About school & September:

• What’s your favorite subject, and what’s your least favorite?

• Do you have a favorite teacher?

• What’s the funniest thing that has happened to you at school?

• If you could cancel one school subject forever, which one would it be?

• If you could add a new subject to school (like “nap class” or “video games”), what would it be?

• What was the best thing you did this summer?

• Do you prefer studying in school or online? Why?

Fun & easy ones (school-themed):

• If the school bell could play a song instead of ringing, which song would you pick?

• Which subject would be more fun if it was turned into a video game?

• If you could change the cafeteria menu to anything, what would it be?

• If school uniforms had to be superhero- or fantasy-themed, what would yours look like?

Hobbies & free time:

• What movie or TV show can you watch again and again?

• If you had a YouTube or TikTok channel, what would it be about?

• What game did you play the most this summer?

• What do you usually do when there’s no internet?

School & learning:

• What’s one school supply you can’t live without?

• Do you prefer group projects or working alone?

• If you could switch places with a teacher for one day, what subject would you teach?

• Do you prefer math with numbers or math with words (like word problems)?

Daily life & fun:

• What’s your favorite snack to eat after school?

• Are you more of a morning person or a night owl?

• If you could design your dream backpack, what would it look like?

• Do you like listening to music while doing homework? What kind?

Creative & silly:

• If your pencil case could talk, what would it say?

• Which cartoon or movie character would make the best classmate?

• If you had a magic button that could skip one part of the school day, what would it skip?

• Would you rather have homework every day but only 5 minutes long, or no homework but extra 1 hour at school?

RECAP last week

Lets briefly discuss revelation – general revelation & special revelation.

General revelation – that God exists.

Through creation Romans 1:18-20 & through conscience Romans 2:14-15

Special revelation – miracles, signs, dreams, visions, theophanies, Christophanies, prophets & the Bible.

Questions for discussion:

1. Question – Why should we be interested in proving that the Bible is true & can be trusted?

   1. For our own knowledge and benefit – increases our confidence especially in sharing the gospel.

   2. To help others - We are commanded to give a defense of our faith (1 Peter 3:15)

      1. Sometimes people that we share the gospel with may have genuine doubts about the Bible. Not for the purpose of making them believe the gospel and be saved, but to help them overcome any genuine obstacle they may have to the gospel.

      2. It is God who saves, not men! We cannot convince anybody to believe the gospel!

      3. Christianity & the Bible & its claims are today mocked openly by the world. Science vs. Bible. History vs. Bible. Geology vs. Bible. To such people who speak to you in such a way, we can give a logical, reasonable, response that defends our faith and our God. If we truly love God, we will have a zeal to defend His name. But do not “cast pearls before swine”!

So lets also look at how we can respond to the common questions raised about the Bible.

2. Question about (Textual reliability) - How was the Bible created?

a. Didn’t men write it? Who decided which books go into it and which don’t? Why those 66 books only? What about the Apocrypha?

Old Testament:

By the time of Jesus the Old Testament was already ‘’. OT of modern Bibles comes from the Masoretic text.

New Testament: 

• All the books of the New Testament were written during the lifetime of the apostles and contain apostolic teaching.

• Scripture agrees with scripture – so those books that do not agree with the rest of the books were not accepted as canon. Paul quoted the gospel of Luke. Peter quoted Paul, Jesus and Paul quoted OT. 

• Churches were already reading the Biblical books such as letters from Paul to the churches. Only the books accepted by all churches as authoritative became canon. Apocrypha fail these criteria.

b. Manuscripts & Translations

1. The original ‘autographs’ written by the Apostles and the other authors were inerrant – none exist today.

2. Copies of those autographs are what we refer to as manuscripts

3. Over 5800 manuscripts exist, way more than many other secular classical texts. The manuscripts themselves agree very closely with each other – there are no differences that affect theology or doctrines.

4. The manuscripts were compiled into texts over time by scholars.

5. We have 3 main texts from which all modern Bibles are translated – Textus Receptus, Majority text, & the Critical Text. 

6. The critical texts differ based on how they were compiled. Still the differences are minor.

You Can Trust the Bible - Part 1

Question to the group: Before we start studying specific books of the Bible, I think its important to think about the Bible, the book.

What questions or doubts do you have about the Bible? About the Bible as a book?

I have some questions: Can we trust the Bible? Can we believe everything it says? Hasn’t science disproved the Bible – don’t evolution and fossils disprove the Bible’s creation account?

Goal of this study: 

• Understand why we can trust the Bible (that it is historically, textually, prophetically and scientifically reliable).

• Understand that the Bible is our standard for truth & is the ultimate authority in our lives.

Questions for discussion:

1. What does the Bible claim about itself? Let us 

Key verses:

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV

  16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

• John 17:17 NKJV

  Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

• Hebrews 4:12 NKJV

  For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

• Isaiah 55:11 NKJV

  So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

• James 1:22 NKJV

  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Questions for discussion:

2. What does the Bible claim about itself?

   1. God authored it – it is His word.

   2. It is living.

   3. It is truth.

   4. It is powerful, authoritative, sufficient for the Christian.

   5. It convicts men of sin.

   6. It points to Christ (John 5:39–40, 46)

   7. In summary: the Bible claims that it is the standard for truth & the ultimate authority in our lives.

Consequence: The Bible is exclusive. Since the Bible is true, then every other claim about God is wrong. Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Paganism, Atheism, Pan-theism, every philosophy or world-view is wrong.

Question: Do we really believe this? How can we?

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NKJV

14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

• We who are saved by faith in Jesus Christ receive the Holy Spirit.

• So we are able to believe & understand the Bible.

• The person who is not saved does not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them and so cannot believe the Bible is true (exclusively), nor understand the Bible.

• Our starting point is that we believe the Bible is true & we believe it. The Holy Spirit gives us this faith! But Christianity is not a blind faith, far from it!

• So we do not need any other evidence or proof that the Bible is true, but since the Bible is true, it will stand up to any scrutiny and we can demonstrate it later.

Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Proverbs 3:5
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

Psalm 23:1-3
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.”

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people…”

Proverbs 4:23
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Proverbs 9:10
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Psalm 119:105
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

1 John 4:8
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

2 Timothy 1:7
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

Psalm 139:14
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Romans 8:31
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Psalm 34:4
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”

Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Psalm 27:1
“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”

Matthew 5:16
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Psalm 34:17
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.”

Philippians 4:13 (KJV)
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”