Farewell to one of the members

On Monday, we said farewell to one of the Campus Bible Talk members returning to his home, China.  We took the time to fellowship and talk about memories of the time spent in Edmonton and plans for the future.  

What Does the Bible Teach About Sin?

The topic of our study last evening was "What Does the Bible Teach About Sin?"  We looked at Romans, chapters 3 and 6, and noted that everyone sins and everyone needs to make things right with God.  We discussed the fact that sin is not inherited: we are not born sinful creatures, but we learn how to sin because we are born and raised in a sinful world.  Everyone will be responsible for their own sins, not the sins of their ancestors or their descendants.  Finally, we saw that God has a plan for people to be forgiven of their sins.  God is willing to forgive our sins, but are we willing to except this God's forgiveness?

Please find below the notes of our discussion.

May 2, 2011

What Does the Bible Teach About Sin?

Opening question: What is something that makes you are not very good at?

No matter how hard people try to work or study or go about their life, there is always a time or more when we are not as “perfect” as we would like to be.  We do wrong things, sometime on a daily basis, and we try to correct them as much as we can.

What does the Bible teach us about sin?

1.         Everyone Sins (Misses the Mark) and Needs to Make Things Right

Romans 3:23-24 tells us that: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

What percentage of the population has sinned?  Well, all means 100 percent, so all of us, that includes me, you, them, everybody.

But what does it mean to sin?  To sin it means to “miss the mark” – as in shooting a basketball hoop, when you miss and you do not score.  So, to sin means to “fall short of what you can do.”

What are some types of sins or wrong things that we do or see people do?

Romans 1:29-31 gives us a few examples: 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.  They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.

2.         Our sins are personal, we do not inherit them and we cannot leave them as legacy to other people.

Ezekiel 18:17-20 teaches us that:  17 He withholds his hand from mistreating the poor and takes no interest or profit from them.  He keeps my laws and follows my decrees. He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. 18 But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people. 19 “Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. 20 The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.

Therefore, we are responsible for our own actions and not for the actions of the other people.  Of course, we are affected by the actions of the other people and we suffer the consequences of the other people’s actions.  However, God does not hold us responsible for what our parents, family members or friends have done or will do. 

3.         The Bible teaches that every sin is not only a wrongful action against another man or women, but against God. 

In verse 23, we are told that we “fall short of the glory of God.”  Since we are created in the image of God, we can act and do act at time like him.  We can be nice, good, calm, joyful, peaceful, helpful, kind and so on.  But on those times that we do not do these things or do other wrong things, we have not lived up to the standard that God expects from us. 

What happens when we do something wrong in our daily lives?  If we run a traffic light and a police officer or the camera catches us, we have to pay a fine.  There are greater punishments for criminal acts, greater fines or jail time.

When we sin, the consequences are death and separation from God.  Romans 6:23 tells us that: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The contrast here is between “death” and “eternal life”.  Our sins separate us from God, but in Jesus we can have eternal life.  The purpose for which Jesus came to earth was to save all the people from their sin.  He said in Matthew 26:28 that: This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

God is willing to forgive our sins, but are we willing to accept this forgiveness?

In our next lesson, we are going to talk about how God gives us this forgiveness through his grace and what we need to do to accept it and to be forgiven of our sins.

Conclusions

While everyone sins and commits errors and wrong things in our lives, God has provided a way to forgive our sins.  We can study the Bible and learn about how the forgiveness of our sins is possible through the grace of God.

Campus Bible Talk 2011

Human Beings According to the Bible

"Human Beings According to the Bible" was the topic of our study yesterday.  We saw how God has created us in His image and has given us both a body and a spirit.  We need to take good care of both these components of our being.  We need to nourish and exercise not only our body, which is temporary, but even more our spirit, which is eternal.

These are the notes of our discussion. 

April 11, 2011

Human Beings According to the Bible

Opening question: What is your favorite (appropriate) part of being human?

Today we are going to look at the Bible and what characteristics does it tell us about human beings.

1.         Every Human Being has a Spirit

In Ecclesiastes 12:6-7, we read: 6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, 7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

The word or term “ecclesiastes” means literally “the assembly speaker”, that is, “the preacher.”

