Thee Word for the Week - 2003.10.13

Ephesians 2:8-10, John 3:16, Titus 3:5
Monday
Read Ephesians 2:8-9
· How have we been saved?
· Who is the giver of both grace and faith?
· What would people do if they could earn salvation?
· Pray thanking God for salvation that He has given you and for those that
you know that need to His salvation.

Tuesday
Read Ephesians 2:8-10
· In verse 10 the word “workmanship” means poem. Reread verse 10 using the word poem. What does this say to you?
· After we are saved, what are we created in Christ to do?
· What are some “good works “that you are currently involved in?
· Are all of the “good works” your involved with God honoring?
· Is there a “good work” that Christ wants you to start doing?
· Pray expressing thanks to God for the “good work” He is doing through you.

Wednesday – Read John 3:16
· How did God show His love for us?
· How do you know you have eternal life?
· What changes have occurred in your life as a result of salvation?
· Pray asking God for the opportunity to share about your new life in Christ with someone.

Thursday
Read John 17:1-3
· What is eternal life?
· Do you know Christ?
· Mentally recount your conversion story.
· Express you’re thanks to the Lord for your eternal life in Him.

Friday
Read Titus 3:4-7
· Lists the characteristics of God found in these verses?
· What do these verses say about God’s work (salvation) in us?
· What is salvation not based on?
· Pray thanking God for the difference He has made in your life because He saved you.

Friday's devotional 09.19.2008

Read Galatians 2:20
· Rick Warren in his book Purpose Driven Life, said, “It’s not about you; it’s about God.” How does Galatians 2:20 affirm Rick’s statement?
· Why is it so hard to get your eyes off yourself?
· In what areas of your life do you consistently have difficulty giving over to the Lord?
· Read Galatians 2:20 and state that area in place of the first two “I’s” in the passage. Claim Christ’s power in that area of your life by faith. You can have assurance that He will hear your prayer and will give you strength to turn from your self and instead focus on Christ living in you.

Thursday's devotional 09.18.2008

Read Matthew 5:16-17; Psalms 119:105
· In Matthew, light is an analogy to what in your life?
· According to Psalm 119:105, what should light your path?
· What is the relationship between the light from your life and the light to your life?
· To those in the dark, light is refreshing and comforting. To what degree do your good
works shine light to others?
· Do your good works point people or stir people to seek God?
· Ask the Lord to give you His ability to shine your light brightly to others for His glory.

Wednesday's devotional 09.17.2008

Read Revelation 22:18-19; Galatians 1:6-7
· John is warning his readers regarding the seriousness of preserving the Word of God. He is specifically speaking of the book of Revelation but the application very much includes all of Scripture. What are the consequences of adding to or taking away from God’s revelation in Scripture?
· Is it important to understand and communicate God’s truth accurately?
· How well to you understand God’s truth?
· Join with others in an accountable relationship to help you grow in this area of your life.

Tuesday's devotional 09.16.2008

Read 2 Peter 3:15b-16
· Sometimes Scripture is hard to understand. Even Peter, referring to some of Paul’s writing, found some things difficult. You may feel untaught and you can make steps to know God’s Word. Being unstable means not being consistent in allegiance. How would you evaluate your consistency and allegiance to the teachings of the Lord?
· Is your inconsistency intentional or unintentional?
· According to v. 16, what is the end result? If you take seriously the end result, take necessary action to adjust your actions with that of Scriptural teaching.

Monday's devotional 09.15.2008

Read Luke 24:31, 44-45; Matthew 28:19-20
· According to Luke 24:31 and 45, what is God’s role in our coming to understanding His
Word?
· In order to live for something we must first have confidence in what we believe. The Law,
the Prophets, and the Psalms are the three major divisions of the Old Testament. Christ
says that the Old Testament speaks of Him. How should this give us greater confidence
in what we believe?
· What is the goal of our belief and teaching according to Matthew 28:20?
· Ask the Lord to give you confidence in His Words and strength to obey His Words.

