Adult Bible studies are an extremely important part in the process of sanctification, which is the process of becoming Christ-like in all areas of life. Although Christians will never reach their full and complete sanctification in this life, they should be striving in that direction. Joining a community Bible study is a healthy way to stay in God's Word while fellowshipping with other Christians. Such studies are offered in most churches. They are typically offered on Sunday mornings either before or after the main service, but can also be offered in the evenings. If no adult Bible studies are offered at the local church, people can opt to start a neighborhood study, either using the church facilities or someone's home.
By regularly studying the Scriptures with others, Christians are committing to gaining more knowledge about the Heavenly Father in a structured way. Such a gathering usually consists of some type of reading material in addition to the Bible. Christian bookstores have plenty of resources from which to choose. Thought-provoking questions are usually part of the learning process. These questions not only test the understanding of the Scripture, but also encourage participants to reflect and apply to their everyday lives what they are learning. Making it personal is the goal. Some studies focus on a specific book or person of the Bible. Others delve into a particular subject, such as grief or compassion or finances.
As the name suggests, a community Bible study is usually open to all members in the community, not just members or attendees of a particular church. In this way, such gatherings function as outreach ministries to seekers as well as opportunities to meet neighbors within the community who, perhaps, attend a different church.
Children typically benefit from their parents attending adult Bible studies. Most churches will offer childcare or children's programs at the same time, freeing up the parents to concentrate on their studies. Raising children according to biblical standards is challenging. Parents can certainly benefit by learning God's way to raise and lead a family. Some churches offer programs specifically for parents in a particular season of life, whether raising young children, teenagers, or even grandparenting. The Bible has pearls of wisdom for families in every stage.
In this high-tech age of microchips and modems, when people like to be productive, on-the-go, and online, it is often difficult to realize that God, whose knowledge exceeds the entire world's data banks, is never in a hurry. His goal is for each believer to mature into Christ's likeness. He wants His children to put on "the full armor of God" in order to stand against the devil's schemes. The Lord knows that the battle cannot be fought alone, which is why joining a group with other Christians standing against Satan is wise.
Becoming like Christ requires a change in character for all people. His children are not to conform to worldly standards. It is nearly impossible to change a character to match Christ without being accountable to others, seeing examples, and focusing on God's word. Joining an adult Bible study is one way to meet these needs in order to grow as a Christian, and to reflect God's character to all those that are in a Christian's sphere of influence. For many people, the only Christ they know is the one they see reflected in a Christian's character and behavior. In order to reflect Christ's character to others, the Christian must not only be solely God-centered and self-centered. Service to others is also required.
A community Bible study will teach Christians to use the information learned in the meeting, apply it to their lives, and show others that fruit. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These fruits must be demonstrated in all a Christian does and says. God is pleased when a Christian uses adult Bible studies as tools to do good and share with others.
The biblical view of success radically contradicts that of the world. Jesus said that to achieve greatness, all must first become a servant. A community Bible study is not designed for people to compete with one another to be the best at memorizing verses or dazzling one another with scriptural tidbits or trivia. Nor is this time to be spent worrying about the "correct" answers to theological questions that have been debated for centuries. Adult Bible studies are designed to instruct Christians in the ways of God, so they can go into the world, do good deeds, humble themselves, bring others to Christ--not only by words, but by actions--and reflect on their own character while admitting their faults and developing ways to change. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth," (2 Timothy 2:15).
For more information: http://www.christianet.com/biblestudy
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Seven Keys to Effective Prayer
If prayer is so powerful, then why does it seem like the more we pray, the worse things seem to get?
Perhaps what we see as a world of chaos is simply the Field, mirroring our belief that peace is missing — our "please, let there be peace" echoes back to us as chaos! If so, then this understanding of how the mirror works can encourage us to change what we say to the Field.
Effective prayer is based on this understanding that the energy underlying all of creation is a malleable essence that accurately reflects what we put out.
