Islam's Biggest Problem: The Gospels
Memory Verse:
'I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. '- John 15:5
Sermon Sentence: The Bible is without error and cannot fail in its presentation of truth and therefore must only be accepted in its entirety.
'I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. '- John 15:5
Sermon Sentence: The Bible is without error and cannot fail in its presentation of truth and therefore must only be accepted in its entirety.
Day 1
Read John 17:1-19
If you are fair and open to a good discussion, you can concede that John 17 is a really odd chapter displaying a really odd thing. Many people have gone to this chapter to disprove the Trinity and the reliability of the Bible, but I think it actually is a set of nails in the coffin that are those two arguments.
This is where the dilemma comes in: Jesus, who we claim to be God…is praying to God. So is He talking to Himself or what in the world is going on here?! That’s a fair question and I think we will spend some time unpacking that in the next sermon in this series, but for now, we need to ask a bigger question. Doesn’t Jesus clearly make the connection between what He teaches to the disciples and what God’s words are, and that we have the truth even today in its complete and uncorrupted totality? That is a BIG question! If you believe there is a truth, you also surely have to believe there is a way to get to that truth. How absurd would it be to require a truth with which we will all be guided and judged by but then land in a place of thinking there is no access to that truth anymore? How discouraging to believe that there is a way that is perfect and good for all people at all times, but at this time we do not have an ability to know it?
I believe that if Truth is powerful enough to be true, then it is also powerful enough to be preserved and kept. It is not hidden, but rather accessible and ready to be understood. This is what Jesus was praying for in John 17:17. God is the keeper of Truth. Truth is still accessible and has not been corrupted. Jesus is the key to that Truth.
Do you think a god that declared life to be what it is, then allowed the truth in that life to be hidden or corrupted, would be a good god? Why or why not?
Why is truth more important than a distortion of truth, half truth, or a lie?
How is the Bible Truth?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
If you are fair and open to a good discussion, you can concede that John 17 is a really odd chapter displaying a really odd thing. Many people have gone to this chapter to disprove the Trinity and the reliability of the Bible, but I think it actually is a set of nails in the coffin that are those two arguments.
This is where the dilemma comes in: Jesus, who we claim to be God…is praying to God. So is He talking to Himself or what in the world is going on here?! That’s a fair question and I think we will spend some time unpacking that in the next sermon in this series, but for now, we need to ask a bigger question. Doesn’t Jesus clearly make the connection between what He teaches to the disciples and what God’s words are, and that we have the truth even today in its complete and uncorrupted totality? That is a BIG question! If you believe there is a truth, you also surely have to believe there is a way to get to that truth. How absurd would it be to require a truth with which we will all be guided and judged by but then land in a place of thinking there is no access to that truth anymore? How discouraging to believe that there is a way that is perfect and good for all people at all times, but at this time we do not have an ability to know it?
I believe that if Truth is powerful enough to be true, then it is also powerful enough to be preserved and kept. It is not hidden, but rather accessible and ready to be understood. This is what Jesus was praying for in John 17:17. God is the keeper of Truth. Truth is still accessible and has not been corrupted. Jesus is the key to that Truth.
Do you think a god that declared life to be what it is, then allowed the truth in that life to be hidden or corrupted, would be a good god? Why or why not?
Why is truth more important than a distortion of truth, half truth, or a lie?
How is the Bible Truth?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 2
Read Psalm 119:1-16
Two of the greatest things that happen in reading the Bible as the Truth, is that it reveals to us first and foremost, who God is, and then after that, who we are. If you understand how those two ideas correlate, you would realize that is not two different things so much as it is one motion. The reason that we do not accept another set of books as truth the way that we accept the Bible is because if we believe that God can be known, wants to be known, and invites us to know Him, then we surely get that He would also very much be interested in protecting who He is.
Have you ever watched those movies where a guy falls in love with a girl and the guy has been lying about something about who he really is and the whole conflict of the movie is the struggle between the dishonesty and the result of the love? Even though most of those movies are terrible stories, the point is illustrated for our thought here. If God is interested in being known, because He is the source and giver of life, surely we get why it would be incredibly important to be specific and direct about who He actually is. We would also see the power that one could steal by declaring to have a new or different version of a revelation about who God is.
In this Psalm, I see the idea presented of the Psalmists seeking God, storing up His words, delighting in his teachings, meditating on them, declaring them, and not turning away from them. There are a lot of lessons in that for me to pay attention to.
How do you see yourself as a reader and studier of the words of God as illustrated in the 6 ways above?
