Biblical change takes place as believers cultivate life in the Spirit by sowing according to the desires of the Spirit. The overall objectives of the lessons were (1) to introduce parishioners to a basic framework for understanding change, how to change and how to help others change; (2) to model a healthy use of Scripture in pastoral care by examining biblical texts in their context in order to understand and apply them appropriately; (3) to contextualize biblical counseling principles to the lives of believers in Central Asia; (4) to encourage and equip parishioners to look after each other more wisely and effectively; (5) on.
It was also helpful for the participants to realize that the response of God's people came before any salvation. We then learned from the Psalm that God is with us, and that He is sovereign. His presence comforts his people, and his sovereignty assures them that he is in control.
In summary, we learned from Psalm 46 that God is our refuge, which means that he is our place of comfort and safety. Finally, we learned that God is with us, which means that we are never alone and always have a helper in times of need.
Believers—Who Are We in this World? (1 Pet 2:9–12) (Understanding
While one truth may be particularly meaningful to someone at a given time, remembering and resting in all three provides a stability and balance in our view of God and the Christian life that will help us as we seek to persevere in Christ throughout all the struggles of life. To cultivate change in that coming week, we committed to memorize Psalm 46:1 and think about these three characteristics of God. Consequently, the church is now God's new covenant people and God's appointed vehicle to proclaim his praises.
These verses made it clear to participants that our fundamental identity as believers is that we are the people of God. In summary, the Bible describes believers as the people of God who fight against indwelling sin while enduring suffering.
In our lesson, we grouped these sins into the categories of thoughts or beliefs, desires or We also emphasized that the main source of our problems is not "out there", but in our hearts. Therefore, the goal of change is to focus on what we have stored in our hearts; when there are changes at the heart level, the fruit of God will come.
Situations or people do not determine what comes from the heart, but they provide opportunities for what is already in our hearts to come out - for better or for worse. The lesson ended with some applications for the coming week – to continue reading the devotional, memorize Proverbs 4:23, and personally reflect on the bad fruit in our lives and ask, “Where does it come from.
Christ—Where Do We Begin?
But the call has a special purpose—those whom he is calling to come to him. This call also has a condition - those who are tired and burdened should come to him. Jesus' call to those in need is to come to him and stay with him - to learn from him and submit to him in everything.
Next we studied how Jesus gives those in need a reason to come to Him – He is humble and lowly of heart. To come to Jesus is to stay with him, to learn from him and to take on his Word as our truth and way of life.
The Holy Spirit—How Can We Live in Freedom? (Gal 5:13–6:10)
In Galatians 5:16-26 we studied how Paul describes the struggle of the flesh against the Spirit. We especially emphasized that good fruit in our lives is the result of the Spirit - he is the one who produces fruit when we walk by and sow to him. The work of the Spirit in our lives should give believers an optimistic view of change.
We wrestle with our own flesh, but we also share in the struggles of our spiritual brothers and sisters by walking together in the Spirit. Finally, we reminded ourselves to continue cultivating change by reading our devotional, serving our brother or sister in a practical way that week, finding a way to carry another's burden and praying for him or her and praying that the Spirit would continue his work in our lives as we sow to him and fight against the flesh.
God’s Word—How Can We Cultivate Spiritual Health? (Ps 1)
Basically, he will not go the way of the world and follow sinners, but instead will delight in God's Word. The result of meditating on God's Word is that he will become like a tree planted by flowing streams—an image of health and stability. Prayerful meditation on God's Word is the primary way the Spirit works in those in Christ to move them from a bad tree that bears bad fruit to a good tree that bears good fruit.
Our commitment is that God's Word will influence us more than the world, which will happen as we read, understand and apply His Word. Our lesson ended with a discussion on how we could encourage and teach Dilek to meditate on God's Word.
The Church—How Can a Community Change Together? (Eph
Consequently - and this was an important point for our group - all believers should work for the good, edification, strength and health of the church. The necessary components are truth and love - and talking to each other in this way. And as each member works for the good of the whole, the Spirit will use the Word in the context of the church to mature and transform believers in Christ.
Each needs the other and the Lord will use each to mature the other in Christ. To cultivate change, we agreed to pray for one other believer in the church that week and try to find a way to encourage him or her with truth.
Love, Listen, and Understand—
We discussed how listening is a skill we can develop and that to grow as listeners we need to grow in asking better questions. We saw together that the purpose of listening and asking questions is to understand our brother or sister in Christ. To engage in this way is to apply the principle of Jesus in Matthew 7:12: "Whatever you would have others do for you, do the same for them." We agreed that we all appreciate when someone listens to us and understands us; therefore we want to do the same for others.
As we try to understand someone and their struggle, we also discussed how to try to understand their struggle in the light of Scripture. We learned that if we want to help someone change and grow, we must understand both the person and God's Word.
Minister the Word and Call to Live by Faith in Christ—How Can We
Our last point on how to help others change focused on the call for a brother or sister to walk by faith in Christ in the practical details of their daily lives. What would faithful obedience to Christ look like this week?” We must examine what we should start, stop, or continue in our thoughts, desires, and decisions regarding God, ourselves, others, and circumstances. To end the lesson, we looked briefly at Galatians 2:20, a reminder that as believers we live by faith in Christ.
We live and change in the light of the gospel, so all acts of obedience come from who we are in Christ and our constant trust in his grace to change us. We ended our time emboldened to continue to be transformed by faith in Christ until the end.
CONCLUSION
One of the local believers who evaluated the curriculum is one of the few secondary. Both were encouraged by the contextualized content of the material for the local church and. For example, seven out of eight participants in the previous survey wrote that they felt ready to counsel other believers.
Given the clear need for biblical counseling resources in this language, a major strength of the teachings was that they sought to fill this need. First, some of the lessons included so much detail or questions that they took a while.
Would Do Differently
What is Different about Us? Spiritual Friendship: Colossians 3:12–17
Change happens when the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God in the context of the church. He has met other believers in the church and enjoyed learning from them. Our friendships/relationships are different because we do everything, including relating to each other, in the name of the Lord Jesus (3:17).
In summary, our friendships/relationships in the church are different because of Jesus and his good news. How can he answer the question: “What is different about the community in the church.
Who is Our God? Psalm 46
Where can you go in scripture to point out to Elif who God is in the midst of trials? What is the confession of God's people in the midst of their unstable and dangerous circumstances. How does trust in who God is change the way His people interpret their circumstances and how they feel?
Why it is necessary for His people to know and trust all three of these qualities, especially in the midst of trials and tribulations. How can we help reconcile Elif's faith in a good, sovereign and present Lord with the problems of her life.
Who are We in this World? 1 Peter 2:9–12
Her father was an angry and distant man who would shout a lot in the home. We also suffer because of the sin of others and because we live in a sinful world. Counseling and Counseling: Christ's Message and Ministry Practice Joining." Journal of Biblical Counseling 32, no.
