1. Build Your Hope on a SOLID FOUNDATION Build your hope on a SOLID FOUNDATIONhope for today Please click to watch the intro video for this section located at: http://vimeo.com/62313957

2. SECTION 1 The Only Rule of Faith Build your hope on a SOLID FOUNDATIONhope for today KEY TEXT: 2 Peter 1:21 “For prophecy never came by the will of man but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” FURTHER STUDY: 1 Peter 1:24,25; Hebrews 1:1; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; Psalm 12: 6,7; John 17:17; John 8: 32; Matthew 24:35; 1 Thessalonians 2: 13

3. SECTION 1 The Only Rule of Faith Build your hope on a SOLID FOUNDATIONhope for today CONSIDER: The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years (from around 1500 B.C. to around 100 A.D.). It was written in three major languages or dialects (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). Forty different authors contributed including shepherds, fishermen, doctors and lawyers, who for the most part never met each other. It was written on three continents. The Bible has been banned, outlawed and condemned yet God has preserved it for over 3500 years. As of 2008 it has been translated into 2,454 languages.

4. SECTION 1 The Only Rule of Faith Build your hope on a SOLID FOUNDATIONhope for today CONSIDER (continued): Hundreds of human hands have written, translated, and preserved Scripture, yet with all of the diversity just described, an amazing unifying theme pervades and persists in the Bible: the story of God’s redemption of sinful man. That unity is one evidence, perhaps the main evidence, that the Bible is God’s inspired word, a foundation man can rely upon with assurance. DISCUSS: Does the Bible have God’s word in it, or is it the word of God? Is the Bible the very word of God?

5. SECTION 2 Hope for a Change in My Life Build your hope on a SOLID FOUNDATIONhope for today KEY TEXT: Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” FURTHER STUDY: John 8: 31, 32; Isaiah 55:11; Jeremiah 1:12; Jeremiah 23:29; Psalm 119:50; Psalm 17:4; Philippians 4:13

6. SECTION 2 Hope for a Change in My Life Build your hope on a SOLID FOUNDATIONhope for today DISCUSS: Can I trust the Bible as my rule for faith and practice? DID YOU KNOW? The Bible has been translated into 2,454 languages.

7. SECTION 3 INSTRUCTIONS: How to Study Scripture Build your hope on a SOLID FOUNDATIONhope for today KEY TEXT: James 1:5-7 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea and driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” FURTHER STUDY: John 17:17; Matthew 7:3-5; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Isaiah 28:9-10

8. SECTION 3 INSTRUCTIONS: How to Study Scripture Build your hope on a SOLID FOUNDATIONhope for today CONSIDER: Pray for the Holy Spirit to be your Guide to enable you to obey the word. Read Scripture in context - -including the verses before and after the one you are focused on. The words of the Bible are to be taken as humanly spoken but literal unless there is evidence that they are figurative or prophetic (Psalm 23, Revelation 14:6-7). Be honest about the Scripture you are studying. Note the original intent of a text and realize that there may be more than one application Isaiah 14:14-16. Begin with prayer

9. SECTION 3 INSTRUCTIONS: How to Study Scripture Build your hope on a SOLID FOUNDATIONhope for today DISCUSS: What is your preferred way to study the Bible? What would make your study of Scripture more effective?

10. INVITATION Build your hope on a SOLID FOUNDATIONhope for today Will you make a conscious decision to base your life on a solid foundation and to take time to study and apply God’s word? Why not make His word the lamp and light of your life?