For many centuries, indigenous shamans have taught that we need to pray the results and not the problem. They exhorted people to focus on the outcome as if it is already a reality: to pray healing instead of praying for healing; to pray rain instead of praying for rain. Praying for something reinforces our perceived lack; praying the desired outcome visualizes it from a place of inner faith as if it is already there.
Our abundant universe always contains sufficient peace, health and happiness in some form. Effective prayer is hones in on these positive qualities, viewing the world as if the perfect outcome already exists, with appreciation and gratitude. By doing so, we open the door to greater possibilities and more of the outcomes we hold in mind.
When millions of people pray for world peace, for instance, their collective focus on the desired outcome has a profound effect. In 1972, 24 cities in the United States with populations over 10,000 experienced meaningful drops in crime rates when as few as 1% (100 people) in each city participated in prayer.
During the Israeli-Lebanese war of the early 1980s, researchers with the International Peace Project in the Middle East trained a group of people to "feel" peace in their bodies rather than to simply pray "for" peace.
At specific times and days, participants throughout the war-torn areas of the Middle East focused on feeling peace in the midst of conflict. During each such time period, terrorist activities stopped, crime declined, emergency room visits dropped off, and traffic accidents decreased. When participants stopped their experiment, the statistics reversed.
From the findings of these studies, researchers extrapolated how many people are needed to share the experience of peace before peace is mirrored in their world: the square root of 1% of the population. In a city of one million people, this is about 100 people. In a world of 6 billion people, it requires only about 8,000!
Collective prayer can be a powerful force to change the Field to that which is collectively held in mind: the more people focus collectively on a desired outcome, the faster such an effect is created. Here are seven keys to effective prayer:
1. Clear Focus. Clarity of focus serves as a coherent organizing principle to align the energy fields we focus on. In quantum physics, this is referred to as the Heisenberg principle, where random particles behave in orderly fashion when observed. The more clarity we bring to this act of observation, the more effectively the Field responds. Before prayer, decide exactly what it is you desire to accomplish and keep your focus on that intended outcome.
2. Intention. Ask yourself why you desire the specified outcome? What is your deepest intention or desire? Why? Keep drilling down until you get to the core of it; then address that core need instead of the superficial symptoms. Instead of desiring a new relationship because of the need to feel loved, would it perhaps be more effective to pray about learning how to love yourself?
3. Silence. In any conversation, silence is a valuable component that allows for comprehension and processing to facilitate meaningful feedback. Prayer is no different: It is your conversation with the Divine or the Field. Valuable insight can arise during those times of silence.
4. Listening. There is also a need for listening when we pray. So often, we blurt out all our requests, grievances and fears; thinking that such a one-way conversation constitutes prayer. In the quiet listening of effective prayer, you may find solutions arise as inner guidance and a subtle inner re-contextualization of circumstances.
5. Surrender. When a child brings a broken toy to their parent, they have ultimate confidence and faith in the parent’s ability to fix the problem. Well, prayer is no different! In this Divine conversation, you are simply aligning yourself to the Field to facilitate the desired outcome. With childlike trust, we can surrender the situation, detach from it and leave it there. That means no obsessing over the situation after you have let it go!
6. Gratitude. The power of gratitude is enormous. It helps us focus on the desired outcome rather than the perceived problem. As earlier scientific studies proved, focusing on the desired outcome has a powerful effect on aligning circumstances with what is held in mind. Since we are subject only to that which we hold in mind, why not give thanks for the solution rather than focusing on the problem? Your body will thank you with lower blood pressure, reduced stress and a greater sense of peace!
7. Be flexible. My grandfather used to say that we often pray wrong, but the Divine always hears right. We may be convinced that the solution to a financial shortfall, for instance, should come in the form of a raise. However, it may show up as a new job offer or an opportunity to refinance the mortgage. After you have prayed, keep your eyes open because answers may arrive in a way quite different from what you expected!
By:Free Article brought to YOU by ArticlesOn.com
Perhaps what we see as a world of chaos is simply the Field, mirroring our belief that peace is missing — our "please, let there be peace" echoes back to us as chaos! If so, then this understanding of how the mirror works can encourage us to change what we say to the Field.
