CLASS

We're glad you signed up! This is one of three classes that are designed to give you the inside-look into the mission of Grace Church: Know it, Live it, Give it Away.

THE AIMS OF THIS CLASS:

  • To help you appreciate how Knowing the Story of Jesus enhances your walk and ministry with God in you, personally and in community
  • To introduce you to the wonder of the Bible and to help you read it.
  • To introduce you to a daily quiet time with God, emphasizing prayer.
  • To introduce you to our training and discipleship model at Grace.

THE GOALS OF THIS CLASS:

  • To get you involved in knowingthe Gospel and the God of the Gospelso that you become excited and effective in growing in your relationship with God and helping make Jesus make sense to others and receive life eternal.

"In the past you voluntarily gave your bodies to the service of vice and ... the purposes of evil. So now give yourselves to the service of righteousness - for the purpose of becoming truly good." Rom.6:19

CLASS OUTLINE:

  1. Introduction: Knowing It, Living It and Giving It Away
  2. Appreciating the value of your Bible
  3. Knowing your Bible and the Story of Jesus
  4. Praying: Talking with and listening to God
  5. Studying the Bible: Getting acquainted with and Embracing God
  6. Daily Quiet Time: Hanging out with God
  7. E4 Training
  8. Next Steps

A. INTRODUCTION: KNOWING IT, LIVING IT, AND GIVING IT AWAY

“Forthis reasonwealso, fromthe daywe heardabout you, havenotceasedprayingforyouandaskingGod to fillyou with the knowledge of hiswillinallspiritualwisdomandunderstanding,so that you may liveworthilyof the Lordand pleasehim inall respects – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,being strengthenedwithallpoweraccording tohisgloriousmightfor the display of all patience andsteadfastness, joyfullygiving thanksto the Fatherwho has qualifiedyoutosharein the saints’inheritanceinthe light.”

Colossians 1:9-12

  • At Grace Church we have developed a ______to help each and every one be a joyful follower of Jesus Christ. It has three aspects:Know It, Live It, Give It Away.
  • What is “It”?
  • “It” is The ______of Jesus Christ. The Story of Jesus Christ is good news. It is the story of Hope. Hope about relationships separated and restored. Hope about life in paradise lost and regained. Hope about dreams dashed and renewed. Hope about reconciling and walking with God our redeemer. The Story of Jesus Christ is the message of hope that God, our loving Father, kept his promise to redeem us from sin and death through the work of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Jesus Christ – hope proclaimed so that you will hear, believe and be reconciled to God.
  • “It,” The Gospel, can be summarized in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his uniquely begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
  • ______v. ______; The Gospel in ______
  • What Jesus accomplished for us and what he asked us to do forms the ______and ______of our ministry at Grace Church. The Know It, Live It, and Give It Awaycourses provide a pathway for us to accomplish our vision. Knowing It, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, is the foundation upon which Living It and Giving It Away are built. And the first step in Knowing It, is an ______for the Bible.

B. APPRECIATING THE VALUE OF YOUR BIBLE:

The Bible is the very ______of ______! Can you imagine?! Have you ever wanted to know what God thinks about something? In the Bible, we have God’s very thoughts on everything we need to know to live lives that are effective and honoring to Him. What a gift!

Psalm 19 and Psalm 119 express for all Israel the ______upon, ______to and ______of the Word of God for their daily spiritual nourishment and guidance. It was like having God as your ever-present counselor and provider. James looked upon Holy Scripture as the “perfect law that gives freedom “ and the royal law that calls us to love our neighbors (James 1:25, 2:8). Just think: God has not been silent. We have God’s Word to ______us in our daily lives in all wisdom and truth (Psalm 119:105).

How we approach the BibleHow we understand the Bible

C. KNOWING YOUR BIBLE AND THE STORY OF JESUS:

To know the Bible and the God of the Bible two habits are very important: Prayer and Bible reading.

