Hope and Evangelism

Day 1- OUR GREAT HOPE

Read 1 Peter 3:15 and write it out:
This is the theme verse as you study Christian Apologetics this year. Today, your simple task is to memorize this verse.

Day 2- DIVINE DEFENSE

Apologetics is a big theological word. To fully understand what you will be studying this year, look at the definition of apologetics in the original translation of the Bible.
Apologetics: (n): The study of making one’s defense of beliefs, case, or story.
It comes from the Greek verb “Aplogeomai.”
Apologeomai (verb): To defend one’s self, to make one’s defense, to defend a person or a thing, to give full account of, to calculate and consider well.
This Greek work “Apologeomai” is actually used in the Bible. For example:
Read Acts 26:1-2
The Greek word “Aplogeomai” has been translated to defense in your English Bible.
What is Paul about to do?
Read 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
The word “veiled” means hidden. Who is the gospel hidden from?
Think through John 3:16 for your answer to this question. Who are the ones perishing?
Who has blinded those who don’t believe and why?
According to verse 6, what does Jesus give you and why?
As a believer, you have the awesome responsibility of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. During the last three days of this week, you will see there are three different ways you will share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s call it the “Gospel Trifecta.”

DID YOU KNOW

The word Gospel means “good news.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the basic message of salvation. Man sins and is separated from God forever. God overcame the problem of sin and separation by sending His own Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life and make the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. He took the penalty of our sin on the cross so we would not have to pay the penalty. He was dead for three days but rose on the third day and conquered death. Jesus saves us from the penalty of death, forgives our sin, and gives us new life that will last for eternity. Doesn’t that sound like the best news ever?

Day 3- THE GOSPEL TRIFECTA PART 1- EVANGELISM

Read Mark 16:15. What does this verse say to do?
The original Greek word for “preach” (and in some versions of the Bible it says “proclaim”) is the following:
Kerusso: (verb): To herald, proclaim, or share
There are many verses in the Bible about sharing your faith. The Bible calls it evangelism. Evangelism is sharing the truth of God with others.
Read Luke 5:31 and Matthew 5:3. Who needs Jesus?
How does Matthew 5:3 explain the heart condition of those who obtain eternal life?
Sharing your faith (evangelizing), is different than defending your faith (apologetics). Defending your faith can lead to sharing your faith. Sometimes, especially if you do not know the person, sharing your faith can turn into defending your faith. There are many people who are not in opposition to the gospel. This means there are no “roadblocks” to be removed before they will listen to the gospel. These people have probably never heard or never fully understood what the gospel means. This is where you get to share the good news about Jesus. It is the person who recognizes brokenness in their life who will see their need and accept His invitation to be their Savior.

Day 4- THE GOSPEL TRIFECTA PART 2- PRE-EVANGELISM

Defending your faith is when you are making a “defense of the gospel” to someone who opposes the gospel. Sharing the simple message of the Gospel may seem pointless because this person may not be ready to hear it due to roadblocks in the way. This person has a problem with the Bible, has been taught the gospel message in an incorrect way, or has made a lifestyle decision that contradicts what God wants. God can use your defense of the gospel and His Word to remove roadblocks in the lives of someone who needs Him. As a follower of Christ, you have been trusted with God’s Word.
Read Titus 1:9
What should you hold firm to?
Why is it important that you hold firm to the Word of God?
Defending the gospel of Jesus Christ or defending the Bible to those who contradict it is called pre-evangelism. You defend your faith not because you want to be right, but because you desire the “roadblocks” of a hardened heart to be removed.
These roadblocks are hindering the person in understanding their need for Jesus.
Have you ever had to make a defense of the gospel or God’s Word in general?
Write down what your opposition was like.

DIG DEEPER

God uses an analogy in the Bible to understand the difference between the lives of someone who believes in Jesus and someone who does not. Notice the “storm” happens to both people, but look and see who is not “knocked down” for good. Read Matthew 7:24-27. How does this explain how our lives can show others the message of Jesus?

Day 5- THE GOSPEL TRIFECTA PART 3- CONTINUAL EVANGELISM

Read Matthew 5:16
What should your light do? According to this verse, why is this important?
Read Galatians 5:22-23
If you believe in Jesus you have the Holy Spirit inside of you.
What should your life look like?
Read Titus 2:7
What does this verse call you to be? What are the reasons why?
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the light that is inside of you. You can share and defend your faith, but you must also live out your faith. Think about it… why should anyone listen to you if your life looks no different than theirs? Your best defense of the Gospel is your life. It’s not because your life is awesome and easy, but you have hope and joy in the good and bad of life because of Christ. Living for Jesus produces good things in your life and the lives of others. The good news of Jesus gives all things purpose in your life. These are things the world does not understand but can be seen in those who follow Christ. Building relationships with people and letting them see your light for Christ will open doors to defend or share your faith.

Parable of the Soil

Day 1- THE PARABLE

Always start your Bible study with a prayer for the Holy Spirit to give you understanding of God’s Word. Jesus gives us a parable to explain the different types of people who hear the gospel. There will be many times you will be asked to think for yourself in this study. If you want to defend or share the gospel, you must first understand the condition of the person who is listening. The parable is about a sower, seed and some soil. The seed represents the Gospel and the soil represents the people who hear the Gospel.
Read Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23
Read the passage and write down the details of the parable.
What are the four types of soil and what is Jesus’ explanation of what happens?

Day 2- HARDENED SOIL

Read Matthew 13:3-4; 18-19
What happened to the seed that fell on the road? Why is a road not a good place for a seed to be planted? According to Jesus’ explanation, what does the enemy do to those who do not understand the Gospel?
You would never plant seeds on a road because a road is too hard. Jesus explains in these verses that the seed cannot be planted because of a hardened heart and because the enemy won’t allow it. A hardened heart can come from life experiences, tragedy, false teaching, unbelief, or pride and fear of losing something. The foundation for any type of hard heart is sin. Unrepentant sin of any kind can make a heart hard. The enemy fights against the person’s heart by snatching away the seed when sown. But there is hope for a hardened heart, a road can become “plantable” but must first be broken up and soft again.
Read Proverbs 28:19
What must someone do for food? Do you think this is the same for “spiritual food?”
Think about a road and all that it would take to make it soft again. Would it take the right tools, time, and effort? How is this the same with a hardened heart?
List reasons why someone has a hardened heart. (Here are a few to get your mind going: raised in different religion, loves the things of the world, has chosen a lifestyle outside of God’s will) Make a list.
Continual evangelism should be your first strategy to engage someone with a hardened heart. Go back through your list. What roadblocks can you identify for each of these hardened hearts?

Day 3- ROCKY SOIL

Read Matthew 13:5-6, 20-21
What type of soil is described here? What happens to the seed and why?
How does Jesus explain the parable?
If you have ever done any gardening or planting, you know the plant must take root. If there are rocks in the soil, the plant might start to sprout. But when the heat and harsh weather happen, the plant will never make it because of shallow roots.
Read Proverbs 14:12
What happens when man chooses the way he thinks is right?
Can sin keep people from letting the message of the gospel take root?
The “roadblock” in this parable of the soil is sin. The presence of the rocks will keep the seed, the message of the gospel, from taking root. In this circumstance, a person is ready to hear the gospel. They want to believe in God but they are not ready to let go of their former life.
Read Ephesians 4:22-24
When you receive the message of the Gospel, what must you do?
The rocks are roadblocks. Sin is a roadblock. Someone might want to know Jesus but are not willing to dig out the sin in their life. This unwillingness might create opposition. It is in this situation that you might have a mixture of how you share your faith.
What are real life examples of “sin” road blocks that can keep the Gospel message from taking root in someone’s life?
How might you have to defend the Gospel to someone who is unwilling to let go of sin?
How might you share the Gospel to someone who is unwilling to let go of sin?
How might you be a light of the Gospel to someone who is unwilling to let go of sin?

DIG DEEPER

Read Romans 8:28. If you are focused on sin, will you be able to experience the truth of this verse when hard times happen? What does Jesus say will happen to those who have rocky soil when trials happen?

Day 4- AMONG THORNS

Read Matthew 13:7, 22
What is the condition of this soil described by Jesus? What is Jesus’ explanation?
What is the “roadblock” for the gospel message here?
It is important to know that you might have to defend your faith to believers. There are believers living in our world who believe in Jesus but have allowed the ways of the world to silence their voice. They have become unfruitful. These people often live their lives in a way that looks like an unbeliever, but they understand the message of the Gospel.
Read Romans 12:2. What does God ask us not to do?
What are ways we can be conformed to the world?
Read 1 Peter 1:24-25
Do the things of the earth last forever? What lasts forever?
Read Matthew 6:24. What can you not do?
Making a defense of your faith to a believer can be hard because they already know the message of the gospel. You have the opportunity to be a light and speak the truth in order to remove the “roadblocks” that make believers unfruitful. Think about actions and words you might do or say to help “defend” the message of the gospel that is being choked out by the world.

Day 5- THE HEART THAT HEARS

Read Matthew 13:8, 23
What is the condition of the soil Jesus describes?
What is the result of the seed being planted?
Your desire for all those you share your faith with should be that the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will take root and produce good things in their life and in the lives of those around them. Always remember this is your hope. In defending, sharing, or showing others your faith, your goal is not to prove a point. Your goal is let God make a difference though you in the lives of others.
Pray for someone today. Think about the condition of their soil and make a strategy of how you need to show, share, or defend the Gospel to this person.

Message of the Gospel

Day 1- GOD IS HOLY

If defending the gospel should lead to sharing the gospel, then it is important for you to have practice in sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This week there are verses that explain the message of the Gospel. Use these verses and others to help you form the way you will share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Read Psalm 18:30, Habakkuk 1:13, Isaiah 59:2
How is God described? Why can we not have a relationship with God?
Why is this a problem?

Day 2- SIN SEPARATES

Read Romans 3:10; 3:23; 6:23; 5:12, Galatians 5:19-21
Does everyone sin? What are the consequences of sin?

Day 3- CHRIST CLEANSES

Read John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:6-11; 8:9-10 and 1 John 1:9
What did Christ do for us? What must you do to accept the forgiveness Jesus has already given to all mankind?

Day 4- JESUS SAVES

Read John 14:6, Acts 4:10-12, John 10:10
Is there any other way to have salvation?
What does God want for you?
What does the enemy want for you?

Day 5- GOD’S GIFT

Read Ephesians 2:8-9. Are you saved by the things that you do?
Today, using the verses you have marked in your Bible and memorized, write out how you, in your own personality and testimony, would share the gospel with someone.

DIG DEEPER

There are three parts of your salvation.
PART 1 – JUSTIFICATION
Salvation from the PENALTY of sin.
Jesus took the penalty of death and eternal separation from God on the cross. His blood justifies your sin.
This happens when you believe in Jesus. You believe and you are secure! (Romans 5:8-11)
PART 2 – SANCTIFICATION
Salvation from the POWER of sin.
Jesus’ death and resurrection gives you the Holy Spirit, who lives inside you. As a believer, the Holy Spirit works in you to help you experience freedom from the destructive power of sin while living on earth. You did nothing to get your justification and eternal life, but your sanctification depends on your active participation in listening to the Holy Spirit and growing in your faith. Sanctification is a continual thing in your life as a believer. It has nothing to do with eternal life, but instead with living a fruitful earthly life of freedom from sin. (Philippians 2:12)
PART 3 – GLORIFICATION
Salvation from the PRESENCE of sin.
Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we will one day get to live with Him forever. It is here with Him that there will be no more sin present around us to tempt us or hurt us! Glorification is a future part of your salvation. (1 Peter 1:3-9)

Check Yourself

Day 1- FRUIT

Before you commit your life to being one who makes a defense of the gospel, you must first make sure you are an example of the gospel. This week you will read the verses and look into your own heart. Are you living out the good news of Jesus Christ?
Read Galatians 5:22-23. Does your life show the fruits of the Spirit? What needs to change in your life to show the Spirit in you?

Day 2- NEW LIFE

Read Ephesians 4:17-24
Does your life look like the ways of the world?
Are you giving your life over to greed and impurity?
Are you living a life of sensuality? In other words, do you make decisions and actions based on your feelings or on what you believe?
Do you live according to desires that corrupt?
Have you put on the new self, created after the likeness of God?
In what way do you need to change?
How can you get accountability?

DID YOU KNOW

Genesis 1:26-27 explains that we are created in God’s image. Because we sin we do not have God’s character. Through Jesus we can have the likeness of God in form and character! God created you in the beginning to look like Him, and throughout history has made the way for Jesus so you could have His righteous character! (Ephesians 4:24)

Day 3- NEW SELF

Read Ephesians 4:25-32
Do you speak the truth?
Does your anger cause you to sin?
Do you give opportunity to the devil to use you for his destructive purposes?
Do you share with those in need?
Do you have bitterness or anger?
Are you slanderous in your thoughts or words?
Are you kind to others?
In what way do you need to change?
How can you get accountability?

Day 4- PURITY

Read 1 Corinthians 6:15-20
Do you struggle with sexual immorality?
How can you flee from it? (note: flee is a strong word with strong actions)
How can you protect your temple? Who are you to be “one” with?
How does sexual impurity keep you from being “one” with the Lord?
In what way do you need to change? How can you get accountability?
If you have struggled with sexual impurity you might have guilt, shame or hurt.
These feelings come with this action, but it does not mean that God cannot overcome.
His forgiveness is for you.
Here are some verses that might encourage you:
Acts 3:19, Isaiah 1:18, Daniel 9:9, Romans 8:1, Psalm 147:3

Day 5- FELLOWSHIP

Read Hebrews 10:24-25
Do you have good godly community that encourages you?
If so, describe your Christian community. If not, how can you find this community?
Are you encouraging your Christian friends?
God wants you to have fellowship. He wants you to have friends and mentors that encourage you. Fight for this as a teenager. You will have to fight for this in college and as an adult. Christian community is important so you can lock arms and help each other as you grow. Most importantly, God uses this community as you face tough situations, and they can help you as your share and defend your faith.

