INTRO WEEK 9/14/2022

10:24: INTRODUCTION

Good morning- and welcome to Bible Study Fellowship.

If you have been with us before, welcome back! If this is your first time- I want to extend a special welcome to you personally. I am so glad that you have chosen to join our class this year. I'm not sure how you ended up here...

maybe a friend invited you and you are excited to jump in

maybe you are here exploring and just seeing what all the fuss is about

maybe you don't know much about the Bible or Bible Study Fellowship, but your friend was driving you crazy and practically signed you up herself- so here you are..just to get her off your back

but whatever brought you to BSF- welcome- I believe that it is no accident you are here and that God has something for you this year.

In addition to our in person groups, we also have online groups that meet at the same time as our class so "hello" to those joining us online! We are also glad you are joining us this year!

If we have not yet met, my name is Megan Hutchinson and I am the teaching leader of our class this year.

Bible Study Fellowship is run on many, many volunteers...I don't have time to introduce them all to you today, but, I do want to quickly introduce you to our class staff.

Glenda Packo is our BSF Kids Program supervisor and

Hannah Martell is our BSF student program supervisor.

You will hopefully meet these woman soon if you haven't already...

next Cindi Nugent- is our Class Administrator- some of you may have spoken with her or communicated via text when you registered...along with her admin. team she organizes a million behind the scene details each and every week to help our class run smoothly.

and lastly, I want to introduce you to our teaching team:

Lea McQuinn was one of our substitute teaching leaders last year and is back again this year.

and I am so excited to introduce to you our new substitute teaching leader, Anna Mullady! Anna was previously a children's leader in our preschool program and is now moving into the substitute teaching leader role alongside Lea.

I am so excited for you to get to hear from both of these women as they help teach our class this year.

Bible Study Fellowship is not only a Bible study, but also a training facility. So, along with teaching, Lea and Anna will also provide seminars throughout the year that you can attend...and Anna is actually going to tell you about the first one coming up right now!

10:27: ANNA ANNOUNCEMENT

10:29 MENS CLASS

I also wanted to let you know that there is a BSF men's class that meets just down the street at Connections Christian Church, which also has a student program for kids ages 5- 18.

They meet on Monday nights from 6:55-8:25

And yes...that time is correct...it is 6:55...

If your spouse, a friend, or your child is interested in attending, you can go to www.bsfinternational.org and search for a group in Cincinnati and you should be able to find them and be able to register.

They are going to be studying the same scripture each week, but will hear a lecture tailored specifically to men. If you are looking for a way for your whole family to study God's word together then this is a great way to be able to do that.

10:30 LECTURE INTRO:

Bible Study Fellowship, or BSF is an interdenominational and international organization. Currently, BSF is in over 150 countries with more than 400,000 men, women, and children in classes around the globe.

That means that from infants to high school through adults- everyone is learning the same truths about God. In fact, this class, our local class is not possible with a children's program. If we don't have a children's program- we don't have a class.

So thank you to all who brought children here today to our BSF Kids preschool program and our student program- thank you for bringing your children and seeing the importance of teaching the next generation about Jesus Christ through the study of God's word and making that a priority with us.

Our class has a unique opportunity to reach the next generation and I am so excited that all of you are going to get to participate through serving in our classes with your groups this year.

Typically, during this time, myself or one of our STL's will give the lecture...

However, this week BSF classes all over the world are going to hear the same lecture given by one of BSF's board members, Dr. Mark Bailey.

Mark Bailey served 27 years at Dallas Theological Seminary, 19 of those as president. He was supposed to retire, but he has failed miserably and is now not only only a senior professor but he has stepped up his training at BSF and ministries all over the world.

He has been a pastor, missionary, and Bible trainer but he is also a husband, dad, grandfather, and he loves football.

I had the privilege of getting to be trained under him this summer in Texas and I am excited that you are going to get to hear from him now...

Before we get started, I want you to remember something- he is a professor. He talks fast. So if you miss something, rest assured you are going to have access to this lecture online on your mybsf.org account later today- so you can sit back and listen and go back later as many times as you need.

