The following word document is set up to print as 4x6 cards. Depending on the Word format you use, you can actually see what the card looks like by using the Print Layout View. In this document are all the questions in the order that NCFCA lists them.
To access all the questions without scrolling through all 100 cards, simply set your Word program to Outline View. There you will be able to see all the categories the style of Heading 1. All the questions are in the Heading 2 style.
This electronic format will allow you to save electronic quotations or illustrations you come across during the year even before you are ready to make your cards. Once you understand the Outline View you can feel free to delete titles or move questions around! Personalize it for you!
I have also included a sample card here at the front. It is a full sentence outline. You may or may not want to include as much text as this student did but it will help you see the parts of a good card. - Coach Bettis
Sample Card
Topic Statement - Explain the Meaning and Significance of….
Opening - Attention Grabbing Story, Quotation, etc.
Roadmap Statement
Point One
Point One Support - Verses, Definition, Illustrations, etc.
Point One Transition Sentence (optional)
Point Two
Point Two Support- Verses, Definition, Illustrations, etc.
Point Two Transition Sentence (optional)
Point Three
Point Three Support- Verses, Definition, Illustrations, etc.
Point Three Transition Sentence (optional)
Conclusion Summary
Conclusion Story that may tie back into the Opening Story
Explain the Meaning and Significance of the Grace of God
- In a recent Dennis the Menace cartoon, there was a vivid picture of grace. Dennis was walking away from the Wilson’s house with his friend Joey. Both boys had their hands full of cookies. Joey asked, “I wonder what we did to deserve this?” Dennis answered, “Look Joey, Mrs. Wilson gives us cookies, not because we’re nice, but because she’s nice.”
- Like this comic strip, our names could easily be replaced for Dennis and God could be substituted for Mrs. Wilson. The good that comes our way is not because we’re good, but because God is so good.
What is grace? Millard J. Erickson, author of the book “Christian Theology”, says, “Grace means that God supplies us with undeserved favors. He requires nothing from us.” (Matt 5:45)“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Today, I’d like to look at three points in regards to God’s grace.
1. Grace is unmerited favor
2. Grace is the only way we can be saved
3. God’s grace draws us to Himself
Let’s take a look at my first point: Grace is unmerited favor.
- Basically, we messed up, we deserve punishment, but God shows grace toward us that we certainly did nothing to merit.
- (John 1:16) “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.”
- Felix Jardio, a rice farmer in the Philippines, had been saving money for years to be able to buy a carabao, a water buffalo, to work on his farm. Finally, he collected thirteen hundred pesos and went out in search for the work animal, but when he went to buy it, he discovered that Philippine paper bills had been exchanged for a different issue, therefore his savings were useless. So, with help from some schoolboys, he wrote a letter to the president, asking if he could change the money. The reply: “The law must be followed. Because the deadline for exchanging bills has passed, the government can no longer change your bills with the new ones. Even the President of the Philippines is not exempt from this rule. However, because I believe that you really worked hard to save this money, I am changing them with the new ones from my own personal funds. I hope that you will be able to buy the carabao. Signed: Your friend, Ferdinand E Marcos, President of the Philippines.” The rice farmer had missed the deadline for exchanging his bills, and did not deserve to have them changed after the deadline, but out of sheer grace, the president of the Philippines gave money from his own pocket to the poor man. This parallels God’s grace towards us.
- (Ex 34:6) “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
Let’s move on to my second point: Grace is the only way we can be saved. In (Acts 15:11),
- Paul and Barnabas state: “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved.”
- In John Newton’s hymn, “Saved by Grace”, he writes:Saved by grace, I live to tell what the love of Christ hath done, He redeemed my soul from hell, Of a rebel made a son; Oh! I tremble still to think, How secure I lived in sin; Sporting on destruction's brink, Yet was saved from falling in.
- (Eph 1:7) “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” God’s ultimate act of grace was to give his son to pay for our sin. We did not deserve to be saved. It was given as a free gift by the Father.
- Martin Luther stated, “Just as a mother’s love is stronger than the filth on a child, the love of God towards us is stronger than the dirt that clings to us.”
- (Rom 3:23-24) “Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption, which Jesus Christ.”
Finally, let’s continue on to my last point: God’s grace draws us to himself.
