How Will We Know?Acts 8:26-38, Romans 10:14-15 and 2

Timothy 3:14-17

ConjectureOpinionGossip

Did you hear?How will we know?

We have to go to the original sourceAnything less is questionable

That is why we open and read the bibleWe have to know God’s word for

ourselves

Romans 10:14-1514 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

We have the Good NewsWe have the temple, the bible and

the preachingHow will we know God’s Word?

We have to read the bible

Sometimes reading is not enoughWe may read and not understand

Acts 8:26-3827 …This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.

30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35

Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

There is a reason we study together

To better understandTo learn from each other

To share how God works within us

2 Timothy 3:14-1714 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

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

Some of us have been entrusted with this responsibility of teaching

I was prepared for this taskMany are teaching around the world

Others will follow us

A taste of why biblical knowledge is importantThis week in the newsWas Jesus Married?

Papyrus from the fourth centuryFrom a Gnostic writer

Secret knowledgeFlesh is evil

Jesus appeared to be humanMany Gnostics believed Jesus was a

false prophetJohn the Baptist was the true prophet

1 Timothy 6:20-2120 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.

We read our bibles…Not looking for hidden messagesLooking for the many ways God

loves usSeeing how God wants us to live

our livesTrying to understand our culture

and ourselves in relationship to God

We have to read the bibleSometimes reading is not enoughWe do not understand parts of the bible Therefore we study togetherSome of us have been entrusted with this responsibility of teachingLooking for the many ways God loves usHow God wants us to live our livesUnderstanding our culture and ourselves in relationship to God

Therefore…We are going to take the next three years

to read through and study the bibleI want to invite you to read the whole bible

An average of 6 to 8 chapters weeklyWe will look at those chapters each Sunday

We will not get bogged down in details but look at the big picture

We will not ignore major or important themes

You will know ahead of time what book and chapters we will study

each weekBring your bible or note book

Conjecture, opinion or gossipHow will we truly know?

Because we will open our bibles and study them together

We are the Federated Church.Our Mission is to…

Seek Christ, Serve Christ and Share Christ.