Course Content
Another12 Ministries Leadership Training
Session 2 Outline
Opening Questions
Do you believe that it is important for a Christian to know and understand the Bible?
Does what the Bible says affect the way you live your life?
Do you believe the Bible is true?
Do you think Biblically based teaching is important for youth ministry?
Key Verse: A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:6-8)
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:22-25)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17)
Authority of Scripture – God’s Word is True, Living, and Powerful.
- The Bible is the ultimate source of truth because… (John 17:17)
- It is the Word of God, and God cannot lie. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) (Hebrews 6:17-18) (Proverbs 30:5-6)
- It is eternal. (Isaiah 40:8) (Matthew 24:35) (Psalm 119:160)
- It is perfect. (Psalm 19:7-11)
- It is alive. (Hebrews 4:12-13) (John 1:1-5, 14-18)
- It is effective. (Isaiah 55:8-11) (Psalm 19:7-8)
- It is powerful. (Romans 1:16-17) (Hebrews 1:1-4)
- It is defined by fulfilled prophecy. (2 Peter 1:16-21) (Luke 4:16-21)
- Jesus relied on the Scriptures as absolute truth and submitted to their authority. (John 10:34-38) (Excerpts from The Inerrant Word)
- The Bible is essential for believers to be effective in ministry. (Joshua 1:7-9)
- It guides the life of believers. (Psalm 119:105-112)
- It preserves believers from sin. (Psalm 119:9-16)
- It brings life to the lost. (John 5:24-29) (John 1:1-5) (Luke 11:27-28) (Matthew 7:24-27)
- It is the Sword of the Spirit, the believer’s weapon against evil. (Ephesians 6:16-18) (Luke 4:1-14)
- The Bible is the only fully reliable source of truth available to mankind. (Numbers 23:19) (Titus 1:1-3)
- Evaluate your view of the Bible in light of what Scripture says about itself.
- What is your biggest struggle when it comes to the Scriptures?
- In light of the claims Scripture makes about itself, does your view of the Bible need to change?
- Are you effectively using the Scripture in your ministry to youth?
- What needs to change in your approach to ministry to make the Bible more central in your approach?
Scripture Passages
2 Timothy 3:14-17 – But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Hebrews 6:17-18 – So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
Proverbs 30:5-6 – Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
Matthew 24:35 – Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Psalm 119:160 – The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
Psalm 19:7-11 – The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
Hebrews 4:12-13 – For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
John 1:1-5, 14-18 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Isaiah 55:8-11 – For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Psalm 19:7-8 – The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
Romans 1:16-17 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Hebrews 1:1-4 – Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
2 Peter 1:16-21 – For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Luke 4:16-21 – And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Joshua 1:7-9 – Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Psalm 119:105-112 – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules. I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word! Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O LORD, and teach me your rules. I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts. Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.
Psalm 119:9-16 – How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
John 5:24-29 – Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
Luke 11:27-28 – As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Matthew 7:24-27 – “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Ephesians 6:16-18 – In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Luke 4:1-13 – And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus answered him, “It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
John 10:34-38 – Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Excerpts from The Inerrant Word – “Jesus and his apostles never took a critical position toward the Old Testament, but accepted its teaching without any reservation or qualification—and not just its religious-ethical teaching! Jesus attributed Isaiah 6 to Isaiah (Matt. 13:14); Psalm 110 to David (Matt. 22:44); the prophecy cited in Matthew 24:15 to Daniel; and the law to Moses (John 5:46). He repeatedly cited and unconditionally believed the historical narratives of the Old Testament: the creation of human beings (Matt. 19:4–5), Abel’s murder (Matt. 23:35), the flood (Matt. 24:37–39), the history of the Patriarchs (Matt. 22:32; John 8:56), the destruction of Sodom (Matt. 11:23; Luke 17:28–33), the burning bush (Luke 20:37), the serpent in the wilderness (John 3:14), the manna (John 6:32), the histories of Elijah and Naaman (Luke 4:25–27), and the story of Jonah (Matt. 12:39–41). To Jesus, the absolute authority of Scripture embraced every single word, including dots and iotas (Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17; John 10:35; Gal. 3:16). Of particular significance is Jesus’s unequivocal statement, “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:34–35). In this passage, Jesus is quoting from Psalm 82. We do not need to make a final judgment as to whom these “gods” were; they may have been Israel’s judges, angelic powers, or Israel at the time of the giving of the law. 12 What is abundantly clear is that the words “Scripture cannot be broken” mean, writes D. A. Carson, “that the Scripture cannot be annulled or set aside or proved false (cf. Mark 7:13). Conceptually, [this statement] complements ‘your law’: It is reprehensible [Carson is drawing out the substance of Jesus’s teaching] to set aside the authority of Scripture, the Scripture whose authority you yourselves accept, just because the text I have cited seems inconvenient to you at the moment.” 13 That is, not only is the Bible’s historical record accurate, but in prophecy, morality, theology, and every other teaching, the Scriptures cannot be contradicted or confounded. In Luke 24:25–27, Jesus rebuked his disciples for not believing all that “the prophets” had spoken (which he equated with “all the Scriptures”). So, in Jesus’s view, all Scripture is trustworthy and should be believed. Jesus constantly quoted Scripture as a basis for his own teaching about how to live, such as church discipline (Matt. 18:16), marriage (Matt. 19:3–9), God’s requirements for eternal life (Matt. 19:16–19), and the greatest commandment (Matt. 22:37–39). Furthermore, he used the Old Testament to justify cleansing the temple (Matt. 21:12–17) and picking grain on the Sabbath (Luke 6:3–4). He relied on Scripture, the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17), to resist the temptations of Satan (Matt. 4:1–11). He stated unambiguously that the Old Testament supersedes all man-made traditions and ideas. No standard is higher than Scripture for what we are to believe and obey (Matt. 15:1–9; Mark 7:5–13). “
“Jesus’s submission to the Scriptures was complete, without hesitation, disputation, or compromise. He knew the Scriptures to be the Word of God, and because God cannot lie, his Word cannot be broken or annulled. There is, however, a question that is both generally interesting and theologically significant: How did Jesus come to embrace the absolute authority of God’s Word and willingly allow it to shape and style his whole life? If his humanity was a true humanity and he truly “became flesh,” we have to take seriously the ordinary mental and psychological processes by which any human being learns anything. We must guard against thinking that Jesus short-circuited the normal intellectual process of maturation. Luke tells us that Jesus “increased in wisdom” (2:52). The writer of Hebrews tells us that he “learned obedience” (Heb. 5:8). It is with this background that we can begin to understand Isaiah 50:4: “The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.”
Numbers 23:19 – God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
Titus 1:1-3 – Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;