person of the Trinity. The Son was with God and is God from eternity and for eternity. In the fullness of time the Son was sent by the Father to become a human being (though still God) so that through His life, death, and resurrection, He might save us from our sins.
head hands heart
The Bible tells us that Jesus is “The image of the invisible God”. This means that we can know God by knowing Jesus. What can we know about God’s character, His intentions for us, and what God cares about by looking at what the Bible says about Jesus?
Because the Son became a human being, lived the perfect life we could not live, died the death we deserved, and rose again; we can be saved through Jesus. We just have to put our faith in Jesus for salvation and repent of our sins. Have you done this?
If so share about when you first began your new life in Jesus.
The best way to get to know Jesus better is by reading about Him from the Scripture. Spend some time this week reading some stories from Jesus life in one of the 4 Gospel accounts and discuss what you learned about Jesus together.
feet
Last week you prayed together for opportunities to talk to a family member/ friend who doesn’t yet know God about God. Did you have any opportunities, and did you take advantage of those opportunities? Spend some time as a group/family discussing this and once again praying for this friend/family member.
Read Together
john 3:16
While we still hated God, He loved us so much that He sent His Son into humanity to be rejected and killed so that our relationship with God could be restored. Spend time praying together thanking the Father for the kindness of sending His Son.
week 4
The Spirit The Spirit week 5
table talk
who is the spirit? the spirit is god, the third person of the trinity.
Spirit
Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is sent by The Father and The Son in order make us Children of God. He does this by calling us into Gods family, convicting us of our sin, and applying to us the salvation bought by Jesus. The Spirit sanctifies (makes them more like Jesus) Gods people (the Church), and He equips them to do the work God gave them (make disciples of Jesus among all peoples).
Read Togetherromans
8:26-27
The Holy Spirit intercedes for us in our prayers. This means that we can feel free to pray and not worry about expressing ourselves perfectly since we know that the Spirit who knows our hearts intercedes and interprets on our behalf. Discuss how this can encourage us in our prayers.
head
The Bible tells us that the Bible is the work of The Spirit, and that it is through this that He communicates to Gods people. Many people wonder how they can learn to listen to the Spirit, the way given to us is by listening to His word, The Bible. Discuss some ways you can begin listening to the Spirit more by listening to the Scripture more this week.
hands feet heart
How does it affect the way you view God and the way you live knowing that The Spirit ls always with us, interceding for us in our prayers, and empowering us to live.
Read Romans 8 as a family/ group and discuss what it means to live by the Spirit.
Knowing that the Spirit interprets our prayers and that The Son is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us and that the Father loves us should embolden us in our prayers. Pray together for someone this week that is far from God that Gods Spirit would convict them of their sin and bring them to repentance.
week 5
What is god like?
week 6 week 7 week 8 week 9 week 10
god is transcendent & immanent god is self-sufficient & self-existent god has no limits god is holy god is good & great
God is Transcendant & Immanent
Immanen
week 6
table talk
what is god like? god is both transcendent and immanent.
Immanen
What is God like? God is both transcendent and immanent.
When we say God is transcendent, we mean that understanding God is too high of a thing for human beings to be able to do by their own abilities. When we say that God is immanent, we mean that God is near, and that He reveals Himself to us. So, while knowing God would be impossible by our own ability, God in His kindness has chosen to reveal Himself to us so that we might know Him.
Read Togetherisaiah
55
In this verse you see both God’s transcendence (His ways our higher than our ways…) and God’s immanence (come to me...). Discuss some other spots in this chapter where you see God’s Transcendence and his immanence.
head
Two weeks ago we discussed The Son and how He is God’s primary way of making Himself known to us. In addition, we discussed that the way to know Jesus (The name of The Son when He became a human being) is through the Bible. Discuss how this truth relates to God’s immanence (nearness and knowableness).
hands feet heart
Most of the time people struggle to hold both of these truths about God together. They usually either think of God as near (immanent) and struggle to think of His transcendence. Or they view God as big and great (transcendent) but struggle to realize that He is near and knowable. Discuss as a family/ group which truth you most struggle with when thinking about God.
Spend time praying together that God would have His Spirit grow us in our knowledge about God through His Son Jesus this week. And that we would not just grow in knowledge about God, but also in our desire to know and enjoy God fully.
Knowing God is a community project. In other words, The Spirit teaches us together as a Church. What are one or two simple things you can do together as a group to grow in your knowledge and love for God?
week 6
week 7
God is Self-Sufficient & Self-Existent
f-Existen
table talk
what is god like? god alone is uncreated, and god alone has no needs.
f-Existen
What is God like? God has always and will always exist. Being the creator of all things, He has no creator Himself. Being the sustainer of all things, God has no need for anything outside of Himself for life or happiness. God alone is uncreated, and God alone has no needs.
