Kay Arthur - The Power of Knowing God: A 6-Week, No-Homework Bible Study

T HE P OWER OF K NOWING GOD

P UBLISHED BY W ATER B ROOK P RESS

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org) Scripture quotations marked ( ESV ) are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Italics in Scripture quotations reflect the authors added emphasis.

ISBN 978-0-307-72983-5

eISBN: 978-0-307-72984-2

Copyright 2012 by Precept Ministries International

Cover design by Kristopher K. Orr

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.

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This small-group study is for people who are interested in learning for themselves more about what the Bible says on various subjects, but who have only limited time to meet together. Its ideal, for example, for a lunch group at work, an early morning mens group, a young mothers group meeting in a home, a Sunday-school class, or even family devotions. (Its also ideal for small groups that typically have longer meeting timessuch as evening groups or Saturday morning groupsbut want to devote only a portion of their time together to actual study, while reserving the rest for prayer, fellowship, or other activities.)

This book is designed so that all the groups participants will complete each lessons study activities at the same time. Discussing your insights drawn from what God says about the subject reveals exciting, life-impacting truths.

Although its a group study, youll need a facilitator to lead the study and keep the discussion moving. (This persons function is not that of a lecturer or teacher. However, when this book is used in a Sunday-school class or similar setting, the teacher should feel free to lead more directly and to bring in other insights in addition to those provided in each weeks lesson.)

If you are your groups facilitator, the leader, here are some helpful points for making your job easier:

Go through the lesson and mark the text before you lead the group. This will give you increased familiarity with the material and will enable you to facilitate the group with greater ease. It may be easier for you to lead the group through the instructions for marking if you, as a leader, choose a specific color for each symbol you mark.

As you lead the group, start at the beginning of the text and simply read it aloud in the order it appears in the lesson, including the insight boxes, which appear throughout. Work through the lesson together, observing and discussing what you learn. As you read the Scripture verses, have the group say aloud the word they are marking in the text.

The discussion questions are there simply to help you cover the material. As the class moves into the discussion, many times you will find that they will cover the questions on their own. Remember, the discussion questions are there to guide the group through the topic, not to squelch discussion.

Remember how important it is for people to verbalize their answers and discoveries. This greatly strengthens their personal understanding of each weeks lesson. Try to ensure that everyone has plenty of opportunity to contribute to each weeks discussions.

Keep the discussion moving. This may mean spending more time on some parts of the study than on others. If necessary, you should feel free to spread out a lesson over more than one session. However, remember that you dont want to slow the pace too much. Its much better to leave everyone wanting more than to have people dropping out because of declining interest.

If the validity or accuracy of some of the answers seems questionable, you can gently and cheerfully remind the group to stay focused on the truth of the Scriptures. Your object is to learn what the Bible says, not to engage in human philosophy. Simply stick with the Scriptures and give God the opportunity to speak. His Word is truth (John 17:17)!

S o much of our confusion and pain, uncertainty and wrong decisions in life come because we do not know God. We may know about Him. We may know what others say about Him. But do we know what God says about Himself? Do we know for ourselves who He really is, how He conducts Himself in the affairs of mankind?

When we know God as He really is, we have a power in our lives, an ability to stand firm. A true understanding of Gods character leads not just to knowledge but to action.

The people who know their God will display
strength and take action.
(Daniel 11:32)

Knowing God enables us, as believers, to display strength in times of stress and take action when the rest of the world seems to be immobile.

Through the truths uncovered in this study you will get to know God as never before. In doing so, your strength and faith will increase. Youll be able to stand in confidence, having seen for yourself who your God is, what He wants, and how we can live in relationship with Him.

The Biblea book God tells us was recorded by man but inspired by Him (2 Timothy 3:16)begins with God. It ends with God. And everything between the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and the last, Revelation, has to do with God and His relationship with mankind. What an awesome truth, to know that the God of the universe wants to be in relationship with us!

In the sixty-six books that comprise the Bible, you can discover for yourself all God wants you to know about Him, about His ways, and about how you as a human being can have a loving and personal relationship with Him. A relationship that will carry you through any situation, any circumstance of life.

The purpose of The Power of Knowing God is to help you see and understand for yourself who God says He is. A personal knowledge of God will enable you to be strong, to stand firm, and to take the action that is needed to handle every situation of life (Daniel 11:32b).