Answers

Here are the questions from Sunday:

1. When were angels cast down?
2. When were they created?
3. What exactly was it that Lucipher did to get kicked out of heaven?
4. What was/is the purpose of angels?

I think I have been able to find good answers to these questions in Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine.

You can read most of the related text here: Google book preview of Grudem's Systematic Theology.

Question 1: When were angels cast down?
According to Grudem, we don't exactly know the time that the angels were cast down. We do know that it had to happen prior to Satan tempting Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3.1). Grudem also suggests that it occurred after the sixth day of creation since God proclaims everything He created good (Genesis 1:31). Grudem says "but beyond this, Scripture give us no further information". (Grudem p. 402)

Question 2. When were the angels created?
Grudem says that they did not always exist but were part of the creation. Quoting Ezra 'You are the Lord, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host ... and the host of heaven worships you' (Nehemiah 9:6; cf. Ps. 148:2,5)Grudem 397). He goes on to explain that the angels had to be created before the seventh day because Genesis 2:1 states "Thus the heavens and earth were finished, and all the host of them" and that it's possible (but not definite) that Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 may indicate that the heavens were complete because earth is specifically called out to be without form and void.


Question 3. What exactly was it that Lucipher did to get kicked out of heaven?
Grudem points out that at the end of creation God "say everything that he had made, and behold it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). (Grudem 412) Since this is true, the heavens did not even have evil angels (demons or Satan aka. Lucipher) at that time. (412) I referenced earlier in the week the passage that best declares the reference to what he did:
Isaiah 14:12-15
12 How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!

13 You said in your heart,
"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. [a]

14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High."

15 But you are brought down to the grave,
to the depths of the pit.


more to come...

Friday's devotional 09.12.2008

Read Luke 1:1-4
· The Bible is different from all other human writings in its continuity, circulation, and survival. On the human side, Luke represents a detailed approach to his writings (which also includes the book of Acts). In verse two, he speaks of an oral and written tradition “handed down to us.” How does the fact that Luke was an eyewitness give you confidence in Scripture?
· There is great consistency in Scripture, it has had many attempts to destroy it, yet it has survived with great accuracy. Take some time to read and study about the reliability of the Bible. A good source is www.bible.org. Once there do a site search for “The history of the Bible.” There will be several articles that are well worth reading.

Thursday's devotional 09.11.2008

Read 2 Peter 1:19-21; 1 Peter 3:15; 1 Corinthians 2:14
· “The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim in without ever touching the bottom.” (Walter Henrichsen) How does Peter’s words affirm the depth of God’s Word?
· What does the Bible claim about itself?
· Our confidence that God is the source of Scripture cannot be overstated. Since God is the author of Scripture through His Spirit, who can understand Scripture according to 1 Corinthians 2:14?

Wednesday's devotional 09.10.2008

Read Psalms 119:97-105
· Meditating on God’s Word will benefit you in what ways?
· Obeying God’s Word gives you?
· In what ways does God’s Word illuminate your steps?
· How would your answers to these questions help you in your life?

Tuesday's devotional 09.09.2008

Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17
· Paul Harvey is quoted as saying, “Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts
itself, but because it contradicts them.” How does verse 16 affirm Paul Harvey’s view of
the Bible?
· According to this verse, what are the four benefits of Scripture in the life of the believer?
· What is the result of those benefits?
· The fourth benefit of Scripture is “training or discipline in righteousness.” If you have sensed weaknesses in your own journey in righteousness, how could reading, meditating, studying, listening to, and memorizing God’s Word help you?

Ben's thoughts:

I have tried a few different ways to do each of these. One method that John MacArthur suggests in The MacArthur Study Bible: Revised & Updated Edition is to read a passage of approximately 7 chapters every day for a month. Doing this you will read the New Testament in 3 years. You aren't trying to memorize the text, but by meditating on that same text each day for a month you will become essentially a human concordance of the New Testament. There are some other good ways to learn scripture. One method I tried when I first received Christ was Topical Memory System Package: Life Issues (Topical Memory System)

When was Satan cast down?