What is Solomon saying here?

In verse 6, Solomon is painting a picture here of death – that everything is gone – the silver cord is severed, the golden bowl is broken, the pitcher is shattered, the wheel broken at the well.  All these show that these items cannot be used anymore and cannot be fixed anymore.

In verse 7, Solomon says that dust returns to the ground and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

So, according to the Bible, the human body is not just made of the physical cells that we have, the parts that we see, but also of the spirit that God has given us.  Our spirit is our true personality.

In James 2:26, we read:  As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

What is James saying here?

One cannot have a body that is alive without the spirit – or without the spirit the body is dead.

2.         Our Spirits are Eternal

In 2 Corinthians 5:1, we read: For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

What is Paul saying here?

While our physical body is temporary, our spirit is eternal.  There will come a time when our body will be destroyed by death, but our spirit will continue to live forever.  Whether it will live with God in heaven or whether it will be suffering in hell, that will depend on the choice that we make while we are alive here on earth.

God created man with a free will – meaning that people can and do make choices and decisions, which are independent and free from outside control.  It is true that we are influenced by our friends, relatives and circumstances, but ultimately we are the ones who make the decision and live with those decisions.

How does this affect what we do with our body and our spirit?

3.         We Need to Take Good Care not of our Body, but Also of our Spirit

How do we take care of our body?

We eat, we rest, we sleep, we exercise.

We need to take good care of our spirit too.  In the same way that we are feeding our body, we need to feed the spirit.  In the same way that we exercise our body, we need to exercise our spirit.

But what do we feed the Spirit?

We feed our spirit the word of God.

Jesus himself said in Matthew 4:4 that: Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

In the same way that when we eat healthy we are able to look great and healthy and when we exercise our body will show it, in the same way if we remain in the word of God and we study it and feed our spirit with it, then we will be able to show good fruits or the fruits of the spirit. 

We can produce the fruits of the spirit, as we read in Galatians 5:22-25:  22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.   25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Conclusions

God has created us in His image and has given us both a body and a spirit.  We need to take good care of both these components of our being.  We need to nourish and exercise not only our body, which is temporary, but even more our spirit, which is eternal.

Campus Bible Talk 2011

What Do You Believe In?

Last evening we talked about What We Believe In.  Growing up we all had various ideas about life, but as we find out more information, our beliefs and attitudes change.  We looked at the Bible and at Jesus and read a few passages, with the goal of understanding how our beliefs can still change as we learn more about God and about His word. 

Please find below the notes of our discussion.

April 2, 2011

What Do You Believe In?

Opening question: What things did you believe in when you were a child that now that you have learned more about life you do not believe it anymore?

When we were children, we talked like children, we thought like children, we reasoned like children.  But when we became adults, we learned more, we studied more and we put our childish ways behind us.  This is what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 13:11. 

There was a time when Paul followed the lessons of the Hebrews, thinking that that was the right teachings of God.  But when he learned more about the word of God, he became a Christian and began teaching people about the Bible and Jesus.

We will look at a few things from the Bible about those things that we can believe today, after we analyze and learn all the facts about ourselves.

1.         I Believe in the Bible

We have been studying the Bible every week, opening its pages and reading different verses.  But, what is the Bible?  Why are we studying it?  What can we believe about the Bible?

In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, we read: 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

What do these verses say?

Every word in the Bible came from God and we can benefit from these words.  We can learn from them and be corrected in our ways.  We can be trained by the Bible, so that we can do good works for God.

Another few verse that testifies to the supernatural character of the Bible are found in 2 Peter 1:20-21: 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things.  21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

What do these verses say?

In the same way that a president’s speech is not written by the president, but by someone under the president’s authority, the writers of the Bible wrote under the authority of God as the Spirit of God guided them.

There are many other characteristics about the Bible that lead us to believe it is the Word of God.  40 people were its human authors and they wrote over a period of time of more than 1,600 years.  They were of a different background of origin, some where Hebrews and there was at least one that was not.

Many scholars have tried to disprove the Bible and its authority, claiming the Bible is full of errors and inconsistencies.  However, if studying carefully and patiently, the Bible is proven to be without any error and everything in it is true and correct.

