8˜SESSION BIBLE STUDY - Scene7

1 8 SESSION BIBLE STUDYL ifeway Press Nashville, Tennessee Published by Lifeway Press 2019 Mary Wiley Reprinted March 2021No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly per-mitted in writing by the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to Lifeway Press ; One Lifeway Plaza; Nashville, TN : 978-1-5359-8543-7 Item: 005820373 Dewey decimal classification: headings: DOCTRINAL THEOLOGY / BAPTISTS DOCTRINES / CHRISTIANITYU nless indicated otherwise, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard BIBLE , Copyright 2017 by Holman BIBLE Publishers. Used by permis-sion. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE , NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION , NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.

2 Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quo-tations marked ESV are from The Holy BIBLE , English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy BIBLE , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights order additional copies of this resource, write to Lifeway Resources Customer Service; One Lifeway Plaza; Nashville, TN 37234-0113; order online at ; fax ; phone toll free ; or email in the United States of America Adult Ministry Publishing Lifeway Resources One Lifeway Plaza Nashville, TN 37234-01522 TABLE OF CONTENTSSESSION 1: SCRIPTURE 10 GROUP TIME 34 SESSION 2: GOD 36 GROUP TIME 60 SESSION 3: JESUS 62 GROUP TIME 86 SESSION 4: THE HOLY SPIRIT 88 GROUP TIME 112 SESSION 5: HUMANITY 114 GROUP TIME 138 SESSION 6: SALVATION 140 GROUP TIME 164 SESSION 7: THE CHURCH 166 GROUP TIME 190 SESSION 8: THE END TIMES 192 GROUP TIME 216 GLOSSARY OF TERMS218 RECOMMENDED RESOURCES220 ENDNOTES22134 EVERYDAY THEOLOGYABOUT THE AUTHORMary Wiley lives with her husband and two children in Lebanon, Tennessee, where they attend and serve Fairview Church.

3 She gets to work with words every day as the manager of women s and kid s books marketing at B&H Publishing Group at Lifeway. Mary holds a Master of Arts in Theological Studies and an under-graduate degree in Christian Studies and English. She hosts the Questions Kids Ask podcast and loves good coffee, good conversation over chips and salsa, and learning new things. Read more from Mary at or connect on social media STUDY THEOLOGY?What you believe matters. It matters on the days you make life-altering decisions and on the days that feel numbingly mundane. It drives how you spend your time, your money, and ultimately, your life. Your beliefs determine the lens through which you see the world and how you respond to both blessing and disaster. Your theology shapes your IS THEOLOGY ANYWAY?Theology simply means the STUDY of God and of God s relation to the world. 1 Don t let this fancy word make you feel like you have to be fancy to STUDY it.

4 I m about as not fancy as it gets. I m that girl who often brings store-bought cookies to the potluck. And I m still utterly amazed that God gifted someone with the intelligence to design seat warmers for cars. So, fancy or not, we are in this STUDY together. Theology centers on who God is and what God has done, is doing, and will do in the world as revealed in Scripture. Embracing a right theology: Helps us identify teaching or worldviews that don t align with Scripture; Equips us to make decisions based on biblical principles; Compels us to honor God with godly behavior; Moves us to rightly worship God. Theology is not about our gaining knowledge; it s about rightly ordering our lives to honor God. He loves us, pursues us, and redeems us with the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:19). We are His sons and daughters, and as children and heirs, we need to know what the essential beliefs of our faith S WHERE THIS STUDY COMES the next eight weeks, we ll walk through eight essentials of the Christian faith.

5 This is not an exhaustive STUDY on systematic theology; rather, this STUDY will equip you with a biblical foundation upon which your faith can rest and ll provide texts and contexts to give you a clear view of each truth as it is pre-sented in the whole story line of Scripture. Hopefully this solidifies each belief in your heart and gives you a passion to STUDY more of God s Word. Working 6 EVERYDAY THEOLOGY through a particular book is my favorite way to STUDY , but for these eight weeks we ll jump around a lot, so buckle up. Some of the best spiritual learning takes place in community. That s why a group discussion time is included in each week of this STUDY . Hopefully the group time is a safe space for you to ask hard questions, wrestle together with the truth of these doctrines, and discuss how to speak the truth in love to people who need to hear it. MY HOPE FOR YOUWe serve a great God who has given us His Word so that we might know Him and what He has done, is doing, and will do.

