I..

Introduction
Arguments for the existence of God are very restricted; some of them are more
restricted and limited than others. They do not prove beyond all question the existence of
the God of the Bible. Furthermore, it must be remembered that man's mind, his thinking
process, has been affected by his fall into sin. This means that there are definite
limitations to God's revelation in nature. The problem is not in the revelation but in the
receiver of the revelation.

Why should we study Revelation?

I It claims the highest level of divine authorship of any book in the bible.

II. Because of its symbolism and the consequent difficulty in understanding it, it is
frequently neglected, but all scripture is profitable.

III. It has a blessing to those who hear it and take to heart its message.

IV. It has a message to the church throughout all generations and it has blessed and
strengthened the church throughout past generations.

V. It has a message that is relevant to us today, just as the letters to the seven churches
were relevant then.

VI. It is God's last word to the church in the scriptures both in place and time.

VII. It has a particular message for those undergoing persecution.

VIII. It shows the end of history, it shows the defeat of God's enemies and heavenly
blessing for God's saints.

IX. It shows us the glorified Christ as in no other book in the bible

II.Content
In the Christian understanding, God has not spoken in only one, but in a variety of
ways. Creation, nature, which is the result of the divine craftsmanship. Actions, in
amazing miracles and the different ways God has intervened directly in human affairs.
Prophets, by the words given to them. We have these revelations. But because of Adam's
disobedience in the garden, we are sinful. This has blinded our minds so we cannot see
God (2 Corinthians 4:4). Thus, all humanity has consistently failed to understand God. It
is due to this sin that idolatry began and the knowledge of the one true God was never
grasped. Consequently , God chose the ultimate option. He became one of us and spoke
for Himself. Because of who God is, only He can know and reveal Himself. God is the
only One who can speak for God. If you attempt to tell me what God is like you will fail.
I can do no better because as finite and sinful human beings we all distort what God is
really like. He must communicate Himself since all intermediaries are inadequate for
such infinite and holy knowledge. Here, then, is the fourth way God has spoken.There are
three separate persons in the Godhead: God, the Eternal Father; his Son, Jesus Christ; and
the Holy Ghost. We believe in each of them. From latter-day revelation we learn that the
Father and the Son have tangible bodies of flesh and bone and that the Holy Ghost is a
personage of spirit, without flesh and bone . These three persons are one in perfect unity
and harmony of purpose and doctrine.

Also, we need clarity of conviction and purpose and that

God is triune, Jesus has centrality, there is an appreciation for His work of
reconciliation, and that there is hope in lives of fulfillment in communion with God
and with all others through the Holy Spirit . He says, that when religious passion goes
awry, it is the most dangerous and destructive passion of all. Religious communities
have a continuing responsibility to search for what is central in their faith heritage and
to examine all their doctrines and practices in that light.”Special revelation is more
full and complete in that God has recorded in detail his
dealings with a number of individuals, with Israel, and with the church in the Bible.
Special revelation has to do with salvation history---the incarnation of the Son of God
into human history as a man, Jesus Christ's substitutionary sacrifice for sins, His
elevation to Lordship over all of the universe, the promise of His return to earth, and
so on.

THE CANON OF SCRIPTURE . It was by the apostolic Tradition that the

Church discerned which writings are to be included in the list of the sacred
books.This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for
the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for
the New.

The Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua,

Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and
Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Job, Psalms, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus),
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos,
Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah and
Malachi.

The New Testament: the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
the Acts of the Apostles, the Letters of St. Paul to the Romans, 1 and 2
Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians,
1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, the Letter to the Hebrews, the Letters of James,
1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, and Jude, and Revelation (the Apocalypse).

The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are
divinely inspired and retain a permanent value, for the Old Covenant has never
been revoked. Indeed, "the economy of the Old Testament was deliberately so
oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ,
 redeemer of all men." "Even though they contain matters imperfect and
provisional," the books of the Old Testament bear witness to the whole divine
pedagogy of God's saving love: these writings "are a storehouse of sublime
teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful
treasury of prayers; in them, too, the mystery of our salvation is present in a
hidden way." Christians venerate the Old Testament as true Word of God.

