march 2013
celloutlines | overview DEEP WATER – A chance to dive deeper into our theology and be sure we understand the basis of our faith and doctrines.
Delving into Doctrine Think of one thing that you are really passionate about. Is it football, horse riding, art, Irish dancing, movies, scuba diving or Dr Who?! If one of your friends asked you about your interest, what would you say? You’d probably be able to talk for hours about what you do and why you’re into that particular thing, explaining the finer points of what’s what or who’s who (or Who!)! You may hope that your friend catches your enthusiasm and wants to join you in your interest. So what happens when someone asks you about your faith, or about Jesus, or about The Salvation Army or why you go to church? In the Bible we are urged to make sure that we can always ‘give an answer’ when someone asks us questions like these. ‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.’ 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV) The Message translates it like this: ‘Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.’ As you know, this year, in the ‘Deep Water’ stream, we are going to recap on what we believe as Christians and why we believe it. So the next time someone asks us, we will be ready to give a clear and confident answer! To do this we will be looking at The Salvation Army’s Doctrines of Faith. A Doctrine is simply a statement of belief… and The Salvation Army has got eleven… eleven statements of faith (Doctrines) that explain what we believe about God, faith and life.
celloutlines
This month, March, after an introductory session, we will cover Doctrines 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Next month – April – we will delve into Doctrines 6, 7, 8 and 11. And finally, in October and November, we will consider Doctrines 9 and 10. And don’t forget that it’s not enough just to know what we believe – what we believe must have a positive effect on how we live. There is an unbreakable link between intellectual faith and day-to-day Christian living. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can live out our beliefs with integrity and conviction.
Leader’s notes Shelf Life For Week 2 you will need copies of Shelf Life for your group (ALOVE’S Bible reading guide for young people). Check with your young people if they have a copy. If they don’t, you can obtain free copies from the ALOVE office. Contact alove@salvationarmy.org.uk
Easter The last day of this month is Easter Sunday. Although these Cell notes do not specifically suggest any Easter celebrations with your group, Doctrine 5 (which you will consider in the last week) does set the scene for why ‘Easter’ had to happen. Then the first week of next month will consider Doctrine 6, which is all about God’s great rescue plan for his world and how, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God overcame the separation caused by sin and people were once again brought back into a right relationship with him.
www.salvationarmy.org.uk/alove