MEMORY VERSE
"As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit..."
Matthew 13:23 (ESV)
Foundations 1: Introduction
Foundations is our fundamental building block in building strong believers who can impact their world and be an integral part in growing God’s kingdom. Who doesn’t want to do that? So let’s get right to it.
1. Describe the four types of people from Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13:1-23.
a. v. 19
b. v. 20-21
c. v. 22
d. v. 23
If you want to be like person #4, you’ve come to the right place! This program will equip you with everything you need to become a person who bears fruit for the kingdom of God. Let’s take a closer look at what that means.
2. Matthew 28:18-20 is commonly called The Great Commission of Christ. What do you learn from these words of Christ about what we are called to do as Christians?
Jesus calls each and every believer to be active in going and making disciples of all nations. That includes me and you too.
1. Describe the four types of people from Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13:1-23.
a. v. 19
b. v. 20-21
c. v. 22
d. v. 23
If you want to be like person #4, you’ve come to the right place! This program will equip you with everything you need to become a person who bears fruit for the kingdom of God. Let’s take a closer look at what that means.
2. Matthew 28:18-20 is commonly called The Great Commission of Christ. What do you learn from these words of Christ about what we are called to do as Christians?
Jesus calls each and every believer to be active in going and making disciples of all nations. That includes me and you too.
How it Works
1. READ
This program is pretty simple – It focuses on the scriptures with very little extra commentary. All you need is to set aside one hour a week initially, or 15 minutes a day, and work through each lesson. At the end of the week, answers and discussion to each question will be posted so you can review and see how you are tracking.
2. MEMORIZE
Committing scripture to memory is one of the most powerful tools you can add to your life. Jesus Himself committed scripture to memory and this was even His primary defense when attacked by The Adversary (Matthew 4:1-10).
Many people say they just can’t memorize scripture. This is obviously not true, because every single person can sing the words to a song they know from years ago from memory. So it’s more about HOW to memorize scripture.
There is a very simple method that works extremely well that we will use in Good Ground: Every day, with the Memory Verse in front of you, recite the verse out loud or in your head three times as you read it, ending with the scripture reference. Each time you read, try to recite more and more of the verse from memory. If you do this every day, you will have the verse memorized by the end of the week. This puts the verse into shorter term memory.
From there, every week or so, go back over the verse a few times and make sure you can still remember it. This will store the verse in longer term memory for you to recall the rest of your life. If you have forgotten the verse, it will be simple to bring it back with a few times of simple practice.
Begin this week with our first Memory Verse, Matthew 13:23.
3. CONNECT
Don't just read and move on. Find one or two others in the church to talk about what you learned from your reading. Set up a regular time with others to get together for coffee or a meal to share what you are learning from God's Word.
This program is pretty simple – It focuses on the scriptures with very little extra commentary. All you need is to set aside one hour a week initially, or 15 minutes a day, and work through each lesson. At the end of the week, answers and discussion to each question will be posted so you can review and see how you are tracking.
2. MEMORIZE
Committing scripture to memory is one of the most powerful tools you can add to your life. Jesus Himself committed scripture to memory and this was even His primary defense when attacked by The Adversary (Matthew 4:1-10).
Many people say they just can’t memorize scripture. This is obviously not true, because every single person can sing the words to a song they know from years ago from memory. So it’s more about HOW to memorize scripture.
There is a very simple method that works extremely well that we will use in Good Ground: Every day, with the Memory Verse in front of you, recite the verse out loud or in your head three times as you read it, ending with the scripture reference. Each time you read, try to recite more and more of the verse from memory. If you do this every day, you will have the verse memorized by the end of the week. This puts the verse into shorter term memory.
From there, every week or so, go back over the verse a few times and make sure you can still remember it. This will store the verse in longer term memory for you to recall the rest of your life. If you have forgotten the verse, it will be simple to bring it back with a few times of simple practice.
Begin this week with our first Memory Verse, Matthew 13:23.
3. CONNECT
Don't just read and move on. Find one or two others in the church to talk about what you learned from your reading. Set up a regular time with others to get together for coffee or a meal to share what you are learning from God's Word.
Let's get started.
Now that we have gotten our feet wet a little bit, it’s time to lay the foundations of a strong disciple of Christ. Regardless of how long you have been a Christian, we need to reinforce the basic elements of the faith so we can be that Good Ground that produces an increase. That’s what we will be doing this first semester, going over the Foundations of the faith. So get ready to be blown away by God’s Word!
