A Jesus Shaped Life Quotes...

       

      

     

    

    

Week 2 of A Jesus Shaped Life...

I am so loving this bible study.  Week 2 was all about the Trinity and Community.  

One way to define the Trinity is = God eternally exists as three persons (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit).  Each person is fully God.  There is one God.

We went over the "Nicene Creed".  Click on it to learn more about it.  

Our picture of God (how we see God in our mind's eye when we pray, read Scripture, and engage in other spiritual practices) absolutely informs the way we live our lives.  

Trinitarian theology = the oneness of God

God is a God of unity!  

Christianity is a monotheistic (one God) faith!

Trinitarian theology is 1 + 1 + 1 = 1.

It is essential to the Christian faith that our God is one.

Praise God for His infinite nature and that we can continue to grow in our understanding of Him for all of eternity!

For Paul, in the book of Corinthians, Trinitarian theology  was essential to understanding the redemptive work of Christ and the power of Holy Spirit.  

Paul's letters are important for us Christians today because although he was writing specifically to the ancient Corinthians and not us, through the power of God he was writing for us.

Because we know that all 3 persons of the Trinity have ALWAYS existed and none were created later on, we know that God has always existed in community.  

Genesis 2:18 - Why did God know that it was not good for man to be alone?  Because God Himself has never been alone either!

God, in His infinite wisdom, knows it is important for us to reflect His image & so He created in us a deep desire for good & whole community.  Basically, God is in community, so we should be too!

God is consistently gathering His people to Himself throughout the story of the Bible, & God is drawing near to us all over the pages of Scripture.  

Such a great week of learning.  Lisa Harper is an amazing Bible teacher.  I love her passion for God's Word.  It exudes out of every part of her and it's contagious.  It just stirs you in your inner most being.  So thankful for this woman of God and all I'm learning from her obedience to teach God's people what He would have her teach.  

The hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy" has been in my mind this week.  One because she mentioned it in the study but two because it fits perfectly with all that we studied this week.  The old hymns that I learned as a child are coming home to rest so deeply in my heart these days.  Don't get me wrong, I love all the new Praise & Worship songs but there is just something that hits you with such depth about the old hymns.  It's indescribable but I feel it in a way that I never did when I was growing up in church.  There's so much more meaning in them for me now.

God In 3 Person's,

Blessed Trinity!

Week 1 of A Jesus Shaped Life...

This week I learned this:

Christoformic Orthopraxy = a way of right living that is rooted in our transformation into the likeness of Christ.

    

    Broken down into roots:

       Christo = Christ or Christ-centered; Formic = form

Christoformic (adj.) = refers to the ways in which we are shaped into the likeness of Christ. 

"If our pursuit of biblically orthodox theology doesn't ultimately have a Christofromic effect on us thereby drawing others toward Jesus Himself, then our pursuit is at best shallow, at worst sabotaged by self-serving movtives."  ~Lisa Harper 

So Why Theology?  Theology is unique because it is NOT something meant to be studied in a way that is disconnected from our lives.  It IS meant to TRANSFORM US!

Our Bible is a collection of 66 books, comprised of Old and New Testaments.  Each of these books points us toward the character of God and tells the story of God.  

The Bible is a grand narrative that points us to Jesus as the ultimate embodiment of God Himself.

The Bible is an incredible, rich story of pursuit, love, and redemption we just can't compare to anything else.

The Scriptures illuminate Jesus for us!

"More often than not, the phrase 'word of God' in the New Testament isn't used to describe a physical Bible; instead, it's referring to Jesus."  ~Lisa Harper

Bibliology = a field of theology all about the Bible; the study of one's belief about the Bible.  Theological study of, or conversation about, our collection of holy books known as the Bible.

• Biblio = from the Greek (Gk) work biblios meaning "scroll" or "book" (from this root we also get the English word "bibliography")
• Logy  = from the Greek (Gk) word logos, meaning "word" or "study"

The study of Scripture is a wonderful Christian spiritual practice that can draw us deeper into relationship with Jesus and is a way we can participate in our own spiritual formation.

Theology, a conversation about God, is an invitation to deepen our relationship with Him as we grow in our knowledge and experience of Him in our lives.

Biblically orthodox theology:

• Biblically = rooted in Scripture
• Orthodox =from the Greek (Gk) roots orthos (straight) and dosa (belief or opinion), in other words, something that is grounded in correct Christian faith and tradition
• Theology = a belief system and worldview based on the promises and parameters found in God's Word

Biblically Orthodox Theology refers to developing our own theological views that are 1) rooted in Scripture, 2) grounded in historical Christian truth, and 3) based on our study of God.

"As we dive deeper into biblically orthodox theology, it's likely that most of us will have to jettison theology we've inherited along the way and sincerely thought was true."  ~Lisa Harper

Jesus, as the true vine, is the source of all of our nourishment and allows us to flourish.  If we are able to see theology as an invitation into relationship, we can remain connected to Jesus, the true vine, and we can bear spiritual fruit.

In John 15:9 (and you'll have to look that up) the invitation into relationship is infused with the love of God.  Remaining in the love of Jesus, then, is vital to our theological study.

And that's all from week 1's study.  I'll share week 2's study with you soon.  

A Jesus Shaped Life...

Started this bible study Monday and I'm loving it already.  I'm looking forward to diving into the subject of sound biblical theology and how it deepens my relationship with God and others.  

Already I've learned:

(Definitions derived from Greek Words)

• Theology = theologia = a belief system and world view based on the promises and parameters found in God's Word.  
• Theos = God; Logos = Words/conversation.
• Hermeneutic = the lens through which we see and understand.
• Orthodoxy = Orthos = right; Doxa = belief
• Ask yourself, is what I claim about God in line with Scripture and the core beliefs of the Christian faith?
• Orthopraxy = Orthos = right; Praxis = practice
• Ask yourself, does what I claim compel me toward right ways of living?
• Orthopathy = Orthos = right; Pathos = feeling
• Ask yourself, is my heart and emotion attuned to God in light of my theology?

This study has already got my blood pumping and excited for learning more.  I can't wait to do day 2's solo work/homework today.  I'm looking forward to sharing more with you as I do this bible study.