Establish

About

Are you Established?

Are you comfortable discussing your faith and sharing why you believe in God? Do you know the Bible well enough to describe its events in chronological order? Can you reconcile the God of the Old Testament with the God of the New Testament? Are you able to tell the story of Jesus and explain who He is without hesitation or fear because you know it well? Does your life reflect a belief that the God of the Bible is real?

This is just a glimpse of what it means to be established – in your faith, in the Word of God, and in the truth. We are not meant to do it alone. Let’s come together to build a foundation for our lives that cannot be shaken.

What the Establish program is not?

This is not another "check-the-box" group. It’s not a program designed to ease guilt by encouraging more "right" Christian actions. This is not about filling our heads with knowledge while neglecting the joy, empowerment, and purpose that come from wholeheartedly loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. This is not chasing after the wind, but a determined pursuit of God.

Establish in the Old Testament

Strongs 3559 כּוּן, נָכֹון, נָכֹון [kuwn /koon/] to be firm, be stable, be established

Psalm 37:23 (NASB95)

23The steps of a man are established by the Lord,

And He delights in his way.

2 Chronicles 12:14 (NASB95)

14He did evil because he did not set [establish] his heart to seek the Lord.

Psalm 10:17 (NASB95)

17O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;

You will strengthen [establish] their heart, You will incline Your ear.

Establish in the New Testament

Strongs 4741 στηρίζω [sterizo /stay·rid·zo/] 1 to make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix. 2 to strengthen, make firm. 3 to render constant, confirm, one’s mind.1

2 Thessalonians 2:16–17 (NASB95)

16Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,

17comfort and strengthen [establish] your hearts in every good work and word.

James 5:8 (NASB95)

8You too be patient; strengthen [establish] your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

Revelation 3:2 (NASB95)

2‘Wake up, and strengthen [establish] the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.

1 Thessalonians 3:13 (NASB95) 13so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

How does the Establish program work?

How many of us can truly say that our daily lives reflect our priorities? As Christians—followers and students of Jesus—can we, in good conscience, say that we seek God enough each day to truly know Him? Know Him well enough that our faith remains unshaken, no matter what life throws at us?

We are all incredibly busy, but shouldn't we strive to balance the demands of everyday life with our heart's desire to be established in truth? This world is not getting any easier, and God charges us to be ready (2 Timothy 4:2, Matthew 24:44).

Reflecting on the challenge of 2 Timothy 2:15, Establish is designed to help us achieve this goal. It may require more effort than what most of us are currently doing, but you'll find that it takes less time than you think and not more than you are willing to give.

  1. Read the Bible together.
  • If you have never done it, read it chronologically cover to cover at least once.
  • Groups can do this together on the youversion bible app that allows for discussions and questions in real time.
  1. Memorize the Bible together.
  • We will memorize one passage of scripture together each week. (We will start them together.)
  • Who knows if we will always have access to our Bibles? We need to get the Word in our hearts.
  1. Study the Bible chronologically together.
  • We will have weekly, in-person gatherings (online meetings offered for those sick, traveling, or living out of town).
  • We will work though a chronological study of the entire Bible, rotating Old and New Testaments – until we are done. This will also include how we got the Bible, sequence of events in Bible history, how the books of the Bible line up chronologically, and a deep dive into exactly what the gospel is.
  • There will be 30-60 min of homework per week called “Just Enough” so that everyone will have the background information necessary to understand and participate in the discussions.

All the Establish materials, how to do it, homework, lesson notes, videos, etc., will be free online at www.wisemenbuild.com.

Example of Planned Study Sequence:

  1. How we got the Bible (1 week): how it is ordered, authors, cannon of scripture, oldest manuscripts, different versions, and more.
  2. Walk through the Old Testament (2-3 weeks?): This will bring the story of the OT life while giving an overview of this history of God’s people. We will also focus on pictures of Jesus in the Old Testament.
  3. Creation, Genesis 1-3 (1-2 weeks), “Just Enough” homework will start here. We will discuss the glory and majesty of the Creator as we consider the vastness and power of the universe, discuss what it means to be created in God’s image, discuss the implications of the fall of man, young earth/old earth, so much more…
  4. Overview of the New Testament and begin a harmony of the gospels study (Mt/Mk/Lk/Jn side by side), discussing through Jesus’ family’s escape to Egypt. (3-4 weeks?)
  5. Deep dive discussion to answer the question, “What exactly is the gospel, and how does it supernaturally change believers?” (2-3 weeks)
  6. Back to Genesis! And so it will go!1
  1. The weeks above are just a guide – each section will take as long as it takes to fully, yet not exhaustively, cover the material. This is an overview course, but with enough meat for any seasoned believer to grow in their faith and knowledge of God. ↩︎