6 I pray you see Him in every sen-tence of this m praying specifically that learning key truths about God and His Word will: Give you an intense desire to know Him more intimately and surrender every aspect of your life to Him. Move you to obey Him. Equip you to discern, defend, and proclaim the truth. Stir up your affection for Him each more I STUDY , the more I m reminded that I am finite and know so little of the vastness of God and His work in the world. I pray we will get a glimpse of the depth of His knowledge compared to the lack of our own. I m trusting He will meet us here on every page and in every discussion. I look forward to hearing what He does in you and through you in this STUDY . What you believe really does TO USE PERSONAL BIBLE STUDYEach week, you ll find five days of personal BIBLE STUDY written to help structure your personal time with the Lord, deepen your understanding of an essential truth, and move you to worship.

7 Each day includes: Scripture passage(s) to STUDY and consider. Questions to help you examine the Scripture and apply it. Two opportunities to assess and apply what you re learning. A prayer prompt to focus your conversation with the Lord about what you ve learned. Key verse(s) to memorize and meditate on. If one verse per day feels like too much, memorize three per week or even one per week. Meditate on the Word. Chew on it. Soak it up. Let it take root and change your heart. A set of printable memory verse cards are available for you at At the end of each week is a Further STUDY section for you to list other questions you may have about the week s STUDY . RESOURCESEach week contains extra resources to help you dive deeper into that week s essential belief. The resources can also be a reference tool later when you run into a tough question or need a refresher.

8 These are meant to support the five days of STUDY and can be used or skipped as TIME GUIDEG roup leaders: A Group Time guide is included at the end of each week to help your group review the previous week s personal STUDY and apply what you ve learned. We suggest you begin your session in a large group, and then break into smaller groups for the rest of the discussion time. Make sure to enlist someone from each small group to facilitate their group discussion. If you are doing the STUDY on your own, complete the Group Time questions to help you process the THEOLOGYGLOSSARY OF TERMST here is a glossary found on pages 218-219 to define terms that may be unfamiliar to you. Words found in the glossary are designated with this stylein the content. INTRODUCTORY SESSION (OPTIONAL)Note to leaders: We suggest you begin the STUDY of Everyday Theology with an introductory session.

9 This will give you an opportunity to distribute the STUDY books to each participant and explain different aspects of the STUDY and what they can expect. Include a time of fellowship for participants to get to know one another. Consider walking through the Introduction (pp. 6-7), highlighting the sections on what theology is and why we should STUDY free to use the following questions to help drive your discussion: How would you define theology? Are you intimidated by the thought of studying theology? Why or why not? Why did you choose this STUDY , and what do you hope to get out of it? What truths of the Christian faith do you consider to be essential? Why? It s highly possible we will disagree at times in this STUDY . How can disagree-ment be healthy for building a solid biblical theology? How do we need to conduct ourselves during times of disagreement? What initial questions do you have about the essential beliefs presented in this STUDY ?

10 Scripture God the Father God the Son The Holy Spirit Humanity Salvation The church The end timesClose the session by spending time praying for one another and for the following eight weeks of STUDY . Ask God to give you a hunger for His Word and to transform your heart as you 11010 EVERYDAY THEOLOGYDAY 1 SCRIPTURE IS AUTHORITATIVE AND TRUEWhat we believe about God is foundational to every other belief we hold. God is the object of our faith and worship, the Person in whom and through whom we have life. If that is the case, then why start with Scripture? God has revealed Himself to us in two key ways: through Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), and through His written Word. Through Scripture we learn about God s character and actions (past, present, and future). It also reveals what we are to believe about God and how we should live. Scripture alone is the authoritative source of our theology.