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The Bible is the record of God’s revelation of himself to us.

The Bible is an invitation to get to know God better.

FLAME TEEN HANDOUT

Week 3 – The Bible

The Bible is a library

God’s library has two wings Old Testament & New Testament

Each wing has four smaller rooms Old Testament New Testament Pentatuch The Gospels History Acts of the Apostles

The Prophets 21 Epistles (letters) Wisdom Writings Revelation

The Old Testament wing (46 books) is approximately twice as big as the New Testament wing (27 books).

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Some Bible review…

CAN YOU FIND

THESE PASSAGES?

o ISAIAH 40:8

o 2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17

o PSALM 119:105

o John 1:1 o Matthew 24:35

Do you see what I see?

This Is like the bible because…

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___________________________________________________________

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When I first saw this image, I saw ____________________ ____. But when I looked closer, examined it better, and realized there could be more than one right answer, I saw _______________________ __!

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Read, Think, Pray, Act "Lectio Divina" in Four Easy Steps BY James Martin

1. Reading: What does the text say? First, you read the text. At the most basic level, you ask: What

is going on in this Bible passage?

2. Meditation: What is God saying to me through the text? At this point, you ask whether there is

something that God might want to reveal to you through this passage. Often, it might connect

with something in your life.

3. Prayer: What do I want to say to God about the text?

4. Action: What do I want to do, based on my prayer? Finally, you act. Prayer should move us to

action, even if it simply makes us want to be more compassionate and faithful.

Imaginative Prayer Imaginative Meditation from Mark 4

Using Scripture as a guide to meditation allows us to enter into the text with a heart alert to a personal word from

God. As you pray through this Biblical story, connect your needs and feelings with the characters, allowing Jesus to guide

you and speak into your life.

Read the following excerpt from Larry Warner and Jeannie Oestreicher.

You are with the disciples standing near the Sea of Galilee. You can hear the lapping of the water. Feel the moisture in

the air and the blowing of a gentle breeze. You hear Jesus call out, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” Jesus is

already in the boat, so you and the other disciples quickly get in. Some of the disciples begin to row, and the boat slowly

moves away from the shore.

Jesus takes a place in the back of the boat, grabs a cushion for his head, and lies down. As you and the disciples

continue across the lake, you begin to feel the force of the wind picking up. You notice the waves are beginning to build

in height and intensity. As the waves continue to grow, they start crashing into the boat, causing huge amounts of water

to fill the boat.

You look at the faces of the disciples: Simon, Andrew, James, and John, fisherman who grew up on the lake. You see

fear in their eyes and hear panic in their voices. “Start getting some of this water out of the boat!” they shout. Your mind

is racing, fear is rising and gaining control over you as each wave crashes into the boat, bringing with it more water.

You suddenly remember Jesus—man of God, powerful, caring, concerned, and involved. You turn to see him, seeking

to draw strength, courage, and hope from him. But he’s asleep. Jesus is sleeping while you and the disciples are facing

certain death. Anger begins to rise within you. Doesn’t Jesus care? Your fear begins to birth panic and you rush over to

Jesus, frantically shaking him and shouting, “Don’t you care that we’re about to drown?”

Jesus awakens. “Quiet down,” he says. The wind and waves stop. He then looks at you and the rest of the disciples

saying, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith in me?”

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Reflect: Allow two minutes of silence to reflect on the following questions.

 What thoughts and fears would you like to bring to Jesus?

 What do you think Jesus feels about these things and about your fear?

Read the next excerpt from Larry Warner and Jeannie Oestreicher

You are with the disciples standing near the Sea of Galilee. You can hear the lapping of the water. Feel the moisture in

the air and the blowing of a gentle breeze. You hear Jesus call out, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” Jesus is

already in the boat, so you and the other disciples quickly get in. Some of the disciples begin to row, and the boat slowly

moves away from the shore.

Jesus takes a place in the back of the boat, grabs a cushion for his head, and lies down. As you and the disciples

continue across the lake, you begin to feel the force of the wind picking up. You notice the waves are beginning to build

in height and intensity. As the waves continue to grow, they start crashing into the boat, causing huge amounts of water

to fill the boat.

You look at the faces of the disciples: Simon, Andrew, James, and John, fishermen who grew up on the lake. You see

fear in their eyes and hear panic in their voices. “Start getting some of this water out of the boat!” they shout. Your mind

is racing, fear is rising and gaining more and more control over you as each wave crashes into the boat, bringing with it

more water.

You suddenly remember Jesus—man of God, powerful, caring, concerned, and involved. You turn to see him, seeking

to draw strength, courage, and hope from him. But he’s asleep. Jesus is sleeping while you and the disciples are facing

certain death. Anger begins to rise within you. Doesn’t Jesus care? Your fear begins to birth panic.

However, instead of allowing anger, fear, and panic to have their way with you, you decide to lie down next to Jesus.

Carefully crawling on your hands and knees, you slowly move to where Jesus is sleeping. Wave after wave crashes over

the boat and sprays you with water, but you continue to crawl closer and closer to Jesus, fixing your eyes on his peaceful

face and relaxed body. As you get close to Jesus, you see him open an eye and pat the place next to him. You move into

that place and lie down.

The storm rages on and the waves crash, tossing the boat high in the air one minute and submerging it beneath the

water the next. The boat is taking on more and more water, the spray of the waves lands on you, demanding that you be

consumed by your situation. But instead of panic, you notice a peace rising up within you as you settle down next to

Jesus. You feel the weight of his arm as he drapes it over you and draws you near. You lie next to Jesus, while the others

are rushing around frantically, overcome by fear and panic. The circumstances remain the same, but you’re with Jesus,

and Jesus is with you.

Reflect: Allow two minutes of silence to reflect on the following questions:

 How did being with Jesus change how you felt about the storm?

 What helped or what hindered you from resting with Jesus?

Share your experience with the group.

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DO YOU WANT TO START READING THE BIBLE? HERE’S HOW TO BEGIN. by MARK HART

I f you’ve ever wanted to go deeper into God’s Word but haven’t known how to approach it , al low me to suggest a few tips (so you can learn from my mistakes). Like anything else, if you want to build something … in this case, your knowledge and love for the Scriptures … you don’t just grab a hammer and some nails and start pounding. To ensure that you don’t just jump in and then quit out of frustration or confusion, there are certain things you can do to be more successful. We’l l attack this on three levels … the tools, the blueprint and the construction. By the end you’l l have ten total steps to help you build your bodily temple into a Biblical fortress, able to resist anything the devil can throw at you.

This could be

you and

your friends!

The Tools Let’s start with three things you should do before you start studying. 1. Pick a t ime, but not just any t ime . Commit to a dai ly t ime that you’ l l open God’s Word but be sure it ’s an intel l igent t ime. I f you’re real ly t ired, for example, than reading the Bible once you’re in bed probably isn’t the best time. Pick a t ime when you’re total ly awake so you can give your ful l attention. 2. Pick a Bible that you can understand . Get yourself a good Bible! It ’s important that your Bible is comfortable to read, l ight eno