The Word of God

Annual Family Retreat May 2010

STORY TIME• John has just finished grade 9, his

averages were excellent.• His parents were so happy for his great

achievement. • His dad bought him a cell phone (the

latest iphone in the market)

STORY TIME

• Dad also bough him a plan with plenty of minutes and txt messaging

• John was so happy with his high end phone, he decided to take it with him everywhere he goes

• The next day John went to church to attend choir practice from 6-7pm

STORY TIME• At 7.05pm, Dad called John on his cell

phone to arrange picking him up, but there was no answer.

• Dad tried again few more times…still no answer

• “I will try to send him a text message” Dad said… There was no answer back for the text message

STORY TIME• “WHAT’S WRONG?” Dad exclaimed• Can you help John's dad find out where is the

problem?• When dad went to church to pick John up, he

found out that John’s cell phone was turned off.

• That is how John could not receive neither the calls nor the messages of his dad

STORY TIME• The father is a symbol of God, who gave

us a very precious gift (the Bible was symbolized by the iphone)

• John is a symbol of each one of us who received the precious gift (the Bible) to communicate with God

STORY TIME• Is your precious gift turned on or off?• Do you open and read your bible

diligently every day to receive God’s voice

• If not, Today is the time to start.

The importance of The Word of God to my

life??

The Word of God

• Hebrews 4:12• 12 For the word of God is living and powerful,

and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

•God’s word is living

The Word of God

• Mathew 4:4• But He answered and said, “It is written,

‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

•God’s word gives life.

The Word of God

• Psalm 119:105• Your word is a lamp to my feet

And a light to my path.• Prov. 6:23• 23 For the commandment is a lamp,

And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life

•God’s word guides my way.

The Word of God

• Ezekiel 3: 3• 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly,

and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.

•

God’s word is a spiritual food

The Word of God

• Jeremiah 15:16• 16 Your words were found, and I ate them,

And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart

God’s word gives joy to my life and rejoices my heart.

The Word of God

• Ephesus 6: 17• 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which

is the word of God;• Mathew 4: 4,7,10• But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread

alone• 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD

your God.• . 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you,[d] Satan! For it is written,

‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”

• Victory over the devil.

The Word of God

• Acts 20:32• 32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God

and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

•God’s word is important for my spiritual build up.

The importance of The Word of God to my

life??

The Word of God

• Is living • It gives life.• It guides my way.• A spiritual food • It rejoices my heart.• Victory over the devil. • God’s word builds me up spiritually.

How can I start a relationship with

The Word of God??

10 Useful Hints!!

A Practical Approach

• 1- Set a regular time everyday and choose an appropriate place to read The Word of God.• 2- Start with a prayer that God may guide

you by His Holy Spirit to understand what you read• 3- Quality or quantity.• 4- Read in sequence.

A Practical Approach

• 5- Memorize 1 verse of each chapter.• 6- Use a commentary book for the

difficult verses and words. • 7- Read an introduction to each book

of the bible before you start it to understand the background of the text.

A Practical Approach

• 8-Compare different Bible versions of the same or different languages (if applicable)

• 9- Search for the Key Verses, The Promises, and take note of Verses that are difficult to understand

• 10- Make a conclusion at the end of your reading session of what you read and what does it mean to you

Important Bible Numbers to Remember

The Old Testament

Important Bible Numbers to Remember

5,12,5,5,12

5•The Pentateuch: • 1st 5 books of the bible• Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and

Deuteronomy .• Written By Moses

12

•The Historical Books• Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st

and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

5•The Poetic and Wisdom books

• Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.

5•The Major Prophets• include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and

Daniel.• The reason behind calling them Major Prophets?• These books were declared "major" because of the

amount of text, and not because they were considered more important than the "minor" prophetic books.

12•The Minor Prophets• Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,

Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi

Is there any other books in the Old

Testament??

7•The Deuterocanon books• Also called the 2nd canonical books, • was removed by the Protestants.• It includes history and poetic books:• Tobit, Judith, 1+2 Maccabees,

Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch

The New Testament

Important Bible Numbers to Remember

4,1, 14,7,1

4•The Holy Gospels:

• The Gospels According To St. Mathew, St. Mark, St. Luke, St. John

• The life story of our Lord Jesus Christ, His birth, His deeds, His miracles, His teachings, His Divinity, His salvation, His death and His resurrection

1•The book of Acts:

• Acts tells the story of the beginning of the church, the works (Acts) of The Holy Spirit and the apostles.• I also explains how the Christian faith

spread to the whole world

14• The Pauline Epistles (Letters):• Were written by St. Paul• Contain education about Christ salvation, The Christian Life and Faith

• 9 letters to cities (churches):• Romans, 1st & 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians,

Colossians, 1st&2nd Thessalonians

• 4 letters to persons:• 1st&2nd Timothy, Titus, Philemon

• 1 letter to group of people:• Hebrews

7•The Catholic Epistles:• Were written by 4 disciples• Contain teachings of the Christian life and faith• • The Epistle of St. James• • 1st&2nd Epistle of St. Peter• • 1st&2nd&3rd Epistles of St. John• • The Epistle of St. Jude

1•The Book of Revelation:• Were written by St. John• St. John wrote this epistle to tell people

about a vision he had of Jesus, Heaven and Things that will happen in the future

Bible Activity Time