Bible Studies for Life tLearner Guide HCSB® / FALL 2010

2 Life Focus

What do you understand it takes for a person to go to heaven and have eternal life?

ADMITAdmit to God that you are a sinner. Repent, turning away from your sin.Romans 3:23; 6:23; Acts 3:19

BELIEVEBy faith receive Jesus Christ as God’s Son and accept Jesus’ gift of forgiveness from sin.John 3:16; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:11-13

CONFESSConfess your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.1 John 1:9; Romans 10:9-10,13

If you are choosing right now to believe Jesus died for your sins and to receive new life through Him, pray a prayer similar to this as you call upon Him alone to be your Savior and Lord:

“Dear God, I know I am a sinner and have rebelled against You in many ways. I believe Jesus died for my sin and only through faith in His death and resurrection can I be forgiven. I now turn from my sin and ask Jesus to come into my life as my Savior and Lord. From this day forward, I will choose to follow Jesus. Thank You, Lord, for loving me and for forgiving me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

After you have received Jesus Christ into your life, share your decision with another person, and following Christ’s example, ask for baptism by immersion in your local church as a public expression of your faith.Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:6

12

76

06

102

40

3

Defense Wins Championships09.05.10 Developing a Defensive Mind-set 12

09.12.10 Defending the Run 18

09.19.10 Defending the Pass 24

09.26.10 Creating Turnovers 30

Catch Phrases10.03.10 The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree 40

10.10.10 Seeing Ourselves Through

Rose-colored Glasses 48

10.17.10 Seeing Is Believing 56

10.24.10 One of a Kind 62

10.31.10 Keeping the Faith 68

The Case for the Christian Life11.07.10 The Claim: The Christian Life Is Better 76

11.14.10 The Contrast: Life in Light of Eternity 82

11.21.10 The Commitment: A Life Together 88

11.28.10 The Challenge: A Life Worth Sharing 94

Special FocusThe Bible in Focus 06

Go for It! 36

ec Sample 46

What Is Faith? 54

Missions—It’s a Family Thing 100

Saul, Also Known as Paul 102

CONTENTS

4 Life Focus

Dear Reader,Do you get a “worship buzz”? Last week I watched a video of a Christian musician who talked about a “worship buzz.” What surprised me was this musician pointed out his concern that worship in many churches had become more for the entertainment and feel-good desires of the audience instead of the true worship of God by the congregation. “Movies are for our entertainment,” he said. His statements hit home for me and I’ve been thinking, Do I really worship God when I go to church? Or do I expect to be entertained by the Sunday School teacher, the fellowship with friends, the choir, the soloist, the musicians, the pastor? True worship is showing God obedience, reverence, honor, love, and praise through prayers, giving, music, studying His Word, and a surrendered heart and attitude. When I leave church, do I talk or think more of the entertainment elements of attending church, or do I talk or think of my relationship and encounter with God? Is my “worship buzz” from being entertained for a couple of hours or is it from true worship? So what about you? Is your “worship buzz” from being entertained for a couple of hours or is it from true worship?

In His Service,

Barbara Hammond

Life Focus Learner Guide HCSB® (ISSN: 1945-0893; Item 005075011) is published quarterly by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234, Thom S. Rainer, President. © 2010 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.

For ordering or inquiries, visit www.lifeway.com or write LifeWay Church Resources Customer Service, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0113. For subscriptions or subscription address changes, e-mail subscribe@lifeway.com, fax (615) 251-5818, or write to the above address. For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, e-mail orderentry@lifeway.com, fax (615) 251-5933, or write to the above address.

We believe that the Bible has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter and that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. The 2000 statement of The Baptist Faith and Message is our doctrinal guideline.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible® Copyright ©1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

LIFE FOCUS LEARNER GUIDE HCSB®

A guide for learning Bible truthsfor ages 12 to 17

Volume 3, Number 1Fall 2010

PRODUCTION and MINISTRY TEAMBARBARA HAMMONDContent EditorCAROL ELLISProduction EditorJOHNNY SHUMATEGraphic DesignerED CRAWFORDSenior Graphic Design SpecialistPAUL TURNERNational Student Ministry LeaderSHERRY SPILLMANStudent Ministry SpecialistLYNN H. PRYOREditorial Project Leader

Send questions/comments toContent Editor, Life Focus Learner Guide HCSB®

One LifeWay PlazaNashville, TN 37234-0174Or make comments on the Web atwww.lifeway.com

MANAGEMENT PERSONNELJIMMY HESTER, Senior DirectorStudent Ministry Publishing

JEFF PRATT, Managing DirectorStudent Ministry PublishingDAVID FRANCIS, DirectorSunday SchoolSCOTT STEVENS, DirectorStudent MinistryGARY H. HAUK, Director, PublishingLifeWay Church Resources

Printed in the United States of America

WRITERS

Bill Hughes became a Christian at age 18 at college. Bill is the youth minister at First Baptist Church, Tifton, Georgia. He and his wife, Dana, have two daughters, Elizabeth and Christina.

