Leaders Study: "holiness"

If someone said the word "holiness" to you, what would come to your mind first? You'd probably associate holiness with God. But did you ever stop to think about what God's holiness is all about?

What does the Bible mean when it says, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty" (Isaiah 6:3)?

The word "holy" is translated in from the Old Testament and it means, "separated" or "cut apart." God is holy because He is totally, completely, and absolutely separate from everything He has ever created because He cannot be infected by sin! He is a cut above everything in the universe.

He is perfect, pure, and separate from the slightest hint of sin, error or evil. Can you visualize perfection in your life, that is living out a totally perfect sinless existence? It is not easy, is it? What about purity? That's just as difficult. Have you ever wondered how we are to understand God's holiness if we can't picture what it means?

Well God provided a Way for us to understand Him, a model for us to follow. Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9) If we want to "see" the holiness of God more clearly, we need to look at the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus was holy in that He was perfect. He never made a mistake. He never miscalculated or judged incorrectly. He always did the right thing at the right time in the right way

Jesus was holy in that He was and is pure. He never sinned (can you imagine that?). Yes, He walked among sinners. He mingled with them, ate with them, laughed with them, cried with them, healed them, and loved them. But He never became attached to their sinful attitudes or actions. And, with love and care, He called them to leave their lives of sin (John 8:11). God is like that.

But that's not all. Our holy God Expects us to be holy too: "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy." (1 Peter 1:15-16)

Now we can say this is a tough standard, but does this mean we do not try because it is so tough? Thus if we never reach it, why bother with it? A lot of Christians live their lives this way. So they never try, but we must try anyway. We can get closer to God's standard of holiness every day by relinquishing ourselves to Christ in our prayers, devotions, and relationships. And we can rejoice in the fact that a day is coming when we will stand in God's presence as holy people singing "Holy, holy, holy is the

LORD Almighty"!!!!

Lesson Outline:

Remember to begin in prayer!

· Prayer 5 min

· Pick one of the options 5-10 min

· Read lesson and bible passages 10-15min

· Discussion groups 15-30 min

· Going deep 5-10 min

· End in prayer and repeat application. 5 min

Total lesson time 45 min- 1 hr

Optional Start up:

If you did not use the bible Quiz in Session 1, then do it. Do not spend too much time on it:

Ask:

Q. Was there anything new to you on the Bible Quiz?

Q: Was there anything that surprised you?

Q: What are your attitudes about the Bible in relation to this quiz, or in

general?

Q: Are you confident that you know the Bible? Why or why not?

Optional Start up:

Be very discerning and ask the pastor and or elders before you do this one! Bring in a weapon, which is completely unloaded and non-functional, preferably an antique. You can make a "papier-mâché," mace, or? Or have a police officer come in to your class.

Ask the students what is this device used for?

Let them touch it and hold it, (if expectable)

Ask how is the Bible like a weapon?

The lesson: "The Bible is a greater Reality"

(Have students take turns reading each stanza, and another read the Bible verse.) Read Psalm 19 in a good translation such as the NIV.

· We cannot believe and trust in Christ without the knowledge from the Bible, because it is our primary source material.

· If the Bible is in doubt, then all of our faith rests in mud and has no foundation to stand on, that is why a high view of scripture is essential to the growing believer!!

· As you can see, the Word of God is essential to our function as a Christian. It is essential to our understanding of not only God, but ourselves as well.

· Without God's word, we will be purposeless and disrupted from our call and the purpose for our salvation.

· When we base our lives on the Word of God, then Christ can create His work in us by the power of the Spirit!

· VALUE IS A MATTER OF WORTH, SO WHAT IS IT WORTH TO YOU?

· The Bible brings us into the reality of life!

· The world is a material temporary entity, we are being formed for eternity!

· The Bible is a greater reality than what is seen!

Discussion Questions

Sit back and close your eyes, (No we will not do anything mean to you!) and visualize your spiritual pilgrimage, that is growth from the earliest time you can remember up to now.

· What is your first memory of God?

· What was the highest time in your relationship with God?

· What was the lowest time?

Now on a piece of paper draw a graph by years since you where born until today, and mark the ups and downs. Do another graph using the same years and chart how you treated people, your family, your friends, people at church, and strangers?

· What do you see? (Usually there is a direct correlation between how we treat people with love, care, dignity and respect and how good our relationship with Christ is. When we treat Christ well, we then in turn treat others well too.)

1. When did you first read the Bible for yourself, on your own accord?

2. Why would prayer be so important and essential to the mystery chest of scripture?

3. What happens when we read the Bible and set up a barrier between us and the Word of God, that is getting our will in the way of God's?

4. A complaint by Biblical scholars is that today's youth see faith, the Word, and their spiritual life as a buffet. Where you can pick and choose your beliefs and ideas by the outward appearance of its package, unconcerned what is actually in the box, unconcerned what is truth and validity. So, how do you feel about this statement, is it true for you or your friends, or people you know?

5. Have you experienced the Bible as a sword or a mirror, where it pointed out a sin or convicted you?