Christ as Lord

Day 1- BELIEF DEFENDED

Read 1 Peter 3:15
Write down the three instructions God gives you in this verse.
Before you make a “defense” of your faith, you must know what you believe. This week, you are simply going to read verses concerning the three instructions God gives in 1 Peter 3:15. Every day, read the verses and then write out (in the space provided or a journal) what you learn about Jesus. On the last day of each week, you will use those verses to form your beliefs and thoughts about the following:
Believe Christ is Lord (Week 1)
Why you believe you have hope (Week 2)
How you can be gentle and respectful (Week 3)

Day 2- CHRIST IS LORD

Read Hebrews 1:1-3
What do you learn about Jesus? What do you believe about Jesus?
Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
What do you learn about Jesus? What do you believe about Jesus?

Day 3- CHRIST AS LORD

Read Philippians 2:5-11
What do you learn about Jesus? What do you believe about Jesus?
Read 2 Corinthians 8:9. What did Jesus do for you?

Day 4- CHRIST IS LORD

Read John 1:1-5; 14
What do you learn about Jesus?
What do you believe about Jesus?
Read Revelation 1:17-18
What do you learn about Jesus?
What do you believe about Jesus?
Read Matthew 28:18-20
What do you learn about Jesus?
What do you believe about Jesus?

Day 5- CHRIST IS LORD

Read John 11:25
How does Jesus describe Himself? What do you believe about Jesus?
Spend some time today writing out why you believe Christ is Lord.

Reason to Hope

Day 1- REASON TO HOPE

Read 1 Peter 1:3-9
List all the reasons this passage gives you hope. There are many reasons listed here so take your time and read it a few times.
Do you hope in these things? What do you learn about your inheritance?
Can you hope in trials? How can you hope in God’s power?
What does hoping in these things mean for your life?

Day 2- REASON TO HOPE

Read each of these passages and write down how the Gospel gives you hope.
Romans 8:11
Ephesians 1:13-14
John 16:33
Hebrews 8:12
Romans 5:1-5
Do you place your hope in these things? What does this mean for your life?

MEMORIZE IT

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope. -Jeremiah 29:11

Day 3- REASON TO HOPE

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14; John 11:25
How do these verses give you hope? Do you hope in these things?
How does this hope change the way you live your life?

Day 4- REASON TO HOPE

Read John 14:1-3; 1 John 3:2; John 3:16; 2 Timothy 4:7-8
How do these verses give you hope? Do you hope in these things?
How does this hope change the way you live your life?

Day 5- REASON TO HOPE

Read Romans 8:28; James 1:12; Joshua 1:9
How do these verses give you hope? Do you hope in these things?
How does this hope change the way you live your life?
Spend some time today reflecting on the reason you have hope.

Gentle and Respectful

Day 1- GENTLENESS AND RESPECTFUL

Read Mark 12:28-31
When God says your “neighbor”, He means everyone around you.
How can you love the people around you? List who is around you.
Are your “neighbors” always believers?
How can you love your “neighbor” who is opposed to the gospel?
How can you love your “neighbor” as you defend the gospel in front of him/her?

GIVE IT A TRY

Think about someone who is your enemy who you can show kindness to. Let the Holy Spirit show you who and how. Pray to prepare yourself and when you’re ready, go do it.

Day 2- GENTLENESS AND RESPECTFUL

Read Matthew 5:44
What does God ask you to do for your enemies?
How can you love your enemies? Do you pray for your enemies?
Do you think prayer is important in your defense of the gospel?
How can you love your enemies when you defend the gospel?
Is listening to your enemies a way you can give them love and attention?
Read Proverbs 24:17
What does God ask you not to do? What should your heart be towards your enemies?
If your only goal is to prove someone wrong, do you think you will rejoice when they make a mistake? Should your goal be to prove someone wrong or inspire life change?
Read Matthew 9:13
What did Jesus feel for those who did not know Him?
How can you have compassion for someone who opposes what you believe?

Day 3- GENTLENESS AND RESPECTFUL

Read Mathew 7:12. How should you treat others?
When you are defending the gospel and making your case for Christ, what would you want the opposition to do for you? How could you do the same for your opposition?

Day 4- GENTLENESS AND RESPECTFUL

Read Philippians 2:3-4
What could defending the gospel out of selfish ambition look like?
If you consider others before yourself, what would this look like as you defend the gospel?
Read Ephesians 4:32. What does God ask you to do in this verse?
Read Luke 23:34
What was Jesus’ attitude toward those who opposed Him?
How can you have the same attitude as Jesus to those who oppose the gospel?

Day 5- GENTLENESS AND RESPECTFUL

Read Romans 13:1-3
Who should you respect? Why should you respect your authorities, even if they don’t believe? Who are authorities in your life and how can you respect them?
How can you respect an authority figure who does not believe, but also defend your faith? (Think about this for teachers, parents, guardians, coaches, etc.)
How does “continual evangelism” talked about in Month 1 help you lay a good foundation of gentleness and respect with anyone opposed to the gospel?

Be Prepared

Day 1- GOD’S WORD

Read 2 Timothy 2:15
What does God ask of you here? How can you accurately handle the truth?
What are you currently doing to handle the truth of God?
How can accurately handling the truth prepare you to defend the gospel?

Day 2- GOD’S WORD

Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17
What is God’s Word useful for? How can God’s Word be useful to you in evangelism?
How can God’s Word be useful to you in pre-evangelism (defending the gospel)?
How can God’s Word be useful to you in continual evangelism?
Read Hebrews 4:12
What should be your offensive weapon when you defend or share your faith?
Why is God’s Word more important than your opinions?

Day 3- GOD’S WORD

Read 1 Peter 2:2. Why is God’s Word important to you?
Do you believe you should always be growing in your salvation
Proverbs 4:20-22
Do you have this attitude towards God’s Word? Does God’s Word give you life?
Does your life reflect God’s Word?

Day 4- GOD’S WORD

Read Ephesians 6:10-17
List all the ways you should prepare for battle.
This passage only lists one offensive weapon. What should be your offensive weapon?
The armor of a soldier protected him and allowed others to know who he was on the battle field. How does each piece of armor listed protect you?
How does each piece of armor listed define who you are?
How can this armor help you in the defense of the gospel?

Day 5- GOD’S WORD

Read Psalm 119:9-11
Do you think striving to live in freedom from sin is important for you personally?
Do you think striving to live in freedom from sin can impact others? If so, how?
How can keeping from sin help you when you defend or share the gospel?
Read Isaiah 40:8
What lasts forever? How much time do you spend with what lasts forever?

Peter and John's Defense

Day 1- CASE STUDY #1 PETER AND JOHN

Read Acts 4:1-31
This week you are going to read this passage each day and use Peter and John’s example as a “case study” to defend your faith. After Jesus ascended into heaven, His disciples started to preach the gospel in Jerusalem. Remember that just 50 days earlier the people in Jerusalem, including the Jews, put Jesus on the cross. Jerusalem was a hostile environment for the gospel of Jesus Christ because many men opposed Him. Today you are going to simply read and take it all in. Take notes and write down anything that stands out to you.

Day 2- HOW PETER & JOHN HONORED CHRIST

1 Peter 3:15 asks you to do three things:
Revere Christ as Lord
Be prepared to give a defense for the reason in which you hope
Defend the gospel with gentleness and respect
Read the account of Peter and John again in Acts 4. This time, make a note of how Peter and John “revered Christ as Lord.” List or highlight the ways they did so in this passage.
Read Acts 4:1-31
What can you learn from how Peter and John revered Christ as Lord? How did they do it with their words?
How did they do it with their actions?
Who helped them? (hint… look at verse 8)
How did their opponents notice they revered Christ as Lord?

Day 3- PETER AND JOHN’S DEFENSE

Today you are going to read the account of Peter and John again. This time make note of how they responded to the questions they were asked. How did they give a defense for the reason they hope?
Read Acts 4:1-31. What can you learn from Peter and John?

DID YOU KNOW

Peter’s response was wrong and Jesus rebuked him. Why did Peter do this? It’s because he was not prepared. Right before the angry mob approached them, Jesus and His disciples were praying. Well, only Jesus was praying. Jesus asked His disciples to pray but they chose to sleep instead. The biggest moment in the history of mankind was about to happen and they were sleeping. It’s pretty clear they were not prepared and Peter was not ready to defend the gospel when Jesus wanted him to.

Day 4- PETER AND JOHN’S GENTLENESS

Yes, you guessed it. You are going to read the account of Peter and John again. Today you are going to look for how Peter and John were respectful and gentle. You must not confuse gentleness for weakness. Peter and John were bold. It may not seem like they were gentle or respectful, but think about how they could have responded. In fact, first read about how Peter normally acts when confronted.
Read John 18:1-14
How did Peter respond when Jesus was persecuted? Was this the right response? (Look at Jesus’ answer.) Was Peter’s “defense” gentle or respectful?
Read Acts 4:1-31
How was John respectful and gentle? How could Peter and John have responded when persecuted? What can you learn from how they treat their opponents?
In less than two months since Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter has changed his approach. You could say he learned his lesson. Instead of going on the offense with a real sword, He used the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, to make a defense.

Day 5- THE RESULTS

Read Acts 4:13-31
What were the results of Peter and John’s boldness? Did the Jewish leadership have a change in heart? Did Peter and John back down when asked to?
How were they respectful by being honest?
Although there was no opponent heart change, what happened because of what God did through Peter and John? Could their opponents find any reason to keep them in prison?
Do you understand that sometimes your opponents will not hear the truth? How do you think you will respond if this happens?
Do you trust God can use your defense in ways you don’t expect?
Read Acts 4:13
How were Peter and John described? How did they recognize them?
Peter and John made a defense of the gospel, but the Jewish leadership did not believe in it. They did see two men’s actions and understood they had spent time with Jesus. Do you live your life in such a way that your opponents would say the same things about you?

Stephen's Defense

Day 1- CASE STUDY #2- STEPHEN

This week you will read what happened to Stephen, the first martyr for Christ. You most likely will not be martyred for your defense, but you need to understand that your opponents may respond in an evil way. It is not easy to defend the gospel but if your hope is in your eternal life and your desire is for others to obtain it through belief in Christ, you will be surprised how bold you will be in the scariest of circumstances.
Read Acts 6:8 -7:60
Take notes and write down anything you learn.
Who were Stephen’s opponents? Why were they mad?
What are all the things they did to Stephen? Did Stephen do anything wrong?

Day 2- HOW STEPHEN HONORED CHRIST

Today re-read the passage about Stephen and look for how Stephen revered Christ as Lord.
Read Acts 6:8-7:60 again
How did Stephen revere Christ as Lord with his words?
How did Stephen revere Christ as Lord with his actions? What can you learn from Stephen?

Day 3- STEPHEN’S HOPE

Stephen gives his opponents an account of Jewish history because they are Jews. He is presenting his defense in a way the Jews would understand. He is showing that Jesus was part of God’s plan, even in their history. You are going to read the same passage again today.  This time make a list of how Stephen gave his defense of the gospel. How did he give an answer for the reason he has hope?
Read Acts 6:8-7:60
How does Stephen give a defense for the reason he has hope?
Do you think it is important to present the gospel in a way your audience would understand? Do you think it’s important to know your audience as you share or defend the gospel? Why or why not?
Re-Read Acts 7:55-56. How did God show Stephen his hope was real?
What do you learn from Stephen?

I PROMISE YOU

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” – Luke 12:11-12

Day 4- STEPHEN’S GENTLE AND RESPECTFUL ACTIONS

Stephen is very bold in his words. It is clear he is filled with the Holy Spirit, so we know his words are from God. God wanted him to be bold. Stephen is an example of someone who was gentle in his actions and bold with his words. He was also respectful of the culture of the people he was giving a defense to. Read the story about Stephen again and list all the ways that Stephen showed gentleness and respect.
Read Acts 6:8-7:60
How was Stephen gentle in his actions? How was Stephen bold with his words?
Had Israel worshipped God for what He had done for them, or did they turn to idols?
Read Acts 7:60
How did Stephen show the ultimate gentleness and respect for the people who killed him? Did Stephen hate his opponents? What can you learn from Stephen?

DID YOU KNOW

It is easy to feel hatred for people like Stephen’s opponents, but remember God wants you to love your enemies and pray for them. We don’t know the outcome of salvation of all the opponents from that day, but we do know the outcome of one very important opponent. Acts 7:58 tells us about one of them named Saul. Saul was one of Stephen’s opponents, but just a few short chapters later you read about Saul’s encounter with Jesus and he changes his name to Paul. Paul goes on to share the gospel with the entire world and is the author of most of the New Testament. Don’t underestimate what God can do in the lives of your opponents!

Day 5- THE RESULTS

Stephen’s death probably rocked the believers of Jesus. But it shouldn’t have. A couple of months earlier the same people had killed Jesus. Jesus warned His disciples why people would treat them badly.
Read John 15:18-21
Why will your opponents hate you? Where does Jesus say His disciples belong?
How does what happened to Stephen confirm this passage?
Did Stephen end up where He belongs?
Hopefully you will never have to be martyred for your faith, but because the world opposes Christ they will oppose you. This is why standing firm in God’s Word and surrounding yourself with Christian community is so important. As you lock arms with each other, you can encourage each other to stand strong in times of persecution. Finally, if you are focused on the comforts and things of this world, just like Jesus explained in the parable of the seed and soil (Matthew 13), the ways of the world will choke out your voice for the gospel. In Acts 7, Stephen experiences the worst day of his earthly life.
But because he was focused on where he belonged, he got to experience the best part of his life…the eternal part with Jesus forever. Are you ready to stand for the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Paul's Defense

Day 1-PAUL’S DEFENSE BEFORE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES

Paul, who before following Christ was named Saul and persecuted believers, is one of the great defenders of the gospel. This week you are going to read his defense before Festus and Agrippa. If you have time you can read the entire account of what happens to Paul in Acts 21:15 – chapter 26. Here is the summary of how Paul gets in front of Agrippa, the Roman King of the Jews. Paul had been traveling the world and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the Gentiles. He went to Jerusalem to worship in the temple and the Jews seized him because they didn’t like his message. He presented his defense before the Jews and the Jewish religious council, but asked for protection from the Romans because he was a Roman citizen. The Romans sent him to Caesarea under house arrest. Paul stayed in house arrest prison for two years. During his time of house arrest, God told Paul to preach the gospel to Rome so he made an appeal to see the Roman Emperor, Caesar, who lived in Rome. Since King Agrippa was the Roman King over Jerusalem and daily involved with Jewish customs, he was intrigued by Paul’s case and wanted to speak to Paul. This is where you will start reading.
Read Acts 25:23-26:31
Take notes about what you learn from Paul’s defense.