Tammy Smith became a Christian at age 12 during a morning worship service. Tammy attends Church at Woodland in Cartersville, Georgia. Tammy has three children: Stephanie, Bradley, and Abigail.

Victoria Singa-Nuguid became a Christian at age 7 as a result of Vacation Bible School. Victoria is a member of Philippine International Bible Church in Laytonsville, Maryland, where she teaches Sunday School, disciples youth girls, and works alongside her youth minister husband, Stephen. They have two children, Josiah Timothy and Elijah Victor.

Fall 2010 5

Photo:Angus McBride 6 Life Focus

The Bible in Focus

Then Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect. For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed:

TO AN UNKNOWN GOD

Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it—He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands.”Acts 17:22-24

Photo:Angus McBride Fall 2010 7

“Being God’s offspring, then, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.”Acts 17:29

8 Life Focus Photo:iStock

And every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart.Acts 2:46

Photo:Dore Fall 2010 9

As a result, I have fully proclaimed the good news about the Messiah from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum.Romans 15:19b

10 Life Focus

unit 1Questions to Ponder:

How can I defend what I believe?

How can we know there is a God?

If God is loving, why did He allow this to happen to me?

Just how involved is God in the world around us?

Defense Wins ChampionshipsWe live in exciting times but also times when many people are actively attacking the Christian faith. Why? Well, it has a lot to do with the fact that, over time, Western culture has drifted from being centered in faith and religion to a culture that is centered in secular humanism. These are big concepts, but what it breaks down to is that many people in our world have decided they want to live life without God. And, if you choose to worship God and believe Jesus is His Son, you are actually a threat to their way of life.

Therefore, I know that you are currently being attacked for your faith. And I can predict that you are going to face even stronger attacks in the future.

What can you do? Take a lesson from football. When a team is playing an opponent that attacks from multiple formations, they take a great deal of time to prepare a defense to counter these attacks.

In this unit we are going to equip you to defend your faith. Like a good football defense, we want you to be ready for any and every situation. In the end we want you to be used by God to make a difference in our secular world.

Photo: iStock Fall 2010 11

week of

12 Life Focus

In sports, nicknames often grow to define a person’s playing style, both on and off the field. Names like “Tiger,” “Bear,” “Magic,” and “Babe” are American legends. Almost as interesting as the nickname is how the individual came to receive the nickname and how it impacted his or her life.

Blake was just sitting in his church’s youth group meeting one Wednesday night when the youth pastor asked

for volunteers to compete in a new game, “Cricket Spitting.” (I know the youth pastor should have been fired.) At any rate, Blake volunteered to put a live cricket in his mouth and then spit it across the room (don’t try this at home). Following the competition, Blake was not only the winner, he had a new nickname, “Cricket.”

You’d think that a name like Cricket obtained in such a bizarre way would soon be forgotten. But it stuck. Fortunately, Blake did not mind the nickname, and, in a way, it gave him a great chance to share about his faith. You see people began to know who he was and even ask him about the nickname. His good-natured response was a testimony to a living God. Soon people began to see there was something different about Cricket and it

was Jesus.The thing that

strikes me about Cricket is that defending what you believe doesn’t have to be a complicated thing. In fact, it often comes down to sharing what God has already been doing in your life.

Life QuestionHow can I defend what I believe?

september 5

Photo:iStock

Developing a Defensive Mind-setIt has been nearly 40 years but I still remember Coach Jones, the man who coached the defense when I was in high school and trying to play football. He was actually a former marine drill sergeant, and I can promise you his voice had not lost one decibel since his Marine Corps days. But, it wasn’t just his voice. This guy could (and did) do push ups with 200 pound players sitting on his back. Plus, he could bench press more than anyone on the team. And, although he was in his 40s, he would actually make tackles on ball carriers, guys running with the football, without wearing a helmet or pads, just to show us the proper technique. Moreover, no one on the offense wanted to be tackled by Coach Jones because he hit harder than any of the players on defense. You may have heard people described as “tough as nails.” Well, Coach Jones was actually tougher than nails.

