Viewer Guides with Answers. Vertical Church Bible Study. Published by LifeWay Press. 2012 James MacDonald. Item 005522647. Made in the USA. Permission is granted to reproduce this item.
Complete the viewer guide below as you watch DVD session 1. There is a universal longing in every human heart. God has made you a living spirit. Every person has in their heart a longing for something outside of and greater than themselves. We are all the same. The universal longing is for eternity. Humans have a deep and abiding sense of something that transcends our immediate situation. There is something not only similar but universally identical about every human being from every culture throughout history. Eternity means transcendence. Transcendence 1. Transcending normal or physical human experience 2. Existing apart from and not subject to the limitations of the material universe Maybe the greatest rationality of all is the recognition that rationality itself is as a way of knowing. incomplete Experiencing Transcendence 1. When something wise reveals my small amount of knowing 2. When something big reveals my small amount of being 3. When something infinite reminds me that I am finite We long for transcendence but can t find it. God created our longing for transcendence so that we would fear Him. Implications 1. Everyone feels the pain of God s absence until they find Him. 2. Efforts by others to fill the void will end in futility and should provoke compassion in us. 3. Energy expended to reach people should focus on God and the gospel. 8 > vertical church
Complete the viewer guide below as you watch DVD session 2. The longing for transcendence is satisfied only in God. God made you so you re miserable until you find your fulfillment in Him. What distinguishes a person is if God is with them. What makes a church distinct powerful is God s presence in that church, God Himself working and manifesting Himself in spite of the weaknesses and limitations of the people involved. Glory is the manifestation of God s presence. Blessing is what you see. Favor is what you have. Presence is why you have it. Glory is what it is. The universal longing is for glory. Anytime you see God s fingerprint, that s glory. Anytime you see glory, it shouts the existence of God. Glory is God's and God s alone. All human glory is an illusion. You were created to delight in the glory of the One who made you. That s what fills the longing in the human heart. No glory belongs to the created thing. All the glory belongs to the Creator. Glory is the purpose of God s universe. There is a God. It s true in the macro universe. It s true in the micro universe. 36 > vertical church
Complete the viewer guide below as you watch DVD session 3. The glory of God is the purpose of the universe. The glory of God is revealed in Jesus Christ. The Word became flesh on the earth and dwelt among us and lived a perfect life so that He could die a substitutionary death and take upon Himself the wrath of Almighty God for your sin and mine. The awesome thing is that God has made provision for our stubborn rebellion in His Son, Jesus Christ. That s the glory. Don t ever cease to be shocked by the wonder and amazed by the power of the message of the gospel. The awesome thing about Jesus is that He is full of grace and full of truth grace not diminished by truth, truth not diminished by grace. Everything God wants you to know about Himself, God the Father, is in Jesus Christ. A common access: church The church is the place of God s glory. We do ministry in a way that shows off how awesome God is. The church is the passion of Christ s heart. Christ loves the church. The church is the plan of Christ s mission. We re on a winning team in a winning battle. The church is the perfecting of Christ s people. The goal was not to save you. That was the first step in the bigger mission, which was to you; it means to change you, to set you apart, to make you holy. sanctify 62 > vertical church
Complete the viewer guide below as you watch DVD session 4. An epic failure: Ichabod When the people of God are not told the works of God from the Word of God, they lose the wonder of God, and everyone does that which is right in his own eyes. Selfish shepherds: failure to put the people first If you buy into a system, even a Christian system, that is filled with the of men and not the Word of God, you lose. traditions Stubborn sheep: failure to submit to established authority Nothing causes more heartache for the servants of Christ in a church than people who won t listen. It s not about you or me. It s about honoring God in the church. Starving sheep: failure to feed people the Word of God If you place your kids above God, you place them at risk. Shallow service: failure to call out sin and deal with it Ichabod: always dark because the glory is gone We come to church to see the glory come down. The church is for God. Anything we would do to keep the glory from coming down is epic failure. 90 > vertical church
Complete the viewer guide below as you watch DVD session 5. The pattern of worship Worship: to ascribe worth Worship requires understanding. God is not the sum total of my imaginations. Understanding leads to relationship. The priority of worship God wants to be worshiped passionately. The power of worship We worship God with our mind when we allow God s thoughts to shape our thinking. God must be worshiped with our emotions. Your will enables you to listen and focus as you worship. Things That Make Worship Powerful 1. Worship brings God Himself. Jesus Christ is given His rightful place. He is enthroned on the praises of His people. 2. Worship brings salvation. 3. Worship brings victory. 4. Worship brings healing. The practice of worship Worship with your mind. Worship with your heart and soul. Worship with your strength. 118 > vertical church
Complete the viewer guide below as you watch DVD session 6. What is preaching? Preach means to herald, to announce, to publicly proclaim. Whom do we preach? 1. The testimony of God 2. Jesus Christ 3. Him crucified A Three-Part Testimony In every message: Christ our salvation, the gospel. In every message: Christ our sanctification. Christianity is not a faith of try harder. It is a faith of Jesus did. Why do we preach? It s things that have changed that could not and should not have changed. Those are the real issues. God has ordained the method of preaching because it s the method that keeps His messengers humble. How do we preach? Say what the Bible says. What happens when we preach? Preach the authority of God's Word without apology. When the man of God in the fear of God takes the Word of God and proclaims the heart of God, that is the power of God coming down. What You Can Do 1. Attend the Word of God. 2. Accept the Word of God. 3. Apply the Word of God. 4. Appreciate the Word of God. 144 > vertical church
Complete the viewer guide below as you watch DVD session 7. You can have your sin washed away and forgiven by a holy God by placing your faith in Jesus Christ, who took the punishment for your sin upon Himself. God s work of salvation requires human witness. Only God can save a person, but He has decided that He wants to do that work through us. Some will receive our witness and be saved. The main thing that ripens a person to the gospel is the circumstances of life. Some will reject our witness and perish. If you re not willing to be the fragrance of death to those who are perishing, you can never be the fragrance of life to those who are being saved. Human response to our witness produces fear. God s work of salvation requires bold witness. A bold witness is a simple, direct, sincere statement of truth about Christ. As your love for Christ goes up, your desire to tell other people about Him goes up. Techniques of human persuasion are forbidden. Bold witness is sincere. 170 > vertical church
Complete the viewer guide below as you watch DVD session 8. Invitation : Call to me (Jer. 33:3). If you have turned from your sin and embraced Jesus Christ by faith for your forgiveness, God has made a covenant with you. God s invitation is for us to know Him personally. You can talk to the Creator of the universe, and He will listen to you. And He wants you to! The word call is an expression of urgency, intensity, fervency. Scripture tells us not to think our prayers, not to whisper our prayers, not even to speak our prayers, but we are to call out. Insurance : I will answer you (Jer. 33:3). Answers God Gives to Prayer 1. Yes 2. No 3. Wait Inspiration : I will tell you great things that you have not known (Jer. 33:3). Insight to understand what s happening and why comes through prayer. Enemies of Prayer 1. Anger 2. Fear 3. Doubt Illumination : I will tell you hidden things that you have not known (Jer. 33:3). God know things about our circumstances : great things, mighty things, hidden things. Prayer is what brings the glory down. 198 > vertical church