Day 2- PAUL HONORS CHRIST

Today you are going to read Paul’s defense again and learn how Paul reveres Christ as Lord. Look closely how he uses his own testimony to do so.
Read Acts 25:23-26:31
How did Jesus become Lord of Paul’s life? How did Jesus change Paul?
What do you learn from Paul’s defense of the gospel and how he used his own life to share the gospel?

Day 3- PAUL’S HOPE

Paul is defending his action in Jerusalem, but through his defense you see him share what he believes. You will have to look deeper to see what Paul hopes for, but think through why He is doing what he’s doing.
Read Acts 25:23-26:31
What is Paul hoping for? look at Acts 26:15-20
Paul’s defense of his actions is not an “I’m right, you’re wrong” defense. Instead, he shares his hope for all people he encounters.
Paul endured what He did to get to Rome to share the gospel. How do his actions show the reason for his hope? Paul himself was a severe opponent of the gospel at one time. Did he believe there was hope for Festus and Agrippa? What do you learn from Paul?

DID YOU KNOW

Paul spent two years in prison from the time he was arrested in Jerusalem. Most of the prison time was in Caesarea and it was considered a “house arrest.” Here, he lived in a house and people could come and visit him, but he would have been chained to a Roman soldier. Those specific Roman soldiers had a divine appointment to hear the gospel, didn’t they? Maybe we will get to meet some of them in heaven someday because there is no doubt they heard the gospel and saw Paul’s godly lifestyle. When Paul got to Rome he was probably in a real prison, but he was eventually released for a little while. What is really interesting is in those 2 years of prison, Paul wrote letters to the Church in Ephesus, Colossae, Philippi, and to a man named Philemon. These letters turned into the books Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon in the Bible. Paul’s story really tells us how God can work ANY situation and turn it to good.

Day 4- PAUL IS GENTLE AND RESPECTFUL

Paul is standing before governing authorities who do not believe in Jesus. They are not evil for putting him in prison. They are doing their job. He is accused and Rome was a democracy at the time, so Paul deserved his day in court.
Read Acts 25:23-26:31
How was Paul respectful of authorities? Look closely at his words and how he addresses them. Did Paul slander his opponents or simply tell the truth? How was Paul respectful of his opponents? What can you learn from Paul’s patience? Remember, he had been in prison for two years since the incident in Jerusalem that put him in prison.
Do you think having patience can inspire gentleness?
What do you learn from Paul concerning gentleness and respect?Day 5- THE RESULTS

Read Acts 26:24-32. What does Festus think about Paul?
Do you think, because we place our hope in Jesus and follow His way, the world thinks we are crazy? How does Paul respond to Festus?
What does King Agrippa say to Paul?
Is the gospel stirring up something in his heart a little?
Think about how many people have read the Bible since it was written. Do you think Paul realized the impact his defense would have throughout history?
Did the governing authorities see anything wrong with Paul?
You must get out of your human perspective when it comes to the things that God can do. Paul might have been discouraged that King Agrippa came so close to believing, but what Paul didn’t know is that God would use his defense for generations to come. You might not get to see immediate results, but trust that God can use your defense in ways that you cannot even imagine. Lastly, Paul was innocent and could have been free that very day, but his personal freedom was not as important to Him as his obedience to what God had called him to do – share the gospel in Rome. What can you learn from Paul?
Paul was an opponent for the gospel. His past had hate and murder. Do you think there is anything in your past that could disqualify you from being used by God for His purposes? Hint… the answer is NO!

Sharing the Gospel

Day 1- PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN

The past three weeks you have seen examples of people who had to defend their faith among opponents of the gospel. This week you are going to look at examples of men who had the opportunity to share the gospel, including Jesus Himself. You will see that in each situation the people don’t know the gospel and are ready to hear it.
Read Acts 8:25-40
Who did Philip find in Gaza?
What do you learn from Philip’s obedience? Did Philip know why God wanted him to do what He asked of him?
What was the Ethiopian reading?
What did he need help with?
How did the Ethiopian respond?
Sometimes there are people who want to know God but just don’t understand. You might get the opportunity to help others understand the gospel of Jesus Christ.
What do you learn from the story?
How can you apply this to your life?

Day 2- EUROPE’S FIRST CONVERT

Read Acts 16:14-15
Who was Lydia listening to preach?
Who moved in her heart?
Read Romans 10:17
How did this verse come true in Lydia’s conversion?
Read John 6:44
Who draws people to Himself?
As you share or defend the gospel, you must understand that God is the one who is going to work in the hearts of men and women. He will use you to share, but it will be Him who works in the heart. Anytime Jesus taught His disciples about “planting” seeds (Matthew 9 &13), He always called His disciples the “workers.” Their job was to plan the seed. It was God’s job to harvest it. Remember, you are not in charge of someone’s change of heart. Just be faithful to share your faith and let Jesus be in charge of the results.
What can you learn about the story of Lydia?

Day 3- THE WOMAN AT THE WELL

Today you are going to learn some lessons from your Master, Jesus Himself. He shares the gospel to a Samaritan woman. Samaritans were not liked by Jews because they were a mixed race. There were even racial tensions back in Jesus’ time. Samaritans were half Jew and half Assyrian. The Jews did not like the world and thought there was no way anyone who was mixed with the world could be God-fearing. They considered her “unclean.” As you read this story, pay attention to the heartache this women shares and pay attention to her knowledge of the coming Messiah even though she was considered by most as unclean. Most importantly, watch how Jesus accepts her and meets her need.
Read John 4:1-26
What did the woman know about the coming Messiah?
How do you think she knew this?
Even though she didn’t know the full story, were the things of God important to her?
How did Jesus explain to her who He was? What did Jesus know about her?
Do you think she felt shame for her life? Did Jesus reject her or help her?
Obviously Jesus knew the woman because He was God, but it’s a good lesson in seeking to understand the story of the person who you are sharing with. People need a Savior and all you have to do is ask and listen for the Lord to show you their needs. Jesus was not afraid of her “unclean” heart because He knew the truth about what could make her clean… His living water. What can you learn from Jesus about sharing the gospel?

Day 4- PAUL IS GENTLE AND RESPECTFUL

Sometimes God will call you to help those who know and love God to fully understand the Gospel.
Read Acts 18:24-28
How is Apollos described? Did Apollos know God’s Word?
Did Apollos’ actions show He loved and believed in God?
What was wrong with Apollos’ teaching?
Who helped him? How did he respond? What were the results?
Apollos only knew about John the Baptist’s baptism, which was a baptism of repentance. He didn’t understand that by believing in Jesus you were filled with the Holy Spirit.
He knew the message of Jesus; he just was missing an important piece of the gospel.
Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17
What are the ways God’s Word is useful?
Do you think God will call you to help other believers grow in their understanding of God’s Word? What ways can you do this?Day 5- TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH…

Read Acts 1:8
Where were the places Jesus told His disciples to share the gospel?
Judea is the part of Israel outside of Jerusalem and Samaria is to the north of Israel. The disciples boldly started sharing the gospel in Jerusalem after Jesus ascended into the heaven and they received the Holy Spirit.
Read Acts 8:1-4
Why did believers scatter? Where did they scatter to?
What did they do when they scattered?
How did God use persecution to do His will?
The only place left to send believers was “the remotest part of the earth.” God was going to begin that part of His will one chapter later in Acts 9 by converting a man named Saul. He is still continuing to ask people to share the good news in all parts of the world today, even in your own community. Will you join Him?

CHECKPOINT #1

Great Job! Email us at checkpoint@kanakuk.com so we can keep track of your progress. In your email, please include:
First Name
Last Name
Kamp you attended last summer
K-1 K-2 K-Seven K-West K-Kountry
Kamp you plan on attending next summer
K-1 K-2 K-Seven K-West K-Kountry
Title of the Book
One thing you learned
Parent’s Name
At Kanakuk, we will honor everyone who has completed all 3 checkpoints at closing ceremonies
Checkpoint 1 of 3

What the Bible Claims

Day 1- THE WORDS OF GOD

This week you are going to study what the Bible claims to be.
Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17. How is Scripture described? What is it used for?
The Bible claims to be inspired by God. In the original translation, the Greek word for inspired or God-breathed is “theopneustos.” This literally means the exhale of God. God’s Word claims to be God’s actual words. God is the source for every word written in the Bible.

Day 2- THE PEN OF MEN

Yes, men did “write” the Bible but they did not do so of their own will. God used these men to write His words. You can see each author’s writing style and personality shine through the words of the Bible, but the words they wrote are God’s… not their own. God has always used individual’s strengths, weaknesses, background, life experience, and personality to do His work and the same is true for the words of the Bible.
Read 2 Peter 1:21
The Bible makes it clear that prophecy came from whom? Where did it not come from?
There are people who believe in God but still don’t believe the Bible is God’s Word alone. How would you use the two verses you have learned so far to defend your faith in the divine authority of the Bible?

Day 3- ALL OF IT IS TRUE

The “Law” is what the Israelites called Scripture. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is speaking to a Jewish audience so He refers to the Scriptures as “the law” so His Jewish audience would understand what He means. Today, we call the “law” the Bible.
Read Matthew 5:18
What does Jesus say about the Bible? Will just some of it come true or all of it?
There are people out there who value the Bible but don’t believe it’s relevant today. There are others who think only some of the Bible is true. How would you use Jesus’ words to defend your faith in God’s Word?

DID YOU KNOW

There are at least 40 different authors in the Bible. These men were from all different walks of life. To name a few, some were kings, shepherds, physicians, uneducated fisherman, prophets, priests, leaders, and even philosophers. Their lifetimes span about 1,600 years of different generations and cultures. In the midst of all these differences, their writings were able to form a unified and cohesive book that never contradicts itself, but instead is supportive and confirming. There is no other piece of literature like this ever written. This proves the Bible must be the words of God. This also proves the case of relevancy across generations, backgrounds, and cultures. History may change, but the truth of mankind’s need for a Savior does not and it is proven in the lives of the men who wrote the Bible.

Day 4- TAUGHT BY THE SPIRIT

Paul wrote what most believe to be 13 books of the Bible.
Look at what Paul says of the words he spoke and wrote.
Read 1 Corinthians 2:13
Did Paul believe He was teaching and writing from his own words?
Who was giving him the words to speak?Day 5- WITHOUT ERROR

Read John 17:17 and Psalm 19:8
How do these verses claim the Bible is without error?
There are people who believe the Bible is absolutely trustworthy but also contain errors. They believe the Bible to be a guide for their faith, but also believe there are errors relating to science, history and geography. There is a problem with this belief simply because it casts a problem onto God Himself. He claims that the Bible, all of it, is His words. If there is an error in the Bible in any way, we would have to reason that there is an error in His character and attributes. The Bible claims to be the infallible Word of God without error and God has given us no reason to believe there is an error. Next week you are going to learn how history and archaeology support the events of the Bible.

History and Archaeology pt 1

Day 1- BIBLICAL TRUTH

This week we will focus on how archeology proves the Bible’s historical reliability. If the Bible aligns with history, then it is a credible source. Please know there is no way we can do this extensively in one week, but use what you learn to inspire you to dig deeper into learning how to defend the Bible alongside history.
Read Luke 16:17
What bold statement does Jesus say in this verse?
Is it an easy thing for the heavens and the earth to pass away?
How does God use irony to get His point across?

Day 2- WORLD HISTORY

Did you know the Bible predicted world history before it happened? Today you are going to read a prophecy of the Bible. It is a dream that Daniel interpreted for King Nebuchadnezzar. It was a weird dream but Daniel, with the Lord’s help, was able to identify the meaning and explain to Nebuchadnezzar what it meant. The dream was of a statue and each part of the statue represented a reigning world empire.
Read Daniel Chapter 2
Who revealed the dream to Daniel according to verse 28?
Who was the head of gold on the statue?
The next part of the statue was breast and arms of silver. Silver has always been inferior to gold in value. What did this represent?
What did the bronze belly and thighs represent? What did the legs of iron represent?
What was interesting about the feet? What does the stone do?
This prophecy was given to Nebuchadnezzar around 602 BC and Babylon was defeated about 62 years later. This prophecy was 62 years before any of these events started happening. Here is what happened in World History… see how it lines up with the prophecy given 62 years earlier.
Babylon was defeated by a Medo-Persian Empire in 539 BC. Secular historians describe the Medo-Persian Empire as an “underdog” to defeat Babylon. They were considered inferior.
The Persians dropped the Medes after they defeated Babylon and ruled for a long time as a world power. (The book of Nehemiah and Esther all happened during this empire)
Greece defeated Persia and they were known in history for their bronze armor.
Rome defeated Greece. The Roman Empire was known by historians as the “Iron Monarchy.” The word “Rome” in Latin means strength. While iron is less valuable than gold, silver and bronze, it is the strongest of all metals. Rome was the biggest world empire, had the most land mass and ruled the longest. There has never been another world empire after Rome. After its defeat, the world formed rulers in different countries like we have today.
What about the part of the dream with feet of iron and clay? First look at the stone. Did you notice the stone was cut out of the mountain without human hands? The stone represents Jesus. Daniel 2 says “in those days” meaning that in the days of the feet with iron and clay, Jesus will strike the statue at its feet, crush it, and set up an eternal kingdom that will never be defeated. This is not talking about His first coming, but His second coming. He didn’t defeat world empires when He came the first time. He saved people from their sin (Matthew 1:21). The second time He comes, He will crush the world powers and set up His kingdom. So… the part of the statue with feet of iron and clay… that kingdom has not happened yet.
How does God’s accurate prediction of history 60 years before Persia and hundreds of years before Rome, defend that the Bible is true? Do you believe it?

DID YOU KNOW

Many opponents of the Bible suggest there are towns mentioned that don’t exist. This is true, but the lack of evidence cannot prove that they did not once exist. Only contradictory evidence can, but there has never been any contradictory evidence found. On the other hand, we do have proof in our current culture of towns that once existed but no longer do. If this is true today, then it makes sense how a town could cease to exist. For example, mankind realized in the late 19th and early 20th century that building dams could create clean power and water. To build these dams, cities had to be evacuated. The Three Gorges Dam in China filled up 1000 former towns. In New York, the building of the Croton Dams evacuated and buried 4 towns and 400 farms! Oasis, Missouri is another town that once existed but now does not. When the Table Rock Dam was built, it was evacuated and eventually flooded. Even though it does not exist today, it doesn’t mean it never existed. You just might be skiing over it this summer while at Kamp!

