Bible Study 3 – God’s plan to make us holy

 1.) Whom do you most admire? Why?

Jesus – Holiness – His Sacrifice – Perfection – An example - Humbleness – Awesomeness

Dad and Mom – good role model 

Dr Martin Luther King – revolutionist – out of the ordinary – charismatic personality

 

 ·         Video: Introduction
 ·         Read Romans 8:28‐30

 

     28We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. To be Holy. God works for our good.

 

    29For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren.

    30And those whom He thus foreordained, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself). And those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being].

 

 

2.) What is God’s purpose for those who love him? 

 

 

Conform (Meaning: To be similar) to Him.

  

3.) What do you think it means to “be conformed to the image of his Son”? (v29)

To be more like Him. To follow His steps. Need His mindset. A conscious – “What would Jesus do”? The image is His ”likeness”. But what is this “image”? Might be worthwhile to think about it. =)

  ·         Read Titus 2:11‐14

 11For the grace of God (His unmerited favor and blessing) has come forward (appeared) for the deliverance from sin and the eternal salvation for all mankind.

 12It has trained us to reject and renounce all ungodliness (irreligion) and worldly (passionate) desires, to live discreet (temperate, self-controlled), upright, devout (spiritually whole) lives in this present world,

 13Awaiting and looking for the [fulfillment, the realization of our] blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One),

 14Who gave Himself on our behalf that He might redeem us (purchase our freedom) from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people [to be peculiarly His own, people who are] eager and enthusiastic about [living a life that is good and filled with] beneficial deeds.

  

4.) What titles and descriptions are used of Jesus in this passage? 

 

Self-control - a conscious choice to direct self
Upright - Honest
Godly lives – Living Holy. Without sin. Without evil desires.
No to worldly passions  

Saviour, King, God

  

5.) What kind of life does Jesus rescue us from?

Ungodliness

A sinful life – worldly passions (example: Money, material, pride, gluttony/greed, etc)

 

6.) What kind of life does Jesus rescue us for?

For a life of holiness – and everything that is required for you to achieve holiness

 

·         Video: God’s plan is to make us like Christ, holy and blameless 
·         1 Thess 4:1‐3, 5:19-24, Phil 2:12‐13

 

1 Thess 4:1 Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.  3It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality

1 Thess 5: 19 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil. 23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.  

 

 

7.) How are Christians to proceed and progress in their faith?

• To do more and more. To avoid sexual immortality. Do not put out the Holy Spirits fire.

• Do not prophecy with contempt – do not disregard something that may be from God. But at the same time..

• Test everything – not all prophecies are from God  – need to be careful

• Avoid every kind of evil.

• Question: is it possible to put out the Spirits fire – not allowing the Holy Spirit to work in your life. (example: not acting on your conviction.)

• Note: Quench (KJV) – ignoring

  

8.) How does this teaching challenge you? How does it reassure you?

(Reflect)

 

Possible thoughts: Some things easier said then done, so what steps do we need to avoid sinful acts? What do we need to sacrifice? With the sources of “sinful motivations” removed, helps assure us to be a step closer to holiness.

 

·         Video: Holiness progresses the way it began – by repentance and faith

 

9.) God’s plan is to make his people like Christ. How can you spend more time reflecting on the teaching and example of the Lord Jesus?

• Living under God’s authority

• Repentance I where we begun, there’s where we continue

• Turning our backs on the old ways

• Keeping our trust on God 

• To be Holy we need to practice – it’s a learning process to be Christ like

 

 11.) What practical steps can you take to learn more about Jesus Christ?

• Devotional – Just like spending time with a friend in order to know him/her better and develop a deeper relationship, same with God. The more time we spend with Him, the more we know Him.

• Understanding and internalizing God’s word

• Communicating with God

• Mentorship – Find someone who has a solid relationship in Christ and learn how he/she does it

• Come for OCF – On a serious note, being connected with friends who are in the fellowship does help a lot.

• Intentional – don’t succumb to pressure – be convicted. Cultivating a habit/culture

 

12.) In what areas do you struggle to be holy, to be like Christ?

Other commitments - studies, work, relationship, peer pressure, societies expectation.

Personal weaknesses – laziness?

  

13.) What are some of the dangers and distractions that prevent us to be holy?

Choose our friends wisely – don’t mix with bad company.

Getting obsessed/tempted by unholy things – keeping a distance essential.

