Senior Soldier Preparation Seminar

God’s Great Message to Man Introduction & Doctrine 1 Session 1

Why is it important to join a church? It is a community that has been built for us by Jesus Christ; it’s our new family.

Genuine Christian Fellowship consists of: Service/servanthood Acceptance Love, speaking well of one another Interest in one another Faithfulness Conscientiousness

Why should you join The Salvation Army? You believe in what The Army teaches and its doctrines. You believe in The Army’s ministry and mission. You believe that God wants you to be a soldier or an adherent in The Salvation Army. The Salvation Army was God’s idea.

Salvationists….Soldiers of Jesus Christ The Christian Mission Magazine September 1878 The Mission “has organized a Salvation Army to carry the blood of Christ and the fire of the Holy Ghost to every corner of the world.”

The Bible is the source from which all our doctrines come therefore:

Our First Doctrine We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.

The Scriptures The word Scripture means writing and it is usually used in the plural, often with the word “holy.” Bible means book.

The Old and New Testaments Two major divisions: Old Testament – 39 books New Testament – 27 books A “testament” is a covenant or an agreement

Language of the Scriptures The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. The New Testament was written in Greek.

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

Divine Rule of Practice Man needs a “divine rule of Christian faith and practice.” “Christian faith” refers to our doctrine, or what we believe. “Christian practice” refers to our manner of life and our concept of what is right and wrong. This is called “Christian ethics.” We base our conduct upon the Word of God.

QUESTIONS 1.What do you think would happen to Christianity if the Bible were suddenly taken away? What would we lose? What would we do? 2. What important relationship is there between a divine rule of faith and a divine rule of practice? 3.Have you read the Bible all the way through? If not, why not? 4.Share a favorite OT and NT verse with the person next to you.