Day 3- ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGS

Read Genesis 15:17-20; 1 Kings 10:29; Ezra 9:1; Genesis 26:34
Circle where you see the people called the Hittites.
The Bible mentions the Hittites around 50 times. They were considered a large people group in the Bible. Many people could not trust the Bible because there was no archaeological or historical record of a Hittite nation. Then, in the late 19th and early 20th century, Ernest Chantre, a Turkish archaeologist, discovered a buried city named Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite empire. They found a massive amount of clay tablets that included contracts, legal proceedings, cult worship and literature of the Ancient East. They also found a documented peace treaty between the Hittites and the Egyptians. A copy of this tablet is on display in New York City at the United Nations. The Bible has enough visible archaeology as proof, but God has gone the extra mile to uncover things that haven’t been visible throughout history. Just because we don’t have historical knowledge about a nation or city mentioned in the Bible doesn’t mean we won’t ever.

Day 4- THE NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS PART 1

For proof of the Bible we can look right at the Gospels themselves. These are the books of the Bible written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Matthew and John were both eye witnesses. Mark was a disciple of Peter and Luke a disciple of Paul. All were alive during the events of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension. They all were also all alive during the events of the Book of Acts, which was also written by Luke. We are not exactly sure when the Gospels were written and circulated, but we can use what we know the Bible tells us alongside history. According to the Bible and history, Jesus died in 32 AD. He resurrected three days after His death and then ascended into heaven 50 days later on Pentecost. The book of Acts picks up there. The death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus was the most significant event in history; the next significant moment in history for the Jews was when the temple was destroyed in 70 AD. Jesus predicted this very event would happen in Matthew 24:1-2. Not only was this significant to Jewish history, it would have been very significant to the disciples simply because they would have seen Jesus’ words come true again. The point? None of the Gospels or Acts mention it. What does this mean? It means that more than likely the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the Book of Acts were written before 70 AD.
Read Acts 28:11-30
How does the Book of Acts end? What is Paul doing?
What is the last word that describes Paul’s ability to share the gospel?
Acts ends with Paul in Rome, but we also know from Paul’s letters that his life on earth didn’t end without trouble. 2 Timothy was his last letter when he was in prison.
Read 2 Timothy Chapter 1 and 4
Was Paul persecuted? Are you intrigued?Day 5- THE NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS PART 2

Yesterday you learned that the Book of Acts ends with Paul preaching the gospel in Rome unhindered and then you read where Paul, in his last letter, shares that he is in prison and going to die. This is not a contradiction. The point is the Book of Acts, written by Luke ends before Paul was put in prison. History records that around 64 AD, the Roman Emperor Nero began killing Christians because Rome was set on fire. Many of the Roman citizens believed Nero set the city on fire for his amusement, but blamed the Christians to deflect the criticism. He gathered Christians and violently killed them. Peter speaks of this in his letter.
Read 1 Peter 4:12
What does Peter tell the Christians in the midst of Roman persecution?
How does what Peter says align with what is known to happen in history?
Let’s piece together the evidence. If Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts don’t mention the destruction of the Temple, then it puts the writings and circulations of the Gospels before 70 AD. Even still, Luke in Acts 1:1 mentions that the book was his second writing. If it was written before 70 AD (more than likely before 64 AD when the persecutions in Rome began), then it means the Gospel of Luke was written even earlier. If Peter and Paul were killed around 67 AD, then that means 1 and 2 Peter, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 &2 Corinthians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Philemon and probably Hebrews were all written and circulated before 67 AD.  What is the point? This means most the books of the New Testament were written by eye witnesses and were circulated in a time when eye witnesses from Jesus’ life, death and resurrection were still alive. If the New Testament authors’ accounts were false, there would have been many people alive that could have quickly shot them down with the correct facts. But absolutely no one did. The Jews don’t even deny the historical events of the New Testament. They don’t deny the events of Jesus didn’t happen; they just don’t believe He was the Messiah and therefore made up a plan to lie about the events of His resurrection.
Read Matthew 27:11-15
Did the Jewish leaders deny the resurrection or hide it?
How does the time of writing and circulation of the Gospels help you defend the accuracy and truth of the Bible?

Jesus Confirms God's Word

Day 1- JESUS BELIEVED SCRIPTURE WILL COME TRUE

This week you are going to read how Jesus confirms God’s Word to be true. Jesus was not one to let lies go quietly into the night. If there was false teaching, He confronted it or addressed it (Matthew 23, Matthew 5, Matthew 6, Matthew 7, Matthew 16:23, Matthew 11, Matthew 12, John 3, and John 8 are just a few of the many). We can be confident that if Jesus claimed God’s Word to be true, then it is without error.
Read Matthew 26:47-54
What happens in this passage? Who does Jesus rebuke?
Why does Jesus say, according to verse 54, the events of his arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection must happen? How does Jesus confirm the “Scriptures”?
Note at the times Jesus said that none of the books of the New Testament had been written. What Scriptures was He confirming to be true?

DIG DEEPER

How were the different books chosen to be a part of the Bible? This is called the “Canonization” of Scripture. The word canon means “measuring rod.” The church came up with five questions as a measuring rod to see which books fit.
#1 – Is it written by a prophet?
Deuteronomy 18:18 and Hebrews 1:1 says only a prophet will speak the words of God in the OT. Peter claims that the word that is preached by the apostles is the word of God in 1 Peter 1:25.
#2 – Was the author confirmed by an act of God? Hebrews 2:3-4
#3 – Does it tell the truth about God? Galatians 1:8, Deuteronomy 18:22
#4 – Does it have the power of God?
The power of God is transforming Hebrews 4:12
#5 – Was it accepted by the people of God?
All throughout Scripture you will see authors quote other authors of Scripture.
You will also see the people of God validate Scripture.
Ex: 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Deut. 31:24-26, Joshua 24:26.

Day 2- SCRIPTURE IS NECESSARY TO JESUS

Read Matthew 4:4
What should man live on according to Jesus?
How do these words prove how Jesus valued the Scriptures?

Day 3- OT SCRIPTURES PROVE GOD EXISTS

Read Luke 16:31. What does Jesus say here?
This is in the context of a story that Jesus tells about a rich man and a man named Lazarus.
Read Luke 16:19-31. What did the rich man want Abraham to do according to verse 27?
The rich man was obviously a Jewish man who did not believe in God. He wanted Abraham to send Lazarus, who was already dead, back to his living family to warn him about eternal punishment. Abraham says to the rich man that they have Moses and the Prophets.
They don’t need a man, who has risen from the dead to inspire belief in God. Jesus is telling this story. If anyone else told it, we could question it… but because Jesus, God Himself who knows eternity, did… we can trust it. The point of this lesson is that Jesus wanted to emphasize that the Old Testament Scriptures are enough to inspire belief in God’s existence. Jesus validates God’s Word as enough. The cool thing is Jesus, Himself, would go the extra mile and actually die and rise from the dead so those everyone could believe in God! The Old Testament pointed to Jesus and He claimed it was enough.
God has always given us enough in His Word to believe He exists and that He is true.
The Scriptures are enough.

Day 4- EXAMPLE OF JESUS VALIDATING THE OT

Read Matthew 12:40
What Old Testament event does Jesus validate in this passage?
Does Jesus believe the crazy event of Jonah really happened?
Read Matthew 24:37-39
What Old Testament event does Jesus speak of in this passage?
Does Jesus validate the events of the flood?Day 5- GOD’S WORD IS TRUE

Read John 17:17. What does Jesus say about God’s Word?

God's Attributes

Day 1- KNOW GOD’S ATTRIBUTES

The problem that exists among non-believers, but also believers in Jesus, is that people pigeon-hole God to be defined by only a few attributes. Usually the attribute in which you define God is the one you have experienced. People also define God using words never attributed to him because they don’t understand something He claims to be. For example, Charles Darwin had a problem with God’s wrath so in his biography, he calls God a tyrant*. The Bible never attributes this character to God. Darwin didn’t understand the wrath of God and chose to not pursue God’s explanation, defining God as something He is not. God deserves and wants to be known for ALL of who He is. If you are going to defend your faith, you must know that someone who opposes the gospel does not know all of who God says He is. For example, your opponent might say “I don’t believe in God because I don’t see how a loving God could allow evil.” This person hasn’t allowed himself to see the fullness of God. They have pigeonholed God into only being a God of Love. God in His infinite being is so much more! If you don’t know the attributes of God, you will never be able to give a good answer for who He is. This month you will start to learn about them. You will spend the rest of your life experiencing and seeing the fullness of God personally.
Read Romans 11:33-36
Write down all you learn about God and His greatness. What does the Bible say about His ways? Will you always be able to understand them? Does God go to anyone for counsel?
Does God owe anyone a debt?

DID YOU KNOW

God is so holy that when He dwelled in the ark of the covenant, He commanded no one to touch the ark. If they did, they would die. You can read about a story of this happening in 2 Samuel 6:5-6. The sins of man can never mix with the holiness of God. This is why Jesus is so important to mankind!

Day 2- GOD IS HOLY

Read Exodus 3:5-6 and 1 Samuel 2:2. What do you learn about God?
God is holy. This means He is set apart, pure and worthy of all worship. There is no flaw in Him and is therefore worthy to be praised.
Read Matthew 4 and see how Jesus showed Himself to be holy.

Day 3- GOD IS GRACE

Read Romans 3:24; John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 4:16
What does God give you?
Grace is simply getting what you do not deserve. Because of Jesus, what do you get?
Because of sin, what do you not deserve?
How can you show grace to others? (Giving others what they do not deserve.) For example, giving another a second chance would be gracious.

Day 4- GOD IS MERCIFUL

Read Ephesians 2:4-6. How did God show us mercy?

GIVE IT A TRY!

You will at some point have someone challenge you or ask you about the wrath of God. Spend some time looking at Scripture and forming your answer, with gentleness and respect of course.

Day 5- GOD IS WRATHFUL

Read Romans 1:18; Ezekiel 22:31
What does God tell you about Himself here?
You will find that God isn’t the wrathful God the world defines Him as. The people who have a wrong view of God’s wrath think He “smites people” just because. You will find in Scripture that God always has a valid reason for His wrath.
Read Ezekiel 20:1-8
Did Israel deserve punishment and wrath?
Does the evil world deserve punishment and wrath?
Many people have a problem with a wrathful God. The thing is, you SHOULD have a problem with a god who is wrathful without mercy. Our God is wrathful because He is holy, but our God is also merciful. He is quick to forgive and slow to anger. He knows His wrath must be satisfied so He had a plan of mercy from the very beginning. Instead of taking His wrath out on you, He took it out on His own Son. Anyone who believes in Him can and will avoid His wrath. He wants all men to come to salvation and avoid it (2 Peter 3:9).

Attributes of God

Day 1- GOD IS GOOD

Man tries to be the one who defines good, but when we step back and let God define what is good, our perspective in life will change. You need to know as a believer, what you believe to be “good” will be different than what the opponents to the gospel believe to be “good.” This is because they do not possess the Author of Good!
Read James 1:17 and Psalm 25:8
What do these Bible verses say about God?
Can you think of a story in the Bible where you saw God to be good?
How has God shown Himself as good to you?
Read Romans 5:3-4. How can God be good in sufferings?
Read Romans 8:28. What power does God have over any situation?
Have you seen Him do this? How did He do this on the cross?

Day 2- GOD IS ETERNAL

Read Hebrews 13:8; Exodus 3:14; Psalm 90:2
How long does God last?
Does this explain why He can give eternal life?
Do you spend time worshipping the One who lasts or do you spend most of your time in the things that don’t last?

Day 3- GOD IS SELF-EXISTENT

Read John 1:4. What was in God? What did He give to man?
This is a hard one to wrap your arms around but this verse clearly states that life exists within God… not outside of Him. This means He is life – He sustains it and no one gave Him life. He cannot be the Creator if He is not self-existent. Many opponents to the gospel have issues with this attribute of God. This understanding is outside our human understanding because we ourselves are NOT self-existent. Humans are given life. Next month you are going to study creation theology and evidence of God being a creator. This attribute is so detestable to many people, they have spent years of research trying to disprove Divine Creation so they can disprove God’s self-existence.

Day 4-THE LORD IS UNCHANGEABLE (IMMUTABLE)

Read Malachi 3:6
Has there ever been a time in history when God’s plan changed for mankind’s salvation?
Has there been ever a time in history where God changed His character? Contradicted Himself? Changed His will for man to walk with Him forever?
Has any other force outside of God been able to stop or change God’s course?
Has any opponent of the gospel been able to “change” God’s Word?
What do your answers prove to you about your God?

Day 5- GOD IS LOVE

Read 1 John 4:8,16; Romans 8:35, 39; Romans 5:8
What do you learn about God’s love in these verses?
Read Deuteronomy 7:7-8
What do you learn about this example of love God shows to His people, Israel?
Since God does not change, He shows this same kind of love to you.

God Is...

Day 1- GOD IS ALL POWERFUL

Read Matthew 19:26, Job 42:2. What do these verses say about God?
Do you believe God is all powerful? He claims to be over and over in the Bible.
Read Matthew 8 & 9 and see how Jesus shows He is all-powerful.
What all does He do here? Read how God shows He is all powerful in the Old Testament.
Exodus 14:21 and Joshua 10:12-14. What does God do here?
You have a God on your side that is all-powerful. Defending your faith will be challenging, but if you tap into His strength instead of yours there is nothing you can’t do!

Day 2- GOD’S UNLIMITED

Read Job 37:14-16 and Psalm 147:5. What do these verses say about God?
Read Isaiah 55:9. What does God say about His ways and thoughts?
You must know that mankind has a problem with this statement of God. Man thinks that a human mind can outthink God. People do this every day. The fact that for thousands of years we have been trying to figure out and explain away the things that He has done is just proof that we don’t have the mind to understand Him. Even for those who don’t believe in God, just look at the universe around us. There is no way, in our limited human capacity that we could have even come up with the stars, the planets, the sun, the moon, the earth, the beings in the earth, the ecosystem and how it supports itself, and all the little details that make everything in it work.

It can be overwhelming trying to understand all of who God is. You might wonder how you will ever be able to understand or communicate these things; but He has made you a big promise. You don’t have to rely on yourself to figure it all out. He has given you the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you to reveal to you the things of God when you need to know and experience them.
Read 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 and be encouraged that you don’t have to do this alone.