I don't have the answer yet (if I will this side of heaven I don't really know). But look at this passage.

Isaiah 14:12-15 (New International Version)

12 How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!

13 You said in your heart,
"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. [a]

14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High."

15 But you are brought down to the grave,
to the depths of the pit.

So, Satan (the morning star, and son of the dawn) seems to have had aspirations related to the creation (stars, mount, mountain, clouds) before his fall (make myself like the Most High).

I'll keep searching. Let me know what you think.

Monday's devotional 09.08.2008

Read 2 Timothy 3:13-15
· In a discussion you mention some principles taught in the Bible. How would you respond if your friend responds, “That’s if you take the Bible literally. But you can’t trust something that was written thousands of years ago by a bunch of men.” How would your past experience of faith help you reply to her?
· In verse 14, Paul encourages Timothy to defend against evil imposters because he has been “convinced” about what he was taught. To be convinced means, “To be sure about because of its reliability.” To what degree are you convinced?
· Talk to some trusted friends and discuss what you can do to become more convinced of the things God has revealed in His Word.

Ben's thoughts:
I have certainly seen God work in my life to many things that could only be the result of answered prayer. Some of the times I've seen God work were actually during times of sharing faith with unbelievers. My mom was a prayer partner of mine when I used to go out sharing the Gospel about 12-14 years ago. During that time, I could tell when God was being actively prayed to by my mom. After the sessions, I would say "Mom, you were (or weren't) praying today" and she would confirm my answer almost every time. When she was praying, we saw amazing results.

A couple of great books for further information on this topic are Why I Believe and The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict Fully Updated To Answer The Questions Challenging Christians Today.

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Riding Saturday

Ok, Angie and I went riding yesterday. We dropped Benjamin off for football practice and then took Whitney (on the back of my bike) to cross-country in Plano.

I know that Ricky and Julie went riding all day as well.

Where's everyone else been riding lately?

Ben

Comprehending Creation

Today we watched a quick clip on "Accidental Masterpiece", another one from Mission To Mars and discussed various views of creation:

1. Literal 6-day creation – must deal with the fossil account that indicates the earth is much older than 4000 years. Some explain this through the flood.
2. Evolution-
a. Major gaps in the fossil record.
b. No continuation of species progressing.
c. Mutations must tend to be positive which is contrary to evidence. Example – if left alone a hybrid rose will revert back to a wild rose.
d. Still doesn’t answer the question of where matter comes from.
e. Reduces the dignity of man.
3. Theistic Evolution – has the same problems as evolution.
4. Gap Theory – a gap in time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:3.
5. Progressive Creation – “There was morning and evening” refers to 6 days
of creation being over large periods of time.
6. Age Theory – God created in 6 days, but days mean age.

We had some interesting discussion around the discussion guide questions.

Before closing prayer, we watched "A Majestic God".

Then, quite a few "research and return" questions were asked related to Angels and the war in heaven:

1. When were angels cast down?
2. When were they created?
3. What exactly was it that Lucipher did to get kicked out of heaven?
4. What was/is the purpose of angels?

These are great questions. Let's see if we can figure it out during the week. Feel free to add your comments here.

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Friday's devotional 09.05.2008

Read Hebrews 11:3
· Some of our advancements in Science and Technology have been nothing short of
phenomenal. For example, the Hubble telescope images are breath taking. These images truly expand our view of time and space. But these advances have often been used to try and “explain” how the Universe came into existence. As Christians we will never be able to explain how God created the Universe. When the arguments for and against Creation are weighed, what ultimately must be exercised to believe one or the other?
· Have you lost sight of the simple faith that God asks of you in believing that He created the Universe?
· Ask Him to give you that simple faith.