We are also going to provide an outline for you on mybsf.org later today.

Before we jump in, let’s pray..

POST LECTURE COMMENTS:

Alright- so now what...

At BSF, we study God's word using a method known as the 4-fold approach...this is meant to be a layered approach and these steps are meant to be followed in order.

Step 1: Lesson

Your lesson is provided by BSF to introduce you to a passage and designed to provide daily study in God’s word. So for next week, complete and bring lesson 1.

Please don't panic when you see that next week we are studying Genesis through Malachi, which is btw the entire OT.

You are not going to read the whole OT this week, unless you are just feeling super ambitious

BSF has designed the lesson to give you an overview. So- if you start to feel overwhelmed- hang in there- and promise me you will not let that stop you from coming back next week.

The goal is that you would engage with God's word- it's ok if you don't know an answer- give it your best shot and keep going. You don't need commentaries or other sources to help you answer the questions. Practice meeting with God- with just him and His word..

Learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and take time to see what he wants to teach you personally. The beauty of God's word is that it is living and active, so what you learn may be totally different than what your neighbor learned.

Step 2- Group Discussion- after you complete your lesson, you will come next week and discuss it in the context of community.

Step 3- Lecture- each week following your discussion, you will go a step further in engaging with the passage as you hear a lecture prepared by myself or one of our substitute teaching leaders.

Step 4- NOTES- and lastly, the final part of the 4 fold approach is the notes. The notes are to be read after you listen to the lecture.

This is just another way to go further into the passage to gain understanding and clarity as you study. BSF has provided notes for this week even though there was not a lesson.

So, you just listened to the lecture, now you go and read the introductory notes and then you complete lesson 1 to bring to discussion with you next week.

All materials are available on your mybsf.org account. Please reach out to your group leader or someone on our admin team if you need help accessing any lessons or notes, or if you are struggling to find the lecture.

At BSF, we are all about in-depth Bible study. We love God and His word because when God gave us His word, He gave us himself.

This year we are going to be studying 15 books of the OT, starting in 1 Kings 11, right before the death of King Solomon.

As we approach our scripture this year, sometimes we are going to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Think of it this way..if you have ever been in an airplane, you know that you see things from a totally different perspective than if you are on the ground. You pick up on different details- you see things in the landscape that can only be seen when you look at the big picture....

There will be times when we are digging into the details- taking it from a ground level perspective- spending time on smaller chunks of scripture- boots on the ground- so to speak..

Both ways of looking at scripture are important because in both cases you are going to see things from different perspectives.

If this study intimidates you...I want to remind you of something..

This is a brand new study to BSF, nobody, including myself- has done this study before so we will work together and encourage each other along the way....

There are no certificates or awards given out for Bible knowledge at the end of the year. The goal is life transformation as we learn to walk with God...

I am not going to stand up here and tell you that this study is going to be easy, but I can promise you that it will be worth it.

The God of the OT is the same God of the New Testament and the same God who is living and active in our lives and world today.

He has never changed.

He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

This year we are going to study a Divided kingdom.

God’s own people are going to be torn apart.

To be honest with you- it’s sort of a hot mess.

But, as I look at our world around us- the hot mess of the OT and God’s people, doesn’t seem so crazy. In fact, the more I study and the more I look around- the more I see myself, our churches, and our world in these passages.

And right there- in the middle of all the mess- is God....inviting and drawing His people back to himself. He isnt surprised by the mess, the storms, or the brokeness. He is in it with his people- He is sovereign over every detail, Full of grace, compassion, and mercy...

He is faithful and he never, ever breaks his promises.

Can I let you in on a secret…His Kingdom is divided but he already has the victory- through Jesus Christ we know that the battle is already won. That should bring you immense comfort, joy, and hope.

That is what we are going to study this year.

So I hope that you leave today with a heart open and willing for what God has for you.

God is not asking you to take this journey alone- while we may be studying a divided kingdom, my prayer is that we would be sisters united as we do this together.

Let’s pray.

I hope to see you next week