- Personal story: A few weeks ago, I heard a clanging sound coming from the garage. When I investigated the situation, I found my brother with a massive horseshoe magnet, trying to keep it away from a metal beam. As much as he tried to keep it away, the attraction of the pole pulled the magnet in until they were latched together. In the same way, God’s abundant grace is pulling us towards himself irresistibly.
- (Psalm 119:132) “Turn to me and be gracious to me, after thy manner with those who love thy name.”
- (Romans 6:14) “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”
So, to conclude: 1. Grace is unmerited favor, 2. Grace is the only way we can be saved, 3. God’s grace draws us to himself. Why is all this important though? What are the implications of God’s grace?
- (Acts 20:24) “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
- Our job is to testify to the gospel of God’s grace by being gracious to others, just as God is gracious to us. Max Lucado declared, “I’ve never been surprised by God’s judgment, but I’m still stunned by His grace.”
The Existence and Nature of God
God is Triune
Explain the meaning and significance of the Trinity.
How can God be one and yet three (unity versus trinity)?
God is Transcendent and Immanent
Explain the meaning and significance of the omnipresence of God
Explain the meaning and significance of the transcendence of God.
Explain the meaning and significance of the immanence of God.
God is Infinite
Explain the meaning and significance of the omniscience of God.
Explain the meaning and significance of the eternality of God.
Explain the meaning and significance of the infinite nature of God.
God is Unchanging
Explain the meaning and significance of the immutability of God.
Why is the unchanging nature of God critical to who He is?
Analyze and respond to the statement, “The Old Testament God is a God of hate while the New Testament God is a God of love.”
Open theology states that God is constantly changing and growing with His creation. Respond to this Biblically.
Open theology states that God is constantly growing and changing with His creation. Respond to this logically and pragmatically.
God is Holy
Explain the meaning and significance of the holiness of God.
Explain the meaning and significance of the righteousness of God.
Explain the meaning and significance of the justice of God.
If God is holy, why did He allow sin in the world?
Analyze and respond to the statement, “If God understands my humanity and sin nature better than I do, why does He still hold me accountable for what I cannot help doing?”
Evaluate and respond to the statement, “He’s only human.” (as a justification for sin and the need for leniency).
God is Sovereign
Explain the meaning and significance of the sovereignty of God.
Explain the meaning and significance of the omnipotence of God.
Analyze and respond to the statement, “God set the universe in motion but He has no interest in it.”
God is Loving
Explain the meaning and significance of the mercy of God.
How can God be both merciful and just?
Explain the meaning and significance of the grace of God.
God Exists
Analyze and respond to the statement, “Gods are fragile things. They may be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense.” Chapman Cohen
Analyze and respond to the statement, “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.” Voltaire
Analyze and respond to the following statement, “Christianity is the opiate of the masses.” Karl Marx
Analyze and respond to the statement, “The existence of God and of a future life is everywhere recognized in Africa.” David Livingstone
Topic 2: The Nature, Purpose and Destiny of Man
Mankind’s Image and Purpose
Explain the meaning and significance of the image of God.
If God is invisible, (1 Timothy 1:17) how can man be made in the image of God?
What is the purpose of man?
What is the essential duty of man?
What is meant by the "fall of man"?
Mankind’s Sin and Fall
Explain the meaning and significance of the depravity of man.
Explain the meaning and significance of original sin.
Explain the meaning and significance of the sin nature.
If man is inherently sinful, why do most men lead relatively good lives?
Why does man need salvation?
Do all men have a longing for God?
Evaluate and respond to the following statement, “All men were born with ten fingers and toes but no one was born with the knowledge of God.” Voltaire
Mankind’s Destiny - Heaven or Hell
What is the destiny of man?
Evaluate and respond to the following statement, “Heaven is only a state of mind.”
Why would a loving God create hell?
Evaluate and respond to the statement, “…whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap.” Gal. 6:7
Mankind’s Restoration
Explain the meaning and significance of regeneration.
Explain the meaning and significance of repentance.
Explain the meaning and significance of sanctification.
Topic 3: JesusChrist
Jesus is Fully Human
What is the meaning and significance of the virgin birth?
What is the meaning and significance of Jesus’ claim that He is “the Son of Man?”
What evidence is there for the historical existence of Jesus?
Jesus if Fully God
What is the meaning and significance of the deity of Christ?
What is the meaning and significance of Jesus’ claim that He is “the Son of God?”
