| • The speaker's ministry transitioned to helping schools teach online during COVID | |
| • A school in Cairo was helped to improve their technology and is now teaching people throughout the Arabic world | |
| • The speaker notes both positive and negative impacts of the pandemic on lives and churches | |
| • The importance of spiritual discipline, specifically Scripture, in shaping who we are into the person of Christ | |
| • Peter's writing in 2 Peter chapter 1 about getting a vision of Christ and living a godly life through knowledge of Him | |
| • The VIM acronym (Vision, Intent, Means) as a tool for remembering the process of spiritual formation | |
| • Importance of spiritual disciplines in making vision and intent a reality | |
| • Definition of disciplines as training exercises for the Spirit to shape us into image bearers of God | |
| • Examples of various disciplines including solitary and silent time, prayer, worship, service, giving, fasting, and reading Scripture | |
| • The key importance of reading Scripture and seeing its value in order to want to discipline oneself to read it faithfully | |
| • The body is temporary and will be left behind soon | |
| • Importance of remembering events after one's departure | |
| • The second coming of Jesus Christ in power | |
| • Eyewitness account of Jesus' majesty, including the transfiguration on a mountain | |
| • Reliability of prophetic message and importance of paying attention to it | |
| • Prophecy never originated from human will but was spoken by prophets as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit | |
| • Discussion of the book's potential as a bestseller | |
| • Concern that the book may be relegated to the religious section in libraries, limiting its visibility | |
| • Importance of understanding the book's message as a special revelation from God regarding who Jesus Christ is | |
| • Explanation of how writers of the Old Testament were inspired by God through the Holy Spirit | |
| • Introduction of Jesus as the Messiah and Savior, with Peter affirming Jesus' divinity | |
| • Discussion of the reliability of the New Testament writers in passing on their message about Jesus | |
| • The Bible is the focus of God's delight and has been pointed to throughout all of scripture. | |
| • Moses and Elijah were not just philosophers sharing their views, but prophets who received spirit-inspired prophecies. | |
| • We must pay attention to these prophecies and let the spirit that inspired them work within us. | |
| • The Belgic Confession is a confession of faith that speaks into what the scriptures are about and affirms the Bible's authority. | |
| • The importance of reading and accepting the Bible as the word of God. | |
| • The authority of scripture in one's life, requiring submission to its teachings. | |
| • The need to identify with God's love story as told in the Bible. | |
| • The role of the Holy Spirit in carrying individuals along and guiding their lives. | |
| • The significance of scripture in regulating one's faith and establishing a foundation for living. | |
| • Sufficiency of scripture | |
| • Christ as the one true savior | |
| • Importance of believing in scripture for salvation | |
| • Example from John 5 where Jesus debates with Jewish leaders about studying and understanding scripture | |
| • Criticism that people study scripture but do not truly understand or believe its message | |
| • Warning against pride and misunderstanding of scripture | |
| • The Bible is written to teach the way of salvation and life. | |
| • Paul emphasizes in 2 Timothy 3:10-17 that believers will face persecution for living a godly life in Christ Jesus. | |
| • Examples from Paul's own experiences, including being rescued by God from persecution, are given to illustrate this point. | |
| • The Bible teaches that enduring suffering and persecution is necessary for living a life of faith in Christ Jesus. | |
| • Imposters and deception | |
| • Counterculture and conviction | |
| • Scripture as holy and inspired, with purpose of teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness | |
| • The role of the Holy Spirit in convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (or freedom from eternal judgment) | |
| • Comparison between Paul's attribution to scripture and Jesus' statement about the Holy Spirit's work | |
| • The conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit | |
| • The role of scripture in rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness | |
| • The Heidelberg Catechism's three parts: recognizing sin, redemption, and gratitude | |
| • The importance of reading the Bible for assurance of salvation and confirmation of one's relationship with God | |
| • Courting by distance through letters | |
| • Reading scripture as a love letter from God | |
| • Seeing sin and shortcoming through the word of God | |
| • Rebuke and correction being necessary for growth | |
| • The Holy Spirit convicting people of sin | |
| • The importance of reading scripture to become holy like Christ | |
| • Needing to be students of the word of God to graduate in life. | |
| • Importance of concentrated time in the scriptures | |
| • Bible helps us know we're saved and loved, but also points out our sin | |
| • Bible teaches how to obey God's will and be righteous | |
| • Practical advice and teachings for everyday life | |
| • Learning from others' mistakes and being guided by wisdom | |
| • Reading the Bible leads to spiritual growth and maturity | |
| • Reading the Bible as a novel, rather than studying it | |
| • The Gospel of John as a starting point for beginners | |
| • Nicky Gumbel's approach to reading the Bible | |
| • Lectio Divina: a method of meditating on scripture | |
| • Chewing away at a passage like a dog with a bone | |
| • Reflecting on how scripture speaks into one's life | |
| • Reading the Bible regularly as a personal discipline | |
| • Initial reluctance to read the Bible, but eventually doing so for three years minus one night | |
| • How reading the Bible changed the speaker's life and their perspective on faith | |
| • Importance of individuals making an effort to become more faithful and disciplined in their spiritual practices | |
| • Passion for Christ | |
| • Importance of being self-feeders, not reliant on the church | |
| • Concern about people taking distance from the church and potentially the Lord | |
| • Need for individuals to be able to care for their own soul and not rely on others | |
| • Comparison between mature children who don't need their mothers and churches being compared to mothers in scripture | |
| • The importance of relating deeply and intimately to Christ | |
| • The knowledge of what it means to be saved | |
| • Recognizing oneself as a sinner and following the Savior | |
| • Living, praying, and thanking God for speaking to us | |
| • Praise for God's creation and his powerful word | |
| • Asking for help in submitting to God's living word | |
| • Seeing Jesus Christ for who he is and submitting to him | |
| • Prayer for encouragement and reminder of one's identity in Christ |