Continued from Lesson 1

                                          i.    Spiritual Development/Discipleship

1.     Creation, Fall, Salvation, Sanctification, Glorification

a.     Rom. 1-8

b.    Rom. 12:1-2 – be transformed by the renewing of your mind

c.     Rom:12-16

2.     Apologetics Required for Church Leadership

a.     1 Tim. 3:2 – able to teach

b.    1 Tim. 4:6 – follow sound doctrine

c.     2 Tim. 1:13 – retain the standard of sound words

d.    2. Tim 2:25 – correct those in opposition

e.     Titus 1:9 – hold fast to the faithful word, exhort in sound doctrine, refute those who contradict it

b.    Biblical Reasons

                                          i.    Biblical Heroes Role Modeled It

1.     Moses

a.     Proved his calling to the Israelites by telling them God’s name, making his staff a snake and back again, and by making his hand leprous and then well again (Exodus 3)

b.    Proved that Israel’s God was with him and that He was superior to Pharaoh and the Egyptian Gods through the giving or miracles (Ex. 5-14)

c.     Proved his superior calling to Miriam and Aaron through turning Miriam leprous and then healing her (Num. 12)

2.     Elijah proved he was true prophet of true God over the false prophets of false god Baal (1 Kings 18)

3.     Isaiah announces that God is true and not idols through prophesy (Isa. 41:21-26)

4.     Luke

a.     (Luke 1:1-4) investigated so we would know the exact truth

b.    Acts 1:3 – Jesus presented Himself alive by many convincing proofs

5.     Paul

a.     Paul understood as his calling defending and confirming the gospel (Phil. 1:7-11)

b.    To the Jews, Paul reasoned from the Scriptures (Acts 17:1-3)

c.     To the pagans, Paul appealed to their religious impulses (Acts 17:16-34)

d.    In his epistles to the church, he repeatedly urged them to hold to sound doctrine

6.     Peter

a.     Instructs that we are to be ready to give the reason for the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15)

b.    Expresses that their testimony is not fictional since they witnessed Jesus’ majesty

                                         ii.    Trinity Role Modeled It

1.     God the Father

a.     Proves His existence through Creation (Rom. 1:20)

b.    Proves His existence through provision of needs (Rom. 14:17)

c.     Proves His existence through conscience (Rom. 2:14-16)

2.     Jesus

a.     Proved His identity to John the Baptist’s disciples by pointing to his miracle and preaching (Matt. 11:4-5)

b.    Proved His authority to forgive sins to scribes by healing paralytic (Mark 2:10-11)

c.     Proved His identity as Messiah by dying on the cross and resurrecting from the dead (Isa. 53)

3.     God the Holy Spirit proves His existence by convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 17:16-11)

c.     Application

                                          i.    Our most recent Sunday School class was a study on “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat”

1.     If Christianity isn’t true, then we should never ever get out of the boat

2.     Jesus tells us in Matt. 6:25-7:34 that we should seek first for the Kingdom of God

II.            Class 1 Review

a.     Class Preliminaries

                                          i.    Class outlines posted www.xanga.com/MikeKoz10

                                         ii.    Email questions to
MikeKoz10@hotmail.com

                                        iii.    Prayer sheet

1.     Include spiritual items

2.     Include apologetic opportunities

                                        iv.    Let me know if I speak too quickly

b.    Class Objectives

                                          i.    Spiritual formation

                                         ii.    Learn, explain and defend basic reasons why Christianity is true

                                        iii.    Provide framework for future study

1.     Truth Decay by Douglass Groothuis

2.     Is Your Church Ready?  Edited by Norm Geisler and Ravi Zacharias

c.     Why Do Apologetics?

                                          i.    Theological Reasons

1.     Worship God

2.     Purity in Doctrine

3.     Evangelism

4.     Engaging the Culture

5.     Spiritual Formation

6.     Why Do Apologetics

                                         ii.    Biblical Reasons

1.     Biblical Heroes Role Modeled It

2.     God Role Modeled It

III.           Class 2: Truth

a.     What is Truth?

                                          i.    What works?

1.     Pragmatism

2.     I prayed and God answered my prayer.

                                         ii.    What I intended?

1.     Sincerity

2.     I honestly believe that Jesus is the Son of God

                                        iii.    What matters to me?

1.     Existentialism or Relevance

2.     I’d be lost without my Bible

                                        iv.    What feels good?

1.     Subjectivism

2.     I just feel so wonderful when I sing praises to God

                                         v.    What is Truth?

1.     Problem with Pragmatism

2.     Sometimes lying works

3.     Finding relief in drugs (or any idol)

                                        vi.    Problem with Your Intentions/Sincerity

1.     Can be sincerely wrong

2.     Can overstate our level of sincerity

                                       vii.    Problem with Relevance

1.     What matters may come from sinfulness

2.     Universalism

                                      viii.    Problem with Feelings

1.     Atheism can give feelings of liberation

2.     Ravi question about God not existing

b.    What is Truth?

                                          i.    Truth is Reality - A true statement corresponds  to reality

                                         ii.    Correspondence

                                        iii.    Tells it like it is

c.     Truth is:

                                          i.    Absolute

                                         ii.    Objective

                                        iii.    Universal

                                        iv.    Unchanging

                                         v.    Discovered (ie. not invented)

To Be Continued