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Thursday's devotional 09.04.2008

Read Acts 17:22-26
· In verses 22-23, Paul notices that the residents at Mars Hill were looking for something. What do you think they wanted to find? In verses 24-25, what five character traits of God does Paul emphasize?
· Religion emphasizes what man does for God. In contrast, how does Paul illustrate the personal nature of God toward man?
· Do you tend toward doing things for God or trusting God to give you every good thing?

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Wednesday's devotional 09.03.2008

Read Genesis 2:7
· CS Lewis argued that all humans are by nature hungry because food has been made to
satisfy our hunger. He also argues that mankind seeks to meet the longing in their hearts for someone or something “outside” themselves. This is seen in the limitless expressions of religion, which is man trying to fill the legitimate spiritual void in their souls. Our soul is the sphere by which we can relate to and know God. Having a soul is unique to us as human beings. What are practices that you can implement that would help you keep in touch with your souls longings?
· How would practicing Christian disciplines like prayer, meditation, reading Scripture, worship, fellowship with others, giving, and serving help to shape your soul toward God?
· Which one of these is weakest for you?
· Share it with someone and ask him or her to help you grow in that discipline.

Ben's thoughts:
In Living By the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible Howard and William Hendricks teach some great ways to read the Bible that include meditative/prayerful reading. I think that prayer and Bible study are obvious ways to grow our faith. When combined they seem to have an exponential potential.

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Tuesday's devotional 09.02.2008

Read Genesis 1:26-28
· In Genesis 1:1 we get a glimpse of God’s power as seen through His work of creation. Here in Genesis 1:26-27 we get a glimpse of God’s image. As Christians, we believe that the God who has existed through all time, is the God who created our universe, and He is found reasonable and personal. What are the areas that you think man is created in God’s personal image?
· Do you take those areas for granted?
· How can you be a steward of your mind or intelligence?
· How can you appreciate your emotions without being led by emotions in your life?
· Do you realize that God has given you a will by which you can choose?

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Monday's devotional 09.01.2008

Read Genesis 1:1
· There are three ideas of origin, 1) A Godless material universe, 2) God is an intelligent presence in all things, a universal mind, and 3) A personal God. Of those three, which do you tend to have alignment? As you read Gen 1:1, what is Moses claiming?
· “To create” in this passage means to “bring into existence out of nothing.” How does this simple, short verse give us an understanding of God’s character?
· Ask Him to give you the faith in whatever situation you face, to “bring something out of nothing.”

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Understanding the Three in One

Today we discussed why it's important to believe in the Trinity. Here is one of the stories we discussed:

One of the chief obstacles to a Muslim becoming a Christian is the doctrine of the Trinity. Muslims believe there is only one God—Allah—and that Christians practice polytheism (the worship of many gods). In his recent book The Faith, Chuck Colson argues nonetheless that we shouldn't shy away from teaching the Trinity. In fact, he's found that the very doctrine itself is one of the best evangelistic tools at our disposal. He writes:
Take the case of "Farid," originally a nominal Muslim who came to the United States in 1993 to study. He fell under the spell of the MSA [Muslim Student Association] and soon joined their ranks, evangelizing. In debates with Christians, he contended that the Trinity was idolatry, or, as the Muslims call it, "shirk." But in those same debates, he found his own positions weak when he was forced to argue that Jesus didn't die on the cross, only appeared to, as Muslims believe. Although he was warned against investigating the topic,

Farid began to study…

Farid soon gave up his evangelizing on behalf of the MSA, continuing his search more deeply into Christian theology. He came to see that far from rejecting the Trinity, it "was the only logical explanation of what is reported in the New Testament, and [it] was logical and non-contradictory, just as a wave-particle duality principle in physics was the only plausible yet unbelievable and seemingly contradictory way to explain the world."
Eventually, Farid's search brought him to the point of exhaustion, where, in his imagination, he lay outside the gates of the City of God. At this point he cried out to God to rescue him, if God would. "I felt a strange feeling of God's love, as if he was telling me that I am his, and that he will love me and take care of me for the rest of my life and after." This experience led to Farid committing himself to a new life as a Christian… God became Farid's eternal Father, "an infinite being who cares about me personally, and who wants me to be fully committed to him."