 

Philippians  2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Thoughts Regarding Involving Mike Guglielmucci’s Fraud

Many of us have heard of the saddening, discouraging and destructive news regarding Pastor Mike Guglielmucci recent fraud, where he confessed to lying about his terminal illness and his addicting to pornography. It has cause much confusion among Christians with mixed reactions from anger to sympathy.

Honestly, I don’t know what to think about what Mike Guglielmucci did.. and I am personally, not convinced of everything I heard. If it were true, I feel it’s a good thing he did confess than getting away with it. It’s braver to repent and knowingly go through the storm than just keeping quiet about it and just live as though nothing happen. How about that? I believe there’s a bigger plan in store for all of us despite all the ugliness we see. Regardless of which “lie” is true, I’m certain for of one thing – that God is still moving among His people.

This incident reminds me why God placed our center theme in my heart. Steadfast in faith.

There WILL be times in our lives all of us will be tested, tried, and shakened. We can totally expect the devil to be on the prowl. Man will fall – of course, we all all born into sin. It all will come down to how firm our foundations are, cause when the storm hits us, only Christ can make sure we remain standing. We hope that the message we are trying to convey to you, that above all else we need to put our trust in God, not in man.

Lord, give us the strength to keep ourselves focused on You during troubled times.
Let us not rely on our own understanding.
Help us not to judge those who have sinned against us.
Give us a compassionate heart.
Amen.

Bible Study 2

Video: Introduction

1.) Who is this Jesus?
Son (Image) of God, King of Kings, Saviour of the world, our sins., Judge, Without sin, Radical, Different,
Video: Christ makes holiness possible
Paul Tells of His Conversion (To King Agrippa)

Acts 26:12 “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

2.) From this passage, how do people receive forgiveness for their sins?
Believe in God, Realise that we are sinners. Repent (turn).

3.) From this passage, how are people sanctified (i.e. set apart and made holy)?
Faith, by grace, by choice,
Coke, dilute with water
Video: Holiness begins with repentance and faith

4.) Is holiness a gift from God or something we need to work at producing in our lives? Give reasons for your answer.God has already given the gift to us.
Deliberate choice. Maintain. Obliged.

5.) What is the place of repentance in everyday Christian life?
Repentance is a daily choice.
Stop feeding the flesh. Live in the spirit, starve the flesh.

Confession of sin.
Everyday confession is necessary but not sufficient.  There must be growth. If there is no growth, then something is wrong with our faith.

Stop relying on self, but total reliance on God.

How do we measure growth? Becoming more like Christ.

7.) What has challenged you from this study? What has provided comfort and encouragement?
There is a holy God that is interested in us and will do everything to make us like Him. More about His power than ours. We just need to acknowledge that we’ve fallen short of Him. It has to be God doing for us, and we can only receive it through our faith and repentance.
We never earned the grace. It’s been given.

Into the Snow on Mt. Baw Baw

Several OCFers and friends ascended Mout Baw Baw on the Saturday of July 26th, 2008 for some time in the snow. The trip was organised by Casey Life International Church.

Four cars gathered outside the Casey Community Centre (where CLIC meets) around 9am. A word of prayer was said before making the odd 2 hour trip eastwards of Berwick.

 

Most of us come from countries where snow only exist in television screens and the fridge. It’s no wonder many of us acted like kids upon seeing that white, soft puff.

 

Some of us went for a few rounds of taboganing before going for snowboarding. Many of us being first timers found it to be a pain in the butt (literally).

Di No getting snowballed!

 

A tired bunch having dinner at Sophia’s

Berwick Students on Mt Baw Baw with members of Casey Life International Church

 

All in all we thank God for such a brilliant day in the snow. Till next winter!

 

Study 1- God is holy, we are not

Study 1- God is holy, we are not

Starters – What positive and negative images come to mind when you think of a ‘holy’ person?

Different from else, righteous. Nerdy. Geek. Isolated. Weird. Boring. Antisocial Irrelevant Self rightoues

Video: Introduction

Job 38
1.)    What struck you as you read this passage? How did you feel?

Overwhelmed, small, God is big.

2.)    How far does God’s power and control extend over the world? What is he able to do?

A lot. Anything, everything. How limited and small and ignorant powerless we humans are.

3.)    What words would you use to describe the God of Job 38?

Powderful. Indescribable. (Watch out for DVD). Magnificent.  Omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), omnipresent (everywhere)

Isaiah 6:1-7

4.)    What does Isaiah see and hear?