Day 3- GOD IS RIGHTEOUS

Read Psalm 119:137; Psalm 97:6, Psalm 119:142
How is God described in these verses?
God is holy, set apart without a flaw, but it is also good to understand that His ways are righteous. If God was not righteous, He could claim holiness but He could not sustain holiness. Once He made a mistake, He would be no different than us. Of course, this is not true of God. He promises that He has everlasting righteousness so we can be confident that He will always be holy and worthy of worship.
Read Isaiah 5:16. How does God show Himself to be holy?
Romans 3:23 states that all mankind does is wrong. The Bible says that all God does is right.
Read Hosea 14:9
What do the righteous do? What do the rebellious do?
The rebellious world will stumble concerning God’s righteous ways because they do not understand true righteousness.
How have you seen the world stumble around the ways of God?
Does God show His way to be true concerning mankind?
Read 2 Corinthians 5:21
How can someone obtain the righteousness of God?

Day 4- GOD IS FAITHFUL

Read Deuteronomy 7:9. What does God claim to be?
Spend some time writing or thinking about how God has been faithful to you.
Read 2 Timothy 2:13. What is the truth about God learned here?
Read Ezekiel 20. This is an example of how God is faithful even when mankind is faithless. This is a short summary of the history of all God did for Israel and you will be shocked how rebellious they are. You will see how they deserved judgment. Notice how God states over and over, “But I acted for the sake of My name.” He is showing here how He cannot be unfaithful to people He has made promises to.
What do you learn about the faithfulness of God? After all Israel has done, they deserve to be judged forever. But what is God going to do for them in verses 33-44?
What do you learn about God’s faithfulness?

Day 5- GOD IS A JEALOUS GOD

Read Exodus 34:14
What does this verse say about God?
Mankind has a hard time understanding that God is jealous and that it’s a good thing. Our view of jealousy is actually confused most of the time with our coveting. Our human jealousy comes from wanting what others have. God’s jealousy has to do with desiring the best for us. Here are the two definitions of the word jealous in the Webster’s Dictionary; let’s pick it apart using the Hebrew language in Exodus.
Jealousy: adj
Feeling or showing envy of some one’s things, achievements, things or advantages – If we were to translate Webster’s definition to a Hebrew language, one of the original texts of the Bible, God would use the word “covet” or (Chamad) for this definition. Chamad is used in Exodus 20:17. This word means to take pleasure or delight in the things of others.
Fiercely protective or vigilant of one’s rights and possessions – This is the actual definition of the Hebrew word Qanna used in Exodus 34:14.
It is wrong to be jealous of the things that are not your own. Really, our definition of jealousy in the English language is off. This is coveting. It is actually completely justified and right to be fiercely protective over the things that are in your possession. For example, a wife has every right to be jealous over her husband towards another woman because he is rightfully hers. The same is true for a husband. In fact, God commands a husband and wife to be fiercely protective of each other. God is a jealous God because He is fiercely protective of what is His.
Read Deuteronomy 7:6, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Does God have a right to be jealous? Are you thankful God is fiercely protective of you?
Do you understand why God does not want you to engage in sin and the ways of the world? You have spent a lot of time on the jealousy of God because it is one of the attributes of God that can cause people to stumble. Remember back to day 3 of this week where it says the rebellious will stumble concerning God’s right ways. Well, this is one of those subjects where they get “tripped up.” The reality is that people who don’t believe that they are God’s possession will not understand the jealousy of God. You need to know this as you make your defense.
Are you thankful God is jealous? Why?

Three In One

Day 1- GOD IS THREE IN ONE

This is a very hard thing to explain to those who have not experienced God. There are many religions that claim to believe in God but don’t believe in the trinity. This means that they don’t believe Jesus or the Holy Spirit is God. We are going to focus a little more on this in month 7 but for today you will learn a basic foundational explanation of what God means when He says that He is “three in One” (the doctrine of the Trinity). We’re going to switch it up today and start with the argument from those who believe in God but not the Trinity.
Read Deuteronomy 6:4. What does this verse say?
This is the verse that those who don’t believe in the Trinity use to defend their stance. Let’s go deeper by looking up the Hebrew word for “one” in this verse.
One: Echad (adj) This word, in the right context can mean “one in number.” If this were the only definition there would be a problem with the doctrine of the Trinity. BUT… it also means “wholeness” which means the condition of being a sound unit, essence or character.
The same word is used in Genesis 2:24 when it says “A man is united to his wife and becomes one (Echad)” So in Scripture we have proof the word “Echad” can have the meaning of two separate units being one.
Read Genesis 1:26
Fill in the blank “Let _________ create mankind in ____________ image.”
Is the plural or singular pronouns used here? See you ARE using what you learned in English!
Why in the world does the English version of the Bible use plural pronouns for the word God? The answer to that question is found in the original Hebrew text. (Are you seeing why the original text is important?) In Genesis 1 and 2, the word “Elohim” is used for God. This is the Hebrew definition for “Divine Ones.” The English translation of “us” and “our” is accurate because the Hebrew word used for God is plural!
Read Genesis 1:1-2. Who was present at creation in these verses?
Read John 1:1-5, 14. Who was also there at creation?
Does Scripture elsewhere confirm the “plural” word of God?

DID YOU KNOW

Opponents to the Trinity will be the first to tell you the word “trinity” is found nowhere in the Bible. They are right. The word “trinity” is not in the Bible. This does not mean God is not “three in one.” Man has used the term “trinity” to explain what God has revealed in His Word about being three in one. Don’t be thrown for a loop when someone says this, but agree with them and show them why man describes it this way in Scripture. Just FYI: Trinity is a combination of “Tri” – the prefix for three and “Divinity” the word for a divine being.

Day 2- GOD THREE IN ONE CONTINUED…

Read Deuteronomy 6:4 again.
Using the context to understand the word “one” (Echad) in the Hebrew text, you absolutely have to rule out definition #1 – “one in number” because the original Hebrew text uses the word “Elohim” for God in this very verse! Saying a plural God is one in number is contradiction. But it is not contradictory when you use the second definition. It is claiming the reality of a plural God who is one in essence, wholeness or unit. So what does this mean? A more detailed way of saying this is that God is claiming that each person of God (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) have the same attributes. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are one in essence. God is brilliant! He exists as a community that has the same character. This verse could cause potential problems if not true. If God is a community of three persons that are “one” in essence (character and attributes), then all of the three persons of God must prove they in fact have the attributes of God. If one of them does not have the characteristic of God, then God has lied terribly about Himself. Of course, if God is a liar then we should have a problem with God for many different reasons. You need to study this on your own, but God clearly shows throughout all of Scripture that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have the same attributes. Each person of God, while being one in essence, does have a different function. Peter explains this a little in a short summary. This is not the fullness of the different functions (this takes a lifetime of study) but is a good summary.
Read 1 Peter 1:2. What are the three functions of the three persons of God?
Read Ecclesiastes 4:12. What does God say about a cord of three strands?
This verse is often and rightly used to explain the value of Christian community. It’s very interesting how the number 3 is used. Do you think this verse gives credibility to the strength of God being three in one?
When this verse is applied to mankind it cannot speak of absolute strength due to the sin of each of the three chords. What is interesting is when this verse is applied to God… with His character… it could be a glimpse of Him explaining why He self-exists as three in one. The perfect, holy and righteous bond of a Chord of Three cannot be broken, which God has proven has never happened and never will.

DIG DEEPER

Why in the world is the Trinity called three “persons”? The doctrine of the Trinity uses “persons” because of the personal pronouns God uses for each other. Jesus uses “He” when he speaks of God the Father. God the Father uses the word “He” when He speaks of the Messiah. Jesus uses the personal pronoun “He” when He speaks of the Holy Spirit. If they were not three separate “persons” they would not use language of personal pronouns that we use to reference other “persons.”

Day 3- GOD IS REDEEMER

Read Psalm 111:9. What does God say He has done?
Read Psalm 106:10. How did God redeem us?
Read Hebrews 9:27, John 11:25. How does God redeem us from what we deserve… death?
Read Revelation 21:7. How does God redeem us according to this verse?
The reality in life is that we all face hard times and death. Everyone will face this very fact, even those who don’t believe. We as humans like to run as far as we can from death. We do everything we can to avoid it. As a believer, you love life and should be living it, but when it comes to the topic of death… we need to be engaging the people who are facing it. You also have the opportunity to show truth as you face the hard things about life and death in your own life. We have a hope the world does not have.
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13
What is the difference between those who believe and those who do not?
Why are we different according to the verses you read above?
You might share the gospel with the most hardened of hearts. You might defend your faith and get nowhere, but make sure you do your best to be there when they need you as a friend. The good news that God redeems might be something they are not interested in until they really feel they have no hope… this is when you tell them about the hope Christ offers!

Day 4- GOD IS THE HOLY SPIRIT

Read Isaiah 11:2
What are the seven ways the Holy Spirit is described? Hint: The first one is “Spirit of the Lord”
Read 2 Corinthians 3:16-18

Day 5- GOD IS SALVATION

Read Isaiah 12:2
Spend some time today thinking about this verse which is packed with some awesome promises for you.

Creation

Day 1- BIBLICAL TRUTHS BRINGS FREEDOM

This month you are going to start the process of being able to defend the Bible’s explanation of creation. The Bible claims that God is the creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is in it. The defense of your faith in any subject takes a lifetime of reading God’s Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach and work in you. The goal of this month’s study will be to do the following:
Challenge you to be confident in what you believe the Bible says about creation.
Read John 8:32. What sets you free?
You need to know and believe what the Bible says about creation. In your pursuit of truth, you will find the Bible has an answer for every question asked concerning the creation and origin of the universe. It’s fun to know the facts and arguments but you need to know truth to even have an argument. Truth is your greatest ally. God will use His truth to set those in bondage free.
Knowing the truth of creation will help you recognize the lies out there.
Read Colossians 2:8. What are you to be careful of?
The best way to recognize a lie is to know truth. Lies are deceptive. Jesus even says the lies of men are able to deceive those who believe (Matthew 24:24). God also says light is the only thing that will expose darkness (Ephesians 5:13). Before defending truth you must recognize the lie, the core problem of any opponent’s argument.
You must understand the heart of opponents of Biblical creation.
Read John 15:18. Your opponents, in any subject matter, oppose who first?
While there will be interesting information and questions provided in the devos and pop-up boxes to serve as tools for your defense, you will spend most of this short study helping you understand the heart of your opponent. You must understand their mentality and condition to be able to help them overcome the “roadblocks” of faith concerning creation.

Day 2- THE TRUTH

Read Genesis Chapter 1. Make a list of what God created on each day.
The Bible claims the earth was created in 6 days. There are secular and Christian organizations that refute creation happened within 6 days. It is almost understandable how a non-believer would refute this, but Christians? Most use the 2 Peter 3:8 to question an actual 6-day creation. Here are some facts to confirm it was a 6 day creation where God rested on the 7th day.
The word day in the Hebrew language, which is the language of the original text, is “Yom.” It is known in the Hebrew language as a 24-hour period.
The Bible takes an extra step to confirm an actual 24 hour day by constantly stating Tere was evening and there was morning, one day.” In all languages a 24-hour period is understood to consist of morning and evening.
What 2 Peter 3:8 says is true but you cannot take it out of context. The context is in an explanation of the future day of judgment. The next verse explains how God is slow to keep His promise of judgment and defeat of evil for good so that many can turn towards Him. There is no mention of God’s creation in this passage. It doesn’t fit the context so it’s not right to assume God meant it to define the length of creation.
What stood out to you about God’s creation? Did God seem to have an order of creation? Does how He created the earth make sense?
Do you believe God created the earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th?

Day 3- THE ORIGIN OF MAN

There are different beliefs about how the universe was created but none of them give an answer to why the universe, earth, mankind, and all of species were created. The Biblical explanation of creation is the ONLY doctrine that gives an answer to why. Read the following verses and write down why you believe God created the earth and mankind.
Isaiah 43:7, Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 2:15, Ephesians 3:9-10, Revelation 4:11, Romans 11:36, Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 5:16, Colossians 1:16, Psalm 19:1

Day 4- THE FUTURE OF THE MAN AND THE EARTH

In all of mankind’s attempts to explain the origin of the universe, there is no explanation that speaks to the future of the universe. Man has always been intrigued with different theories of what will happen to the universe, earth and mankind, but there is no proof to substantiate those theories. The Bible is clear about the future of the universe, mankind, and the earth. Of course, you could do an entire study on what God says about the future, but for today, you are going to read you a few verses to show God has a future planned.
Read the following verses and make notes on what God says about the future.
Jeremiah 29:11, John 16:33, Philippians 3:20-21, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 John 3:2, John 14:1-3, Matthew 24:30-31, John 12:31, Revelation 3:21, Matthew 24:25, Revelation 21:1-8
You have barely touched the surface on understanding the future God has planned, but the point is… He speaks to a future. You can have confidence of this future by simply looking at God’s track record. All throughout the Old Testament, God has prophesied many future events. Most of the prophecies have to do with the coming Messiah, Jesus. Jesus fulfilled over 300 of them! The probability of one man fulfilling only 8 of these is 1 chance in 100,000,000,000,000,000! The crazy thing is He did, in fact, fulfill over 300, 29 of them in one day alone! These prophecies and their fulfillment are both historically documented. The only ones that are unfulfilled concern Christ’s second coming. If you read the Old Testament, God’s Word always came true concerning things He prophesied for Israel. The point? God has already proven that what He says comes true.

Day 5- GENESIS 3

Read Genesis 3. What did mankind do? What happened because of what they did?
Read Isaiah 59:2. What do your sins do?
Genesis 3 is part of the creation story and most people often ignore it. The Bible makes a serious claim about mankind. The Bible claims that mankind, at its core, is sinful. If man has not proven to be sinful then we have a reason to question the rest of the creation story. Man has continually proven throughout history to be sinful. Mankind proves everyday there is a need for a Savior, which validates God’s reason for creation and the future He has planned for those who believe in Him.
Read Isaiah 46:10. Did God have the end planned from the beginning?
How does this promise help you believe God is a detailed and purposeful God?