Chuck Colson, The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters (Zondervan 2008), pp. 104-105

Three gods???

Muslims believe we worship 3 gods - they call this Shirk and believe we blashpheme God (or Allah) by worshiping Jesus and the Holy Spirit in addition to God the Father.

Are you prepared to discuss with them how we worship one God?

Don't think it's relative in our area? Read what is being taught at the University of North Texas by the Muslim Student Association there: Jesus in Islam

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Friday's devotional 08.29.2008

Read 2 Corinthians 13:14
· How did God demonstrate his love? How would you describe God’s love?
· What is grace? How can the grace of Jesus be with us? What is the purpose of grace in our lives?
· What does “fellowship” mean? Is it an event that your ABF does every month or two? If not,what does “fellowship” mean? How does one experience the “fellowship of the Holy Spirit?”
· Many in recent years have become familiar with J. R. R. Tolkien’s trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. In the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, a group of individuals who have very little in common begins a great quest. Considering these individuals and the quest, what does “fellowship” mean?
· How do you picture the persons of the Trinity at work in your life?

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Thursday's devotional 08.28.2008

Read Ephesians 1:13-14
· According to verse 14, believers are “marked with a seal.” What is that seal? In the ancient world, when a package was dispatched it was marked with a seal that indicated from where it had come and to whom it belonged. How is the Holy Spirit like a seal in the lives of believers?
· Read verse 14 from several translations. What is the Holy Spirit called in this verse? Have you ever bought something that required that you put down “earnest money?” What is the purpose of earnest money? How is the Holy Spirit like earnest money?
· How does the Holy Spirit work in your life? Are you aware of his presence?

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Wednesday's devotional 08.27.2008

Read Ephesians 1:5-12
· What did God determine beforehand for those who believe in Christ? What is the process for us to be “adopted as his sons?”
· Re-read verses 7-10. What did Christ provide for believers? What is redemption? How did Jesus provide redemption?
· According to verse 9, what was Christ’s purpose?
· Re-read the entire passage looking for the words “plan” and “purpose.” What insights does this give us into God’s character?

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Tuesday's devotional 08.26.2008

Read Ephesians 1:3-4
· Ephesians 1:3-14 is a hymn to the Trinity and is a single sentence in Greek. It is not so much a well-reasoned, logical progression as it is a song.
· As you re-read verses 3 and 4, look for two actions that Paul attributes to God. What are they?
· How would you describe the spiritual blessings that God has given you? Where did these blessings take place? What does that mean to you?
· Did you choose God or did he choose you? When did God choose you? How does that make you feel?
· According to verse 4, what kind of life should the chosen ones live? What is the difference between “holy” and “blameless?”
· Spend today reflecting on the fact that God has blessed and chosen you. Why did he do that?
Does he have a reason or purpose? If so, what is it? With this in mind, how will you use your time, talents and treasures?

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Monday's devotional 08.25.2008

Read Matthew 28:19
· Baptism commanded by Christ in the Great Commission is to be “in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Notice that it says “name” and not “names.” This suggests that the name of God is “Father, Son, Holy Spirit.” Why is this important?
· Does it bother you that the word “Trinity” does not appear in our Bible? Why or why not?
· Do you understand the concept of the Trinity? Does the confusing part of this cause you to be skeptical?
· Consider the following statement: “If we are to accept and believe only what we can fully understand, then we are hopelessly beyond redemption.” Is this statement true? If it is, what causes it to be true?

