Where do we come from? Why are we here? What’s our basis for hope? Our greatest problem? The solution? Where are we headed?
These are the basic questions of worldview. Through the answers we give them we orient ourselves in the world; and there are a host of ways to answer them. This Ten Turning Points series offers a biblically-informed set of answers—answers that make all the difference in how we understand and navigate our way through reality.
This series was written for a “next-level discipleship class” at my church. For that reason my approach is to assume that readers, like these class members, have some basic knowledge of Christian teaching on these topics. My purpose here to raise new questions and topics for discussion, to help readers and class members think about these things in new and deeper ways — always affirming and building upon basic biblical truths, of course.
The one overall point I’m making is this: Given that the Bible speaks truth on these matters, it’s still the case that they happened a long time ago. Yet they still make an absolutely crucial difference. These truths touch everything; they transform everything — in ways Christians don’t always recognize. So we’re exploring the impact of these truths in the world we live in today.
1. The Creation
A. Creation Out of Nothing
B. The Glory!
2. Created in God’s Image
A. Working and Creating
B. The Image of God Under Attack
3. What’s Our Problem?
A. Illusion or Reality?
B. To Explain the Human Condition (The Fall)
4. The Calling of God’s People
A. The Calling of God’s People
B. The Progress of God’s People
C. Blessings Through God’s People
5. God’s Ongoing Revelation
A. God’s General Revelation
B. God’s Special Revelation
C. Progressive Revelation
D. What’s So Special About Special Revelation?
6. The Incarnation of Christ
A. The Incarnation
B. The Incarnation: Once For All
C. God in the Flesh
7. The Crucifixion of Christ
A. The Humiliation of the Cross
B. Why the Cross?
c. Again, Why the Cross?
8. The Resurrection of Christ
A. Jesus Rose From the Dead
B. Some Objections to the Resurrection
C. Evidences for the Resurrection
D. Considering the Evidences for Jesus’ Resurrection
9. The Coming of the Holy Spirit
A. The Holy Spirit and the Believer
B. The Holy Spirit’s Work
C. Is the Holy Spirit Missing?
D. To Know That God Is Among Us
Supplemental: The Map or the Fuel: Living By Grace
10. The Promised Return of Christ
A. The Return of Jesus Christ
B. Dissonance In Heaven? You Bet!
C. The Certain Return of Christ
Concluding Summary