I believe that the Bible is the word of God and that it can teach me how to know God and how to learn about what He wants from me.

2.         I Believe in Jesus

We have studied about Jesus and who He is.  Today, we are going to look at a couple of passages about why do we believe in Jesus and what do we believe about him.

In previous lessons we have seen God speaking to man, commanding them to listen to Jesus and believe in Him.  In Matthew 3:17, we read that: 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” God Himself gave testimony that Jesus is His son and that He was pleased with Jesus’ work on Earth.

In John 14:6, Jesus declares that: 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If we want to go to the Father, know God and be with Him, we can do this only through Jesus, by believing in Him and doing what He asks from us.

What does “except” means?

It eliminated every other option, every other man, every other ideology.  We can go to our Father only through Jesus.

And in Acts 4:12 we read Peter saying that: 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

If I want to have peace and salvation in this life from my sins and eternal life with Jesus and God in heaven, Jesus is the only one who can give me that.  I believe that Jesus can do that for me, if I follow Him, learn about His will for me and do his commandments.

Conclusions

The Bible is the Word of God, spoken through His mouth and written through the word of people guided by the Spirit of God.  If we believe that, then we will consider its lessons as holy and we will obey them.  If we believe in Jesus, that He is the Son of God and that He can save us, we will follow His words and fulfill His will.

Campus Bible Talk 2011

Attitude of Contentment

Attitude of Contentment was the topic of our study last Monday.  We looked at the example of Paul and Silas while in jail in Philippi and how they rejoiced in though they were in chains.  Then, we focused on the words of Paul in the letter to the Philippians, when he says that he has learned to be content in any circumstances.  We concluded that while disappointments and difficulties will often occur in our lives, we can learn how to be content with what we have.  God has promised to be with us forever and to bless us with everything we need.  We can trust God’s promises and we can expect Him to be with us throughout all our lives, if we are seeking Him and trying to follow His word.

These are the notes of our discussion.

March 28, 2011

Attitude of Contentment

Opening question: Have you ever been in a situation when you or someone close to you had experienced a great disappointment, but later on you found out that something even better happened in your life?

No matter how hard we try to achieve our goals, there will be times when we miss our mark, when we experience disappointment and what we fall short of our expectations.  What does the Bible say about these times?

We will look at a couple of examples from the life of Apostle Paul, which will help us to understand what should our attitude be when we are in these situations.

1.         Singing in Jail

In the book of Acts of the Apostles, we read about the activities of the early church, the apostles and the first disciples and how they taught people about Jesus.  Paul, one of the apostles, went on a few missionary journeys to tell people about Jesus.  The story we are going to read about today takes place in Philippi, which was a town in today’s Greece and is found in Acts 16:16:25:

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.  17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”  18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.  19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.  20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”  22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.  23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.  24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.  25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Although Paul and Silas had done nothing wrong, they were beaten and thrown in jail.

How do you feel when something unjust is done to you?  Let’s say you received a mark that you do not think you deserved?  Or you were at the bus stop at the right time, but the bus is early and he leaves without you?  How would you feel if you did something good and you were thrown in jail?

Of course, our initial reaction is disappointment and perhaps anger.  And it is natural to feel that way.  But, the Bible is teaching us to have a greater, better way to deal with such disappointment.  The teaching is that we can trust in God and know that He is with us and is going to take care of us regardless of the circumstances.  It is easy to be happy and cheerful when everything goes well, but the true character of a person is shows by his actions in a time of trouble.

Why were Paul and Silas singing?  What was the source of their contentment?

Jesus has said it clearly just before leaving his apostles that He was not going to abandon them.  He told them in Matthew 28:20: 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

God will always be with as long as we trust in Him and seek Him.  The story of Paul and Silas continues in verses 26-34: Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.  27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.  28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”  29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.  30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”  32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.  33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.  34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

While today God does not intervene in a miraculous way, He is always present in our lives and we can see His blessings every day.  He has provided us with good families, good health, jobs, school and many opportunities to do good and to help one another.

