Hello JOYneters, This is a summary of the class taken by Alicekutty at the November Thejas ( JY Bible School) (the stuff in the brackets are mine. pls excuse it :)
Introductory session: What is the relevance of the Word of God in our lives? "Ignorance of the Word of God, is ignorance of Christ" -- St. Jerome Even before the universe was built, God had a plan for our lives. Definitely, because... "The glory of God is man fully alive" - John Powell. We are familiar with the wonderful verse, Ephesians 1:4 "For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight" ( Wow! It is so encouraging and exciting to think that this happened even before the Big Bang!) Therefore, God's plan for each person is to experience the Kingdom of god. How do we discern God's plan?What do we do to gain these spiritual blessings? or eternal life (put it in any way u like) questioned the rich young man. God in His mercy has revealed certain mysteries (paradox!!) that will guide us in our walk. And all that is available to us in the Bible. So, for God's aforementioned plan to work out in our lives, we've to receive the Word of God. As our light. As the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path. Yet, we can remain unconvinced of the power of the Word in our lives. (Intellectually atheistic? hmm :( Certainly, for God's will to work out beautifully in us, we need to empty ourselves and fill our hearts and mind with the Word. AND, to receive it we've to believe the truth of the scriptures. For, God always requires human co-operation for His plan of salvation to become real. Divine-Human partnership. (oh-oh, what about doubting Thomases like me?) How does one acquire(if that word can be used) this faith? Let's look at Romans 10:17 "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ". It's a cycle. Our faith in God is born when we co-operate by 1) Listening to the Word 2) Believing it will come true in our lives. Then again, to make this faith response, we need to be like little children. We need to trust God to build up our faith. "Be like little children, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven". God does not call us to be inflated with theology, but to live it in the simplicity of little children. Practical Work: - Personalise or DO the Word . Think about how to apply it to life. -Be careful. Jesus asks us not to obey certain precepts or laws but to IMITATE Him. Live Jesus. Useful Verses: Hebrews 4:12 - Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. John 3:16-For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. Mt. 22:29-Jesus said to them in reply, "You are misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God. 2Cr. 13:5-Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless, of course, you fail the test. Jn. 15:7-If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. And finally, Psalm 119 & Isaiah 55(read this in ur own Bible. It is too loooooooong to be put in here. Good for meditation) to be continued . . . **************************************************************** This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. To unsubscribe, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to this mailing list, visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet For automatic help, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ****************************************************************