Bible Study Plan

Every investigation requires a standard of truth. If you can't trust your evidence, you can't solve the case. Before we can talk about God, Jesus, or the Afterlife, we have to answer the most fundamental question: How do we know any of this? Did we just make it up? Is it a fairytale? Or has the Creator of the Universe actually broken the silence?

Every investigation requires a standard of truth. If you can't trust
your evidence, you can't solve the case. Before we can talk about God,Jesus, or the
Afterlife, we have to answer the most fundamental question: How do we know any
of this? Did we just make it up? Is it a fairytale? Or has the Creator of the Universe
actually broken the silence?

You have probably heard the rumor. It usually pops up on YouTube or a History Channel
documentary around Easter. The narrator, in a spooky voice, says: "The Church hid the truth! There were hundreds of other gospels about Jesus, but a bunch of old guys in a smoky room banned them and only kept the ones that gave them power."
It sounds like a conspiracy thriller. It makes for great TV. But is it history?

We all have "authorities" in our lives.
• The Coach: Tells you when to run.
• The Teacher: Tells you when to study.
• The Government: Tells you how fast to drive.
• The Algorithm: Tells you what to buy.
But what happens when those authorities disagree? What happens when your Biology teacher says one thing, your parents say another, and your favorite influencer says a third thing?
Who wins?

1. THE INTEL (The Setup)
Have you ever tried to read the "Terms and Conditions" before updating your phone? It's pages and pages of tiny legal text. It is technically written in English, but it might as well be alien code. It is designed by lawyers, for lawyers.
Is the Bible like that?

We have established the Source (The Bible). Now, we look at the Subject. Most people think they know who "God" is. They picture a grandfather in the sky, a force like gravity, or a cosmic vending machine. But the Being described in Scripture is far more terrifying and beautiful than any of those. He is the Uncaused Cause. The Three-in-One. The Holiest of Holies.

Imagine you are walking through the Sahara Desert. It is miles of nothing but sand, wind, and rocks. Suddenly, you stumble upon a brand-new iPhone 15 lying on a dune. It is fully charged, connected to a satellite, and playing a Spotify playlist.
What is your first thought? A) "Wow, the wind and the sand must have blown together for millions of years until they accidentally formed this microchip, glass screen, and battery." B) "Someone was here."

Here is a math problem: 1 + 1 + 1 =?
If you said "3," you pass first-grade math. If you said "1 ," you fail.
But when we talk about God, Christians claim that 1 + 1 + 1 = 1. We say the Father is God. The
Son is God. The Spirit is God. But there is only one God.
This is the hardest doctrine in Christianity: The Trinity.
For centuries, critics (including Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses) have attacked this idea.
They say, "Christians are actually polytheists-they worship three gods! It's illogical! It's a
contradiction!"

If I asked you to draw God, what would you draw? Most people draw a really old man with a
beard sitting on a cloud. Or maybe a glowing light. Or maybe Morgan Freeman.
The problem is that we tend to think of God as just a Really Big Human.
• We are strong; He is super-strong.
• We are smart; He is super-smart.
• We are nice; He is super-nice.
But this is a dangerous mistake. It's like a hamster trying to describe a human. The hamster
thinks, "The Giant must be like me, but with bigger cheeks and more sunflower seeds."

We live in a chaotic world. Wars start overnight. Pandemics shut down the globe. A drunk
driver crosses the centerline. A college rejection letter arrives in the mail.
It feels like life is a car with no driver, careening down a mountain. It feels random.
When bad things happen, we usually have two reactions:
1. Panic: "Everything is falling apart!"
2. Control: "/ need to fix this right now."
But there is a third option.