God. Seraphims, smoke.

5.)    What does Isaiah declare about himself?

Woe is me. I am doomed. Recognized how unclean he was.

6.)    What happens to Isaiah in verses 6-7? Why do you think this happens?

He compared himself with God.

Video: Holiness as power and purity

Jeremiah 8:4-9, 9:1-6

7.)    Is human rebellion against God the exception or the rule? Why?

Yes. Thinking is higher than ours. Fall of man = born selfish. Sin became human nature. Gods will Vs. Man’s will. Ought to follow the lords prayer, Your will be done.

8.)    What kind of language is used to describe the way people (including God’s people) have turned away from the Lord?

9.)    What accusations are brought against people in 9:1-6?

Deceivers, slanderers, adulterers, liars. Amazing how kids learn to cheat / lie without being taught to.

10.)    From these passages, what is God’s verdict on human nature?

Sinners. Enemies of God.

Video: We are not like God

11.)    What have you learnt from this study about who God is and what he is like?

Jimmy : indescribable.
Marc: God is holy.God is not like us.
Tara: God is love, He is also just.

Anything that is not like us, we will tend to have negative perception. i.e. holy is weird because we know we are nothing like it.

12.)    What have you learnt about yourself?

13.)    What do you think is the biggest problem facing humanity?

When people think they don’t need God. When people don’t see that they are sinners.
Ignorance.
No fear of God.
Other gods that blind them from the Truth. A lot of ‘self-God’ belief.
God is passionate about making us holy.

Around 20 shows up for Welcome Day

Praise God! We had a successful first meet seeing many newcomers joining our OCF family. All praise and glory to God!

 

Bible study begins the following week.

Bible Study 4 – Biblical Spiritual Growth

Introduction

Life by its definition is a growth process. That which is alive is growing. For example, seedlings grow to be trees, in some cases to heights of several hundred feet. Even when they reach their full height, they exhibit regular growth through the production of leaves, branches, or fruit.

The principle of growth also holds true in the spiritual realm. An essential, inherent characteristic in the Body of Christ is the individual spiritual growth. Pastor John R.W Stott calls spiritual growth a believers’ responsibility:

The great privilege of the child of God is relationship; his great responsibility is growth. Everybody loves children, but nobody in his right mind wants them to stave in the nursery. The tragedy, however is that many Christians born again in Christ, never grow up. Others even suffer from spiritual infantile regression. Our heavenly Father’s purpose, on the other hand, is that “babes in Christ” should become “mature in Christ”. Our birth must be followed by growth. The crisis of justification (acceptance before God) must lead to process of sanctification (growth in holiness), what Peter terms “growing up to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2).

In 2 Peter 3:18, Peter commands all of us who are believers to “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” We are to grow in the sphere of God’s grace in both biblical and experiential knowledge as the Lord works his will through all the challenges of life, both easy and difficult.

Discussion

1.)    When a storm hits your life, what is the first thing you usually do? Why do you think that is your first response?

• Our mind subconsciously compares the situation with worldly standards
• Looking at it from a negative perspective
• Try solving the problem ourselve (depending on our own strengths)

 

2.)    What hinders us from spiritual growth?

 

 Pride, laziness, ambition, sin.

 

3.)    Read 1 John 2:13-14. John is trying to tell us a pattern of spiritual growth. Which stage of growth are you at?

“Child” - Just meet God, but have limited knowledge of who He is.

“Young man’ - Knows God, overcomes the evil one.

“Father” - Someone who knows Him from the beginning.

 

4.)    Do you feel that you are a spiritually mature Christian by the standards Jesus set in the Beatitudes? Why or why not?

Refer to Matthew 5 

 

5.)    What areas of Christian spiritual growth do you know that you still need to work on?

Breaking pride - not rely on our own strengths, but on God

Be convicted instead of being convinced

Be obedience to God

Areas of Service in OCF Berwick

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ (verse 12). Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is part of it (verse 27)”. - 1 Corinthians 10:20.

 

From verses 28 to 31, Paul talks about the gifts given to us by God and how it has a function, a purpose for the body. OCF Berwick is also a body, still in development, still growing and it’s true birth yet to come. As we were in our mothers womb with our body parts forming, the same goes for us as a body in OCF Berwick.