Read Together
acts 17:22-34
Discuss together: Since God has no need for Human beings as this verse shows us, why does He still pursue a relationship with us?
Think about how you have heard God described (or how you have described God). What are some ways you have heard God described as needing something or someone? Ex: Some people say that God created us so that He could have something to love. But we know that since God is Trinitarian, He is perfect in love in Himself, and has no need to create in order to love.
head
Sometimes we begin to think that God needs us in order to accomplish His work here on Earth. But the Bible tells us that the opposite is true; God has no need for us. He alone accomplishes his work. This means we must view Gods invitation to join Him in His work not as a need but as a kindness; like a father including his child in his work so they can be together. Discuss in what ways are you tempted to believe that God needs you?
What are some things you have been worrying about that are outside of you control. Spend time this week (whenever you notice you are worrying) bringing these worries to God in prayer.
Knowing that God has no need for us changes the way we share the Gospel. We realize only God has the power to change people’s hearts, and therefore become far more reliant on prayer. When we do share the Gospel, our motivation is no longer to change anyone, it is to be faithful to God. The results are up to God and not something for us to stress about. With that in mind spend some time praying together for a friend or family member who doesn’t yet know Jesus.
hands feet heart
week 7
No Limits God has No Limits week 8
table talk
what is god like? god has no limit.
Limits
What is God like? God has no limit. Because humans are made in God’s image, we resemble Him in many ways, except that we are limited but God is not. For instance, we have power, God is all-powerful. We have knowledge, God is allknowing. We are present in a place; God is all-present in all-places at all-times. In addition, God has all-control of allthings at all-times (we call this sovereignty).
What are some other unlimited characteristics of God that we share in a limited way? Discuss what this shows us about God. (examples if you can’t think of any: love, mercy, just, righteous).
matthew 10:29-31
Here we see God’s all-knowingness, and His complete control of all things (sovereignty). Jesus tells us that this is incredibly good news for us, because God cares for us. Share a story of a time where you were overwhelmed in the moment but afterwards you could see how God was in control the whole time.
Read
Together
head
hands feet heart
Part of recognizing God’s sovereignty is to realize that we actually have far less control over circumstances than we often believe. However, we often struggle with circumstances where we feel we have no control. Discuss together: How do you usually react in these circumstances?
What are some things you have been worrying about that are outside of your control? Spend time this week (whenever you notice you are worrying) bringing these worries to God in prayer. (This is the same as last week, but it’s an important practice for followers of our all-loving sovereign God).
Being faithful to God means we intentionally, with our words, tell other people about God and how to follow Him. However, the Holy Spirit also uses the change He is working in our lives to encourage other Christians and to point those who don’t yet know Jesus to Him. This is because what we truly believe about God cannot help but shape how we live. Spend time this week praying that the Spirit would use your life as a witness to those around you even without your knowledge.
week 8
God is Holy week 9
Holy
Holy table talk
what is god like? god is holy.
What is God like? God is holy. This means that He is absolutely and overwhelmingly perfect in every way. He is the source of all perfection. This is a problem for us as sinful human beings. We were made for God; but if we, sinful human beings, came before the holy God we would be destroyed. We must be made holy before we can be with God.
head heart
In 2 Corinthians 5:21 we see that Jesus is the ultimate solution to our unholiness.
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God”. That is a startling and amazing verse that teaches us that Jesus took or sin from us and put it on himself when He died on the cross and in
turn gave us His righteousness. Sometimes we forget how surprising and amazing a gift our salvation is. Spend some time as a group/family thanking God for sending his Son to “become sin” for us so that we could be made holy.
James 5:16 urges us to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other. With that in mind, where do you think that you most need to grow in holiness at this point in your life? Spend some time praying together as a family/group for the Holy Spirit to help you grow in holiness.
hands feet
Based on how you answered the previous question what is one thing you need to either remove or add to your life in order to obey the command to be holy?
Being a follower of Jesus is something we cannot (and should not try to) do alone. We are given a local body to help us. This week pray for one person from your family or group. Then reach out to him/her and ask how their hands challenge (from the previous question) is going.
Here we see the response a sinful human being has in the presence of the holy God.
When you think of God how often are you deeply aware of your own sinfulness like Isaiah was? Why do you think that is?
Read Togetherisaiah 6:1-6
week 9
Great God is Great and Good week 10
Great table talk
what is god like? god is both great and good.
