Introduction for Teachers
This guide is meant for teachers. The first part of each lesson (Preparation, Introduction, and Key Doctrines) is also provided to the students. Your preparation should be built on this information, which the group already has.
The “Background for Teachers” section provides useful information to prepare yourself to teach the key doctrines and the related Bible verses. It also helps you to answer the questions in each lesson’s Preparation section. But these notes are a guideline, not a script. You are completely free to deviate from them if you deem it necessary, as long as you remain faithful to the text of Scripture.
The goals of this course are:
- To build sound biblical knowledge as our firm foundation. The rock on which we stand is the Word of God. Everything else in this course serves this goal.
- To build trust and confidence in one another, based on sharing the same belief and the same basis for that belief.
- To increase our knowledge of the Bible and therefore our knowledge of God, which strengthens our relationship with Him.
- To equip teachers to develop their own knowledge. With complete freedom in how you prepare, teach, and answer questions; both from the preparation material and the questions you expect from the group.
Although the course consists of 5 lessons, it is not necessary to teach and discuss every lesson in one session. Most topics give so much food for thought and discussion that they require multiple sessions to discuss every aspect. Depending on time pressure and the maturity of the group, it is up to the teacher to decide the timeline and the prioritization of subtopics.
Keep the Structure It is important to know the structure of the course. It is very tempting to answer questions or to explain topics that are being explained in future lessons. Topics are very overlapping, but each topic needs its own attention, and each topic is an attempt to give glory to God for His provisions on that topic. It is therefore very important to keep the structure in order to keep the lessons focused.
Lessons are built on top of each other. For example, lesson 4 on the “Inspiration of Scripture” is building on the previous 3 lessons and is the most comprehensive lesson in the course. Having to explain what was learned in the previous lessons would make the lesson very complex and confusing. When lesson 4 is built on the previous 3 lessons, it will help believers to have confidence in God’s Word and how to recognize false teachings.
Lesson 1: The Bible is God’s Word
Preparation
Along with this workbook you need a Bible and a journal or notebook from the message you hear.
Each lesson discusses a bible topic with the following goals:
- The topic is clearly explained with a robust biblical foundation.
- Questions from you or other participants about the topic are clearly answered.
To achieve these goals you need to prepare yourself for each course. To prepare yourself, you will receive the key doctrines and some of their related Bible verses, including one or more questions. These doctrines and Bible verses will be explained during the course, and the questions will be used for a group discussion.
To get the most out of the course it is important to read the preparation material and to pray and meditate on the questions and the Bible verses. Write down any other questions that arise so that we can discuss them in our group.
To help you study the first lesson, ask yourself this question as you read:
Question
The world offers many things that can make us feel better for a time: psychology, science, philosophy, entertainment, self-help. These are not necessarily evil, but they cannot change our nature. Human knowledge and human remedies have the goal to improve the old man, while the gospel kills him and raises him new.What is the difference between trying to improve your earthly live and believing that your old nature has been crucified with Christ?
And how would that difference show up in the way you respond to your own failures this week?
Introduction
In this lesson we are going to discuss the authority of God’s Word. We will base this lesson on Psalm 19:7-14.
The law of Yahweh is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of Yahweh is sure, making wise the simple.
Psalm 19:7 (LSB)
Key Doctrines
Inerrancy of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17) The Bible is without error in the original manuscripts and is entirely trustworthy in all its teachings.
Background for Teachers
Lesson 1 establishes the foundation for the entire course: the Bible is God’s Word. Every subsequent lesson builds on this truth. If Scripture is not God’s Word, then nothing else in this course matters. But if it is, then everything else follows.
The lesson is organized around four topics:
- The Two Kinds of Change — What the world offers versus what God does.
- Why Only God Can Save the Soul — The Creator alone can recreate.
- The Living and Active Word — Scripture is not passive information; it is the instrument of transformation.
- The Gospel Kills and Raises — The old nature is not improved; it is crucified and replaced.
Topic 1: The Two Kinds of Change
The world offers countless means of temporary relief, temporary happiness, and temporary improvement. Psychology, science, philosophy, entertainment, self-help, and countless other pursuits can genuinely make us feel better for a time. They can change our circumstances, improve our mood, or help us cope with life’s challenges. But they cannot change our nature. They cannot make us new.
The Scripture is clear that these things are not inherently evil. Common grace allows even unbelievers to benefit from psychological insights, scientific discoveries, and philosophical wisdom. But these things operate on the surface. They can rearrange the furniture of our lives, but they cannot rebuild the house.