Needless to say, when Coach Jones spoke, you listened. In Coach Jones’s world, defensive football was all about disrupting the offense’s ability to execute their game plan. He thought it was a breakdown in concentration and communication if the defense let the offense gain 10 yards and a first down. He thought it was a sin if the defense let the offense score a touchdown, EVER!

Coach Jones had a mind-set that no matter what the offense did, they could and would be stopped. His mind-set carried over to his players and, although the other team’s offense did occasionally score, they never had an easy time of it.

In the same way you can have a positive defensive mind-set concerning your Christian faith. In today’s world, Christianity is under heavy attack. Beginning with today’s session you are going to focus on how to defend what you believe. Now, drop and give me five! (Just kidding!)

Mind-set Number One: Be Prepared (1 Pet. 3:15-17)Read 1 Peter 3:15-17. Peter had experienced attacks for his faith and he knew his readers would also be attacked. (See vv. 13-14.) So in these verses he gave us all some very good advice about how to be prepared to face these attacks. At the top of page 14 are several things you can do to prepare your defenses. Based on the passage, what are things Peter encouraged people to do to be prepared?

Week of September 5, 2010 13

14 Life Focus

3 Acknowledge Jesus as Lord.

3 Pray your attackers will be harmed.

3 Always be ready to present a defense of your faith.

3 Laugh at your attackers’ mistakes.

3 Treat your attackers with gentleness and respect.

3 Refuse to be dragged into a religious discussion.

3 Be willing to suffer for doing good.

3 Refuse to lose any argument anytime.

Peter’s ideas for defense are found in every other sentence beginning with the first sentence. How prepared are you to defend your faith? In “Staying Focused” (pp. 127-128) we are going to give you some specific ideas about how to prepare yourself. Nevertheless, a lot of the defense Peter talked about actually had to do with internal attitudes. Are you letting Jesus be Lord of your life? Are you willing to treat those who attack your faith with love? Are you willing to suffer for doing the right thing and speaking the truth?

Mind-set Number Two: Know Your Audience(Acts 21:40—22:3)Obviously a good defensive coordinator knows everything he can about the other team’s offense. In the same way, we need to know what those who oppose Christianity are thinking and feeling. Read Acts 21:40–22:3. In these verses, Paul was addressing a mob that was actually trying to kill him. Talk about your rough crowds! But look at what Paul did. He identified with the very people

who wanted to harm him. He spoke to them in Hebrew, their heart language. He called them brothers and fathers. He told them about their common background. He mentioned his teacher, Gamaliel [guh mAY lih uhl], a famous rabbi. He complimented them on being zealous for God, and said that he too was zealous for God. After reading this passage, write an answer to each of the following questions relating to Paul’s life.

15But set apart the Messiah as Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. 16However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscience clear, so that when you are accused, those who denounce your Christian life will be put to shame. 17For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

40After he had given permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language:

Why do you think Paul spoke to these people in Hebrew rather than Greek?

What difference did it make to this mob that Paul had studied with Gamaliel?

How did Paul compliment this mob that was seeking his death?

Now, answer the following questions relating to your own life.

Who are the people in your school who need to hear about Jesus?

What can you do to get to know how these people think?

Explain how it’s possible for you to identify with people who need to hear about Jesus.

Search the puzzle below to find people who may be in your audience.(Acquaintances; classmates; friends; restaurant servers; teachers; aunt; cousins; grandparents; sisters; team members; brothers; father; mother; store clerks; uncle.)

My AudienceS V S L T G U S I C Y S I S TM T E R T F R E L N D R S S EO F O A E E A A M Z P E K N AT C I R T H S T G P C V M I MH F R S E S T U H N G R Z S ME T I B M C N O A E D E C U ER S G A M C L T R O R S D O MK I T M L G N E V B G T I C BD E X E T I V F R I E N D S ES T N U A V R G C K W A E E RE I Z U M N X V I X S R E W SB S Q S R E H C A E T U F R HE C I Y Q A K E C M V A S E IA G R A N D P A R E N T S K AC F C E E M Z R P Y S S I H AB S G F S N V O J L Q E V C CG H X J R L M X Q K K R U G Z

Week of September 5, 2010 15

1“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.” 2When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even quieter. 3He continued, “I am a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and educated according to the strict view of our patriarchal law. Being zealous for God, just as all of you are today.”

