01: The Uniqueness of the Bible – Discussion Starters
- Welcome to the Bible! Every day people around the world open the Bible and read God’s word. As a reader of this brief introduction to a study of the Bible, you are joining Bible readers everywhere. But what a difference there is in how the Bible is read and how it becomes part of a person’s life, if indeed it does. Start up a conversation with someone about the Bible and if you’re not careful you can end up in an argument that can end your friendship with that person because people have very different ideas about what the Bible teaches. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105, NKJV). Can we believe that and take it with us wherever
we are as we study God’s Word? - Moses’ last song. How can a man dying of old age burst forth with a song? We are fortunate to be able to read and even set to music the final words of Moses, the great leader of God’s people. The feet of the Israelite nation are about to enter the Promised Land. It’s time for us to see the destruction of human life from microscopic insects descending on us and ask ourselves if we can conquer the deadly nature of sin itself but not the horrible destruction of human life by deadly viruses. Today, death and destruction are descending on us in the form of microscopic insects armed with deadly disease. Is there a day coming when mankind will face eternal death spurred on them, not from deadly insects but from the spirit of the evil one? Are you ready to sing your last song and make it an invitation to life eternal?
- Who wrote the Bible and where? What was the background for each of the following Bible writers? Moses, Amos, Jeremiah, Daniel, Matthew, Paul, and John. Imagine receiving an invitation to a camp meeting featuring each of these men telling how they became part of God’s preaching army. What do all of these famous Bible writers have in common? Do they agree with each other in every important way? Your lesson states that God created human language. What has Satan done with this gift from God? How do people chosen to be preachers, prophets, singers, teachers, and leaders obtain the power they need to serve as God’s representatives? How is it possible for God’s word to be twisted and buried in falsehood?
- The Bible as prophecy. How many direct prophecies are found in the Old Testament predicting the coming of the Messiah? Scroll down through the list included in the lesson guide and select those prophecies that have meant the most to you spiritually. Or choose the prophetic lessons that contain the most marvelous lessons to you in your walk with Jesus. Talk to a friend or to church members in your Sabbath school about what the Bible predicts for the future, beginning in Genesis and concluding with Revelation. How eager are you to see with your own eyes the power of the final resurrection? What would the Christian faith be missing if we didn’t have the Second Coming in our future vision?
- The transforming power of the Word. Why does 25-year-old King Josiah reach for the clothes he is wearing and tear them? What wisdom and insight does he suddenly possess to understand the desperate situation God’s people have allowed them to take for their own? If your church pastor banged a shoe against the microphone, would the congregation begin paying closer attention to what he is preaching? Instead of that, what verses from Scripture could you ask for your pastor to share with the congregation that would direct them to a closer walk with God and a deeper understanding of His word?
Gods word. What would we do without his guidance and true examples utilized to bring it to life. Let’s look at Daniel, Moses, and even Adam and Eve. All of these stories provide us with significant guidance and a strong path in his word and steps for his people to choose good for evil. We must take the word, read it, and apply it to our daily lives. We will see his works and blessings in us. Amen.