2.         Content in Any Circumstances

In the letter to the Philippians, Paul is saying in chapter 4:11: I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  Then, in the next verses, 12-13, he explains the reason why he can be content in any circumstances: 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Why was Paul content no matter what happened to Him?  Who is he referring to when he said “I can do all this through him who gives me strength”?

What had happened in the life of Paul, other than being imprisoned in Philippi?  In 2 Corinthians 11: 24-27, Paul describes some of the most unfortunate moments in his life.  He says: 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.  27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

If God could help Paul overcome all these disasters in His life, He can help us too in our lives.  Even if we may not go through all these difficulties that Paul experienced, whenever we are in moments of trouble, disappointment, anger, sadness, whatever the circumstances, we know that we can be content and always trust in God.  He will always provide for us what we need.

Conclusions

While disappointments and difficulties will often occur in our lives, we can learn how to be content with what we have.  God has promised to be with us forever and to bless us with everything we need.  We can trust God’s promises and we can expect Him to be with us throughout all our lives, if we are seeking Him and trying to follow His word.

Campus Bible Talk 2011

Persistence

Last evening we talked about Persistence.  The two parables of The Persistent Widow and The Friend at Midnight, from Luke 18 and Luke 11 were the main text of our study.  We saw how persistence works and we learned that we should be persistence in our prayers and in doing good works in our lives.  God will answer our prayers and will provide for our needs; therefore, we should continue to ask Him in prayer to bless us and not become weary in doing good.

These are the notes of our discussion. 

March 21, 2011

Persistence

Opening question: What is something you have achieved, which has taken a lot of persistence?

Many things in life, especially important ones, require a lot of determination and persistence.  Time, effort, energies and often money are all requirements for achieving success in whatever you are trying to accomplish.

What does the Bible say about persistence?  Today, we are going to look at a couple of stories from the Bible which illustrate the importance of being persistent and learning and applying the word of God.

1.         The Persistent Widow

In the book of Luke 18, verses 1-8: 1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.  2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.  3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’  4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think,  5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”  6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.  7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?  8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

According to these verses, what does Jesus say about persistence?

The purpose of this parable is explained in verse 1, “that Jesus’ disciples should always pray and not give up.”

What does it mean to give up?  What happens when you give up?

In verse 2, we see that the judge was not a God-fearing man.  But, still this man realized that he had to give the woman justice if for nothing else so that she would leave him alone.  So, in her case persistence paid off.

What did the woman want?  What was her need?

She realized what she needed, justice, and she was not shy about working in order to fulfill the need and get what she needed.

What does it mean to be persistent in prayer?

Why do people give up praying and seeking God?

The same is true with us, because as we read in verses 7-8, God will bring justice to Christians, his chosen ones.  He will pay attention to their prayers and will give them what they need.

2.         The Friend at Midnight

Again in Luke, this time in chapter 11, verses 5-8, we read:  5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;  6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’  7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’  8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

What did this friend want?

The friend knew he needed three loaves of bread to feed his other friend.  And he knew where to get them and was persistent about it.  Or as the verse 8 says, “shameless audacity.”

Have you ever refused something a friend asked you, only to change your mind and give in to their requests?

Persistence shows us that the request is not based upon an impulse, a spur of the moment, but that the man or the woman that is asking for something truly thinks and believes that it is needed and is willing to ask over and over again.

What are the reasons that we need to be persistent in prayer?

Persistence helps us understand and express what we truly need.  If we determine that something is not worth having in our life, we will stop pursuing it and move on to something else, or, if we are not persistent, we will stop praying to God about it. 

3.         Persistence Pays Off

Jesus told us that God listens to our prayers and that He will answer with those things that we truly need.  In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus says: 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Persistence is not something that we should do when praying, but also when we are acting upon the beliefs that we have.  There are many teachings in the New Testament about the importance of continuing and persisting in good works, serving people and teaching them about the Word of God.

Our final verses come from Galatians 6:9-10: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

We should never stop doing good to all people.

Conclusions

Persistence is very important in many aspects of our life.  We need to be persistence in searching the Word of God, in learning it to find its meaning for our life, in praying to God about what we need and in doing good to everyone in our lives.

Campus Bible Talk 2011