PRAYER:

Talking with and listening to God

  • For any relationship to grow, we must spend time with another. It is the same with God. If we want to have a growing relationship with God we must spend time with Him. Prayer is one way we spend time deepening our relationship with God. In a nutshell, prayer involves two things: Talking with and listening to God.
  • Jesus’s disciples asked Him how to pray. Jesus taught them how to pray in Matt 6:9-15. Generally, Jesus’ prayer had four components: Praise, Asking, Repentance, Yielding.
  • ______(Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name….): We begin by praising and worshiping God, acknowledging who He is, and declaring His position of glory far above us.
  • ______(Give us this day our daily bread…): Mankind has needs. God knows this and wants us to ask for his help and provision. He already knows our needs, but wants us to show humility and dependence upon Him by asking. Don’t forget to pray for others as well as yourself. The Bible is chalk-full of examples of people praying for others’ needs (Eph 1:15-19; Col 1:3-12; 1 Thess 1:2-3; 2 Thess 1:11-12)
  • ______(Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors….): We sin. We hurt others and ourselves. Even more, our sins hurt God. As we pray, we ask the Holy Spirit to reveal our sins. We confess them specifically to God. We are open to making amends with others when appropriate, and we accept God’s forgiveness by faith.
  • ______: The Lord’s prayer ends with an expectation of God’s working and answering prayer. As Jesus’ followers, we humbly yield to God’s leading, trusting He will work all things together for the good of those that love Him (Rom 8:28).
  • Many use Jesus’ model of prayer in the Lord’s Prayer as a general form in which to pray. An easy way to remember each of these components is the acronym P.R.A.Y.

STUDYING THE BIBLE:

Getting acquainted with and Embracing God

  • A good basic method of Bible study is the three-step approach: Observation, Interpretation, and Application (Richards and Bredfeldt, Creative Bible Teaching, 64-73).
  1. ______: In this step you answer the question, “What does the text say?”
  • What is the setting (Who is the author? Why was the book written? Where was the book written? To whom?)?
  • What is the context (What literary form is being used in this passage? How does this passage fit into the overall message of the book? What comes before the passage and after the passage?)?
  • What is the structure (Repeated words? Figures of speech? Any comparisons made? Are there questions raised in the passage? Any cause and effect relationships? Does the passage have a climax? Are there any pivotal statements or words used?)?
  1. ______: In this step you answer the question, “What does the text mean?”
  • Rule #1: Continuity of the message. There is unity in the Bible. Ask yourself how this passage fits into the larger context of the Bible. We use Scripture to interpret Scripture.
  • Rule #2: Context of material. We must seek to understand a text in its context. It is easy to misunderstand most passages if we are careless with the context. Why did Jesus weep (John 11:35)? Only by understanding the context does this have meaning.
  • Rule #3: Customary meaning. Literal interpretation doesn’t mean taking every word in an absolute sense without making any allowance for the figures of speech and literary forms. “Literal interpretation simply means that we interpret the Bible as one interprets any other form of literature, giving it its natural, normal, and customary meaning” (Richards and Bredfeldt, 68).
  1. ______: In this step you answer the question, “What difference does the text make?”
  • Remember, interpretation always precedes application.
  • Remember, the Bible must be applied as God intended it. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17).
  • Remember, part of application is implementation. How can I apply this biblical truth to my life? What must I change? When we apply and implement, we also transform. God wants transformation in our lives through the power of His Word and His Holy Spirit.

DAILY QUIET TIME:

Hanging out with God

Definition: "A quiet time is a daily time I set aside to be alone with God to get to ______Him through the Bible and prayer."

Fact: The better I get to ______Christ, the more I will ______ Him. The objective of your quiet time is not to study about Christ, but to actually spend time with him!

