The Bridge
Our Main Goal
Our goal for the series is to understand the general worldview of folks from different religions. Our heart is to understand so that we may have informed gospel conversations with our neighbors and those from the nations. We will use a simple five point structure to help guide our conversation.
5 Points:
1. What is believed about God/the world?
2. What is believed about humanities problem?
3. What is believed about the solution to that problem?
4. What is believed about how we achieve the solution?
5. What is believed about the outcome of the solution?
This week we looked at Roman Catholicism
Pastor Craig encouraged students to think about 3 things: 1. It’s good to ask hard questions of faith. Students should pursue answers while not dismissing all of Christianity. 2. We must remember that anyone can say what they want if they have the power to publish it to the public (i.e. social media, YouTube, etc). We must be aware that not everything people say about God, life, and faith is true. 3. Everything should be filtered through scripture. Charles Taze Russell filtered the Bible through his beliefs. Instead, let’s obey 1 John 4.1 and test everything we hear, filtering it through the Word of God.
Questions to ask your teen about this week’s topic:
1. What stuck out? What surprised you?
2. Did you think of any other questions about Roman Catholicism?
3. How would a biblical Christian answer this question: How can I, a sinner, be reconciled to God, who is holy?
Click Here for a great article with 11 beliefs of the Jehovah’s Witnesses from the The Gospel Coalition
Click Here for a great video of the Mormonism religion and worldview from Radical.net
Click Here for a great summary of the Hindu religion and worldview from the CS Lewis Institute
Click Here for a great summary of Islam and the Muslim’s worldview from the CS Lewis Institute
Here are some good questions to talk about as a family when it comes to welcoming folks from other nations and religions into our community as we work to reach the nations here at home:
1. What are some ways you have seen or experienced prejudice in the church today? What do you think are some of the causes and cures of these prejudices?
2. What is the common attitude toward immigrants and refugees you see expressed by Christians around you? Is the attitude expressed more political or Biblical (Acts 17.26-27) Explain
3. How would it might feel to move to a new country when you know very little of the language or culture.
4. What are some of the possible difficulties you might face or have faced in sharing Christ with the nations in your city?
Prayer points for Making Christ Known:
1. Pray for the hearts of the people who don’t know nor have believed in the gospel: that God would cultivate their hearts to received the seeds of the gospel
2. Pray for Christians to be bold to tell them the good news.
3. Pray that they would get connected with a local group of believers at church or if there isn’t a church that the Lord would establish one.
Resources for Your Family:
What Happens to Those Who Never Hear the Gospel? Answering Your Teenager’s Questions About Faith – Rooted Ministries
Justification and the Teen Identity Crisis – Rooted Ministries
Social Media Isn’t Your Teen’s Biggest Problem – The Gospel Coalition
The Story of the Bible – Bible Project
Gospel Catechism Questions:
1) What is the gospel?
Good News
2) What is the good news?
Jesus died for my sins
3) Why did Jesus die for your sins?
So I can have an abundant life with him now and forever
4) What is grace?
God’s love for undeserving sinners