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The Story Of The Bible

By Jim Docking

May 2, 2016

1. Discuss

If someone said to you, “What is the Bible all about?” What would you say?

2. Discuss

The opening & closing words in the Bible – Gen1:1 Rev 22:21.The Bible starts with God the Father and ends with God the Son. Jesus as the Son of God is the full & final expression of all that pertains to the person & the purposes of God. Particularly in creation – See Hebrews 1:2-3

3. Discuss

What does Luke 24:27 tell us about the heart & centre of the Bible story is the person of Jesus Christ.

4. Discuss

What do you notice about the descriptions in Genesis 1: 1; 2:4-7 &Revelation 21:1-4? There are actually two endings to God’s story. Rev 21:5-7  & Rev 20:12-15

5.   Discuss

What did Jesus mean by the words in Rev 1:17 about “Alpha & Omega, the Beginning & the End, the First & the Last”?

6. Discuss

How is it significant for you that God’s story embraces every other story that can be told in God’s created order – which means that God’s story includes your story?

7. Discuss

How does God’s story help make sense of your story in the 4 big questions:-

  • Who am I? (Identity)
  • Where did I come from? (Origin)
  • Why am I here? (Meaning)
  • Where am I going? (Destiny)

8. Discuss

How does understanding the big picture of the Bible, in terms of the 4 great themes of the Bible,  Creation – Fall – Redemption – Restoration, help you to make sense of the details?

Note: The Bible was written over a 1600 yr period by 40 different authors- The word Bible comes from the Greek word biblia, which means “books.”  The Bible is an anthology of 66 different books but they contain one story – the 4 key themes span the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

9. Discuss

While Creation, Fall, Redemption & Restoration are themes that define the big picture, they are also present in the details of everyday life. How could this relate to your experience living within a moment of Creation, Fall, Redemption or Restoration?

10. Discuss

The pattern of Creation, Fall, Redemption & Restoration in the life of the Apostle Peter.

  • Luke 5:1-11 – This was a new beginning for Peter, a creation moment
  • Luke 22: 59-62. – We know of Peter’s fall when he denied Christ
  • John 21:3-7, 15 – Redemption for Peter. Redemption is the reclaiming of what has been lost – redemption is about recovery. The resurrected Lord Jesus sought out Peter to bring him back.
  • The next time we read of Peter is at Pentecost where he preaches the first sermon in the Christian era – 3,000 coming to faith in Christ. Peter was brought back from failure, sin, and denial & restored to a devotion to Jesus that would not desert him even though in the end it would cost him his life.  Jesus brought Peter back to fellowship/faith/fruitfulness.

11. Discuss

Where are you this morning in your spiritual journey? Is it a place of creation where God is doing a new thing in your life, to draw you to Himself in new understanding, new devotion, and new opportunities for witness or service?

12. Discuss

How does 1 Cor 5:17 fit within the Creation-fall- Redemption- Restoration pattern?

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Bible Study BibleCreationGod's StoryRestoration