Senior Soldier Preparation Seminar

God’s Great Message to Man

Introduction & Doctrine 1

Session 1

Why is it important to join a church?

It is a community that has been built for us by Jesus Christ; it’s

our new family.

Genuine Christian Fellowship consists of:

Service/servanthoodAcceptance

Love, speaking well of one another

Interest in one anotherFaithfulness

Conscientiousness

Why should you join

The Salvation Army?• You believe in what The Army teaches

and its doctrines.

• You believe in The Army’s ministry and mission.

• You believe that God wants you to be a soldier or an adherent in The Salvation Army.

• The Salvation Army was God’s idea.

Salvationists….Soldiers of Jesus

Christ• The Christian Mission Magazine

September 1878

• The Mission “has organized a Salvation Army to carry the blood of Christ and the fire of the Holy Ghost to every corner of the world.”

The Bible is the source from which all our

doctrines come therefore:

Our First DoctrineWe believe that the

Scriptures of the Old and New

Testaments were given by inspiration

of God and that they only

constitute the Divine rule of

Christian faith and practice.

The Scriptures

The word Scripture means writing and it is usually used in the plural, often with the word “holy.”

Bible means book.

The Old and New Testaments

Two major divisions:Old Testament – 39 booksNew Testament – 27 books

A “testament” is a covenant or an agreement

Language of the Scriptures

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew.

The New Testament was written in Greek.

Inspiration of the Scriptures

2 Timothy 3:16

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Divine Rule of Practice• Man needs a “divine rule of

Christian faith and practice.”• “Christian faith” refers to our

doctrine, or what we believe.• “Christian practice” refers to our

manner of life and our concept of what is right and wrong.

• This is called “Christian ethics.” We base our conduct upon the Word of God.

QUESTIONS

1. What do you think would happen to Christianity if the Bible were suddenly taken away? What would we lose? What would we do?

2. What important relationship is there between a divine rule of faith and a divine rule of practice?

3. Have you read the Bible all the way through? If not, why not?

4. Share a favorite OT and NT verse with the person next to you.