Is it God’s Word?

Sermon Notes September 23, 2018 Luke 1:1-4 Short Review Review the main points of the morning message. Focus on the main theme: Can I be a follower of Jesus if I don’t believe (trust, accept the authority of) the Bible? Focus of Discussion: Why do we believe that the Bible is the Word of God? How is our faith in Jesus as Lord and God related to this question? Some Questions for Discussion: 1. People have many good reasons for believing the Bible is God’s Word a. Why do you believe the Bible is God’s word? b. Which of the reasons given for belief in the bible would make sense to your neighbors and friends who don’t believe? What questions might they ask? 2. What convinces you that Jesus is God incarnate? How does this point to the Bible as God’s Word? [E.g. Mt. 5:8, 22:31; John 10:35; Mk. 7:13 for the O.T. E.g. Matt. 28:19 and John 14:26 for the N.T. – Jesus’ authority for authors of N.T.] 3. People often refer to the Bible as full of myths. From the text, what convinces you that Luke cared about separating truth from myth, legends and other stories? a. Can you think of other N.T. texts which make the same claim? [Leader could point to I John 1:1-4 and II Peter 1:16-18 e.g.] b. Why is this important? c. Why is ‘eyewitness’ testimony significant? Who, do you think, were these eyewitnesses? 4. Are facts about the early manuscripts important in our faith in the Bible? Why or why not? a. Do they matter to you in deciding about the Bible’s authority? b. Would they matter to someone you speak with who does not believe? How would you summarize these facts for him or her? 5. Are there things in the Bible which you struggle with when it comes to accepting it as God’s Word? a. Can you list some? b. How do we, as Christians, deal with these areas of tension? 6. What resonated with you from the Sunday message? Were there particular applications to your own life which the Spirit was making? 7. How can we pray for one another in response to the word today?