The New Testament the Word of God, which is the power of God for salvation to
everyone who has faith, is set forth and displays its power in a most wonderful
way in the writings of the New Testament" which hand on the ultimate truth of
God's Revelation. Their central object is Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son: his
acts, teachings, Passion and glorification, and his Church's beginnings under the
Spirit's guidance. The Gospels are the heart of all the Scriptures "because they are
our principal source for the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Savior"

We can distinguish three stages in the formation of the Gospels:

1. The life and teaching of Jesus. The Church holds firmly that the four Gospels,
"whose historicity she unhesitatingly affirms, faithfully hand on what Jesus, the
Son of God, while he lived among men, really did and taught for their eternal
salvation, until the day when he was taken up."
2. The oral tradition. "For, after the ascension of the Lord, the apostles handed on
to their hearers what he had said and done, but with that fuller understanding
which they, instructed by the glorious events of Christ and enlightened by the
Spirit of truth, now enjoyed."
3. The written Gospels. "The sacred authors, in writing the four Gospels, selected
certain of the many elements which had been handed on, either orally or already
in written form; others they synthesized or explained with an eye to the situation
of the churches, the while sustaining the form of preaching, but always in such a
fashion that they have told us the honest truth about Jesus.The fourfold Gospel
holds a unique place in the Church, as is evident both in the veneration which the
liturgy accords it and in the surpassing attraction it has exercised on the saints at
all times:

There is no doctrine which could be better, more precious and more splendid than
the text of the Gospel. Behold and retain what our Lord and Master, Christ, has
taught by his words and accomplished by his deeds.

But above all it's the gospels that occupy my mind when I'm at prayer; my poor
soul has so many needs, and yet this is the one thing needful. I'm always finding
fresh lights there; hidden meanings which had meant nothing to me hitherto.

In order to reveal himself to men, in the condescension of his goodness God speaks
to them in human words: "Indeed the words of God, expressed in the words of men, are
in every way like human language, just as the Word of the eternal Father, when he took
on himself the flesh of human weakness, became like men.

III..Valuesand LessonLearn

The Bible, however, declares that the Creator has in fact made Himself
known, and has given us a very large body of knowledge about His nature, character,
attributes, and activities. The Biblical record, unfolding as it does over the space of
hundreds of years, indicates to us that the self-disclosure of God is progressive in history.
It was Jesus who said that "all the hidden things of darkness will be brought to light," and
"there is nothing secret that will not be made known."

Furthermore the God of the Bible is a Personal God who enters into personal, intimate
relationships with individuals and with groups of individuals.

IV. Challenge

The purpose of this course is to give students a general knowledge and appreciation
of the Sacred Scriptures. Through their study of the Bible they will come to encounter
the living Word of God, Jesus Christ. In the course they will learn about the Bible,
authored by God through Inspiration, and its value to people throughout the world. If they
have not been taught this earlier, they will learn how to read the Bible, and will become
familiar with the major sections of the Bible and the books included in each section. The
students will pay particular attention to the Gospels where they may grow to know and
love Jesus Christ more personally.
I..Introduction
One of the joys in my life has been my opportunities to travel. I enjoy visiting
other peoples and places. I enjoy experiencing other cultures because I always learn so
much about myself. My learning experiences that have come from travel have been a real
asset in increasing my understanding of the Bible.

There are many types of travel: family visits, vacation trips, pleasure trips,
mission trips. There are as many kinds of trips as there are reasons for taking trips. Most
trips have two things in common: they have a purpose and they have a destination.

Some of the greatest spiritual accomplishments on earth involved taking a journey

with God. Abraham served one of God's great purposes on earth. To do that, he took a
journey with God. Genesis says that journey lasted a hundred years--it began when he
was 75 years old (Genesis 12:4) and continued until his death at the age of 175 (Genesis
25:7). Moses also served one of God's great purposes on earth. To serve that purpose,
Moses took a journey with God. His journey lasted for 40 years--it began when he
returned to Egypt to become Israel's leader when he was 80 years old, and it continued
until he died at the age of 120 (Genesis 34:7). With both Abraham and Moses, from the
time they received their calls, they spent the rest of their lives on a journey with God.

