1. powerpoint presentation designed by claro ruiz vicente http://clarovicente.weebly.com Adult Bible Study Guide Apr May Jun 2009 Adult Bible Study Guide Apr May Jun 2009

2. Dear User … This PowerPoint Show is freely shared to all who may find it beneficial. While intended primarily for personal use, some find it useful for teaching the lesson in church. There are those, however, who add illustrations, change background, adjust font size, etc. While their intention may be good, this is not right. Slide #1 says “designed by claro ruiz vicente.” For honest Christians, it is not necessary for another’s creation to be copyrighted in order to be respected. PLEASE USE AS IS. The Christian Life An Appeal

3. Reinder Bruinsma Contributor Principal Contributor Reinder Bruinsma Contributor Principal Contributor

4. The Christian Life Contents 1. Love 2. Faith 3. Hope 4. Life 5. Revelation 6. Sin 7. Grace 8. Rest 9. Heaven 10. Discipleship 11. Stewardship 12. Community 13. Mission

5. The Christian Life Our Goal {181} We want to look at both aspects of our faith: doctrine and experience. Not only to understand these themes better but also to have been enriched as far as Christian experience is concerned. One focus: the One in whom “we live, and move, and have our being.”

6. The Christian Life Lesson 7, May 16 The Christian Life Lesson 7, May 16

7. GRACE Key Text Romans 5:8 NKJV “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

8. GRACE Initial Words {261} Last week we were confronted with the dreadful phenomenon of sin, the “secret power of lawlessness” (2 Thess 2:7 NIV). In the final section we saw that through divine intervention a solution has been provided. What that intervention was, and what it accomplished for us, will be the focus of this week’s study.

9. GRACE Quick Look 1. Understanding Grace (Isaiah 53) 2. Accepting Grace (Ephesians 2:8) 3. Changed by Grace (1 Corinthians 15:10)

10. GRACE 1. Understanding Grace Isaiah 53:11, 12 NIV “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his know- ledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. … Because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgres- sors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressor.

11. 1.Understanding Grace God Provides Salvation {262} Isaac asked why they had not taken an animal with them. Abraham replied with the prophetic words: “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering (Gen 22:8 NIV). Everything prior to His entrance into the world was a mere prelude to the Cross. God waited until the right moment. Then, when “the time had fully come” Christ came to live among us.

12. 1.Understanding Grace God Provides Salvation {262} “Through every age, through every hour, the love of God had been exercised toward the fallen race. … And when the fullness of the time had come, the Deity was glorified by pouring upon the world a flood of healing grace that was never to be obstructed or withdrawn till the plan of salvation should be fulfilled.” The Desire of Ages 37

13. 1.Understanding Grace Word-Pictures {264} God inspired the use of a number of different word-pictures, each of which gives us further insight into the mystery of His grace. Lamb (Isa 53:7; John 1:29) Servant (Matt 20:28) Blood (Acts 20:28) Price Paid (1 Cor 6:20) Combined, we arrive at a full picture.

14. GRACE 2. Accepting Grace Ephesians 2:8 NIV “For it is by faith that you are saved, through faith—and not from yourselves, it is the gift of God….”

15. 2. Accepting Grace Christ Our Salvation {270} Our faith should find its center in the truth as we find it in Jesus. We believe in a Person who has revealed our God to us, who has come to redeem us, who presently is our heavenly Mediator, and who will return to take us home. This must be of primary importance to us.

16. 2. Accepting Grace Christ Our Salvation {270} Ephesians 2:4-10 underlines that we are saved by grace. This grace is described as “incomparable riches” (vs 6 NIV), which issue from God’s “great love for us” (vs 4 NIV). This grace is gratis, free. It cannot be earned. It is God’s grace that will bring visible changes in our daily lives and that will enable us to do “good” works (vs 10).

17. 1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them— yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ” GRACE 3. Changed by Grace

18. A Change of Heart {268} Divine compassion and grace on Calvary has changed millions of hearts. From the very moment He hung dying on the cross, people were changed by beholding the love of Christ. One of the criminals crucified with Him noticed that Jesus was someone special (Luke 23:39-43). Even the Roman centurion noticed that Jesus was no criminal (vs 47).

19. A Change of Heart The Desire of Ages 439 {268} “Let the repenting sinner fix his eyes upon ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29); and by beholding, he becomes changed. His fear is turned to joy, his doubts to hope. Gratitude springs up. The stony heart is broken. A tide of love sweeps into the soul.

20. A Change of Heart The Desire of Ages 439 {268} “When … we behold Him in Gethsemane …and on the cross dying in agony …, self will no longer clamor to be recognized. Looking unto Jesus, we shall be ashamed of our coldness, our lethargy, our self-seeking. We shall be willing to be anything or nothing, so that we may do heart service for the Master.”

21. GRACE Final Words {266} As a result of what Christ has done for us, as a response to His substitution in our place, we are drawn to Him, we respond to Him, we change our attitude toward Him and other human beings, as well. This is the complementary, subjective side to the plan of salvation. (John 12:31, Romans 5:1).