THE FOUNDATION SERIES BIBLE STUDY GUIDES

Students Introduction to The Foundation Series Bible Study Guides

Student

WELCOME TO The Foundation Series Bible Study Guides!

The Foundation Series Bible Study Guide is designed to provide you with an excellent Biblical and Spiritual foundation.
We pray that you will find greater spiritual growth as you experience each Bible study guide. We call them Bible study guides because they are spiritual lessons that will be your guide in studying specific topics in the Bible. Each time you sincerely study the Bible, you will grow spiritually. Each guide is different and can stand-alone without having had the previous lesson. However, it is recommended that you learn each Bible study guide in its numbered order.

As you put into practice what you learn, you will not only experience God, but also a noticeable lifestyle change.
Your instructors will come once per week and will introduce you to the series at their first meeting with you. Please fill out the handout entitled, Lets Get Acquainted. Your instructors will also provide information about themselves to you. This helps you to get to know your instructors better and your instructors can get to know you. Please give this handout back to your instructors on the next visit. You are provided with a folder to keep everything together, your Bible Guides, handouts, etc. Jesus said, Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great. Luke 6:46-49. This is a key verse for the Foundation Series. Your instructor will explain why.

This is our first visit with you. We are so glad to meet you!
You should receive the following handouts and a folder as a part of this introduction packet:

1. A filled, colorful three-hole Folder: Yellow Cards Who are we booklet Your Bible Instructors Business Cards Friendship Questionnaire My Special Time With God forms Time Circle Daily Planner 2. The two governments filled in form and blank form.
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THE FOUNDATION SERIES BIBLE STUDY GUIDES

PHASE ONE is the beginning of the series. This series will provide you with the knowledge needed to build a strong foundation for continual spiritual growth. PHASE TWO is the second and advanced phase of the series. This phase deals with specific doctrines taught by the Word of God.

Many people have struggled with some of the Biblical doctrines and have not had the tools to understand the spiritual warfare against these doctrines. Unanswered questions and lingering challenges are the ingredients for discouragement and spiritual defeat. THE FOUNDATION SERIES BIBLE STUDY GUIDES will provide you with the factual knowledge necessary to make a strong choice against evil and a sound decision for good, the first time Bible truth is presented. Jesus told the story of the wise and foolish builders. In Matthew 7:24-27, he said, Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. We will go into details of the meaning behind this Parable (a simple short story that uses things familiar to its listeners to teach spiritual lessons) that Jesus told. This parable tells the story of two men; one wise and one foolish. The wise laid a solid spiritual foundation, by putting into practice what he learned. Reflect on what happened. As you study The Foundation Bible Study Guides, be wise put into practice what you learn.

This introduction is also like a mini lesson. It will assist you with forming a consistent pattern of study and answering questions. This pattern will be used for learning the practice of daily Bible study and answering the questions that are a part of that study. You will read a paragraph each day and answer the one question that follows the paragraph. At the end of each day is an exercise that will help you to put the concepts taught into practice. All future guides will have more questions to answer per page. Within this introduction you will learn how we got into this mess of evil verses good. We call it The Cosmic Controversy Between God, Satan and me. There is a cosmic show down currently taking place and you are the prize!

When your instructor comes for the second visit, please be prepared to explain what you have learned from the material. Your instructor will also ask you questions about the material. Please feel free to get clarifications on anything that you have read. When you have questions about the study guide that you are covering, please ask.

Set aside a block of time each day that is special for you and God. LET NOTHING INTERFERE with this time.

Dont answer your phones, doorbell, beeper, etc. This is your time to learn and grow. It is during this time that the Holy Spirit uses to teach and transform you. We know that you will enjoy spending time with God each day with your study guides. This daily time period is very special and is just for you and God.

BEWARE

There may be times when your mind starts to wander away from your lesson and you begin to think about other things that are not related to the lesson. Also, you may even feel sleepy all of a sudden as you are studying. When these things happen, stop and refocus on the lesson.

Ask Jesus to help you to stay focused.

As you become consistent with spending time with God daily, this will happen less and less, until you notice that it will eventually stop completely. If you are tired, get some rest and try again. For now, experiment to determine which times work best for you: morning, mid-day, or evening.

This Is Your Special Time With God. Except For Emergencies, Dont Allow Anyone Or Anything To Interfere.

Needed Tools: You will need prayer, a New King James Bible, a pen and note pad.
As you are beginning a journey with God, you will learn more and more about Him. Please, always start your study with prayer and invite the author of the Bible to be present and provide guidance, wisdom and understanding.