What do you think it looks like to become more like the Psalmists with God’s word for you personally?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Two of the greatest things that happen in reading the Bible as the Truth, is that it reveals to us first and foremost, who God is, and then after that, who we are. If you understand how those two ideas correlate, you would realize that is not two different things so much as it is one motion. The reason that we do not accept another set of books as truth the way that we accept the Bible is because if we believe that God can be known, wants to be known, and invites us to know Him, then we surely get that He would also very much be interested in protecting who He is.
Have you ever watched those movies where a guy falls in love with a girl and the guy has been lying about something about who he really is and the whole conflict of the movie is the struggle between the dishonesty and the result of the love? Even though most of those movies are terrible stories, the point is illustrated for our thought here. If God is interested in being known, because He is the source and giver of life, surely we get why it would be incredibly important to be specific and direct about who He actually is. We would also see the power that one could steal by declaring to have a new or different version of a revelation about who God is.
In this Psalm, I see the idea presented of the Psalmists seeking God, storing up His words, delighting in his teachings, meditating on them, declaring them, and not turning away from them. There are a lot of lessons in that for me to pay attention to.
How do you see yourself as a reader and studier of the words of God as illustrated in the 6 ways above?
What do you think it looks like to become more like the Psalmists with God’s word for you personally?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 3
Read Psalm 119:33-48
When I was preparing these devotions, I had this section picked out. My plan was to write here about the idea of the text and share something about all of the verses. I got stuck on verse 36. I have never put those two thoughts together properly. Have you? Break down the two parts here:
The whole story of the Bible wraps up in that comparison! It’s the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad all over again. You can have the wisdom that comes from the world, or you can suspend that and have in its place the wisdom that God desires to give you. If I take of the wisdom from the world, I will notice the good that it is to look at and the mass amounts of benefits that I could convince myself of, because I am full of desires! But my one and only true desire, which God is fully aware of, is fulfilled only in the wisdom that is from God.
To wrap it together for our study here, if there is a Truth that is greater and grander and more true than all of the other versions, and if this world was created for me, and if I have a purpose and a belonging in this whole thing, then surely I can see that my desires that keep getting in the way of a life that is flourishing are not what are worth spending all of my time, money, and efforts on. To quote a song: I was made for more.
Spend some time with verse 37 and look at its two parts and how they apply to you.
Verse 42 talks of the writer being taunted and God’s word being the answer to deal with that. When is a time in your life that verse would be applicable and how does it help you?
How does this become your prayer today?
When I was preparing these devotions, I had this section picked out. My plan was to write here about the idea of the text and share something about all of the verses. I got stuck on verse 36. I have never put those two thoughts together properly. Have you? Break down the two parts here:
- Incline my heart to your testimonies.
- And not to selfish gain.
The whole story of the Bible wraps up in that comparison! It’s the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad all over again. You can have the wisdom that comes from the world, or you can suspend that and have in its place the wisdom that God desires to give you. If I take of the wisdom from the world, I will notice the good that it is to look at and the mass amounts of benefits that I could convince myself of, because I am full of desires! But my one and only true desire, which God is fully aware of, is fulfilled only in the wisdom that is from God.
To wrap it together for our study here, if there is a Truth that is greater and grander and more true than all of the other versions, and if this world was created for me, and if I have a purpose and a belonging in this whole thing, then surely I can see that my desires that keep getting in the way of a life that is flourishing are not what are worth spending all of my time, money, and efforts on. To quote a song: I was made for more.
Spend some time with verse 37 and look at its two parts and how they apply to you.
Verse 42 talks of the writer being taunted and God’s word being the answer to deal with that. When is a time in your life that verse would be applicable and how does it help you?
How does this become your prayer today?
Day 4
Read Psalm 119:49-64
If you are self aware, there is a moment you come to where you will find yourself protecting yourself from those that you have thought were dangerous. Maybe they are dangerous. But there are also times when we just feel attacked or challenged in a way that is not easy to explain, but is certainly real in the sense that it is taking your attention and focus and causing you to turn in. When I am expecting to be hurt or hit, I have a quicker tendency to flinch. Emotionally this looks like me reacting out of anger faster than I would normally do and avoiding people that I would expect to be hit or hurt by. To be clear, this thought should be approached in a much different way to the person that is actually being hit or hurt, but I am not referring to that in this moment. I am referring to those times that my mind lies to me. Or maybe lying to me is too strong of an idea for this, but it surely gets hyper focused on a someone that is making me feel threatened.