Every person who enters Christ begins a journey with God. That journey begins the
moment the person is baptized into Christ, and it continues until the person dies. This
journey has no earthly destination. The Christian reaches that journey's destination after
he or she dies.

This journey we make with God as Christians has little to do with where we live on
this earth or where we physically travel. It has everything to do with who we are. It is a
journey that involves the body, but it is primarily a journey of the mind and heart. No
matter where the body is, no matter the age or condition of the body, the journey of the
mind and heart always continues. Because it is a journey, our minds, our hearts, and our
lives always are changing, always are growing, always are spiritually developing.

Let me illustrate this journey by using John who was one of Jesus' twelve disciples

II.Content
Often people refer to the Genesis creation story as myths, but this is not
technically correct in reference to Genesis 1. The priestly account is liturgy. It justifies
and underlies the celebration of a worship cycle of seven days. If you look at the color
coding below you will see how much of the text consists of formal elements that tend to
outline and drive the text. This is carefully written theology.

Besides its liturgical purpose (as liturgy and justifying liturgy) it is tightly written
theology. Elements of this story explicity contradict the Mesopotamian stories. Where
there is conflict in the Mesopotamian accounts, there is no conflict here. Where there is
expressed concern about the outcome there, there is none here. The key focus of the
structure and vocabulary is to express the simple, uncontested power of God exercised in
forming the world as we know it.

At the same time as it contradicts elements of the Mesopotamian stories, it also

is founded in a similar cosmology. This cosmology has the world as a fixed area of land,
above and surrounded (horizontally) by a primeval ocean, and a dome (sky or firmament)
stretched above that. Water exists above the firmament as well.

This story looks at creation from a completely different angle. Here God is
personally and actively involved in the creation process and is visible to the newly
created human for whom he seeks a helper. Rather than simple commands which are
fulfilled, there is formation and growth. The chronology is also not precisely the same. It
is unlikely that an editor heavily concerned with chronology would have put these stories
together. On the other hand, someone more concerned with theology could easily see
these two aspects of God's power--creative force and personal attention--as being
complementary and presenting a more complete image of God. I argue elsewhere that
Psalm is another creation story with the focus there being on the continuing creative and
sustaining power rather than the initiation.

Humans were created after the other animals. And God made the beast of the earth
after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after
his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image....
So God created man in his own image. Humans were created before the other animals.
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an
help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field,
and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them:
and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. The first
man and woman were created simultaneously. So God created man in his own image, in
the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. The man was created
first, then the animals, then the woman from the man's rib. And the LORD God said, It is
not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of
the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and
brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them. And the LORD God caused a
deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the
flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a
woman, and brought her unto the man.

Original Sin was the decision Adam and Eve made to follow Satan’s
blandishments instead of God’s Word (Genesis 3:1-24). From that initial mistake, all
other sins have derived, including war, illnesses, diseases, and the wrath of nature we
mistakenly call “acts of God” (including death -- the ultimate result of sin in this world)
including condemnation, the ultimate result of unforgiven sin in the next world.

With far more grace than Adam, Eve ruefully admitted that the serpent deceived her
(Genesis 3:13); she didn’t intend to fall. However, the historical biblical account contains
a truth we can’t overlook: she allowed Satan to diminish the distinction between God and
humanity so she could be tempted to eat the fruit. Falling to the lie that no unbridgeable
difference existed between her and the Creator, she believed that wisdom could be gained
where only knowledge accrued. Satan’s continuing success in diminishing God by
elevating mortals explains the basis of temptation and the fountain of sin.

Sin is first and foremost rebellion against the God who is different from all His creation

III..Valuesand LessonLearn
We become Christians to begin that journey. We continue to be Christians because
we refuse to abandon God or the journey. We understand that this journey with God has
no earthly destination. We are not traveling with God only until we find a place to
homestead on earth. The destination is God's house. When we become Christians, only
God's house is home.
I appreciate the words of Paul in Philippians 3:13, 14: Brethren, I do not regard
myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and
reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
We can always quit the journey. We can always homestead on earth. But the person
who walks with God continues the journey and continues to be changed because of the
journey.

