Christianity 101: Building a Firm FoundationSample

The Ultimate Guidebook…

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV

To maximize any excursion, the right Guidebook written by an expert is beyond helpful. It is an understatement to say that God, who tenderly and intimately created us, knows exactly how we are to journey through our broken and fallen world.

The Bible is the Jesus Follower’s Guidebook. No one should leave home without it. It is the Christian’s compass, GPS—Guided and Powered by the Spirit—and ultimate resource book.

This Book not only speaks of life, but it also breathes life into those who read it. It is the believer’s playbook, game plan, battle plan, etiquette book, medicine bag, flashlight, feast basket, and treasure map. It acts as a financial advisor, marriage and family counselor, primary care physician, and personal assistant. It provides instructions for navigating triumph and tragedy, celebrating victory and recovering from defeat, and moving us forward in success and loss. It can perform heart surgery and heal the mind and body.

It is imperative for us to read, study, and meditate on God’s Word. Carefully considering it, applying it to our lives, and acting upon its directives. It is a book like no other. Let’s discover why it is so important to us as believers.

The Word of God is a divine library of 66 books written by approximately 35-50 authors under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration. It has withstood the test of millennia, influencing and transforming countless lives throughout the ages.

The name, Bible, comes directly from the Greek word, Biblios, meaning a book. Meticulously recorded and copied by ancient scribes, there are two major sections: the Old Testament (OT), written in Hebrew, and the New Testament (NT), written primarily in Greek. The dividing point of these two sections is the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. This Book contains seven general genres: The Law, History, Wisdom and Poetry, and the Prophets in the OT. We discover the Gospels, Letters, and the Grand Revelation in the NT.

God’s Word is a living Book. The words on its pages are the very life breath of God—the Holy Spirit—breathing wholeness, salvation, deliverance, guidance, and healing for the whole person—body, soul, and spirit. It is the Lord’s predominant avenue of communication. Yes, He can use anything to speak to us, but the Bible is the litmus test for what His voice sounds like and what He has to say (James 3:15-17).

Ultimately, God’s written Word reveals the Living Word—the Lord Jesus Christ.

• What does it mean for you that the Bible is God-breathed, 2 Timothy 3:16-17?
• God’s Word is powerful. What do you learn from Isaiah 55:10-11?
• Ponder Psalm 119:105. What touches your heart regarding the Bible’s ability to guide us?
• How are you encouraged that God’s Word is alive, Hebrews 4:12-13?
• What speaks to you, knowing that Jesus is the Living Word of God, John 1:1-14?