1. What we believe and why we believe it!
SCC University
What we believe and why we believe it!

2. Week 1 Recap Motto What are we studying?
2 Kings 7: Lepers who found food.
John 6:35: Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
What are we studying?
The Bible – The Word of God
Learn to accept what we cannot understand and what we may not immediately agree with
1 Cor 2:6-13, Romans 11:33-35
The Gospels – The Prolog of John

3. Proper Perspective What are we studying? The Bible
How are we to study the Bible?
Proper Perspective

4. How to Study the Bible Common Mistakes
1) We “Philippians 4:13 it”
2) We can fall into the trap of reading the bible in an effort to find ourselves. Sinclair Furgeson
Proper Perspective
Bible = all about Jesus
We find ourselves when we look for JESUS, if we look for ourselves we may miss Jesus. Alister Begg
“Please Lord make yourself known to me”

5. How to Study the Bible – Quick Guide
Simple Tactics
Know what is going on
REMEMBER - a verse belongs to a sentence that is a part of a paragraph, that describes a scene within a book that is part of the bible which is intended to reveal the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Quick Reads
Take just a moment to “survey the land”
1)Paragraph, 2) Chapter, 3) scan headers
Romans 8:31: If God is for us who can be against us

6. How to Study the Bible - Advanced
The Town
Context
What to look for?
Genre / Language (repetition?)
Audience?
O.T., Gospel, Letters
Relate passage to surrounding text
Luke 15:11-32: “prodigal son”
What did the text mean to the biblical audience?
Write 1-2 sentences (past tense)

7. How to Study the Bible - Advanced
Them vs Us
Differences hinder immediate application
Differences = width of the river
Culture, situation, language, covenant, etc.…
O.T. vs, N.T. = different covenant
Recognize obvs differences – i.e. Joshua 1:1-9 – Luke 15
Practice = Details

8. How to Study the Bible - Advanced
All are lost in sin
God’s forgiveness
Greater Principle? (ch 17:10)
Crossing the River
Theological Principle
A.k.a – meaning?
Not “creating” but “discovering”
Look for similarities
Write the theological principle in 1-2 sentences
Timeless / not tied to a specific situation
Luke 15

9. How to Study the Bible - Advanced
Consult the Biblical Map
Take the time to ensure the “principle” you have “discovered” is consistent with the rest of scripture.
*OLD TESTAMENT
Different Covenant
Look at it from the vantage point of the cross

10. How to Study the Bible - Advanced
The text in our town
How to we respond to the principle
Generally 1’ish theological principles in a segment of scripture
Several different avenues of application often dependent on the unique circumstances of our life
Luke 15
Two characters
Lost in Sin & Blind to Sin

11. Miracles of the Book of John
Goal of John = Deity of Christ
7 Distinct Miracles (i.e. 20:30)
1) Water to Wine 2:1-11
2) Healing Official’s Son 4:46-54
3) Healing on the Sabbath 5:1-17
4) Feeding of the 5 thousand 6:1-14
5) Healing of the blind man 9:1-41
6) Lazarus raised from the dead 11:1-44
7) Jesus’s resurrection 20:1-29

12. Miracles of the Book of John
Water into Wine: 2:1-11
Purpose of the Miracle?
V4 = Reluctant Miracle?
Hour - 7:30, 8:20, 12:23&27, 13:1, and 17:1
V6 = note the object that becomes the center of the miracle
Inauguration of the arrival of the “new covenant”
Irony in v9-11?
Side note – inability of Mary to influence Jesus’s ministry

13. Miracles of the Book of John
Healing of the Official’s son: 4:46-54
Purpose of the Miracle?
Language
v50 & end of v53
Reveals the power of Jesus to sustain life
A power that is repeated in even more glory later on
Miracle #6 – again repetition is important for establishing Biblical principles.

14. Miracles of the Book of John
Healing on the Sabbath: 5:1-17
Purpose of the Miracle?
Manner of the miracle
v8: Jesus said to him, “get up, take your bed, and walk. 9And at once the man was healed, and took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.”
v14: Afterward Jesus found him in the temple…
Pharisees offer no kindness in respect to the miracle
Larger Context - v19-47
A debate with the Pharisees
v19: Jesus establishes himself as the Son of God

15. Miracles of the Book of John
Feeding of the 5 Thousand: 6:1-14
Purpose of the Miracle?
Little difficult because it is not immediately apparent under the “miracle heading”
Feeds people
The process is public and apparent to all that Jesus can do miracles (v1-14)
Leaves
Jesus removes himself knowing that it is not his time to be “exalted” v15
Water
The miracle is separated from the next important scene by a “miracle” of itself - but really it’s all part of the story.
Verses / summary = v26 with 35

16. Miracles of the Book of John
Heals the Blind Man at the Pool: 9:1-41
Purpose of the Miracle?
Context = Sabbath, Question = Who sinned? - v2
Misfortune = God’s punishment for specific sin
1) Generational or 2) Personal
1 = just bad doctrine
2 = not improper but not profitable
Jesus dismisses both ideas as improper explanations – v3
Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

17. Miracles of the Book of John
Heals the Blind Man at the Pool: 9:1-41
Purpose of the Miracle?
Some of our sufferings, like the trials of Job, are for God’s glory, through our resulting refinement (1 Pet. 1:6,7), through His grace sustaining us in our distress (2 Cor. 12:9-11), or through a spectacular healing, as in the present case. God’s purpose is not always presently known to us, but we have God’s assurance that His purpose is good (Rom 8:28). – R.C. Sproul
v32 – the uniqueness of the miracle displays Jesus’s deity
v39 – Jesus establishing his role in salvation i.e. Ch. 10

18. Miracles of the Book of John
Resurrection of Lazarus: 11:1-44
Purpose of the Miracle?
Last reported public miracle by Jesus recorded in John
Side-note: Although John tells us about Peter cutting of the temple servants ear he does not record the healing which keeps in line with the “specific” purpose of recording distinct miracles
Greatest public revelation of God’s Glory through Jesus
Death itself is overcome.
Bunny Hole – people may say Lazarus was the “first” resurrected from the dead.
v45 – 50: Acceptance vs Rejection

19. Miracles of the Book of John
Jesus Raised from the Dead: 20:1-29
Purpose of the Miracle?
v31 “…but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
Explicitly describes Jesus as Christ
He is not a miracle worker, a prophet, or just a good man whose “legend” grew over time.
Jesus is the incarnate Word with the Father and the Spirit
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.“
This is recorded so that by hearing we may believe and by believing we may have eternal life.