Your Opponent

Day 1- SOUND DOCTRINE

God tells us that His creation is the most visible thing mankind has to know He exists. (Romans 1:20). This is why Biblical creation has been under scrutiny for so many years. Most opponents to creation have a problem with God outside of the creation doctrine.
If they can prove Biblical creation is wrong, then they have an excuse to discredit God.
If they cannot, they must change.
Read 2 Timothy 4:3
What does God warn us will happen with sound doctrine (meaning doctrine that is irrefutable)? Why do they do this?
Could this explain why people want to ignore the facts of Biblical creation?
You must know your opponents to creation have something bigger going on behind the creation doctrine. Don’t forget to be a light for Christ and show them a loving and great example of Jesus in you!

DID YOU KNOW

Charles Darwin had a problem with Christianity. Instead of pursuing what claims to be true at its source, the Bible, he based his belief on his emotions. Instead of pursuing the evidence of the Bible that truly does exist, he chose to pursue finding evidence against it.
“But I had gradually come, by this time, to see that the Old Testament; from its manifestly false history of the world, with the Tower of Babel, the rainbow as a sign, etc., etc., and from its attributing to God the feelings of a revengeful tyrant, was no more to be trusted than the sacred books of the Hindus, or the beliefs of any barbarian. I can indeed hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true; for if so the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my Father, Brother and almost all my best friends, will be everlastingly punished. And this is a damnable doctrine.”
(Charles Darwin: The Autobiography of Charles Darwin with original omissions restored. New York, Norton, 1969. p. 85, 87)

Day 2- FALSE TEACHING

Before you defend your faith you must understand how people work. Albert Einstein stated “If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the facts.” This quote seems crazy coming from a physicist/scientist who is supposed to be allowing the facts to prove or disprove a theory. He is suggesting, if the facts don’t fit, to throw out facts instead of theories. What Albert Einstein has done has accurately explained how the human mind works. Humans form belief systems based on knowledge and experience. Many people call these things belief “frameworks”. In other words, they spend their life “framing up” what they believe.
The Frameworks Institute in 2005 put Albert Einstein’s theory to the test. They conducted research with groups of people based on that groups “framework” of beliefs. People were grouped according to what they believe based on race, culture, and background. The Framework Institute conducted studies that presented facts that might be contradictory to what they believe. In each study most people didn’t let the facts change their framework, but twisted the facts to fit their framework. Bostrom, Meg. (2005). When the Facts Don’t Fit the Frame. Washington, DC: FrameWorks Institute.
This is what God asks you – to view the world based on your framework of belief in Him, but you will never have to twist the facts to do so. You will see there will be more twisting on the side of science to disprove God, whereas God continues to reveal facts that support the Bible. Yes, you will have to place your faith in things unseen, but God has gone above and beyond to give you enough physical evidence.
Read 1 John 4:1-3
What does God ask you to do? Why must you be careful?

Day 3- BIG BANG THEORY

Read Romans 1:19-23
What do men do here instead of seek out God?
Here is the easiest summary of the Big Bang Theory out there:
The initial singularity was the gravitational singularity of infinite density thought to have contained all of the mass and space time of the Universe [1] before quantum fluctuations caused it to rapidly expand in the Big Bang and subsequent inflation, creating the present-day Universe.
Wall, Mike (21 October 2011). “The Big Bang: What Really Happened at Our Universe’s Birth?”.
The History & Future of the Cosmos. Space.com. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
In short, the world became nothing out of something for an explosion. This explanation might make sense if a divine being was involved. In other words, if God said He created the world this way, then it could be possible; BUT this theory is based on happenings without a divine creator. This just happened and “poof” we got the world.

Day 4- EVOLUTION

This is Charles Darwin’s core beliefs:
This is the theory of evolution at its core.
“Matter is eternal. All the material in the universe is the result of chance arrangements of atoms responding to known physical and chemical laws; life arose from non-living matter and the diversity of living systems is the result of random mutations acted upon by natural selection”. (Charles Darwin, Origin of Species, 1859)
Darwin theorized that lower forms of life over time gave rise to higher forms of life. The single cell evolved into the first organism, which evolved into invertebrate fish, which evolved into vertebrate fish, which evolved into amphibians, which evolved into reptiles, which evolved into birds and mammals, which eventually evolved into monkeys and man. If this theory is true, then there would be countless transitional fossils (missing links) left behind in the fossil record. Joe White, Kanakuk Kamps 2007 K-Equip.
Problems with his Theory of Evolution:
Darwin also had a problem with the lack of missing links or transitional forms in the fossil record. He said in his book, “The number of intermediate and transitional links between all living and extinct species must have been inconceivably great” (Charles Darwin, Origin of Species P. 281-282).
Read Genesis 1 again and think through how this chapter gives a defense against evolution.

GIVE IT A TRY!

QUESTIONS TO ASK SOMEONE WHO SUPPORTS EVOLUTION:
If evolution is how humans and animals are here today, has the evolutionary process stopped?
If so, how do you know?
If the evolutionary process has stopped, who determined that we are not evolving anymore? Wouldn’t some divine being need to be involved for this? (Again, God doesn’t support evolution, but just a question to get them to see even their theory needs a divine being.)
If evolution is how we got here and natural selection is part of the process, why are we so concerned with extinct animals and protecting them? Isn’t this the continuing process of natural selection? (Again, most evolutionists are passionate environmentalists. Believers love God’s creation too and should be protecting it. This question is asked to show a little irony in their theory.

Day 5- PROBLEMS WITH EVOLUTION

Read Romans 16:17-18
What does God say about false teaching?
Read Ephesians 5:11-13
What will happen to the things that are lies (darkness) ?
Will God always reveal what is a lie?
Here is how Darwin’s Theory has become exposed:
Genetic mutations have never been a good thing. Darwin’s theory suggests that genetic mutations are what advanced our human bodies.
Evolutionist Dr. H.J. Mueller: “The vast majority of mutations are detrimental to the species” (“How Radiation Changes the Genetic Constitution”, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, vol. 11, No. 9, (Nov. 1955) pg. 331).
Natural Selection is ultimately racial. It is saying the weaker species should go extinct.
The original title of Darwin’s book was Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. Contrary to sound biblical and logical reasoning, as lower forms of life gave rise to higher forms of life via mutations in natural selection, Darwin found a theory that supported his belief that females and people of color were inferior in the evolutionary ladder.
There are no transitional fossils to support his theory. Neanderthal Man Lucy, Java Man, Nebraska Man, Piltdown Man… all of these have been disproven and all findings have contradicted themselves. For example:
Lucy (Australopiitchus) – Richard Leakey, the director of the National Museum in Kenya and son of Louis Leakey who discovered “Lucy”, said, “Lucy’s skull was so incomplete that most of it was imagination made of plaster of paris” (The Weekend Australian (May 7-8, 1983) pg. 3).

Things to Talk About

Day 1- WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT CREATION

Take time this week to read the verses below and formulate your belief on creation based on what the Bible has to say. Genesis 1 explains the how. Other verses in the Bible describe the “hows” and “whys”.
Read the following verses:
Hebrews 11:3
Colossians 1:16
Revelation 4:11
Job 37:5
Hebrews 1:10
2 Peter 3:5
Isaiah 42:5
Revelation 22:13
John 1:3
Read what happened before time:
1 Corinthians 2:7
2 Timothy 1:9
Titus 1:2
Jude 1:25
Isaiah 46:10

Day 2- WHERE DO THE NATIONS COME FROM?

Read Genesis 11
What happened here?
What was man trying to do?
What did God do?
What happened to the people’s language?
Where did the people scatter?

DID YOU KNOW

Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, that what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?… Isaiah 29:16

Day 3- WHERE DID THE SKIN COLOR COME FROM?

Read Acts 17:26. What does the Bible say God did?
Adam and Eve had all genes for color in their genetic makeup. There are literally no different races, only differing amounts of melanin in our genes that mandate varying degrees of skin color. We are all one blood with one set of “originating parents.”
According to the Bible’s belief that “all men are created equal” and according to creationists; Adam and Eve would have had dominant and recessive genes for melanin in their genetic code. As the centuries progressed, people with darker skin who tolerated sunlight better, migrated toward the equator and people with lighter skin who didn’t tolerate sun as well migrated away from the equator. Because of a “sin” issue, not a “skin” issue, different colors throughout history have tended to form classes and factions.

Day 4- WHAT ABOUT MAN

Read Genesis 1:26-27
What does God say about man? In whose image is mankind created?
Did God say this for any other part of His creation?
God clearly states that man is the highest of His creation. The observable facts of the world are that man is the highest form of being. Our intellect, our reproduction cycle, our emotions, our personalities, our language and our potential have always far been more complex than any other being ever created. The theory of Evolution and the Big Bang Theory might have some interesting points, but none of them can explain why and how man was created so superior to all creation.
This gives even more evidence that mankind was created by a Divine Creator in His image for these reasons.
01 Mankind can be the image bearer of God’s glory Matthew 5:16
02 Though man does not have God’s character, God created man so that He could one day experience the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:4, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 3:2

DID YOU KNOW

We are created in God’s image. One way this is seen is that man, over every being created, is the only one who is also a creator. No other being can create things. You could argue that every animal that reproduces creates things but the reality is that God, the author of life, is responsible for all of that even in humans. Humans are the only species that can invent, problem solve, and research for not only our species but the species of others. Our personalities and creativity is why we have the arts which are just as important as science. What is the difference between man and God’s creative abilities? God, the Creator, can create something out of nothing. Man, the creator, is only able to create from the resources God gives him.

Day 5- WHAT ABOUT ALIENS

The Bible does in fact talk about “aliens” or foreigners.
Read 1 Peter 2:11-12
Who are the aliens who live in the universe?
Read Philippians 3:20
Where is your citizenship? On earth or somewhere else?
The Bible does not mention any other being He has created besides the ones on earth. There is no mention of alien invasion, just the future events that will happen on earth. There is no need to worry about something God has not spoken about. Yes, He could create another life form. You can’t put anything past God, but if it were relevant to you and something you need to be aware of He would have told us in His Word. Instead He tells you that the alien is you. Your true home is in Heaven. You are different than this world. Your belief is something that is foreign to a sinful world, but not something that is out of the range of accepting.
Read Romans 12:2
What does God ask you not to do? How can you do what God asks you to as you live in the world that opposes a God who creates?

300+ Club

Day 1- VIRGIN BIRTH

The entire Old Testament speaks to the coming Messiah. There are hundreds of prophecies in the Bible about the Messiah given to different men over thousands of years. These men lived on earth at different times and the written Word wasn’t mass-produced. They simply got a word from the Lord and wrote it down. The reality is Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophesies in His first coming! The rest will be fulfilled when He returns. Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy is overwhelming and it is tested proof that Jesus is who He says He is.
Read Genesis 3:15
This verse is a curse from God to Satan. Who will he be opposed to?
Does it say a seed of man or seed of woman? What will the Seed of woman do to Satan?
This verse is the first reference to Jesus in the Bible. God only reveals a little, but what He reveals is huge! The word “bruise” in the Hebrew language means “crush.” God is telling Satan that the seed of a woman will crush his head. The Messiah will be bruised on the heel, which references the cross. This action will crush Satan, which it did. Notice God specifically says “seed of a woman.” This is a reference to the virgin birth. Man did nothing to bring about Jesus’ birth.
Read Galatians 4:4-5; Matthew 1:18. How does Jesus fulfill the prophecy in Genesis 3:15?
Read Romans 5:12. The seed of man, starting with Adam, spreads what?
How does this verse explain why the virgin birth is so important?

Day 2- JESUS’ BIRTHRIGHT

Read 2 Samuel 7:16; Genesis 49:10; 1 Chronicles 22:10
Write down what these prophecies say.
Read Matthew 1. Circle any of the people mentioned in Matthew 1 that are listed in prophecy. To be the Messiah, you have to have a very specific birthright. For example, the Messiah had to be in the line of King David and in the line of the Israelite tribe of Judah. The Messiah also had to be a part of the nation of Israel. Jesus again was all of these things as you see His lineage in Matthew 1. This is just one big example of the Messiah’s specific birthright, but it is important to know Jesus’ genealogy was kept intact by God through many attempts by Satan to keep Jesus from coming. Satan tried to stop Jesus through the flood with Noah, the almost annihilation of the Jews in the book of Esther, and in Matthew 2 in the story of what Herod did. There is never a break in father-son relationship from Adam to Jesus.  Satan tried, but God is mighty to save! He is able to bring mankind salvation!

Day 3- MORE DETAILS

Read Matthew 2 and 3
Write down any verses that specifically say Jesus fulfilled prophecy.
Look up the Old Testament verses given.
What prophecy does Jesus fulfill in these verses? How does Jesus prove He is the Messiah?Day 4- THE HOLY SPIRIT

Read Isaiah 11:2
What does this verse say would rest on the Messiah?
Read Matthew 3:16-17, Acts 10:38
How did the Spirit of the Lord rest on Jesus? Here again we see that Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of how He would be fully human but also have the power of God!
Read Isaiah 53:9
How would the Messiah be buried? What did the prophet prophesy Jesus would do wrong?
Read 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Matthew 4
Did Jesus do anything wrong?
Read Matthew 27:57-60
Where was Jesus buried? How did this fulfill Isaiah 53:9?

Day 5- THE MESSIAH WILL CONQUER DEATH

Read Isaiah 25:8. What is the Messiah prophesied to do?
Read Luke Chapters 23-24
What does Jesus do in the events of the crucifixion?
What happens three days after the crucifixion?
Read Romans 8:11. How does Jesus have the power to resurrect?
You barely scratched the surface of how Jesus fulfilled prophecy. How does what you read help confirm to you that Jesus is the Messiah?
How can using prophecy help you make a defense for the gospel?

Claim It

Day 1- JESUS CLAIMS TO BE GOD

There is so much archaeological evidence of the events of Jesus’ time that it is rare for a person to be bold enough to say that Jesus didn’t exist as a person. The gospel writers were eyewitnesses! Most people believe He walked the earth. There are many who just don’t believe Jesus is God. Many different religions claim Jesus to be a great man or a great prophet, but not the Son of God. This sounds good until you look a little deeper and immediately see the problem with this argument. Jesus in fact claimed to be God! If He claimed to be God and is not God then He is not a great man, He is an arrogant liar. This is the kind of arrogance that got Satan kicked out of heaven. So this week you are going to simply read Jesus’ words and find out how He claimed to be God. You are also going to read verses where the Bible clearly describes Jesus as God.
Read John 1:1, John 1:14. How does God’s Word claim Jesus to be God?
Read John 10:30-33. Why were the Jews so mad at Jesus?