The Importance of Daily Quiet Time

Your time alone with God should be the top priority in your schedule for six reasons:

  1. We were created to have a ______with God.
  • "So God created man in his own image..."Gen 1:27, 2:7, 3:8
  • "Look! I've been standing at the door and constantly knocking. If anyone ... opens the door, I will come

in and fellowship with him and he with me." Rev 3:20

  1. Jesus died to make a relationship to God ______.
  • "God ... has invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, Christ our Lord." 1 Cor 1:9 (LB)
  1. Personal time alone with God was Jesus’ source of ______.
  • "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16
  1. Everyone who has been ______in service for God developed this habit.
  • Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel, Paul, etc.
  1. You cannot be a ______Christian without it!
  • "Man cannot live on bread alone but on every word that God speaks." Matt 4:4
  • "How can a young man cleanse his way? By keeping to your Word." Ps 119:9
  1. We should to have personal quiet times and ______devotional times.
  • “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Josh 24:15b

Note: Do not let your prayers become internalized and self-centered. Praying primarily for ourselves can cause us to forget about the needs of others. It can breed ______

Caution: You will soon realize that if you are going to pray on a regular basis, you need to set up daily ______with God. If you do not schedule it, the pressing needs of our daily lives and the excitement of entertaining activity will take all of the available time. Like past friends, you love them, but you get used to their ______. Don’t let God become a friend of the past. Set a quiet time with God.

D. E4 TRAINING:

Knowing the Gospel enables one to live in a growing relationship with Jesus and give the IT away to others. E4 was created to be the teaching and training arm of Grace Church. E4 gets its name from Ephesians 4, which clearly defines the goal of this resource: to equip God’s people for works of service.

E4 is an online tool created specifically for two types of environments:

  • Personal meetings of one-on-one or one-on-few
  • Mid-sized groups such as Grace Groups or classroom sized groups.

First, you’ll notice that E4 is a collection of what we call “studies.” Studies cover a variety of topics that you’ll progress through multiple “sessions.” Each “session” includes a short video that’s accompanied by downloadable content and is intended for you to go through with a person or group. Sessions are designed to be viewed once a week, or on a regular basis.

For example, suppose you and a friend decide to start meeting together with the intention of helping each other grow spiritually. With an E4 “study,” you and your friend can go through a topic of your choice, designed to help foster conversation and give you meaningful content to work through together.

And because E4 is an online resource, it is very portable. You can use your smartphone, tablet or computer to utilize E4 at coffee shops, in homes, or at restaurants. Or, suppose you are leading a small group and are looking for good content to help assist you as you lead. You can choose from the studies available on E4, and with your group, watch the videos and utilize the downloadable resources available to you.

Our vision is to see each person at Grace Church learning, growing and serving as mature followers of Jesus Christ – going forth to change our world! Know it, Live it, Give it Away!

There are plenty of great reasons to take studies through E4Training at Grace Church.

  • Knowledge – discovering something new so you can be better at whatever you do.
  • When I discover what God says, it helps me trust Him more.
  • When I discover what God says, I know how to treat others.
  • When I discover what God says, I can make wiser choices.
  • When I discover what God says, I can see the world from God’s point of view.
  • You cannot know God unless you know the Bible – His Word to you!

“Do your best to present yourselves to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamedand who correctly handles the word of truth.”

2 Timothy 2:15

Getting Started at E4 Training:

  1. Log on tobarberton.graceohio.organd select the “Media and Resources” tab to see the studies offered. Download the curriculum.
  1. Gather another or others to go through the study together.
  1. Watch the videos and progress through the curriculum at your own pace. Learn, apply, and have fun! Call us if you have any questions or problems along the way! 330.825.6291 x248

E.NEXT STEPS:

  1. Get started on a Bible reading plan
  1. Check out an E4 Study
  1. Visit a Grace Group
  1. Register for theLive It Class

The Live It Class encourages you to grow in your relationship with God - both personally through discipleship, and in community through Grace Groups.

Learn more about Grace DNA by taking the Live It Class

1