Ben's thoughts:
This shows that our God is not 3 gods but one God. It does not bother me that the word Trinity is not in our Bible. God gave us every word that is in the Bible. He therefore gave us everything we need to understand Him. The concept of the Trinity is difficult for the human mind. It is not something that would cause me to be skeptical though. Instead, it makes me realize that our God in His infinite wisdom is much more amazing than any of the man made concepts of gods in other religions. I believe the statement is true. If we had to fully understand the Trinity or everything it took to Resurrect Jesus in order for us to be saved we would be hopelessly beyond redemption. We understand a lot about God's essence but it would be impossible to say that we knew or understood everything about Him.

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Believing In God

This week we looked at clips of Einstein and Ben Stein.

The information on Einstein is here:

When Albert Einstein was asked if he believed in God, here was his response: "I'm not an atheist. I don't think I can call myself a pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books, but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws, but only dimly understand these laws."

Einstein tried to express these feelings clearly, both for himself and all of those who wanted a simple answer from him about his faith. So in the summer of 1930, amid his sailing and ruminations in Caputh [Germany], he composed a credo, "What I Believe," that he recorded for a human-rights group and later published. It concluded with an explanation of what he meant when he called himself religious: "The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle. To sense that behind anything that can be experienced there is something that our minds cannot grasp, whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly: this is religiousness. In this sense, and in this sense only, I am a devoutly religious man."

Walter Isaacson, "Einstein and Faith," TIME (4-5-07)

The clip of Ben Stein can be found here:

Ben Stein clip on youtube

During our discussion, we realized that the Bible passages we studied did not try to "prove God exists". They declare that He exists and the human authors of the text all assume His existence.

The fool says in his heart, there is no God - Psalm 14:1

What does it mean to us today?

ACKNOWLEDGE GOD.

Note: The following outline merely seeks to reveal the Bible’s assumption of God’s existence, the overwhelming evidence for His existence in creation, and the consequence of rejecting that evidence.

1. The Bible assumes the existence of God, the Creator, (Genesis 1:1).
2. The Bible claims that nothing exists apart from God, the Creator, (John 1:1-3).
3. Creation reveals the glory of God, (Psalm 19:1).
4. Failure to acknowledge the God of creation brings judgment, (Romans 1:19-20).
5. ACKNOWLEDGE GOD.


Hopefully, you now feel challenged to identify and stand up for your beliefs in God.

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Pascal's wager

Consider Pascal's wager:

The skeptic should believe in God, as a
rational decision. For, if God exists
and the skeptic believes in Him, the
rewards are infinite; if God exists and
the skeptic does not believe in Him,
the miseries are infinite; if God does
not exist, it makes no difference
whether the skeptic believes in Him or
not. Hence, the only benefit comes
from believing in God and the only disbenefit
from not believing in Him.
Hence, the skeptic ought to believe.

At the time that he wrote it, he may have seemed to be indicating that the choice we make is between knowing the one true God through a personal relationship with Christ as opposed to a life of atheism. Otherwise, there are some other possiblities to contend with.

Is it a good method of evangelism to present eternal life as a bet? Why or why not?

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Friday's devotional

Read Romans 1:19-20
· What are some things that you have observed in nature that confirm to you that
God exists?
· What are God’s invisible qualities? How have these qualities been clearly seen
and understood? What is the result of that understanding for us?
· Do you think that society is better, worse, or about the same as it was when Paul
wrote this?
· Since all of this is true, how should it affect the way that we live?


Ben's thoughts:
Some of the things I've observed are:
1) the order of things - the earth maintaing it's orbit is pretty convincing.
2) the unlikelihood of things falling together (creation itself)

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Thursday's devotional

Read Romans 1:19-20
· If God were to deliver a “State of the World Address” what do you think that he
would say?
· What is God’s response to those who ignore and disobey him (v. 18)?
· Paul says that “what may be known about God is plain to them.” What is Paul
talking about? Who has made it “plain to them?”
· How can God hold us responsible for breaking his laws?

