Series Resources

sermon-based study guide

This guide is designed to guide a group discussion around the weekend sermon. You can also use this as an individual, but we highly recommend finding a friend and inviting them to discuss with you. Menlo Church has Life Groups meeting in-person and online using these guides. We’d love to help you find a group.

What you will find in this guide: A discussion guide for groups and individuals. If you are using this as an individual be sure to engage with each question in a journal or simply in your mind as you prayerfully consider what you heard in the sermon and seek to discover what God is inviting you to know and do.

Study Guide: Is the Bible Reliable

Connect

Let’s have bible trivia this week. Take your best guesses at the questions below. You can find the answers on the bottom of the next page.

Do you know, on average, how many bibles are sold in the US each year?
How many copies of the bible have been printed in the roughly 1500 years since its contents were standardized?
How many books make up the Old and New Testament combined?

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Engage

Read 1 John 4:7-21

How does this passage connect God and love together?

How was God’s loved revealed to us?

How are we to respond to God’s love?

How do we abide in God?

Who are we commanded to love?

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Apply

What was your initial view of the Bible when you were younger, and how has it evolved over time? Can you relate to the idea of moving from seeing the Bible as "magic" to something more nostalgic or relevant?
Phil mentioned the idea of "Generous orthodoxy." How do you think this concept can help Christians with different perspectives on biblical interpretation come together in unity?
Phil mentioned that the Bible is a library, written by dozens of people over more than a thousand years, inspired by God. How does this understanding of the Bible's composition impact your view of its reliability?
In the sermon, it was emphasized that the Bible tells a unified story of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. How does this overarching narrative help you better understand the Bible's purpose and message?

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Prayer

Spend time praying for each other, your towns, and the Bay Area.

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Going Deeper

Menlo Midweek Podcast:

Tune in every Wednesday for a conversation with the previous week’s speaker. It’s a deeper dive into the message and an engaging time to learn, reflect, grow—and have fun.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/menlo-church-sermon-podcast/id129950807

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