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Essential Question

E-BookPDFDRM AdobeE-Book
Englisch
InterVarsity Presserschienen am10.07.2014
'I don't want to look back someday and realize I wasted my time. I want my life to count for something important.''This world is a very needy place. If my Christian faith means anything at all, I've got to figure out what I can do about it.'Have you ever asked yourself, What difference am I making with my life? On some level, we all struggle to find our own answer to that fundamental question. The search for significance is the underlying motivation for virtually all human activity. It's what drives us.Whitney T. Kuniholm, president of Scripture Union/USA, addresses these core questions by taking you on a fast-paced journey through the book of Acts. He draws on the question the apostle Paul asked Jesus: 'What shall I do, Lord?' (Acts 22:10).The experiences of the first Christians show us that God has a mission, an essential mission, for all of his people-whether it is to serve him faithfully in the marketplace, in the home, in school, in the military or someplace else. The Essential Question is perfect for groups and churches that want to read the book of Acts together and then make a difference for God in their community and the world. Are you ready to answer the essential question?

Whitney T. Kuniholm is the president of Scripture Union/USA and former executive vice president of Prison Fellowship Ministries. He is the author of several books on personal and group Bible study, including The Essential 100 and The Essential Jesus.mehr

Produkt

Klappentext'I don't want to look back someday and realize I wasted my time. I want my life to count for something important.''This world is a very needy place. If my Christian faith means anything at all, I've got to figure out what I can do about it.'Have you ever asked yourself, What difference am I making with my life? On some level, we all struggle to find our own answer to that fundamental question. The search for significance is the underlying motivation for virtually all human activity. It's what drives us.Whitney T. Kuniholm, president of Scripture Union/USA, addresses these core questions by taking you on a fast-paced journey through the book of Acts. He draws on the question the apostle Paul asked Jesus: 'What shall I do, Lord?' (Acts 22:10).The experiences of the first Christians show us that God has a mission, an essential mission, for all of his people-whether it is to serve him faithfully in the marketplace, in the home, in school, in the military or someplace else. The Essential Question is perfect for groups and churches that want to read the book of Acts together and then make a difference for God in their community and the world. Are you ready to answer the essential question?

Whitney T. Kuniholm is the president of Scripture Union/USA and former executive vice president of Prison Fellowship Ministries. He is the author of several books on personal and group Bible study, including The Essential 100 and The Essential Jesus.
Details
Weitere ISBN/GTIN9780830896660
ProduktartE-Book
EinbandartE-Book
FormatPDF
Format HinweisDRM Adobe
Erscheinungsjahr2014
Erscheinungsdatum10.07.2014
SpracheEnglisch
Dateigrösse1736 Kbytes
Artikel-Nr.5585674
Rubriken
Genre9200

Inhalt/Kritik

Leseprobe

Introduction

I don´t want to look back someday and realize I wasted my time. I want my life to count for something important.

This world is a very needy place. If my Christian faith means anything at all, I´ve got to figure out what I can do about it.

Honestly, what motivates me is not guilt. I want to help others because I´m so thankful for what God has done for me.

People think that having a mission from God is a joke. Not me. It´s what I´ve always wanted.

There are so many ways to make a difference in the world. How do I know what God wants me to do?

What difference am I making with my life? Have you ever asked yourself that? Of course you have! On some level, every human being is struggling to find their own answer to that fundamental question. In fact, I believe the search for significance is the underlying motivation for virtually all human activity. It´s what drives us.

Most people want to make a positive impact with their lives-through education, career, family, service to the community or through accomplishing some notable goal or achievement. Even those who are headed in a negative direction, like criminals or gang members, are still attempting to make an impact with their lives; they want to be recognized and they want to be respected.

While it´s true that we get distracted on our search by any number of contemporary temptations, nonetheless, human beings seem to have a built-in longing to make their lives count for something more. The philosopher Plato reportedly described the human as a being in search of meaning. And in more recent times, Viktor Frankl, a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps and author of the classic book Man´s Search for Meaning, wrote, Man´s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life. 1

But for Christians, there´s an extra dimension. If you are a follower of Jesus, you know that life is more than what you have or what you accomplish or even what people think of you. For Christians, the real question is: How can I make a difference for God? Jesus gave us the answer in his Sermon on the Mount: Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33). That´s our mission statement. Regardless of what happens in this life, all believers are headed to the same finish line, where we´re hoping to hear our Heavenly Father say, Well done, good and faithful servant! (Matthew 25:21). Isn´t that what you´re really longing for?
A JOURNEY TOGETHER
Yes, I do want to make a difference for God, you may be thinking, but how can I? That´s a very important question, and it´s the one I want to help you answer in this book. To do that I want to take a journey with you through the New Testament book of Acts, one of the most exciting reads in the entire Bible.