Analyze and respond to the following statement, “Jesus was a good man and a good teacher but certainly not the Son of God.”
If God is real, why can’t people see or touch Him?
Analyze and respond to the statement, “God is merely an impersonal force in the universe. He is untouchable and unapproachable.”
Did Jesus attain deity by His sacrificial death or was He God from the beginning?
Jesus is both God and Man Through the Incarnation
What is the meaning and significance of the Incarnation?
How could Jesus be both God and man?
If God is infinite, how could He limit Himself in the person of Christ?
Jesus Rose From the Dead
Why is the resurrection essential to the Christian faith?
What evidence is there for the resurrection of Jesus?
Evaluate and respond to the following statement, “When man dies, he simply ceases to exist. There is no immortality or eternal life.”
Topic 4: Salvation or How to Know God
What Did Christ Accomplish on the Cross?
Explain the meaning and significance of atonement.
Explain the meaning and significance of justification.
Explain the meaning and significance of propitiation.
Explain the meaning and significance of redemption.
Why did Jesus have to die to provide salvation for men?
Analyze and respond to the following statement, “Jesus’ life and death are merely examples to us that we should all live sacrificial lives.”
What is the meaning and significance of Jesus as the Lamb of God?
What is the meaning and significance of Jesus as the Mediator?
What is the Gospel? (Is Heaven Earned by Good Works?)
How can a man know God?
Can a man become right with God by keeping the Ten Commandments?
Analyze and respond to the following statement, “Every charitable act is a stepping stone to heaven.” Henry Ward Beecher
Analyze and respond to the following statement, “I know that all of the good vibes he sent out will return to carry him off to a better place.” Comment made after to death of Bob Hope.
Is There Only One Way to Heaven?
Analyze and respond to the following statement, “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except though me.’”
Isn't it narrow minded to believe there is only one way to heaven?
Analyze and respond to the following statement, “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.”
Analyze and respond to the following statement, “There are many roads to God.”
Analyze and respond to the statement, “What we believe about God is the most important thing about us.” A.W. Tozer
Jesus is Building a New Community
Analyze and respond to the following statement, “I commune best with God when I am out in nature. I don’t need organized religion or a list of do’s and don’ts.”
What is the meaning and significance of Jesus as the Messiah?
Topic 5: The Scriptures
God Reveals Himself
In what ways has God revealed Himself to man?
Do all men have a conscience?
What is the meaning and significance of Jesus as the Word of God?
Scripture is Inspired and Inerrant
Explain the meaning and significance of inerrancy.
Explain the meaning and significance of divine inspiration.
Explain the meaning and significance of verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture.
If the Bible was written by men, how could it also be written by God?
Jesus clearly demonstrated His belief in the authority of Scriptures. Defend this statement with evidence.
Explain the meaning and significance of higher criticism and lower criticism.
Analyze and respond to the statement, "No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says; he is always convinced that it says what he means.” George Bernard Shaw
What is the foundation for accurate Bible translation?
How can the Bible be trustworthy when it has been translated so many times?
How Did We Get Our Bible?
Explain the meaning and significance of Biblical canon.
How did the church decide what should be included in the canon of Scripture?
What’s So Special About the Bible?
Analyze and respond to the statement, “The Bible is no different than any other holy book.”
Provide evidence for the historical accuracy of the Bible.
Prophecy Fulfilled
Analyze and respond to the statement, “The Bible is simply the work of a great conspiracy, where people sought to create a religion of their own.”
Analyze and respond to the statement, “The Old Testament is merely a set of myths made up by the Jewish people to establish a national identity and give themselves a feeling of superiority.”
Want to know the basics of the faith?
Planning to compete in NCFCA Apologetics?
Overwhelmed by the number of questions?
This Workbook can help
Written by a pastor and apologetics course teacher, this workbook provides:
- Introductory suggestions for new competitors
- Formatting suggestions for using word processors
- Organization suggestions for the card box
- Convenient grouping of 100 questions into 24 categories
- Suggested Scriptures for each question
- Suggested readings in Introduction to Systematic Theologyby Wayne Grudem and Know Why You Believe by Paul Little
- Website recommendations for many questions
- Website recommendations for illustrations
- Note-taking format helps student collect material during the year before working on a speech
- Note-taking format helps student think through the topic before composing the card.