Ben's thoughts:
I think he would say that to many people are "Of the world". And that they need to see the obvious. That God has created it all and that they need to bow down and worship Him. He's revealing His wrath on those that are not acknowledging Him. Plain to them means that it's so obvious/evident that even a child can understand who He is and that He created everything.

Wednesday's devotional

Read Psalm 19:1
· Who speaks in Psalm 19:1? What do “they” say?
· Is everyone able to see evidence of God’s work in nature? Why or why not?
· Does this mean that people who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ
can still learn about God from nature?
· What in creation fills you most with a sense of God’s glory?

Ben's thoughts:
Well the Author of the passage is God speaking through David (Holy Spirit inspired words). But in the verse, the heavens and skies speak. They declare His glory and proclaim the work of His hands. This definitely means that everyone is without excuse for knowing that God exists (cf. Romans 1:20) Not sure that it's "the most", but being far out into the Pacific Ocean gives me a huge appreciation for all He has done.

Tuesday's devotional

Read John 1:1-3
· Why do you think that John’s first words were “In the beginning” rather than with
a simple narrative of Jesus’ birth?
· What does John 1:1-3 add to your perception of Genesis 1:1?
· The word translated “Word” means “an intelligent utterance, either a single word
or a message.” What insights can you gain from seeing Jesus as “the Word?”
· It appears in verse 3 that John says the same thing twice. Why do you think that
he did that?

Ben's thoughts:
I think John began this narrative this way to show that Jesus beginning had no beginning. Matthew and Luke gave narratives of the way Jesus birth on earth took place but it was important to look further at the person of Jesus and realize that He was (and is) God. There would be no doubt to a Jewish person that John elevated Jesus to the point of God the Father(functionally subordinate). This also shows that Jesus had a hand in (or the majority part of) creation. His way of saying the same thing twice adds clarity to the message that Jesus was involved in the creation of everything.

Monday's devotional

Read Genesis 1:1
· What were some things that you created when you were a child? What modern
creation is most important to you? How do these things differ from the things
created by God?
· What does this verse reveal about God’s character?
· Some skeptics dub the opening verses of Genesis as “absurd” and
“contradictory.” Do you understand their point of view? How would you respond
to their comments?
· When you consider all of nature, do you find it easy or difficult to believe that God
exists? Why or why not?

Read through the things above and internalize them. Then if you'd like, either add comments related to each bullet or comment on what the whole devotional made you think.

Ben's thoughts:
The internet seems to be one of the most important man made creations that's making a difference in our lives these days. One of the differences between man's creation of it and God's creation is that man is simply discovering a way to use what God created. In considering all of nature, it's easy for me to believe that God created it all. It would be difficult for me to believe that it could have fallen together some other way.

Ultimate Faith Challenge

Today we began our fall series, the Ultimate Faith Challenge with our first session: “Contending for the Faith” based on Jude 3-4 and Exodus 34:12-16.

Hopefully you left class challenged to join in the Ultimate Faith Challenge and commit to contending for your faith.

Some of the facts we reviewed:

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life recently surveyed 35,000 U.S. adults to analyze religious practices.

o Over half of evangelical respondents said that many religions can lead to eternal life
o 29% of Catholics see God as an impersonal force
o 1 in 5 self-described atheists say they believe in God or a universal spirit
o 79% believe in miracles
o 58% prayed daily
o 39% attend weekly religious services
o 45% say they seldom read the Bible
o 14% cite religious beliefs as the main influence on their political thinking

We watched a brief video clip by a "new atheist", Sam Harris.

Next week our study will be on "Believing in God" based upon the following verses:

Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3; Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:19-20

A good book to study during this fall session is The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters by Charles Colson. You can get it at Lake Pointe's bookstore or order it here:





During the week we will be looking at The Word for the Week.