Jesus: the One & Only!

Jesus: The One & Only!

Jesus: The One And Only!

January 15 to April 8, 2012

This Study Guide belongs to: ______

Christianity must be about Jesus Christ … or it is about nothing at all!

We value books and sermons about improving our marriage; or raising children in our culture; learning how to handle money; or dozens of other helpful subjects and practical issues that seek to improve our personal and family lives. There is nothing wrong with these topics, but they are not enough. At the centre of everything, there must be Jesus. Without knowing Him, everything else will slowly unravel and fall apart. He is the glue that holds life together. He is the One & Only!

Just as the best way to know a person is to meet them and talk to them face to face, so the best way to know Jesus is to listen to what he says about himself. We need to hear how he describes himself in the numerous times he says “I am….”

Some of these personal declarations and introductions are gathered up in this study guide. They invite us to get to know Jesus better; to love him more deeply; to be drawn into his identity and also the deep purpose of his life. This is by no way, a complete list. I acknowledge that there are many more declarations about who he is.

It is my simple prayer and heartfelt desire that in this series of studies at Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church in the spring of 2012, we will get to know Jesus, the One and Only!

Remember: Christianity must be about Jesus Christ … or it is nothing at all! He is the One and Only!

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

Because of his life and love,

Tom Cowan.

This study booklet Jesus: The One & Only! is a combination study guide and the Sunday ministry schedule for Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church, Vancouver, BC. It has been written and prepared by Tom Cowan who is presently the interim pastor of the church. It will run from January 15th to April 8th, Easter Sunday, 2012.

Tom Cowan has written numerous Bible study guides that seek to help churches integrate personal study and small group Bible study with the Sunday teaching ministry.

Copies of this study booklet can be purchased at the church for a nominal printing cost, or you can download a copy for your personal and small group ministry from the church web site, vcbc.bc.ca/english. VCBC has permission to download and use this study guide for use within the ministry of the church.

You can track this series of messages on the identity of Jesus and other information about Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church on their web site at vcbc.bc.ca/english.

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible New International Version.
© Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Jesus: The One & Only! Written by Tom Cowan.
© Copyright Wordstudy Publishing, Victoria, BC, Canada. 2009.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission of Wordstudy Publishing.

One Solitary Life[1]

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office.
He never owned a home. He never set foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He had no credentials but Himself.
While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves.
His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while He was dying -- and that was His coat. When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of progress. All the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as that
One Solitary Life.

The English Congregation

Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church, Vancouver, BC.

Teaching Schedule/January – April, 2012.

Sunday / Study # / Theme:
January 8 / Communion Sunday for 2012
January 15 / #1 / His Name is Jesus!
January 22 / #2 / I am the Way
January 29 / #3 / I am the Truth
February 5 / #4 / I am the Life
February 12 / #5 / Communion Sunday:
I am the Bread of Life
February 19 / #6 / The Lamb of God.
February 26 / #7 / I am the Light of the World
March 4 / #8 / I am The Christ!
March 11 / #9 / Communion Sunday:
I am the Good Shepherd
March 18 / #10 / I am the Vine
March 25 / #11 / I am Alpha and Omega
April 1 / #12 / Palm Sunday:
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Friday April 6th / Good Friday Communion Service at VCBC
April 8 / #13 / Easter Sunday!
I am the Resurrection and the Life!

Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church

Using This Study Guide:

1. Begin by reading the passage(s) that are the basis for each week’s study. Then you can dig deeper into the passage by following the other passages that may be mentioned.

2. You are also encouraged to take part in a home group that may choose to follow this teaching series. Here we share what we are learning with others. We bring our insights and share them with others. As Tom Cowan often reminds people, no one has arrived! So we need to learn from the life and experiences of others.

VCBC has a number of home groups including some groups that are “sermon-based”. These groups specifically connect into the Sunday morning teaching ministry.

There will also be opportunities in these home groups to worship together. Perhaps a hymn or a chorus will come to mind and you will enjoy a time of worship together. Also, take time to pray for one another. Use the prayer page that follows to record both the needs and also the answers to prayer in your small group.

There may also be occasions to assist and encourage one another in practical ways in our lives. Galatians calls us “to bear one another’s burdens.” A home group is an excellent way to care for one another in practical ways.

3. This study guide will provide an overview of our Sunday teaching schedule for almost 4 months of 2012. The church knows where we are going Sunday by Sunday. Through these weeks of worship, sharing and study together, we want to come to know Jesus: the One & Only.

4. Each study also contains a page for “Sermon Notes”. Each Sunday bring your Bible and study guide to VCBC. Get into the habit of taking notes of the sermon to help you retain the main points of the sermon that speak to your life.

Each study will have two main sections.

There will be a primary passage or several main passages for each week. Try to set aside time each week for these main passages. There will be some questions and some issues to think about. This passage may also be used as the main passage for study in a small group meeting.

These passages will usually be the Scriptures on which the sermon will be based on the following Sunday. Your time of reading ahead and preparation will greatly enhance your time at church each Sunday.

Then there will often be several complementary or additional passages, also with some study questions. These additional passages develop and expand the central idea from the main passage. This is where we learn to connect the Scriptures and see how a theme is developed and followed through in other Scriptures In many ways, the Scriptures themselves are their best commentary. Here we learn to see how Scripture expands and deepens the meaning and application of other scriptures.

Your Small Group: Names and Numbers

Name / Phone Number / Email Address

Names of new people to invite:

Name / Phone Number / Email Address

Praying For One Another:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Date / Person / Need / Response

Praying For One Another:

Date / Person / Need / Response

Study #1:

His Name is Jesus

______

When a new baby arrives in a family, the first task of the new parents usually is to pick a name. They may have started to think about this earlier, but when the new baby arrives, the day of decision has also arrived. . When the grandparents and other relatives arrive, and have finished with the initial goo-ing and gaa-ing over this latest arrival, their next question usually is: so, what’s his or her name?

What does your own name mean?

Do you know why you were given the name you have?

A name often contains the character that we trust the child will exhibit. This was especially true of Jesus. Before we go to our other studies in this series on the identity of Jesus, we must begin with the most basic name he was given--Jesus![2] In the gospels, this is by far the most common name for him. It appears over 600 times.

We find this name given to him at his birth.

Read Matthew 1, from verse 18.

18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

Jesus[3] was a common name, and it helps us to understand right away that Jesus is identified with all of humanity. He stands in the lineage of humanity and he identified himself with all human needs. However we must add the phrase that follows: “he will save his people from their sins”.

What do you think Joseph might have understood of this phrase? What might it have meant to him at this time?

What does this phrase “he will save his people from their sins” add to this common name? How does it help us to understand the ultimate purpose for his life?

Can we separate the person of Jesus and who he is from that purpose?

Additional Scriptures:

We are familiar with the main characters of the nativity. There are shepherds, the magi, the innkeeper and so on. However two characters are not very well-known to us. They are Simeon and Anna. Here are their stories.

The Story of Simeon.

Luke 2:25-35.

25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."

33The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

What did Simeon understand about Jesus really was?

What do you think he meant by his last phrase “…And a sword will pierce your own soul too."?

Now we read the story of Anna.

Luke 2:36-38.

36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.