However, only God can save the soul.
A Helpful Distinction The world can rearrange your chains. Only God can set you free.
There are two kinds of change. The first is external. It adjusts circumstances, manages symptoms, and improves behavior. The second is internal. It transforms the heart, renews the mind, and creates a new nature. The first is common grace. The second is saving grace. Both are real, but only one is the gospel.
Discussion
Have you ever confused the two? Have you ever treated a change in circumstances as if it were a change of heart? The world’s solutions are not evil, but they are not salvation. They can make you feel better. They cannot make you new.
Topic 2: Why Only God Can Save the Soul
Because God Alone is the Creator of the Soul
Only the One who made the soul can remake it. A psychologist can help you understand your thoughts. A philosopher can help you clarify your values. A scientist can help you understand your brain chemistry. But only God can give you a new heart. Only God can breathe new life into a dead soul.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:26 (LSB)
This is not self-improvement. This is resurrection. It is the act of a Creator, not the work of a creature.
Because God Alone Has the Power to Save
Psychology can help you understand your past. It cannot forgive your sins. Philosophy can help you think more clearly. It cannot cleanse your conscience. Science can extend your life. It cannot give you eternal life. Entertainment can distract you from your problems. It cannot reconcile you to God.
Only God can forgive sins. Only God can declare you righteous for the sake of Christ. Only God can remove the guilt that separates you from Him. The gospel is not a technique for living better. It is the announcement that God has done for us what we could never do for ourselves.
Discussion
The world can offer you help. God offers you Himself. The world can offer you a better life. God offers you eternal life. The world can change your circumstances. God changes you. Which of these are you actually seeking?
Topic 3: The Living and Active Word
The Bible is not merely a book of helpful advice. It is the living Word of the living God. It does not just inform us; it transforms us. It does not just tell us what to do; it gives us the power to do it.
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 (LSB)
The world’s wisdom is passive. It sits on the page. It can be studied or ignored. But the Word of God is alive. It speaks to us. It confronts us. It comforts us. It changes us. When the Spirit of God takes the Word of God and applies it to the heart of a person, that person is never the same again.
Why This Matters
This is why reading the Bible is not like reading any other book. You are not merely gathering information. You are placing yourself before the living God, who speaks through His Word by His Spirit.
Discussion
When you open your Bible, what do you expect to happen? Do you expect to learn something, or do you expect to encounter the living God? The difference between those two expectations is the difference between study and worship.
Topic 4: The Gospel Kills and Raises
Every worldly system of change tries to improve the old man. It tries to make the flesh a little better, a little kinder, a little more disciplined. But the Bible does not tell us to improve the old man. It tells us that the old man has been crucified with Christ. The old nature is not reformed. It is killed. It is not improved. It is replaced.
I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20 (LSB)
This is not a self-help program. It is a resurrection. The person you were is dead. The person you are is new. This is not the kind of change that any psychologist, philosopher, or scientist can produce.
Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
Proverbs 30:5 (LSB)
The Danger of Self-Improvement
The most subtle form of unbelief is not open rebellion. It is the attempt to improve what God has already condemned. The old nature cannot be reformed. It must be crucified. If you are trying to make the old man better instead of trusting that he has been put to death with Christ, you are building on the wrong foundation.
Discussion
When you fail, what is your first instinct? Do you try harder, or do you run to Christ? The answer reveals whether you are still trying to improve the old man or whether you have truly believed that he has been crucified with him.
A Pastoral Note
When you feel burdened by your sin, the world will tell you to try harder. It will tell you to focus on your strengths. It will tell you to forgive yourself. But none of these things address the actual problem. The problem is not that you need to try harder. The problem is that you need a Savior. The problem is not that you need to forgive yourself. The problem is that you need to be forgiven by God. The problem is not that you need to believe in yourself. The problem is that you need to believe in the One who died for you.
When you are grieving, the world will tell you to move on. It will tell you to find closure. It will tell you to focus on the good memories. But these things may provide temporary comfort. They cannot heal the wound. Only the God who is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort can heal the brokenhearted. Only the Word of God can give hope in the face of death.
The difference between the world’s solutions and God’s solution is the difference between life and death. The world can offer you help. God offers you Himself. The world can offer you a better life. God offers you eternal life. The world can change your circumstances. God changes you.
The world can rearrange your chains. Only God can set you free.
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:36 (LSB)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (LSB)