 

I believe all of us have a part to play in this ministry. All of us have specific gifts and a certain calling towards God’s plans here in Berwick. It is my prayer that God will speak to you in His own way to take up the following roles and other areas of service.

 

Please view the available ministries listed below. If God has placed a stirring in your heart, please let the OCF president know.

 

 

-          President

o   Sets vision and oversees overall welfare of committee + CG leaders and spiritual growth of OCF

o   Setting up and allocation of CGs

o   Deals with MUBS, CU, BISA and Monash

o   Overseas general welfare and operations of OCF

o   Attends VIC Chair and AGM

o   Communicates with OCF (Australia) EXCO

 

-          Vice-President (Vacant)

o   Acts as the PIC whenever the President is unavailable

o   Represents President in VIC Chair and other meetings should he/she be unavailable

o   Communicates and accountable to leaders

o   The Presidents accountability partner (spiritual needs)

 

-          Secretary

o   Follows up on EXCO matters

o   Taking of minutes

o   Attends MUBS meetings and reports back to EXCO on various matters

o   Prepares formal documents and communicates with internal and external entities

o   Data management (filing, etc)

 

 

 

-          Treasurer

o   Manages the OCF Accounts, which includes budget allocation and ad-hoc financial needs

o   Training successor on the relevant processes

o   Records receipts and income statements

o   In charge of offering and responsible for the safety of funds

o   Aliasing with other departments on budgeting needs

o   Fundraising

 

 

-          Media & Communications (Vacant)

o   Publicity

o   Announcements

o   Website/Blog

o   Newsletters/email

o   Videos/Promos

o   Collaborate with worship team regarding lyrics

 

 

-          Worship Coordinator (Vacant)

o   Arranging/coordination worship practices

o   Transport and setting up of equipment

o   Quality control of worship

o   Preparing worship roster (by semester)

o   Logistics

o   Training and development of musicians, vocalist and worship leaders

o   To remind all members what the true essence of worship is (safe guard against worship leaders becoming too egoistic about their gifts)

o   On the constant look out for musicians and continuity of worship inter-semester

o   Appoints worship leaders

§  Worship leaders responsible for arranging practices

§  Printing out lyrics or borrowing LCD projector and laptop

 

 

 

-          Welfare and Outreach (Vacant)

Internal (Among OCF members)

o   Arrangement of transport (Berwick-Clayton)

o   Hospitality – the first people to say ‘hi’ to newcomers and encouraging/teaching the spirit of hospitality among OCFers

o   Ushering – welcoming people to OCF (give the warm feeling)

o   Following up with newcomers (alias with Secretary regarding CG allocation)

o   Making sure they are rooted in a local church (Warning: Avoid bias. Focus on spiritual growth, not church size)

o   Missions and evangelism

 

External

o   Following up relations between CU-OCF and other societies in Monash Berwick

o   To think of ways on how to improve OCF Berwick’s image and reputation in Monash (Warning: Or it should be said, figuring out ways on how to glorify God’s name)

o   Coordinating E-night and other evangelistic events

 

 

-          Bible Studies

o   Preparing bible study material in line with the years current theme and OCF motto for the whole sem*

o   Conducting PBS (pre-bible study)

o   Circulating bible study materials to CG leaders before PBS

o   Evaluating the effectiveness of bible study material

o   To teach CG leaders and those conducting bible study how to conduct a bible study

 *Instead of a year. We must expect newcomers to come during Sem 2. Therefore, a year’s program needs to put that into consideration.

 

 

-          Prayer Coordinator (Vacant)

o   Facilitating the venue’s availability and physical arrangement

o   To follow up on leaders on their daily/weekly walk with God

o   Figuring ways on how to improve peoples prayer lives/ethics

Clubs & Societies Day Semester 1

MUBS organised Clubs & Societies day in Week 6 for 2008’s first semester. Most of the clubs were present. A candy/fairy floss machine was rented and the floss were given out free in attempts to lure the crowd. We managed to collect 11 names. It’s far shorter than what we expected, but we nevertheless thank God on those who have expressed interest to join OCF Berwick. We will continue working on the new contacts and hopefully see a brekthrough in uni in times to come. I would like to thank OCF Clayton for sending 10 volunteers down to help.

OCF Berwick will meet as usul next week on the 16th of April 2008 in the BISA Lounge. See you there!

 

Voon

Easter Camp 2008

Easter Camp Promo Video’s out! Thought provoking. 

Camp details will be out soon! Stay tuned!