Let me say right up front, I´m not a theologian or a scholar. So if you´re looking for a heavy doctrinal treatise on the subject, you won´t find it here. I´m simply a follower of Jesus who believes that God´s Word still speaks today, if we are willing to listen. And I believe the book of Acts is the perfect place to start our journey, because it tells the story of how the first Christians, both individuals and small groups, struggled to answer the question, how can we make a difference for God?
THE ESSENTIAL QUESTION
In Acts 22 there is a very significant passage that will become the theme of our journey together. The apostle Paul was in Jerusalem when the religious leaders stirred up a riot against him because he had been preaching the good news about Jesus Christ. Before things got completely out of hand, a Roman commander arrested Paul, effectively rescuing him from the violent mob (see Acts 21:27-40). But instead of playing it safe, Paul asked to speak to the angry crowd, and when he was given permission he recounted his own conversion experience (Acts 22:3-21).

Paul explained that several years earlier he had been traveling to the town of Damascus when he was overwhelmed by a blinding light and heard a voice from heaven. In response he asked two questions. The first was, Who are you, Lord? (Acts 22:8). Paul didn´t immediately realize it, but he was having an encounter with Jesus.

The second question-and the one we´ll wrestle with in this book-was, What shall I do, Lord? (Acts 22:10). Lying in the dust on the Damascus road, Paul articulated the question every believer must answer; it is the essential question. Once we´ve encountered Jesus and made our decision to follow him, the next question must be, What shall I do, Lord?

It´s fascinating to read how God answered. Get up,´ the Lord said, and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do´ (Acts 22:10). Think about that for a minute. God had an assignment for Paul. Could it be that he also has an assignment for all Christians, including you and me? I believe the answer is yes. As we´ll discover in the experiences of the first Christians, God has a mission, an essential mission, for his people.

That doesn´t mean your mission will be as remarkable as Paul´s. In fact, it probably won´t be. Yes, God may call you to serve him in short-term missions, or even in a full-time missionary career. And if he does, that would be wonderful! But it´s just as likely, and just as important, that God will call you to serve him faithfully in the ­marketplace, in the home, in school, in the military or someplace else. We must never forget that meeting the practical and spiritual needs of the people around us is an enormously valuable and often overlooked mission. And we can do that no matter what day job we may have. As the prophet Micah said, And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).

So our challenge as we work our way through the book of Acts is not to feel pressured to outdo the apostle Paul´s missionary accomplishments. Rather, it´s to answer the essential question for ourselves-that is, to find and follow God´s assignment for us today.
ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
Before we begin our journey, there´s something else I want to clarify. When people consider the book of Acts, they often think of one thing: that Day of Pentecost when God poured out his Holy Spirit. To be sure, the work of the Holy Spirit is a major theme in Acts. But there´s more to the book than just chapter 2-much more, as you will see.

Today the Holy Spirit has become a much-debated issue in the church. Some Christians seem to emphasize him too much and slip into excess. Others seem to keep him on the sidelines, as if he no longer exists. And both sides seem suspicious of the other. So let me put you at ease: I don´t have an agenda on either side. I´m hoping we can avoid that controversy, mostly because it will distract us from our essential question.

With that in mind, I want to ask you to affirm two things with me. First, let´s agree that the Holy Spirit is one person of our triune God. As it says in the Nicene Creed, We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. And second, let´s agree to let the text of Scripture form our understanding of how the Holy Spirit works. In other words, let´s allow God´s Word to be our teacher.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
At this point you may be thinking, Of course I want to make a difference for God. But honestly, I´m not sure I´ll be able to stick with this regular Bible reading thing. If that´s how you feel, don´t worry; most people struggle with Bible reading. That´s why I´ve designed this book to make your journey through Acts easy and meaningful. Let me make a few suggestions that will get you off to a good start.

First, The Essential Question is designed to be used with a Bible. Each chapter tells you what passage to read and then helps you think about the main points. Obviously, if you don´t read each Bible passage The Essential Question won´t make much sense. But one good thing is that you can use any Bible translation you want. I recommend, however, that you use one of the many excellent modern translations, such as the New International Version (NIV), the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), the English Standard Version (ESV), the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE) or the New Living Translation (NLT). If you are still unsure about which Bible translation to use, you might want to check with a pastor, minister or priest.

Second, The Essential Question guides you through fifty short passages in the book of Acts. The readings are undated so you can complete them at any pace-fifty days, ten weeks, a year or more. But whatever schedule you pick, don´t feel guilty if you miss a day. Just do the next reading whenever you have time and before you know it you´ll make it through all fifty. Also, I´ve grouped the readings into sets of five and included introductions that point out important themes. This might help you do one set of five readings each week.

Third, you will notice that for each reading I´ve followed a four-step process. I begin with an opening statement, prayer thought or...
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