Bible Study Focus for 2021++
Our bible study program continues in 2021 with focus on Living in the Image of God. We will explore the implications for human interactions and relationships; such as husband and wife, parent and child, leader and follower, people versus government, providers and clients in nonprofit or for-profit activities, and among siblings and others. We will share each biweekly session by providing a short description, ten-minutes video, and a modifiable guide for independent study or discussion. We invite everyone to share in our studies, thank all previous participants in our program, and look forward to connecting with you in 2021 and thereafter. God bless you.
The Banking Blessings Ministry bible study program will continue in 2021 with focus on Living in the Image of God, exploring implications for various aspects of human interactions and relationships. The program will be re-focused to seek clear understanding of Living in the Image of God as applied to specific aspects of human interactions and relationships: such as husband and wife, parent and child, leader and follower, people versus government, providers and clients in nonprofit or for-profit activities, and among siblings and others. We have general ideas and will continue to work on the details of how the study needs to proceed. We invite every person to consider participating more with us as we work on developing opportunities for expanding participation. We thank all previous participants in our program and look forward to connecting with you in 2021 and thereafter.
Basis for “Living in the Image of God”
Living in the Image of God is based on the understanding that God creates every person to represent him among others—to be a channel for his presence, interactions, and impact: the same way he would if he were present in human form. He can interact with a person in various ways but often chooses to channel his interactions naturally through a human representative.
Also, he often drives events in a way that preserves and emphasizes natural relationships among people and between them and other inhabitants of the earth. For example, imagine a person’s bank account suddenly swells with a large amount of money that is not traceable to any natural source. How would other people, including the regulatory authorities, respond to the change? It would be unacceptable to say that God gave the money, because the natural system requires a natural explanation of events. As a second example, how would people respond to a full-grown tree appearing suddenly in the middle of a highway? Or a person showing up one day to claim the presidency of a country saying God appointed him/her president? God can do any of these but often chooses a natural way that entails interactions among people following certain rules and processes.
He participates in the interactions by channeling his presence and contributions through people—in a dynamic network of potential providers and receivers of God’s representation. For example, if he wants to provide money to a person, he works with the person and others to provide the money naturally. He works through people in every situation to implement changes naturally to fulfill his purpose. He creates every person to represent him in interactions among people to fulfill his purpose in every situation.
Meaning of “Living in the Image of God”
wikipedia.org
God’s covenant (conditional promise) to be God to every person that will worship and serve him conveys implications for human interactions based on understanding that he creates every person to represent him among others—every person is created in the image of God. He explained his purpose for people through his statement of objective at creation and, again, in a discussion with angels regarding Abraham. Furthermore, Christ explained God’s purpose for human interactions and relationships: through formal teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and through parables, physical examples, and interactions with his disciples and others during his human ministry. He provides guiding principles and describes the essence of Living in the Image of God—to fulfill God’s purpose for every person to be his representative (aka ambassador) in interactions with others. Those that live according to the principles will follow God’s Schedule and receive fulfillment of his promise. In contrast, those that depart from the principles will depart from his schedule.
Refocused Bible Study Program
Our bible study program in 2021 and following years will focus on understanding the principles and essence of Living in the Image of God based on Christ teaching and other information in the bible. We will explore implications for specific aspects of human interactions and relationships; such as in husband and wife, parent and child, leader and follower, people versus government, providers and clients in nonprofit or for-profit activities, and among siblings and others. We plan to develop the information in small increments: each including a short description and approximately ten-minutes video. Additionally, each session will provide a study/discussion guide for a thirty-minutes to one-hour program, depending on the group size. The guides can be downloaded from https://bankingblessing.org/ and can be modified to address more specific interactions and relationships. We hope the guides will extend opportunities for wider participation in the Banking Blessings Ministry bible study program. The new program will start during the week of February 8, 2021.
Summary of What We Learned
Our bible study program continues in 2021 with focus on Living in the Image of God. We will explore the implications for human interactions and relationships; such as husband and wife, parent and child, leader and follower, people versus government, providers and clients in nonprofit or for-profit activities, and among siblings and others. We will share each biweekly session by providing a short description, ten-minutes video, and a modifiable guide for independent study or discussion. We invite everyone to share in our studies, thank all previous participants in our program, and look forward to connecting with you in 2021 and thereafter. God bless you.