Doctrinal Basics

1/16 - Meeting: 6:30 - 9 PM @ BACC / The Docks
1/23 - Meeting: 6:30 - 9 PM @ BACC / The Docks
1/30 - No Meeting - Online
2/6 - Meeting: 6:30 - 9 PM @ BACC / The Docks
 

Godly leaders understand basic doctrine of the Bible, which helps create a stable foundation for them to lead from. This course will deepen individual’s understanding of God, man created in God’s image, life, death, resurrection and second coming of Jesus, the role and work of the Holy Spirit, and how these play into leadership.
 

RESOURCES: 

Grudem's Bible Doctrine - Pick up at Jocelyn's Office
 

To view, click one of the buttons above to quick jump to a specific week or continue scrolling.

Week One: doctrine of god
Complete by 1/16
submit assignments by 1/14

Weekly Objectives:

  • Establish a foundation of Doctrinal Basics
  • Survey the doctrine of God, learning His incommunicable and communicable attributes, the extent and scope of God's active role in creation, and the role of prayer
  • Answer the fundamental questions about God's existence

Watch:

Read:

  • Book: Chapter 4 (Character: Incommunicable Attributes) in Grudem's Bible Doctrine
  • Book: Chapter 5 (Character: Communicable Attributes) in Grudem's Bible Doctrine
  • Book: Chapter 8 (God's Providence) in Grudem's Bible Doctrine
  • Book: Chapter 9 (Prayer) in Grudem's Bible Doctrine

We could spend a week on each one of these! But the primary purpose of this class is to do a high level survey of basic doctrine. It's a lot of content and you're going to feel like you want to go deeper in each of these, but try to remain at a high level. We will discuss all of this content in class.

Complete:

  • Answer the following questions and submit your responses by Sunday 1/14. Your answers don't need to be lengthy, just well thought through. 
    • Question 4 on pg. 83 - Explain how the doctrine of God's immutability or unchangeableness helps to answer the following questions: Will we be able to do a good job of bringing up children un such an evil world as we have today? Is it possible to have the same close fellowship with God that people had during Biblical times? What can we think or do in order to make Bible stories seem more real and less removed from our present life? Do you think that God is less willing to answer prayer today than he was in Bible times?
    • Question 2 on pg. 101 - With regard to the circumstances of your life, will God ever make a mistake, or fail to plan ahead, or fail to take into account all the eventualities that occur? How is the answer to this question a blessing in your life?
    • Question 3 on pg. 156 - Do you sometimes think of luck or chance as causing events to happen in your life? Does that thought increase or decrease your anxiety about the future? Think about some events that you might have attributed to luck in the past and, instead, begin to think of those events as under the control of your wise and loving heavenly Father. How does that make you feel differently about them and about the future generally? 
    • Question 1 on pg. 167 - Do you have difficulty with prayer? What things in this chapter have been helpful to you in this regard?
    • Question 3 on pg. 167 - How does it help and encourage you (if it does) when you pray together with other Christians?

Additional Resources:

WEEK two: doctrine of jesus christ
complete by 1/23

Weekly Objectives:

  • Learn, understand and be able to communicate the doctrine of Jesus Christ
  • Be able to answer others' questions about the Jesus Christ with a solid Biblical foundation and scripture for reference

Read:

  • Book: Chapter 14 (Person of Christ) in Grudem's Bible Doctrine
  • Book: Chapter 15 (Atonement) in Grudem's Bible Doctrine
  • Book: Chapter 16 (Resurrection and Ascension) in Grudem's Bible Doctrine
  • Romans 5 & 6 -
    • In Romans 5 & 6: Identify as many theological terms as you can that describe the effects of Christ's work on the cross. Use a Bible Dictionary to simply and succinctly define as many terms as you can. You'll need these definitions for your assignment below. 

Complete:

  • Complete the following assignment and submit by Sunday, 1/21
    • Write a 2 page paper explaining the implications of the “work’’ of Christ. Incorporate the terms you identified reading through Romans 5-6 and explain the implications to mankind by Christ’s death on the cross. Include biblical references as needed. Think of this as a personal position paper. In the end, what you are working towards is being able to provide a thorough, yet high level overview of the Doctrine of Christ. Again, do as much as you can without referencing outside materials (with the exception of Grudem's Doctrine book)

Optional / Additional Resources:

WEEK three: doctrine of the Holy Spirit
NO MEETING THIS WEEK - complete by 1/30

Weekly Objectives:

  • Learn, understand and be able to communicate the doctrine of the Holy Spirit
  • Be able to answer others' questions about the Holy Spirit with a solid Biblical foundation and scripture for reference

Read:

  • Book: Chapter 6 (Trinity) in Grudem's Bible Doctrine
  • Book: Chapter 29 (Holy Spirit - Gifts 1) in Grudem's Bible Doctrine

Watch / Listen:

Complete:

  • Answer the following questions (do not need to submit, but we will be reviewing these in class):
    • How would you explain to someone from Scripture that the Holy Spirit is both God and a person, not an impersonal force?

    • How would you describe the work of the Spirit in relation to God the Father and God the Son?

    • Clarify and define the following biblical terms: regeneration, baptism in the Spirit, sealing of the Spirit, indwelling of the Spirit, filling of the Spirit, fruit of the Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, witness of the Spirit, Spirit intercedes for us

    • What part does humble persistent prayer have with the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit? Are there any biblical examples or explicit promises in Scripture)

  • Answer the following case study and be prepared to explain how you would answer this in our next class.

    • Two people in your church/community have been debating each other while others listen in. One has been saying that gifts like prophesy, healing, tongues, and other such gifts are no longer operative, but ceased with age of the apostles and the completion of the New Testament. The second person is saying that all those gifts are operative for today. This person also goes on to say that the first person’s problem is that he is a believer but not yet “baptized with the Spirit.” The debate has heated up. How will you handle this?

Optional / Additional Resources:

  • Book: Chapter 23 (Sactification) in Grudem's Bible Doctrine

Weekly Objectives:

  • Learn, understand and be able to communicate the doctrine of the man and sin
  • Be able to answer others' questions about the nature of man and sin using scriptural references

Read:

  • Book: Chapter 11 (The Creation of Man) - Grudem's Doctrine
  • Book: Chapter 12 (Man as Male and Female) - Grudem's Doctrine
  • Book: Chapter 13 (Sin) - Grudem's Doctrine

Watch:

Complete:

  • Answer the following questions and submit before class on Tuesday, 2/6
    • Question 1 from Ch 11 - According to Scripture, what should be the major purpose of your life? If you consider the major commitments or goals of your life at the present time (with respect to friendships, marriage, education, job, use of money, church relationships, etc.), are you acting as though your goal were the one that Scripture specifics? Or do you have some
    • Question 2 from Ch 11 - How does it make you feel to think that you, as a human being, are more like God than any other creature in the universe? How does that knowledge make you want to act? Do you think that God has made us so that we become happier or less happy when we grow to become more like him? In which areas would you now like to make more progress in likeness to God? 
    • Question 3 from Ch 12 - Before reading this chapter, had you thought of relationships in the family as reflecting something of the relationships between members of the Trinity? Do you think that is a helpful way of looking at family? Are there ways in which you might reflect God’s character more fully in your own family? 
    • Question 1 from Ch 13 - Has reading this chapter increased your awareness of the sin remaining in your own life? Did the chapter increase in you any sense of the hatefulness of sin? Why do you not feel more often a deeper sense of the hatefulness of sin? What do you think the overall effect of this chapter will be on your personal relationship with God?