In our example here, I have started to believe the lies. Not all lies are the opposite of truth, some of them just anticipate a reality that is not on the horizon. You may not call that a lie, and I understand what you mean. My point here is simply that I felt all of this was a good thought to travel down when I was reading this passage. He talked of affliction and needing comfort. He talked of the insolent deriding him. Then he concluded on the truth of the words of God as opposed to the stirrings brought up in those thoughts and feelings we just looked at. I could certainly see the help in meditating on these words.
How have you experienced the perceived danger or the expectation of hurt around other people lately?
How have you handled the feelings and the tendency to retract emotionally or to hide personally?
How does God’s words help with this in your life right now?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
If you are self aware, there is a moment you come to where you will find yourself protecting yourself from those that you have thought were dangerous. Maybe they are dangerous. But there are also times when we just feel attacked or challenged in a way that is not easy to explain, but is certainly real in the sense that it is taking your attention and focus and causing you to turn in. When I am expecting to be hurt or hit, I have a quicker tendency to flinch. Emotionally this looks like me reacting out of anger faster than I would normally do and avoiding people that I would expect to be hit or hurt by. To be clear, this thought should be approached in a much different way to the person that is actually being hit or hurt, but I am not referring to that in this moment. I am referring to those times that my mind lies to me. Or maybe lying to me is too strong of an idea for this, but it surely gets hyper focused on a someone that is making me feel threatened.
In our example here, I have started to believe the lies. Not all lies are the opposite of truth, some of them just anticipate a reality that is not on the horizon. You may not call that a lie, and I understand what you mean. My point here is simply that I felt all of this was a good thought to travel down when I was reading this passage. He talked of affliction and needing comfort. He talked of the insolent deriding him. Then he concluded on the truth of the words of God as opposed to the stirrings brought up in those thoughts and feelings we just looked at. I could certainly see the help in meditating on these words.
How have you experienced the perceived danger or the expectation of hurt around other people lately?
How have you handled the feelings and the tendency to retract emotionally or to hide personally?
How does God’s words help with this in your life right now?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read Psalm 119:65-80
I can remember coming home from school and thinking about how much of my life and time is spent in that stupid place! That is what every single kid thinks, right? It is part of the reason that I am blown away at people my age thinking about returning to school and giving it a different go. I did well enough in school, but I never enjoyed it. The way I viewed it was to do my time and then it would be behind me. That was a pretty significant section of my life. It was pretty consuming from that time and age, but now, in consideration of the many, many years out of school, it seems like I was overreacting! I have actually been out of school longer than I was in school at this age! Oddly enough, I would also tend to say that I have learned more outside of school than I did in school. Whether or not that is true or feelings, I guess can’t really be measured. They say you never stop learning and I have certainly experienced that. I also am totally pro-school for my kids, even at this stage of life!
Have you ever approached the word of God with this idea as your prayer? Verse 66 is what brought all of these thoughts to my mind. Even at this stage in my life, with all of the book learning and all of the real life experience, I pray for “good judgement and knowledge” from God. Never will I not need those things. I have not learned enough from God’s word. I am incapable of coasting on the judgement that I have collected thus far. I need to go back to the well that is God’s word. I don’t graduate. I won’t reach the end. I shouldn’t stop learning.
How have you grown in knowledge and good judgement from God’s word lately?
What do you need to do this week to continue growing and understanding?
How does this become your prayer today?
I can remember coming home from school and thinking about how much of my life and time is spent in that stupid place! That is what every single kid thinks, right? It is part of the reason that I am blown away at people my age thinking about returning to school and giving it a different go. I did well enough in school, but I never enjoyed it. The way I viewed it was to do my time and then it would be behind me. That was a pretty significant section of my life. It was pretty consuming from that time and age, but now, in consideration of the many, many years out of school, it seems like I was overreacting! I have actually been out of school longer than I was in school at this age! Oddly enough, I would also tend to say that I have learned more outside of school than I did in school. Whether or not that is true or feelings, I guess can’t really be measured. They say you never stop learning and I have certainly experienced that. I also am totally pro-school for my kids, even at this stage of life!
Have you ever approached the word of God with this idea as your prayer? Verse 66 is what brought all of these thoughts to my mind. Even at this stage in my life, with all of the book learning and all of the real life experience, I pray for “good judgement and knowledge” from God. Never will I not need those things. I have not learned enough from God’s word. I am incapable of coasting on the judgement that I have collected thus far. I need to go back to the well that is God’s word. I don’t graduate. I won’t reach the end. I shouldn’t stop learning.
How have you grown in knowledge and good judgement from God’s word lately?
What do you need to do this week to continue growing and understanding?
How does this become your prayer today?
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