Day 2- FULL DEITY

Read Colossians 2:9
How does this verse describe Jesus as God? Memorize this verse today.

Day 3- THE GREAT I AM

Read John 8:58
How does Jesus describe Himself?
Read Exodus 3:14
How does God describe Himself?
I AM is the meaning of the Hebrew word YWH or “Yahweh.” This word was so holy to the Jews they wouldn’t even pronounce it out loud! It simply means “I AM GOD WHO EXISTS.”  Jesus saying “I AM” was a very powerful and bold claim to be God.

DID YOU KNOW

There’s a simple way to remember the order of the Bible:
01 Creation
Genesis 1-2
02 Anticipation of Christ
Genesis 3 – the entire OT
03 Manifestation of Christ
Gospels – The Messiah has arrived
04 Proclamation
Acts – The Disciples proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ
05 Explanation
The Letters – Jesus’ Apostles explain what it means to be a follower of Christ
06 Culmination
Revelation – Jesus will return and fulfill all things

Day 4- GOD EMPTIES HIMSELF

Read Philippians 2:5-8
What did Jesus do? Why did Jesus do it?
How is Jesus described as God?
Why did He empty Himself of having the attributes of God?
What did Jesus become obedient to?
Why?
This verse clearly explains why Jesus became human and why it was a big deal. God can’t die and Jesus didn’t have to die, but He gave up some big parts of being God for a small time so that we could have eternal life.

Day 5- PEOPLE WORSHIPED JESUS

Read Matthew 4:10. What is the Scripture Jesus uses to rebuke Satan?
If Jesus is not God, we have another problem. He makes a huge statement to Satan during His temptation that you are not to worship any other God besides God. God also makes this clear in Exodus 20 when He gives the Ten Commandments. If Jesus is not God, then we have a huge problem because He let people worship Him.
Read Matthew 2:2, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 28:9
Is it clear to you that Jesus claims to be God? Is it clear to you that Jesus is God?

The Results

Day 1- THE MUSTARD SEED

The proof of truth of the gospel is to see the results of the gospel throughout mankind.
Read Matthew 13:31-32. How does Jesus Himself describe the kingdom of God?
The gospel started with 12 men who believed in Jesus. Read the first couple chapters of Acts after Jesus’ ascension into heaven to see how the parable of the mustard tree starts to come true. Were people coming to believe in Jesus?
There is no way to know exact numbers on how many followers of Christ there have been throughout history. The last census says there are 2.2 billion people on the earth now who claim to be followers of Christ. Do you believe Jesus accurately described His Kingdom? Has history proven God’s Word to be true?

Day 2- CHANGED MEN

The change of the disciples shows the truth of Jesus. The disciples were scared when Jesus died, but the resurrection changed them. All of the disciples were martyred for Jesus. Why would they all of the sudden become so bold if this whole gospel was a lie?
Read Luke 22:54-62. What does Peter do at Jesus’ time of need?
Read John 20:19
Where were the disciples when Jesus revealed Himself to them?
Why were they hiding? Were they scared? Why?
Read Acts Chapter 4
How were the disciples showing boldness?
Were they hiding from the Jewish leaders or being bold?
How does this convince you that God’s Word concerning Jesus is true?
Does the gospel claim the ability to make things new and if so, how were these men confirming this claim?

Day 3- CHANGED MEN PART 2

The gospel has the ability to not only change those who believe, it has the ability to overcome disbelief. Today read how the gospel transformed a man named Saul who was killing and persecuting Christians. He was a Jewish religious leader that at one time hated Jesus.
Read Acts 9:1-18
What happened here? Does the gospel have the power to change?
If the gospel was not true, why would one of the Jews most zealous religious leaders change? Does the gospel do what it says it will do and is it confirmed in the life of Paul?

Day 4- CAN’T BE STOPPED

Read Acts 4:27-39
What does the Jewish Pharisee Gamaliel counsel?
What happened to another who had said he was the Messiah?
How long did that last and what happened after the guy who made claims died?
Did the disciples scatter or unite after Jesus died?
Did the gospel stop or did the number of believers only get bigger?
How does this prove the gospel is true?

Day 5- ACROSS GENERATIONS/CULTURES

Read Philippians 2:10-11. What does this verse say will happen at the name of Jesus?
One of the biggest proofs of the Bible is the Bible’s ability to be multi-generational and cross-cultural. If you live in America you don’t have anything in common with some of the most rural tribes in other countries. The way they live, how they eat, where they live, and what they value is completely different. This is just one small example of how the cultures of the world are extremely different. The gospel has value to all cultures because it speaks to the heart of man. It gives mankind significance and purpose that unites a body of believers from all cultures and races to be a light for Christ. You can call people from other cultures your brothers and sisters through Christ.
The same is true for generations. Living in the world today is so different than living in the world thousands of years ago… yet the gospel still is relevant today.  No matter where you live or when you live, the gospel proves true today.

Evil

Day 1- SATAN’S DELUSION

Many people turn from the Gospel because they can’t reconcile a loving God and an evil world. Again, you will just touch the surface of the answer to this question but hopefully this week’s study will provide a foundation for your defense of the gospel. First and foremost you must believe that God is a good God.
Read James 1:17. Do you believe that God is a good God?
The person who struggles with the presence of evil, struggles with a good God who would allow evil. The problem is that they define “good” from their perspective. We must define “good” from God’s perspective. To see God’s perspective, we need to start from the beginning – actually before the beginning. The prophet Isaiah was speaking a word against the king of Babylon, the future king who would defeat Israel. All of a sudden, the wording changes to describe a figure of someone who had far greater reach than the earthly king of Babylon. Things are said that we know are not true of the earthly King of Babylon. This passage is talking about Satan himself, before the world and mankind were created. This is how Satan sinned.
Read Isaiah 14:9-15
In verse 10-11, where is Satan destined?
The word “stars” in the OT represents angels. How is Satan described? Was he an angel?
In verse 13-14 what did Satan say he could do?
In verse 12 what happened to Satan? He was cut down to where?
Satan is delusional. He thought he could be better than the angels. Even worse, he thought he was better than God. Think through this today and we will pick up where we left off tomorrow.

Day 2- SATAN’S PRIDE

Ezekiel was another prophet in Israel. He spoke the Lord’s words and gives us another clue to Satan’s fall. Again, Ezekiel starts out the chapter talking about the prince of Tyre, an actual man who lived on earth. But the language changes again. Things are said of the King of Tyre that could not be true of one man.
Read Ezekiel 28:11-18
How is the “King of Tyre” described in verse 11? Has any man been described this way?
Read Romans 3:10 for a clue
What does verse 13 say that give us the big clue this is Satan?
Read verse 14, what was Satan and where did he dwell?
What did Satan do? What happened to him?
Satan was the “cherub who covers.” The Hebrew word for covers means “to guard.” No one, not even the smartest of theologians knows what this means, but it must have been very important position, one who sees God every day. Satan literally stood on the Holy Mountain of God, in His presence and thought He could be like God. It states again in verse 17, God cast Satan to the ground. The Bible tells us at this moment there was a mutiny in heaven. Revelation 12 gives a small summary of the history of what happened in the Bible. It uses symbolism to describe the events in history. It talks of a dragon and in Revelation 12:9 it explains this dragon is Satan. Read what it says Satan does.
Read Revelation 12:4. What did the dragon’s (Satan’s) tail do?
The mutiny in heaven was started by Satan’s pride but there were angels that chose to side with him instead of God. Most of the angels stayed with God, but a good number went with Satan. The next place Satan shows up is the Garden of Eden after God creates the earth and mankind. What have you learned about Satan?
Here is the final question for today. Think on this question and we will dig in deeper tomorrow. Here it is… Could God have destroyed Satan and the fallen angels right then and there? If so, why didn’t He?

GIVE IT A TRY!

If you want to dig deeper into questions like “Why Man” or “Why Evil”. A great read is: The Bigger Picture: Understanding the Story of The Bible by Tommy Nelson

Day 3- GOD’S PATIENCE

This mutiny in heaven happened before the earth was created. Satan made a pretty bold statement that he could be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:13-14) and even convinced a good number of angels to follow. This was a massive event in heaven. It would have been on the front page news… if heaven has such a thing. Satan’s pride and departure left a big question unanswered.
“Is God worthy to be praised, or can someone else be like Him?”
Yesterday you were asked the question, “Did God have the power to destroy Satan and his angels years ago?” If you believe God is all-powerful, then the answer is YES! If you read the gospels, Jesus defeats Satan on the cross. If you read the book of Revelation you will see Satan doesn’t have a good ending. So… why not save all the trouble and destroy him to begin with?
Read Psalm 145:3. What does this verse say?
Here are the reasons why God allowed evil to come into this world.
01 In this mutinous event the angelic realm was watching. There was a question that needed to be answered. If God had destroyed Satan, it would have been clear because God is all-powerful. But we would never know any of His other attributes. Just being “all-powerful” does not mean you are worthy to be praised. God created the earth, mankind and all that is in it to show all of who He is, prove He is worthy of praise, and show that no one is like Him.
02 God is good and worthy of being experienced. He would be a selfish God to not give life and show the goodness of who He is. One can’t experience all of who God is by being forced to do so. God allowed evil so mankind could have a choice. The good news is He also gave us a chance to overcome evil.
Read 2 Peter 3:9. Describe God’s heart.
Why does He allow evil for now? Are you glad He is patient?
Are you starting to see why God is allowing evil for a time?

Day 4- LET GOD JUDGE

God is a Holy God. He poured out His wrath on His Son, who took the sin of the world to the cross. His wrath can be avoided for any who wants to believe in Him. There will still be many who will not. Remember, they have a choice. A loving God cannot create robots that do not have a choice. He would be called a dictator or tyrant if this was true and God has not shown Himself to ever be these things. He also, because He is sinless, is the only one who has the right to judge. Humans do not have this right so we must leave all judgment to Him. Jesus tells a parable about this to His disciples.
Read Matthew 13:24-30
Who sowed the bad seed? What did the servants want to do?
What was the owner’s answer and why? What will the owner do?
Read Matthew 13:36-43. How Does Jesus explain this parable?
Jesus tells us the origin of evil is not from God, but instead an enemy. The owner’s workers ask, “Master did you not sow good seed in your field, how then does it have tares?” Jesus is addressing the “If you are a good God, why is their evil” question right here. He addresses it first by reminding His disciples that God does not sow evil. He allows it but He does not create it. He then lets them know they should not pull out the tares for fear they would accidentally pull out wheat. Tares are a weed that looks like wheat. It’s hard to tell them apart until they are full grown. Only God knows who is “good seed” and who is “bad seed.” Humans have a limited scope of who people are because they only see people in certain seasons of their life. God sees people in all seasons. He can tell the difference between good and evil so we should leave it up to Him.

Day 5- HE HAS ALREADY WON

Evil is a hard thing to experience and see. Sadly, people do evil things and even worse, there are people who have to suffer the consequences of the evil people’s actions. No one likes evil and no one should. I challenge you to take the reverse situation of the subject of evil. People get mad at God for allowing evil, but challenge them to think about it from the opposite view.
If God didn’t allow evil, this means He is a dictator instead of a loving God.
If God didn’t allow evil, He wouldn’t have the ability to prove He is worthy to be praised. We couldn’t look back throughout history to see His attributes.
If God didn’t allow evil, mankind would not be here.
If God didn’t allow evil, we would never know of God’s grace and mercy.
If God didn’t allow evil, humans would not be unique. Our life experiences in Christ grow us to be who He wants us to be.
Instead, we should rejoice in how God has already won the victory.
Read 1 John 3:8, Romans 8:28, and 2 Corinthians 12:9
What do these verses say God will do for us?
We always focus on the question “why evil?” If God just allowed evil and did nothing else, then we should have a problem. But we don’t have a problem because God solved the problem of evil by overcoming it. Instead of focusing on the existence of evil… focus on the God who can overcome it.

Heaven

Day 1- BELIEVE

Many people have many views on how you get to heaven. Be ready to have an answer to what the Bible says about eternal life.
Read Ephesians 2:8-10
How, according to this verse, do you not gain eternal life? Who determines this? This mindset seems great at first until you realize you would never, ever be confident and therefore never at peace. This belief gives man the definition of good instead of God. Man has never agreed on what is good and what is not, so this would bring confusion.
01 If you believe good works get you to heaven – Who determines what is enough? What if you go through a season where you are not doing good works? Who is keeping track? Again, this is life with no confidence and no peace. This belief gives credence to selfish ambition. Why look to God when it’s all on you?
02 If you believe there is no heaven, just death – We would live in a suicidal society more than we already are. This belief puts all stock into life on earth. Who would even want to believe this?
03 If you believe in heaven from a good God who gives eternal life through belief.  This gives hope, gives security, gives peace of mind and inspires thankfulness to the Giver.

Day 2- PRESENT WITH THE LORD

Heaven exists and the next few days are simply going to add Scripture to your “tool belt” to make a defense for heaven. There are many people who believe different things, but you must know what the Bible says.
Read 2 Corinthians 5:8. Where does the Bible say you go when you die?
Read Philippians 1:21-23
What does Paul say is better… living with Christ in eternity or living on earth?
Do you believe heaven will be better than life on earth? How are you living out this belief?

Day 3- A PLACE FOR YOU

Read John 14:2-4. What does Jesus promise He is doing for us?
Do you realize this is the same God who created the earth?
Do you trust His ability to create something awesome?
Colossians 3:2-4
What will happen to those who have hidden their life in Christ?
What should you do according to verse 2?

Day 4- STORY OF HEAVEN

In the midst of telling His disciples about parables, Jesus changes His wording. He had previously told all of the last few stories using general terms. This story uses actual names. If anyone other than God Himself had told it, we might have reason to question it. Since Jesus knows the things of heaven and has seen them we can trust the picture of heaven and hell given. You will have many questions and we will focus on the picture of hell next week. Today, just focus on what God wants to show you about heaven.
Read Luke 16:19-31. What is heaven like? Who was there?
Do you think we can recognize people in heaven? (Were people recognizable?)
What is between heaven and hell? What does “fixed chasm” mean?
Since there is a fixed chasm, can you do anything to get kicked out of heaven?