IV. Challenge

Our challenge, then, is to relate the insights of the Christian tradition to the crisis that
today threatens the essential integrity of the creation. In so doing we can discover
neglected yet empowering dimensions of God’s covenant. Moreover, we can call upon
the members of our church communities to respond through covenanting for the very
survival and renewal of the gift given in God’s creation.
I..Introduction
Exciting? Life-changing? Without a doubt. Jesus has been changing lives for
centuries,bringing true excitement to anyone who allows Him into their life. Forget all
you have heard or seen about religion. Religion may bore you, but knowing Jesus never
bored anyone. He turns confused wanderers into people of purpose and power. He makes
the difference between desert wilderness and garden; between death and life.
Knowing Jesus is for everyone . . .

Knowing Jesus will lead you in a quest for the truth about Jesus. Then, based on what
you have discovered, you can choose to believe in Jesus.
“I am new in the Christian faith. Will Knowing Jesus help me?”
Knowing Jesus provides two great benefits: you will learn about Jesus and you will learn
how to study the Bible at the same time. Nothing is complicated. Everything is written
in the easiest possible language and style. You don’t have to be a genius, just a learner.
“I have been a Christian many years and have attended many Bible studies. Can
Knowing Jesus help me?”
Experienced Christians often have gaps in their understanding and misconceptions in
their thinking. Knowing Jesus will fill those gaps and clear up those misunderstandings.
During development, this Bible study was tested with a group of ladies who have been
believers in Jesus for an average of twenty years. Those women were so excited with
the studies that they thought everyone, even seasoned Christians like themselves,
would benefit from it.
Whatever your experience, whatever your age . . .
Knowing Jesus is for you!
II.Content
Nothing is known of the life of Jesus other than what is recorded in the four Gospels,
written down some fifty to eighty years after his death. No trace of him survives in any
contemporary historical record. Nevertheless the Gospels, based on a continuous oral
tradition deriving from those who knew him, contain more detail than can be assembled
about anyone else of comparable obscurity in his own time. The evidence of the Gospels
suggests that Jesus is born in about 6 BC - revealing an initial error in the chronology of
the Christian era. Luke is the only evangelist to tell the story of Mary and Joseph
travelling south from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem. The reason for the journey is
that the Roman emperor has ordered a census of the population, and Joseph - descended
in the story from King David- must register in his ancestral home near Jerusalem. In
Luke's account the birth takes place in a stable, because there is no room in the inn. Local
shepherds, alerted by an angel, come to the stable to marvel at the child. Joseph and Mary
then take the infant to Jerusalem, to be presented in the Temple, before returning to
Nazareth where Jesus has a peaceful childhood. Matthew, the only other evangelist to
deal with the birth and infancy of Jesus, tells an entirely different and much more
troubled story. Three wise men of the east, or Magi, follow a star which leads them to
Bethlehem. Unfortunately they tell Herod, king of Palestine, that they are on their way to
see the newly born King of the Jews. To eliminate his rival, Herod orders the massacre of
all the male children in Bethlehem under the age of two. An angel warns Joseph, telling
him to escape with his family to Egypt. After Herod's death another angel tells them that
it is safe to return home. There is some evidence of a census in 6 BC and Herod dies in 4
BC. So the two separate accounts, put together, imply a birth date of around 6 BC.

The Virgin Mary.Apart from her role in these nativity stories, Jesus's mother
barely features in the Gospel accounts of his life. When he is twelve, Mary rebukes her
son for disappearing for three days (he has gone to debate with the elders in the Temple
in Jerusalem). At the marriage in Cana, she points out to him that there is no wine and
receives the reply 'Your concern, mother, is not mine'. When she tries to see him among
his disciples, he turns her away with the explanation that they, not she, now constitute his
family. And from the Cross he entrusts her to the care of his disciple John.

These few details are a thin basis for the cult of the Virgin Mary. But Christian art
and devotion would be immeasurably poorer without her.