16 Life Focus

Mind-set Number Three: Tell What You Know(Acts 22:4-10)Anytime you have an opportunity to present a defense for your faith, you are going to need to actually tell others what you know to be the truth. In Paul’s life, and in your life as well, it all starts with a personal testimony. Read Acts 22:4-10. Paul’s story in verses 4-10 can be broken down into three parts. Verses 4-5 tell Paul’s story before he found Christ. He told of his birth, where he grew up, and his education. Having received his education under Gamaliel gave him the credentials that certified his Jewish scholarship. The fact that he spoke all of this in the Hebrew language caused them to listen to him. Verses 6-10 tell how Paul came to know Jesus. He had already explained why he was on his way to Damascus. These verses describe Paul’s personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Verse 10 also begins to tell the story of how Paul’s life was changed after he came to Christ. (The rest of that story is continued through verse 21.)

Paul’s defense was based on what God had done in his personal life. He was not ashamed to speak this story boldly even though the crowd he was talking to had been seeking to kill him. Paul believed these Jews would not receive his story warmly, but he also knew it was the truth, and he was always ready to make a defense for the hope that was inside of him. Read Acts 22:4-10 again and write a summary of Paul’s testimony in the following outline.

Paul’s life before he came to faith in Christ:

How Paul came to put his faith in Christ:

What God did in Paul’s life after he came to Christ:

4“I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women in jail, 5as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. Having received letters from them to the brothers, I was traveling to Damascus to bring those who were prisoners there to be punished in Jerusalem.

6“As I was traveling and near Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’

8“I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’

“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting!’ 9Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the One who was speaking to me.

10“Then I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’

“And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that is assigned for you to do.’ ”

Photo:iStock

For you to always be ready to make a defense of your faith, you need to organize your testimony in an understandable way. Based on what you know to be true in your own life, write a few sentences under each heading below.

My life before I came to faith in Christ:

How I came to put my faith in Christ:

What God has done in my life since I came to Christ:

Remember to take home the “Staying Focused” sheet (pp. 127-128) to learn more about preparing yourself to defend your faith. The activities also will help you prepare for next week’s session about how we can know there is a God.

Week of September 5, 2010 17

week ofStaying Focused

Peter and Paul were two guys who really had a defensive mind-set. In every situation they were ready to make the case for Christ. But, if you are a Christian, the same Jesus that lived inside of them lives inside of you, and you can be just as ready. Below are some things you can do to be prepared to defend what you believe. Place a check by those things that you feel God is leading you to do.

3 Grow in my personal relationship with Jesus through a daily time alone with Him.

3 Study books on defending the faith. (This is called apologetics. Go to www.4truth.net which is the North American Mission Board’s apologetics/world religion site. To find books on apologetics, ask a minister at your church, ask people at a LifeWay store, or go online to www.lifeway.com and type in apologetics in the search bubble.)

3 Study books on what other faiths believe. (Again, seek help from your youth leader, LifeWay store, the North American Mission Board, and so forth.)

3 Take notes on my pastor’s sermons.

Believe it or not, our God desires for you to be ready and to make a strong defense of the faith that He has placed in your heart. Yes, you have to do your part in study and preparation. But even more important is your heart being willing to be used by Him to counter negative attacks. Below, if you dare, write a prayer asking God to use you in defending your faith before others.

september 5

Fall 2010 127

Staying Focusedw

eek of

128

Memorize This Key Verse:But set apart the Messiah as Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. 1 Peter 3:15

Write this verse on a small card (about a fourth of an index card) and carry the card with you this week in your wallet or purse. When you have a spare moment at school or at home, pull out the card and read the verse to yourself. Then after reading the verse, think awhile on what it means.

What do you think it means to set aside the Messiah as Lord in your heart?

To whom are we all to give a defense?

What is the hope that is in you? (For a hint on this one, check out Col. 1:27.)

Preparation for the Next Session:For the Week of September 12, 2010: Defending the Run

How can we know there is a God?

Read Psalm 19:1-6; Acts 17:22-29; Hebrews 1:1-2. In the space below, summarize what these verses say.

september 5

Life Focus Learner Guide HCSB® / © 2010 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Printed in the USA.