A simple prayer like this:

Dear God, please forgive me for all sins. I invite you to come into my home and into my heart and teach me as I study your Word. In Jesus name, amen.
Now, please go to yourself where you can study and the time is between you and God only. Do not answer the phone, doorbell, etc. resist all non-emergency interruptions. 4

THE COSMIC CONTROVERSY BETWEEN GOD, SATAN AND ME

This information is designed for you to study each day. The lessons that you will receive weekly are in the same format. Plan special time to study each day. In this lesson however, you will study one paragraph per day and answer the one question at the end. This will prepare you for your study guides that will start next week. It will also help to lay the groundwork for future study. This introduction is designed to get you started; that is why there is only one question at the end of each paragraph. All of the other bible study guides will have multiple questions per page. All of the guides are written in first person because God is speaking directly to you through His Word. At the end of the lesson, you will be required to complete an Action Step. This is putting into practice what you have learned.

May God bless all of your efforts, as you begin this wonderful and fruitful journey with Him!

DAY ONE: What are Gods rights?

In the beginning God This is where our beginnings start. God created the heavens, the earth and all of the Angels. As creator of all things, God had the right to establish a government with laws that would govern everything. Examples of these laws are: the laws of gravity, and the Ten Commandments. He also could have exercised this same right when he created the angels and humans. He could have created them, so that they would never disobey his laws, but this type of obedience would never lead to love freely returned. Love would be forced and the angels and humans would really have been robots, instead of free moral agents. God chose to give them free choice instead. The Bible tells us that God is love, and he desires to have a loving relationship with those he created. This relationship of true love is based on the freedom of choice. The angels lived in perfect harmony and fellowship with God in heaven. He created them in perfect harmony with his laws, but gave them the choice to obey the laws or disobey them. Without freedom of choice free moral agents could not be held accountable for their actions.

Why did God chose not to force angels and humans to obey him? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Action Steps: Exercise your freedom of choice; practice doing something positive for someone else. Can you think of other ways to put this information into practice?

DAY TWO: Who Started the Fight?

Revelation 5:11 tells us that there were ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands upon thousands of angels that God created to enjoy intimate fellowship with. They all lived in heaven together in harmony, under Gods government of love. The Bible tells us in Psalm 80:1 that there is an angel (also called cherubim) on each side of Gods throne. This is a position of highest honor and trust. Lucifer was one of these angels. He stood in the presence of God and many believe that he was a fabulous singer and musician, and led the heavenly choir. In Ezekiel 28:12-17, we learn that he was an example of perfection, wise, and handsome. He wore gems of every kind; gold, rubies and diamonds just to name a few. He had built in pipes (excellent voice) that were made for him on the day he was created. His conduct was perfect until he became proud because of his brightness, wisdom, handsome appearance, and strong popularity amongst the other angels. He said in his heart that he wanted to be like God, but without the character of God. He coveted equality with God. He also wanted others to worship him, Isaiah 14:12-14. He knew this sin was wrong, but he cherished it anyway (This is called iniquity). His name was changed from Lucifer to Satan, which means adversary or enemy. He is also called a Devil, which means slanderer. He formed his own government after his new sinful character. He set out to fulfill his desires in heaven by sewing seeds of discontent amongst his fellow angels. Eventually, he was able to deceive 1/3 of the angels to follow him instead of God, the one who created them all, loved them deeply and gave them the best of everything, Rev. 12:7-10 and 3,4. God created Lucifer, Lucifer changed into Satan by holding onto sin. Because the angels refused to change, they were all kicked out of heaven to the earth. There can be no disharmony in heaven. Jesus said in Luke 10:18, that he saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven. Now, there are two governments in the world, a government of love and a government of hate. Well learn more about our enemy in a later lesson.

Whose heart created evil and introduced sin and disharmony into the Universe?

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In our world, devastation continues daily. However, there are still signs of Gods love, for example, a weed vs. a beautiful plant. Another example is thorns vs. the rose that sits on the stem of thorns. As you go throughout this week, write down 3 things that you notice are devastating in our world and beside it write down 3 things that show signs of Gods love still in the world he created.

Action Steps:

Can you think of other ways to put this information into practice?

DAY THREE: How did Sin Reach Humanity?