Effective prayer is based on this understanding that the energy underlying all of creation is a malleable essence that accurately reflects what we put out.
For many centuries, indigenous shamans have taught that we need to pray the results and not the problem. They exhorted people to focus on the outcome as if it is already a reality: to pray healing instead of praying for healing; to pray rain instead of praying for rain. Praying for something reinforces our perceived lack; praying the desired outcome visualizes it from a place of inner faith as if it is already there.
Our abundant universe always contains sufficient peace, health and happiness in some form. Effective prayer is hones in on these positive qualities, viewing the world as if the perfect outcome already exists, with appreciation and gratitude. By doing so, we open the door to greater possibilities and more of the outcomes we hold in mind.
When millions of people pray for world peace, for instance, their collective focus on the desired outcome has a profound effect. In 1972, 24 cities in the United States with populations over 10,000 experienced meaningful drops in crime rates when as few as 1% (100 people) in each city participated in prayer.
During the Israeli-Lebanese war of the early 1980s, researchers with the International Peace Project in the Middle East trained a group of people to "feel" peace in their bodies rather than to simply pray "for" peace.
At specific times and days, participants throughout the war-torn areas of the Middle East focused on feeling peace in the midst of conflict. During each such time period, terrorist activities stopped, crime declined, emergency room visits dropped off, and traffic accidents decreased. When participants stopped their experiment, the statistics reversed.
From the findings of these studies, researchers extrapolated how many people are needed to share the experience of peace before peace is mirrored in their world: the square root of 1% of the population. In a city of one million people, this is about 100 people. In a world of 6 billion people, it requires only about 8,000!
Collective prayer can be a powerful force to change the Field to that which is collectively held in mind: the more people focus collectively on a desired outcome, the faster such an effect is created. Here are seven keys to effective prayer:
1. Clear Focus. Clarity of focus serves as a coherent organizing principle to align the energy fields we focus on. In quantum physics, this is referred to as the Heisenberg principle, where random particles behave in orderly fashion when observed. The more clarity we bring to this act of observation, the more effectively the Field responds. Before prayer, decide exactly what it is you desire to accomplish and keep your focus on that intended outcome.
2. Intention. Ask yourself why you desire the specified outcome? What is your deepest intention or desire? Why? Keep drilling down until you get to the core of it; then address that core need instead of the superficial symptoms. Instead of desiring a new relationship because of the need to feel loved, would it perhaps be more effective to pray about learning how to love yourself?
3. Silence. In any conversation, silence is a valuable component that allows for comprehension and processing to facilitate meaningful feedback. Prayer is no different: It is your conversation with the Divine or the Field. Valuable insight can arise during those times of silence.
4. Listening. There is also a need for listening when we pray. So often, we blurt out all our requests, grievances and fears; thinking that such a one-way conversation constitutes prayer. In the quiet listening of effective prayer, you may find solutions arise as inner guidance and a subtle inner re-contextualization of circumstances.
5. Surrender. When a child brings a broken toy to their parent, they have ultimate confidence and faith in the parent’s ability to fix the problem. Well, prayer is no different! In this Divine conversation, you are simply aligning yourself to the Field to facilitate the desired outcome. With childlike trust, we can surrender the situation, detach from it and leave it there. That means no obsessing over the situation after you have let it go!
6. Gratitude. The power of gratitude is enormous. It helps us focus on the desired outcome rather than the perceived problem. As earlier scientific studies proved, focusing on the desired outcome has a powerful effect on aligning circumstances with what is held in mind. Since we are subject only to that which we hold in mind, why not give thanks for the solution rather than focusing on the problem? Your body will thank you with lower blood pressure, reduced stress and a greater sense of peace!
7. Be flexible. My grandfather used to say that we often pray wrong, but the Divine always hears right. We may be convinced that the solution to a financial shortfall, for instance, should come in the form of a raise. However, it may show up as a new job offer or an opportunity to refinance the mortgage. After you have prayed, keep your eyes open because answers may arrive in a way quite different from what you expected!
By:Free Article brought to YOU by ArticlesOn.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)