The ministry of Jesus.Scholars variously argue that Jesus's ministry lasts as little
as one year or as many as four. There is greater certainty about its starting date. It begins
when he is baptized by John the Baptist, an event which Luke places in the 15th year of
the reign of Tiberius, or AD 29. John is an ascetic, similar in attitude to the Essenes. He
preaches the urgent need for repentance to prepare for imminent divine judgement. Jesus
too will preach that the kingdom of God is at hand, but his own ministry is less removed
than John's from the everyday world of the villages and towns of Palestine. Jesus soon
acquires followers. The Gospels suggest that a major cause of his appeal is his apparent
ability to work miracles - particularly miracles of healing. A group of followers emerge
as Jesus's regular companions. These are his disciples, listed in the Gospels as twelve in
number. The exact names vary in different accounts, but three are clearly his most trusted
inner circle - Peter, and the brothers James and John. All are fishermen, working on the
sea of Galilee until their call to join Jesus. Peter emerges as the leader. The idea that
Jesus sees him as the leader of a future church (and therefore, with hindsight, the first
pope) is based on a passage in Matthew's Gospel (xvi, 16-19).

Jesus says to him: 'You are Peter, and on this rock (petros in Greek) I will build my
church... I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven'.

The last week most of Jesus's ministry takes place in Galilee, but in a climax of
enthusiasm he and his followers move triumphantly into Jerusalem just before the festival
of the Passover. Galilee is a known centre of resistance to Roman rule at a time of
increasing political unrest. And the preaching of Jesus has been critical of the Jewish
authorities, the Sadducees and Pharisees. His arrival is not likely to be welcomed by
those in power. Any crowd of people in a state of excitement is alarming to the
authorities, and Jesus's actions do little to reassure them. He smashes the stalls of the
traders in the courtyard of the Temple, and prophesies the imminent destruction of this
most holy building.

It seems inevitable that he will be arrested and punished. Indeed in Christian terms it is
essential that he should be - for he has come, his followers later believe, to make the
ultimate sacrifice of his own life, which will somehow redeem the sins of mankind.

Jesus has a last supper with his disciples. The implication is that it is the Jewish ritual
meal of Pesach or Passover. He breaks bread for them, offers them wine, and specifically
- in the Gospel account - associates these with his body and blood, soon to be spilt in his
sacrifice. The Eucharist, the central sacrament of the Christian church, is established (see
Sacraments).

After supper Jesus goes to pray in the garden of Gethsemane, where Judas Iscariot
- the traitor among the disciples - brings his enemies to arrest him. The Temple priests
charge him with blasphemy and demand that the Romans, the civil authorities, put him to
death. With some reluctance, Pontius Pilate condemns him to crucifixion - a barbarous
form of Roman execution reserved for agitators, pirates and slaves.

With the details of the Resurrection - the empty tomb, the appearance of Jesus to Mary
Magdalene in the garden and to the disciples on the road to Emmaus - the Gospel account
of Jesus becomes the story of the Christians.

III..Valuesand LessonLearn

During a particular time of testing or suffering, God may seem distant or

disinterested in our plight. That's because our human emotions can override trust
in God's truth, and we can come to believe that no outcome to our present
situation is desirable for us. Job, on the other hand, shows us the kind of
endurance and patience that is eager to trust God and learn whatever lessons
His sovereign purpose desires us to learn. It was that very trust that caused him
to glorify God at the conclusion to his time of suffering:

I know that Thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of Thine can be
thwarted. "Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?" Therefore I have
declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did
not know. "Hear, now, and I will speak, I will ask Thee, and do Thou instruct me."
I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees Thee;
therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes gob.

As a result of patience and unwavering trust during his long ordeal, Job gained a
new understanding of his sovereign God and a greater reassurance of the joys of
being dealt with as one of His children. It is this joy that I want to focus on first in
our look at the lessons from suffering.
IV. Challenge

Since the way we live our very character is the result of whatever motivates us and
directs our actions, we need to ensure that our actions are built on honorable motives and
directions.

Think about the foundation of your life. Is there something special that inspires you or
causes you to direct your life a certain way?

The foundation of our lives could consist of ideas, a plan, a set of rules, or inspiration
received from the life of a person we admire. Because we are the builders of our lives, we
need to be sure our foundation is chosen wisely and that it motivates and directs us.

In order to build our lives “upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of
God” , we must come to know Him. We must learn who He is and understand His divine
mission. We must learn when, how, and why He lived and died. We must seek to know
His message of truth and light and learn how to implement His teachings in our daily
lives