In divine counsel, God said, Let us make man, in our image, according to Our likeness (Gen. 1:26). With one purpose, God begin to create the first human being. God performed a miracle when he changed the elements of the earth, the dust of the ground into a living man. Adam was his name. After forming every organ and properly placing it, he introduced the breath of life or spark of life that made Adam a living soul. Some time afterwards, God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. He took one of Adams ribs and formed a woman to be his helper. God made them both free moral agents as he did his angels. They could choose to obey or not. They were both created for the intimate fellowship found in friendship and marriage (Genesis 2:18). They were both created in Gods image, so they were to act like him and follow him in every way. God placed them as stewards of the environment. They had charge of Planet Earth and all animal life (Gen. 1:28; Ps. 8:4-9). This exalted position reflected mans crowning glory and honor, imaging and reflecting God. They were created to live forever because they had access to the Tree of Life. They could live forever as long as they were obedient. Satans attention was focused on the newly created race. He wanted their worship. They lived in a perfect environment with all of their needs met by God. His goal was to catch them off guard and plant seeds of discontent and distrust in God.

Please get your Bible and read Genesis 3:1-7. This will give you insight into what happened.

Disguised as a serpent, Satan spoke to Eve when she was near the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God had one request from Adam and Eve, and that was not to eat from this tree. With lying words, Satan aroused her curiosity by suggesting that God was trying to keep the experience of being like God and having more knowledge from her. With curiosity came doubt in Gods word. Eve was tempted by the thoughts of what the fruit was said to offer her. Her belief in Gods word was exchanged for a belief in the words of Satan. She imagined that the tree would be good for food and pleasant to the eyes and could make her wise. She ate it and gave it to Adam and he also ate. They severed their dependence on God by relying on themselves and fell from their high position. Satan was successful at breaking down their faith in God and His Word. As humans, we all share the same nature through genetics. Adams transgression against God brought sin and death upon all (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22)

Who introduced sin to the human family?

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Action Steps: Determine not to allow negative thoughts to stay in your mind. Replace it
with a positive one. Can you think of other ways to put this information into practice?
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DAY FOUR: What does sin do?

Sin is a moral evil. It can be defined, as any deviation from what you know is Gods will Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 1:18-22. It is what happens when a free moral agent chooses to go against God and choose the wrong government to live under. God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they will die. Maybe they thought that he was such a loving God that he would change his mind and not carry out the consequences. This was not true, he reaffirmed that the law cannot be changed, by carrying out the consequences of their actions. The first consequence was a change in human nature that affected mans relationship with each other and with God. Notice how their relationship was affected and they started to blame each other (Genesis 3: 12, 13). A part of Adams blame was placed on God. This new experience of Adam and Eve led them to feel ashamed (Gen. 3:7), and fearful (Gen. 3:8-10) instead of what Satan told them, being made like God.

What type of evil is sin? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Action Step: Reflect on what sin has done to you? Isnt it time for a change?
Can you think of other ways to put this information into practice?

DAY FIVE: The Mystery of Suffering

Evil originated in the heart of Satan, a fallen angel. Sin was introduced into the world through Satan. All of the cruelty, misery, heartbreaks, robberies and murders, funerals, crime, etc. originated with him. His government here on earth keeps sin alive. However, God will one day bring it all to a close. Satans time in this world is limited. You will learn more about this as we progress the lessons. You may have a lot of questions and some of them may not have an answer. When this happens remember, one day God will talk with us and explain a lot of things to us, but until then, the secret things belong to God. When he reveals things to us, they belong to us.

Would you agree that only God has all of the answers? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Action Steps: Have you ever suffered or seen the suffering of another person close to
you. How can you relieve the suffering? Can you think of other ways to put this information into practice?

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DAY SIX: Why do you want to learn about God? What is Salvation all about?

You want to learn how to have a strong personal relationship with God. Salvation begins when you recognize your need for God and confess it. Its about being deeply sorry for the sins you have committed and moving forward to forgive and be forgiven for all past sins, no matter what they are. Its about accepting truth and promises and allowing yourself to be transformed by accepting the transformation process that God alone walks you through.

God will bless you!

This lesson series promises to deliver all of the knowledge needed for you to be prepared for what has been promised to youSalvation. Soon and very soon, there will come a time when our world as we know it today will be changed.

Reflect on A Short Truth and days one through six and prepare to discuss them with your instructor. Dont forget to use bullet points to pick out the key points of a paragraph. Use these bullet points to explain to your instructors what you have learned. They should return on day seven unless previously arranged.
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BITS World Ministries, Inc.