Knowing God
Welcome to the Knowing God Small Group. This small group was designed to help you grow in your personal walk with God. At Victory, we want everyone to experience four things: Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, and Make an Impact. It is our desire that through this small group, you will know God in a greater way.
WEEK 1: Knowing God Through Going to Church
Next Steps
- Evaluate the last three months and consider how often you attended church monthly.
- Goal: Make going to church a priority in your life (and your family’s life). Commit to attending 3 out of 4 Sundays or more a month.
WEEK 2: Knowing God through Foundational Biblical Beliefs
Victory Family Church Key Beliefs
The Bible is the Word of God.
It was written by men under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any form of error. There are more than 200 specific prophecies in the Old Testament—written over a period of thousands of years by many different writers—that clearly point to Jesus. They tell of His place of birth, where He would grow up, the manner in which He would die and be buried, and even the very year He would die. Any reasonable statistical analysis of this only reinforces the veracity of this holy document.
2 Tim. 3:15-17, 1 Pet. 1:23, Heb. 4:12
God is three in one.
God exists as the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. Each part of the Trinity serves a different function and purpose, but they each possess equal power and authority.
1 John 5:7, John 10:30, Luke 1:35, Col. 1:15-17
Jesus is the Son of God.
Jesus is completely human and completely God. He is God’s only plan for bringing people back into a right relationship with Him. Jesus was sent by God, lived a perfect and blameless life on earth, and bore God’s judgment for sin, becoming a sacrifice and substitution for all people. He defeated death by rising from the dead so that we could have eternal life, ascended into Heaven, and will return again one day to reign as King.
Col. 2:9, Isa. 9:6, John 1:14, Phil. 2:5-11, Matt. 1:23
Man is made in the image of God.
God made man His most prized creation. Every human personality is uniquely created and is worthy of dignity, respect, and Christian love. Man was created to live in relationship with God, but sin separated man from Him, causing the image of God in man to become distorted. As a result, no human can fully live within His image apart from receiving Jesus, who is the express image of God’s person.
1 Cor. 15:44-49, II Cor. 3:18, Gen. 1:26-27
Salvation is a gift from God.
Salvation is freely given when those who trust in Jesus—believing in His death, burial, and resurrection—ask Him to be the Lord and Savior of their lives. Salvation cannot be earned or obtained by any human effort. It is freely given by God’s grace and must be willfully accepted through faith.
Rom. 6:23, II Cor. 9:15, Eph. 2:8-9
We will exist forever after this life.
Heaven and Hell are real places. Those who know God and have received salvation will ascend into Heaven when their physical bodies die. Those who have not will descend into Hell and be separated from God forever. Our sins must be paid for. We will either pay for them ourselves and bear the punishment of Hell, or we will receive Christ and, through God’s mercy, make Heaven our eternal home.
II Thess. 1:8-9, Jude 7, Rev. 20:12-15, John 14:2-4, Phil. 1:21, II Cor. 5:6-8
Jesus will return.
As Jesus promised, He will physically return to the earth for a second time to establish His Kingdom. He will reward those who have faithfully followed Him and obeyed His commands.
I Thess. 4:16-18, Rev. 22:12-13, Titus 2:13-14, Acts 1:9-11
Water Baptism is a symbol of identification with Jesus.
Water Baptism is a public declaration of one’s decision to follow Christ and to obey His commands. While infant baptism may be sacred to one’s religious upbringing, it is not found in the Bible. Water Baptism should occur when a person who has received Christ willfully and publicly expresses that belief. It is an outward expression of one’s faith in Christ. During baptism, a person is fully immersed in water, publicly identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. As individuals come out of the water, they are symbolically raised up as a new person in Christ.
Acts 2:38-39, Matt. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-17
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is for all believers.
While all born-again Christians have the Holy Spirit within them—in so much as they have been born of the Spirit— there is a separate and distinct experience from salvation that the Bible calls “The Baptism of the Holy Spirit.” In the book of Acts, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is detailed on 5 different occasions. When a person receives the Holy Spirit, they obtain a new prayer language, biblically called “speaking in other tongues.” Jesus commanded all believers to receive the person of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:1-4, Acts 8:14-17, Acts 10:44-48, Acts 19:1-7
Healing is a privilege for every believer.
God wants us to live in full health so that we can walk out the calling He has for us. The Bible says that Jesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. However, it is important to understand that God’s healing power must be received by the grace of God through faith.
James 5:14-15, Matt. 8:16-17, Acts 10:38, Heb. 13:8
Marriage is God’s unique design.
Marriage is the God-designed institution where one man, born biologically as a man, and one woman, born biologically as a woman, enter into a lifelong, exclusive relationship. This holy relationship is a parallel of Christ and His bride—the Church.
Gen. 2:20-25, Heb. 13:4, Matt. 19:4-6, Eph. 5:21-33
The Church is the Body of Christ.
The Church is not a building. The Bible says that each of us has been placed by God into the body of Christ. Like our human bodies, each part has a very distinct function. The Church is where we move beyond our individual lives and, with each of us taking our God ordained places, work together to reach all people with the gospel and the message of God’s love.
Rom. 12:4-5, I Cor. 12:12-27, Eph. 5:23
Next Steps
- Learn More about our Key Beliefs as a Church.
- Meditate on and memorize a few key verses from this week.
- Watch Pastor John’s bonus teaching on “Who Am I?” below.
WEEK 3: Knowing God by Spending Daily Time with Him
Next Steps
- Start your journey with Jesus today. Below you will find recommendations on a worship playlist, prayer guides, and suggested Daily Time with God devotions and resources.
- Start your day with Jesus. Use the 5-5-5 rule: 5 minutes of worship, 5 minutes of prayer, and 5 minutes in the Word of God. Do this for seven days and see how your life is transformed.
Worship Setlist
We are excited to be able to provide you with the names of the songs we adore, the names of the artists, and links so you can stream the songs to use in your worship throughout the week.
Prayer
If you want to learn more about prayer or access the prayer tracks, click here.
Bible Reading and Devotions
Here are a few suggestions on where to start:
- The Gospel of John: This book will give you an understanding of who Jesus is and what His ministry is about. All the gospels are great, but John particularly focuses on who Jesus is rather than just what He did.
- Romans: This is a great place to start if you want to have a clear understanding of the Bible and why Jesus came to die for our sins.
- Proverbs: The book of Proverbs is jam-packed with wisdom. It’s a great place to start if you want practical direction on how to live out the Christian life. Another benefit of Proverbs is that there are 31 Proverbs, so you can read one a day (two on the last day if there are only 30 days in the month).
- New Testament in a Year reading plan (downloadable PDF)
- YouVersion Bible App suggested plans
WEEK 4: Knowing God by Taking Steps of Obedience (Baptisms)
Next Steps
- Ask your small group leader to lead you in the salvation prayer.
- Sign up to be water baptized below
- Ask your small group leader to pray with you to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
- If you want to learn more about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, watch Pastor John Nuzzo’s message below.
Water Baptism
If you’ve decided to follow Jesus, water baptism is your next step. Baptism is an outward expression of what you have already decided in your heart. If you’re ready to make that public declaration, register by clicking your desired campus and service time below. To find out more about Water Baptism, click here.