This Thursday will be the second week to a three week series discussing evidential arguments for the existence of God. This week we will examine the moral argument. William Lane Craig describes the moral argument in an article titled “Five Arguments for God” as followed:

1. If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist.

2. Objective moral values and duties do exist.

3. Therefore, God exists

The moral argument proposes that since there is morality or a universal belief of right and wrong then there must be a universal moral giver. Furthermore, morality is presented in the form of commands, do this or don’t do that. Therefore, commands depend on a commander and Christians refer to that commander as God.

I’m looking forward to another great Thursday night discussing deep and relevant Christian issues.

Hope to see you there!

-Phil

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Doctrinal Standard WSC #3

Q. What does the bible primarily teach?
A. The Bible primarily teaches what man must believe about God and what God requires of man.

Scripture Memory “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16, ESV)

Insight

It is through the scriptures that God has spoken and revealed His will to mankind. It is our responsibility, through the help of the Holy Spirit, to study and understand the scriptures. The Bible was given by God to reveal truths about Him that could not be concluded from studying creation. Furthermore, scripture was given to make us wise for salvation, instruct us on how to live a life pleasing to God, correct our misunderstandings about mankind and God, and to rebuke us of our sinful actions.

What does God require of man? God requires man to realize that his greatest efforts of righteousness are like dirty rags before God. Man must trust in Jesus Christ’s death as a substitute for the punishment He deserves for his sins. Once the righteousness of Christ is placed on man, man must walk in obedience to the commands of the Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit.

G.I. Williamson in his book “The Westminster Shorter Catechesim” mentions that catechism questions 4-38 teaches what we must believe about God while questions 39-107 teach what God requires of man.

Discussion Questions

• Why must we study scripture?
• What would be the result of misunderstanding the truths about God or mankind?
• Are there any other sources of truth about God or mankind?
• Does God accept ignorance as a reasonable excuse for not knowing scripture?
• How does the Bible apply to everyday life?
• What does God require of man?

Posted in Study Guides Family Devotional Guidelines Phil Anady 2 Timothy 3:16
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Over the next three to four weeks, we will be discussing a variety of philosophical and evidential arguments for the existence of God. It’s important to understand that the Bible encourages us to believe purely on faith as well as from historical evidential facts and philosophical arguments.  After Jesus’ resurrections he appeared before Thomas the “doubter” and said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Jesus praises those who have no physical evidence and still believe, but only a few verses later John records that Jesus performed many more signs beyond what were recorded “so that [we] may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing [we] may have life in his name” John 20:30–31(ESV). Therefore, while evidential facts and signs should not be the sole basis for our faith, scripture encourages us to have a reason and hope for why we believe what we believe.

It is also important to mention that no amount of evidence or logical arguments can convince an individual that there is a God, that man is sinful, and that man is in desperate need of a savior, etc. It is only by the grace of God and the working of the Holy Spirit that awakens an individual’s heart to see the gospel truth and the need for Christ’s blood for the forgiveness of sins. While it is the grace of God that awakens the heart of an individual, our logical and evidential facts for the existence of God, Christ as savior, etc, can be a means by which Christ uses to draw a person to Himself.

This week we will be discussing the cosmological or first cause argument for the existence of God. The premise of this argument goes as follows:

• There exist things that are caused (created) by other things.
• Nothing can be the cause of itself (nothing can create itself.)
• There cannot be an endless string of objects causing other objects to exist.
• Therefore, there must be an uncaused first cause called God.

I’m looking forward to Thursday and am excited to see the direction our Lord takes us!

-Phil

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Q. What authority from God directs us how to glorify and enjoy Him?

A. The only authority for glorifying and enjoying Him is the bible, which is the word of God and is made up of the Old and New Testaments.

The Bible is the only source of the saving knowledge of God, therefore we must study it and follow its commands. Jesus said that if we love the Father we will keep His commands. We study and obey not to gain merit with God but to show our love and respect for God. Our Father’s commands are not intended to be burdensome but to give us an abundant life that is freed from sin.

Discussion Questions

• Why is obeying God’s commands considered a way of glorifying Him?
• Why is obeying God’s commands considered an enjoyable thing?
• Why did God give us commands on what to do and what not to do?
• Compare how obeying God’s commands is like obeying your parent’s commands.
• What does obeying God reveal about our relationship with Him?
• Jesus says his commands are not burdensome. Do you find this true? Explain.
• What does creation teach us about God? What can’t creation teach us about God?

Posted in Study Guides Family Devotional Guidelines Phil Anady
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Each week I’m planning on posting information and or discussion questions about the weekly doctrinal standard to help support and encourage our parents in teaching their children the foundational truths of Christianity.

Q. What is man’s primary purpose?

A. Man’s primary purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

Discussion Questions

• How did Nebuchadnezzar eventually glorify God? (refer to scripture in passage’s journal )
• How can you glorify God in your daily life?
• Who glorifies God more: a pastor or a mechanic? Explain
• What does it mean to be Christ-centered?
• Nebuchadnezzar was not Christ (God) centered. What was at the center of his life? (refer to scripture in passage’s journal)
• What are some things that might take the place of Christ as the center of someone’s life?
• The Bible teaches that believers are the temple of God in which Christ dwells. How does this help our ability to be Christ centered?

Posted in Study Guides Family Devotional Guidelines Phil Anady
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These next two weeks, we will be discussing the topic, “decision making and the will of God.” We will be examining two of the most important and unfortunately misunderstood concepts of Christianity, how God speaks to an individual and how to discern God’s will for one’s life. These are two very important issues that every Christian needs to have a correct biblical understanding about. Understanding how God speaks and directs us has significant ramifications on how we live our life and make decisions. From my own personal experience, once I understood God’s will and how He communicates His will, it brought tremendous stability and confidence for decision making in my overall life. While this discussion may be challenging to what we believe, I encourage all our students to listen and consider the biblical evidence, rustle with the issues for themselves, and develop their own conclusion. I’m greatly looking forward to this time. Hope to see you there!

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This Thursday we will be examining the statement “never read a Bible verse.” This concept comes from Greg Koukle of str.org. This phrase is not teaching to not read the Bible but rather when we read the Bible we should never read only one verse. When reading the Bible or any literature it is important to read the paragraph before and after to develop the background information and gain a better understanding of the author’s intent. Many Christians read one or two verses out of the Bible and come to their conclusion of what it means without trying to understand the author’s intent. Many Christians develop wrong theology because of this practice and often read the Bible through relativistic lenses. “What does this verse mean to you?” This Thursday, we examine in more detail how to study the Bible, as well as look at specific verses that Christians have used to develop wrong theology by not reading the surrounding paragraphs. Lastly, we will discuss how the concept, “never read a Bible verse”, fits into our overall Biblical worldview.

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This Thursday we will conclude our systematic study on the five major parts of a worldview. This week we will be examining the source of truth, knowledge, and morality. Our goal will be to help our students develop a correct biblical worldview in these three areas and to show how what we believe about these concepts has an affect on our thoughts and behaviors.

While this week will be the last week that we have a formal study on this topic, all of our future discussion will help to develop and complete our biblical worldview. In these past five weeks we have constructed the skeleton of a biblical worldview now we will begin to add the flesh and muscle to our worldview skeleton.

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