Day 5- YOUR FUTURE

God tells us that after Jesus returns, He will set up a new heaven and new earth where we will live with Him forever. Read about it and see if that is a place you would want to live.
Read Revelation Chapter 21-22
Write down the descriptions of what God will prepare for those who love Him.

Hell

Day 1- IT IS REAL

There are religions that base their entire theology on avoiding the existence of hell. Usually what happens is the person who forms the religion has a problem with hell and twists Scripture to make what they want come true.
Read 2 Timothy 4:3. What do people do according to this verse?
These people will challenge you by saying the Bible doesn’t say hell exists. You need to be ready with verses to show them the Bible speaks to hell’s existence.
Read Matthew 25:46. What does this verse say the righteous and the wicked go?
Read Luke 16:19-31. What happened to the rich man?
What was the place like where he was? Could He leave where he was? If not, according to this passage, why not? What did Jesus want Lazarus to go and do?
What was Abraham’s response?
I don’t want you to miss the end of this story. The rich man wanted Lazarus to be resurrected and go tell his family. Abraham told the rich man that his family had God’s Word (law and prophets is what an Israelite would have called it). Jesus is making it clear to His disciples that God’s Word is enough to convince a man to change from his ways. This is important for you to understand. No one who gets to hell will have a reason to blame God. The rich man knew his decisions were his doing so he wanted to warn his family to not make the same decision. God’s Word is enough for you to make a decision and He will give you enough time to turn to Him.
Re-read 2 Peter 3:9 again and memorize this verse.
Read Romans 1:20. Why are men without excuse? How can man see the truth of God?
We need to be sharing the gospel with people, but we must remember that God is able to reveal truth to a man, even if a missionary never gets to him.

Day 2- ETERNAL CHOICES

Read 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9
Who will God punish?
What will they be separated from?
Read Isaiah 59:2
What happens when you have sin?
Your choices on earth have eternal consequences. Sin will separate you from God forever if it is not covered in Jesus’ blood. He has already poured out His blood and will invite all men to be covered. But sadly, there will be men who choose not to accept His invitation to be covered. This earthly choice is on the person, not God.

Day 3- HOLY GOD

Read Psalm 145:20
What does this verse say the Lord will do for the righteous?
What will the Lord do for the wicked?
Many people have a problem with this verse but you must remember that God has provided a way for ALL to be righteous. God’s heart is for no one to experience His wrath. If you are struggling with this, stop right here and go back and spend more time on God’s attributes. You don’t want an unholy God who has tolerance for sin. If He has tolerance, then He cannot save you from sin and its destruction. You do want a holy God who is patient with sinners, and has provided a way to avoid it. Guess what, this is the God you serve!

GIVE IT A TRY!

Scaring someone into salvation is not a good defense of the gospel. Yes, the reality of hell is a truth that needs to be shared, but allow the goodness of God to shine through your message instead of the “fire and brimstone” scare tactic that doesn’t show fully who God is! Encourage people to choose God, not avoid hell. Read the story of Jesus with the woman at the well. He didn’t scare her to believe. He simply offered her living water. Read John 4:7-45

Day 4- IT’S MAN’S FAULT

Read Revelation 21:8. Who are the people listed who are destined for destruction?
There are many passages that list the character of a non-believer. Please do not make the mistake of misusing Scripture. All of the offenses listed above are forgivable. God is able to cover these sins. The Greek language used here are adjectives not verbs. If you have committed or are practicing these sins, there is hope for you. It is the people who persist in doing these sins in unbelief for all of their earthly life. These people who rejected the salvation of Jesus and chose to become these things for life… this is who God is speaking of. Only God knows the heart of a man and can make the true judgment. If you know someone like this and they are still alive… start praying instead of judging… there is still hope.
Read Romans 1:18-32. List out the choices an evil person makes to reject God.
What did they do in spite of knowing God? What did they profess of themselves?
What did they exchange God for?
In verse 26, does God show that He allows people to choose?
Do you think He wants people to choose evil? What ends up happening?
This passage is true for everyone who does not believe. Is their decision on God or on them?
When the topic of hell comes up, it’s so easy to point our finger at God and question Him. But we should be pointing our finger at our own sinful choices and thanking God for giving us a way out.

Day 5- WHICH FIRE DO YOU CHOOSE?

All man has sin, the Bible is clear about this. Jesus’ blood can cover any sin. It has paid sin’s price and there is no sin out of God’s ability to save. The Bible uses fire to describe God’s dealings with sin. The reality is that every man on earth will experience His fire. If you believe in Jesus you will experience God’s refining fire. Your sin is covered and you will avoid eternal punishment, but you will experience God purifying you of your sin so that you can be a light for Him on earth.
Read 1Peter 1:76-7. Why does God put you through the refiner’s fire?
Read Zechariah 13:9. What does God say He will do? What is the result?
The precious metal silver in its raw form is black because it’s filled with dross. The dross means “impurities.” A person who refines silver puts the silver in the fire and pulls it out. The fire removes the impurities. The refiner will do this until the impurities are gone and he can see his reflection. How does this life example explain how God refines those He loves? Is there something He is refining in you right now? How has He refined you?

Do You Believe?

Day 1- GOD CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS

We have barely touched the surface on how to defend your faith. Next month you will be asked to use what you know, what you have learned, and further search God’s Word to make your defense. It will stretch you and grow your faith as you prepare to share with others. It is important to really know what you believe. This week you are going to take the time to plant your feet in your belief. Remember, God will be adding to your knowledge as you grow so be okay to “start where you are” and with what He has shown you.
Read Matthew 17:20
God says if you have faith of a tiny mustard seed, He can move mountains in you.
Do you believe this to be true? Have you see God do this?
Do you believe God can do the impossible?

Day 2- FACING GIANTS

More than likely you will get to have a personal relationship with people who don’t know the Lord. The defense of your faith will be more conversations over time as you live life out in front of people who don’t know the Lord. You might face what seems to be a giant. Be reminded of how God used David to face a giant in opposition to God. God can use you to break up someone’s hardened heart in the most unlikely way.
Read 1 Samuel 17
What do you learn about David’s faith?
Did David have faith in what God could do?

Day 3- DO YOU CARE?

Read John 13:34-35
What does this verse say?
How has God loved you?
Are you willing to make sacrifices for people? Do you care for people?
Do you truly desire people to know the Lord or do you desire to prove yourself to be right?
To make a defense for your faith, you must truly have a heart for those who are lost. Think and pray about this today.

Day 4- GOD’S HALL OF FAITH

God gives us a “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. He tells what each person did “by faith” and what the results are for God’s Kingdom.
Read Hebrews 11. How can you be a part of God’s “Hall of Faith”?
Write some goals you have for your faith.

Day 5- HALL OF FAITH

Read Hebrews 11 again.
There are many people who took steps of faith that produced results in your life. Make God’s hall of faith for your life. List the people who God used to lead you to Him or grow you in Him. Write down what they did for you and how God used that in your life.

Coffee Talks Part 01

Day 1- I AM A BELIEVER

There are no verses listed for you to read but you will need to rely on God’s Word to help you shape your answer. For the next three weeks, pretend you are sitting down to coffee with someone. Each day, there will be a different question or statement that this person will make. These questions are written things many different people believe. Some of them are based on popular opinions and some are beliefs of different religions. The different religions won’t be mentioned because it doesn’t matter who believes what lie, it only matters if you know the truth to help them. Use what you have learned, search the Scriptures and do your best to:
01 Honor Christ as Lord
02 Give an answer for the reason in which you hope and
03 Defend your faith with gentleness and respect
Use Scripture as your foundation but also add in logic and reasoning or facts that can help your defense. Remember that there are real people who believe these things and more than likely you will encounter one or all of these questions. There will be no guidance this month. The reason why is because if you want to defend your faith, YOU MUST be able to search the Scriptures and use them to think for yourself. After you have written out your “defense,” feel free to gain insight from a resource and person whom you trust in the faith. Be sure and read the pop-up boxes this month. They will provide insight and encouragement to you as you prepare yourself to share and defend the good news of Jesus Christ. “I know you believe in God, but how do you know He really exists?

Day 2- EVIDENCE OF GOD’S EXISTENCE

“I’m an atheist and I believe there is no God. I believe God is something people make up to help them get through their life.”

Day 3- A LOVING GOD

“How can a loving God let bad things happen?”

DID YOU KNOW

There are many websites, books, churches, and teachers that profess to share truths about God but many of them are not teaching truth. How do you filter out the good and the bad? If it’s a church or organization, check out the “about us” tab on their website of the “what we believe” info. If it’s a person, just ask them what they believe. If it’s an author, do some research to find out churches or ministries they commit to and find out what those ministries believe. What should you be looking for? The goal is to “major in the majors” not knit pick over the minors. Here are the majors:
01 Do they believe in salvation in Jesus alone, not by works of man but through His virgin birth, sinless life, sacrificial death and resurrection?
02 Do they believe in the Trinity – God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit – and that they are all God?
03 Do they believe that God is the creator of all things?
04 Do they believe that the Bible is God’s actual words without error? (Churches mean this by saying “the Bible is the inerrant word of God”)
05 Do they believe in the inherent sin nature of all of mankind? (meaning all men are born in sin)

Day 4- A CARING GOD

“God knows nothing about me. He doesn’t care about me. He might be in control of the world, but He is too busy to be concerned about my life.”

Day 5- GOD THE CREATOR

“There is no way a divine being created the universe. It is clear the universe is millions of years old and animals and men are a product of evolution.”

Coffee Talks Part 02

Use what you have learned and write a response with a Bible verse referenced.

Day 1- JESUS THE SAVIOR

“I believe Jesus was a great guy, a wonderful teacher, and a great prophet but He is not a Savior.”

Day 2- JESUS IS GOD

“Jesus was the Son of God but He is not God Himself.”

Day 3- PEOPLE NEED JESUS

“Why do I need Jesus? My life is just fine the way it is.”

GIVE IT A TRY!

Most people want to start conversations with all the passages they disagree with. Most of the time it’s the verses the world views as controversial in the Bible. God promises that He will teach people (John 14:26) and convict sin (John 16:8). Why not change things up and avoid starting with what God says about certain topics and start with who He is. He says what He says because of who He is and if someone could learn about all His wonderful attributes and start to experience who He is, those controversial verses won’t be so offensive or controversial anymore because the Spirit will help them understand why God says them. Here is an example conversation:
“What do you believe about (Insert topic)?”
“Well, I do believe God says something about it, but I don’t feel it’s fair to start with what He says unless you know who He is. Do you have time for me to start there first?”

Day 4- YOUR INHERITANCE – HEAVEN

“I believe I am going to heaven because I am a good person.”

Day 5- EXISTENCE OF HELL

“I believe there is a heaven but I do not believe there is a hell.”

Coffee Talks Part 03

Use what you have learned and write a response with a Bible verse referenced.

Day 1- THE TRINITY

“I don’t believe in the trinity. I believe in God, but Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not God.”

Day 2- THE BIBLE’S RELEVANCE

“I believe the Bible is not relevant today like it was back then. Society is different and the Bible is simply just a sacred text that made sense back when it was written.”

Day 3- THE ONLY TRUTH

“The Bible is a great book but it is not the only thing that is true.”

Day 4- GOD’S WORD WITHOUT ERROR

“I believe since men wrote the Bible that it has errors. It seems to contradict itself.”

Day 5- THE LORD’S WILL, NOT MANKIND’S

“The Bible is a great book and people can interpret it in different ways that fit their own thoughts and life.”

DID YOU KNOW

There were times that Jesus withdrew when there was persecution and there were times He engaged it head on.  The same will be true for you. God will ask you to withdraw and in doing so you are not being weak. You are being like Christ, humble and being patient for God’s timing. Be prepared, God might not ask you to engage in that particular arena again. In other words, God might ask you to “move on.” Did you know that Jesus spent much of the first part of His ministry speaking and showing the Jewish nation about who He was? About half way through Jesus’ three years of ministry, God asked Jesus to focus on teaching His disciples who would proclaim the Gospel to the world. Yes, God’s plan for Jesus was to “move on.” The thing is, God was not moving on, but He was going to use Jesus in a different way. Many people from the nation of Israel came to know Jesus after His death and resurrection. So, how do you know whether to engage, withdraw, or move on? It’s simple: be still and listen to the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you. He will tell you what God wants you to do.

Coffee Talks Part 04

Use what you have learned and write a response with a Bible verse referenced.

Day 1- SIN IS DESTRUCTIVE

“Sin and rebellion are more fun.”

Day 2- GOD CREATED SEX

“Sexual experimentation is a good thing. It helps define who you are and helps you know who you are supposed to be with.”

Day 3- THE PURPOSE OF TRIALS

“My dad died of cancer because his faith wasn’t big enough so God didn’t heal him.”

DID YOU KNOW

Matthew 7:6 – Jesus uses an analogy to help His disciples to understand when to defend the gospel and when to walk away. He tells them not to give their pearls to swine. He is NOT calling non-believers pigs. He is using a known fact to help explain how He wanted any of His disciples, including you, to protect themselves and the truth that has been entrusted to them. Pigs will eat anything. They have no regard for anything valuable. God doesn’t want you to fight pointless battles. Don’t fight with your opponents just to fight. Picking your battles will help you protect the truth. Pursuing pointless battles will cause you to be a bad example of the truth. More than likely, the battle God will ask you to fight will be the one that drops into your lap due to a circumstance or a relationship built. If you follow Him, He will bring people to you. Social media is not a place to “pick fights.” Remember you want to make a difference, not a point. If you truly want to share or defend the Gospel, get out there and love people well and let God bring the battle to you. He knows when and what you are ready for more than you do.

Day 4- GOD IS THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS GOOD

“God is all about do’s and dont’s. He is the great cosmic killer of all things fun.”

Day 5- GOD, IN YOU, IS ENOUGH

“I am not good enough; I have done too many bad things for God to forgive me.”

CHECKPOINT #3

Great Job! Email us at checkpoint@kanakuk.com so we can keep track of your progress. In your email, please include:
First Name
Last Name
Kamp you attended last summer
K-1 K-2 K-Seven K-West K-Kountry
Kamp you plan on attending next summer
K-1 K-2 K-Seven K-West K-Kountry
Title of the Book
One thing you learned
Parent’s Name
At Kanakuk, we will honor everyone who has completed all 3 checkpoints at closing ceremonies
Checkpoint 3 of 3