UFC: Improving Your Home

Improving Your Home was the final lesson in our series, Ultimate Faith Challenge.

From the very beginning of the Bible in Genesis 2:18, God tells us, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." He created the union of marriage as a sacred bond, leaving our parents and cleaving to one another. One key point stressed is that a Christian marriage demonstrates the relationship between Christ and the church. We are one flesh, willing to give up our rights for the other, unified through the Holy Spirit.

It is then our duty as followers of Christ to show our children the devotion the Lord has to our church played out in our marriages. Psalm 127 states, "Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him." Children are a gift from God and we must teach them the Bible (Deut 32:46), discipline them properly (Prov 22:13), and show them to love, obey and hold fast to the Lord (Deut 30:19-20). Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

God ordained marriage, between a man (as the loving authority) and a woman (as the submissive compliment), which produces the blessing of children.

UFC: Becoming Holy

What does it take to live a holy, set apart life in an unholy world?

Becoming Holy was the topic of our discussion this Sunday. 1 Peter 1:13-16 tells us that we are to prepare our minds for action, be self-controlled, not conform, to set our hope fully on the grace of Christ. As God's people we should strive for moral purity. Romans 12:1-2 shows that we should live transformed lives. We who are partakers of this glory are gradually being transformed into the likeness of Christ. We are in the process of sanctification.

But truly living holy takes obedience. We should present ourselves as slaves to righteousness, conforming to God's standard of right and wrong. Wow...what a picture. Fortunately, God gives us the confidence we need to follow Him through 1 Peter 2:9. We are chosen, a royal priesthood, a holy nation...we belong to God. He called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. Thank you Lord for not leaving us in the darkness...for choosing us to do your will.

I challenge you this week to live out the good, pleasing and perfect will of God.

UFC: Mastering the Message

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
(Mark 16:15, KJV)

As we proceed in our series, Ultimate Faith Challenge, Mastering the Message was the topic of Sunday's study.

The Gospel gives us an optimistic message of hope and good news. As 1 Corinthians 15 lays out the "good news", we must believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, rose on the third day, and was seen by many witnesses. We are saved! He died for our sins...He conquered DEATH.

The goal for every believer should be to become more like Christ. And because we are saved, we will suffer, we will be persecuted, but we MUST persevere through this spiritual journey so that one day we will be glorified.

Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

God providentially works all things in our lives towards the ultimate intended good of our conformity to Christ. We must trust that God will bring His work in us to completion...He has declared us righteous (justified), He has set us apart and made us holy (sanctified), and He will bring us to complete maturity (glorified).

So...what is the message? Grace. God's grace toward sinful mankind.

UFC: Accepting by Faith Alone

Accepting by Faith Alone was our topic of discussion in ABF this week. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." But exactly what are grace and faith? Grace is simply God's unmerited favor shown to mankind. Faith is abandoning all trust in our own resources and casting oneself on the mercy of God. How do grace and faith work together in salvation and where do works come in to play? Salvation is a gift of God's love, grace and mercy. The definition of salvation is the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil. We can only be delivered through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. John 3:16 clearly demonstrates that salvation is through faith alone.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Though the basis of salvation is not works, the goal of salvation is good works (Eph 2:10). We were not saved by works, we were saved for works. Once we have been saved, we are re-created into a “masterpiece” of God’s grace in order to do the good works that God had designed for us to do.

UFC: Identifying with the Humanity of Jesus

As we returned to our study entitled, Ultimate Faith Challenge, we discussed Identifying with the Humanity of Jesus. God has bestowed His grace on us by taking on our suffering. Romans 1:5 states that we receive God's grace only through Jesus Christ. God came to earth as a man and was mocked, beaten and crucified in human form so that we could relate better with our creator. But, the incarnation is about more than a moment in history when God became man. It is also about the daily call for men and women to become like Christ by humbling ourselves and laying down our lives to serve a spouse, a child, a grandchild, a parent, and a world that desperately needs to see Jesus "in flesh and blood."

I could never myself believe in God if it were not for the cross. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I turn to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness.

That is the God for me. He set aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death.

John R. W. Stott, The Cross of Christ

UFC: Relying on God's Word

Recap by Justin Graves

This past week's lesson was on "Relying on God's Word". The lesson included some statistics about "Bible Knowledge" and "Bible Statistics" (see below), but the question I ask myself is "Do I know how to "rely" on God and His Word?" Don't we tend to find ways to take care of all our problems and stresses. Do we turn to scripture for answers in everyday life? Do we pray when we're at work having a crappy day? Do we pray when we get mad at our spouses? If we don't....the question to ask ourselves is why? Ask yourself this question this week. Share your answers with your spouse. Read 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, and Luke 1:1-4. I don't think knowing statistics and facts about the Bible make us better Christians. The challenge is...are we really "relying" on God's word in our daily lives.

UFC: Comprehending Creation

There are several views on creation...literal creation, the gap theory, evolution, progressive creation. But what does scripture tell us about the beginning? We know from Genesis 1:1 that, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Clearly it states that before this there was nothing. This is the BEGINNING. Genesis continues showing us that God created light from darkness, sea from sky, land from sea, day and night, every living creature and even female from male.

Acts 17:24-25
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.

It is amazing to believe in a God that does not need to be validated by science and can be accepted through faith. Hebrews 11:3 states, "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible."

Since God made us in His own image, we are to celebrate our significance, our value as a moral, eternal being. Celebrate our purpose to reign with God in creation, and celebrate our responsibility to worship.

Does it take more faith to believe that God created everything, or that it all happened by accident?