INTRODUCTION:

Most of us know some Bible stories, but very few of us know the story of the Bible. You may be surprised to discover that it is a story that does not actually begin in the beginning. It begins with the accounts of a few men who sat down to record the death and resurrection of Jesus. It begins with the words of his followers who were compelled to document the events that had changed everything for them. Because they knew it could change everything for us.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. If you had the chance to read the personal journal of someone in the past whose life has influenced yours, whom would you choose? Why would their stories and ideas be meaningful to you?

2. How were you first introduced to the Bible? What people and ideas do you associate with that time?

3. We think of the Bible as one book, but it actually consists of many letters written by many authors, including eyewitnesses. Does that match what you were first taught about the Bible? Does it change your understanding now?

4. Luke was a first-century Greek doctor who documented the life of Jesus. How do you think his background affects his account of Jesus’ life and influence?

Read Luke 1:1–4

   • Why do you think it was unusual in ancient times for “many” people to write about an event?

   • How does Luke describe his purpose in documenting Jesus’ life?

5. It is possible you or someone you know left faith because of something in the Bible. The question is, what is the “it” that you don’t believe? John is about to tell you the only “it” that really matters.

Read John 20:30–31

   • How does John describe his purpose in writing? What if John’s account of Jesus’ life was all we had? What might change about how you approach Jesus and how you encourage others to move toward him?

6. The documents that make up the Bible survived through violent and tumultuous centuries because of early Christians’ confidence that these documents told the truth about something that happened on planet Earth in the first century when God showed up in the person of Jesus Christ. How does this change your approach to or confidence in the Bible?

MOVING FORWARD:

Many of us carried our childhood understanding of the Bible into adulthood. Faced with questions we couldn’t answer and doubts we couldn’t ignore, we walked away. If that is your story, there is another approach. One that John offers in his personal account of the life of Jesus. If this account were all we had, it would be enough. This week, approach your faith in a new way by reading John’s account of Jesus’ life, as though it is the only Scripture you have.


Adapted from North Point Ministries