Know the importance of God’s word being correctly read, interpreted and taught. Why is the church in so much trouble today? Is it because too many teachers are teaching God’s word from inspiration instead of perspiration?
God’s word is deep and complex yet carries a simple message. Be careful who you allow to influence you with God’s word. Those who teach God’s word should have their lives represent or mirror what is taught in God’s word.
It is important for you to know God’s word. This way, you can spot a counterfeit when it looms on the horizon. When ever possible, let scripture interpret scripture.
What are the essentials of Christian Doctrine?
Should we die on the sword over them?
Where do secondary issues fit into the teaching of God’s word?
How should we as Christians handle secondary issues with one another?
"In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity."
There must be unity around the essentials, since essential Christian doctrine forms the line of demarcation between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of the cults.
Essential Christianity. We hear a lot of discussion about essentials and non-essentials, but what are the essentials of Christianity?
When we talk about the essentials of Christianity we're referring to the basic elements that make up and characterize our faith, and which, of course, separate it from other beliefs.
Let's survey these doctrines.
First, we believe in the Authority of Scripture, which is another way of saying that the Bible is God's inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word. It's the ultimate source for knowledge about God, as well as the definitive guide for our daily lives.
Next we Affirm the existence of a Triune God or one God in three distinct persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This God is self-existent, eternal, unchanging, omnipotent, omnipresent, holy, righteous, and loving. God created the universe from nothing and He rules over His creation sovereignly including both human and angelic beings.
We also hold that Man is a physical and spiritual being who is created in God's image. But because of his sin or transgression, man has lost his fellowship with God. The extent of sin is so great that its effects continue to this very day in the form of cruelty, suffering, and death.
By God's grace, Jesus Christ - Who is fully God and fully man - was sent to save us from our bondage to sin. We believe that Christ was born of a virgin, died for our sins, physically rose from the dead, and will one day return to judge the world and deliver His people. Faith in Christ is the only means by which mankind can escape eternal damnation and judgment.
Finally, we recognize the church as God's ordained institution headed by Christ. The church is composed of all believers, and is organized for worship, for fellowship, for the administration of the sacraments, for spiritual growth and support, and for evangelizing the world.
Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs Chart" was a humanistic attempt to give us a road map on how to make life decisions. Of course Maslow’s chart is completely void of God’s perspective and embraces a total self serving world view.
The Hierarchy of Human Roles chart presented to you here is an attempt to counter Maslow’s work and present this idea from God’s economy.
What does the Bible teach us about making life decisions?
What choices have to take priority over others?
The Hierarchy of Human Roles chart will give you the foundational representations of how God would have you make life choices.
Want to know what’s important to God and in what order?
Open The Hierarchy of Human Roles chart and find out.
The Hierarchy of Human Roles chart (pdf)
DownloadWhat is the difference between a Translation and a Transliteration?
Know which one you should be reading and for what purpose.
Translations are an attempt to do a “word-for-word” from the original language into the receptor language.
Transliterations are an attempt to do a “thought-for-thought” from the original language into the receptor language.
Click on the below link to discover a useful chart representing most Bible translations/transliterations.
Translations are good to read for the purpose of Bible study. These works are designed to deliver the most accurate word-for-word as possible, but because the original language may not easily migrate to the receptor language, the message may not flow as smoothly. But a good translation can be the most rewarding Bible to study if you are really trying to get to the accurate truth of God’s word.
Transliterations are good to read for personal fulfillment and nestling in on some “one-on-one” time with the Lord. These works are designed to be easy to read and comprehend.
Some publishers have struck a balance right down the middle and created a translation/transliteration that is not only useful for teaching, but also easy reading.
About Bible Translations (pdf)
DownloadTimeline of Bible Translation History
This document covers most of the well known Bible translations throughout our human history.
From…
1,400 BC: The first written Word of God:
The Ten Commandments delivered to Moses.
all the way to…
2002 AD: The English Standard Version (ESV)
Translation History (pdf)
DownloadLearn all six positions of Eschatology:
HISTORICIST
PRETERIST
FUTURIST
SPIRITUAL
PREWRATH
PARTIAL PRETERIST
That there are six major eschatological positions to know? Four have been debated for over 1,500 years and are well defined and two have only been around for about 30 years or less.
Did you know that the Pre-Tribulational, Mid-Tribulational and Post-Tribulational positions all exist under the FUTURIST position?
Here you can find our study material that is used in class.
Apologetics:
(from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason.
The following documents were the class outline for an apologetics course given at Friends Community Church in Brea, CA.
This class was geared toward the youth at the church in what became to be known as "The Bible Boot Camp".
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A Bible Teaching Ministry ● Established 08/18/2008