ALPHA
Week 1: Is There More to Life Than This?
Worldview is the sum of our answers to life’s most important questions.
In Alpha, each session addresses foundational questions that are relevant to a Christian worldview. It acts as a bridge to non-believers to help immerse both socially and intellectually with how a Christian worldview is lived out.
Video Recap: Only Jesus can satisfy. He is the bread of life (John 6:45). Quotes from Freddy Mercury and Jim Carrey about the vanity of riches. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. CS Lewis: “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
The Way
Someone read Mark 1:1-4 (from Isaiah 40:3). The concept of “the way” evolves from a call to prepare for God’s coming in Isaiah, to John the Baptist’s ministry of preparation in Mark, and finally to Jesus’ declaration of being the way itself in John. This progression highlights the central role of Christ in God’s plan of salvation.
The Truth
1 Cor 2:12-14. Jesus is the only way to embrace and live out God’s Truth. In him there is no falsehood. He is trustworthy because he is Truth itself. Living off of sermons, podcasts, and commentaries is like hearing a lecture about heaven without going there. Why do you seek other avenues to God when Jesus is readily available to us because of the cross?
The Life
Jesus does not limit what He offers us with just a satisfying worldview. He doesn’t just transmit the content of the gospel message. He gives us the ultimate end of the gospel message: eternal life itself!
Story: “The greatest weapon I have is the preaching of the Word of God without the anointing of the Spirit.” (D. Campbell) The letter kills but the spirit gives life.
Someone read John 5:39-40. Mere ritualism and adherence to spiritual communal standards sells us short of the life that is seen and promised in the Scriptures. As we go through ALPHA, let it serve a reminder that Christ is sufficient. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Week 2: Who Is Jesus?
There is an apologetic bent for this lesson. As professing Christians, personal testimonies are not the only way to witness to others about Jesus. J. Warner Wallace says that solely relying on our testimonies is what Mormons, JW, and Muslims also employ to expand their religion. We need to point to the objective reality of who Jesus is through history, Scripture, and the apostolic faith.
Video Recap: Evidence outside Bible for Jesus’ existence through Tacitus and Josephus. Textual Criticism of NT manuscripts. Was Jesus merely a teacher? Jesus’ testimony about himself. Evidence for the resurrection.
Teaching
We can intuitively detect false teachings about Jesus because we know the basics of what Scripture says. The historic creeds and confessions of the church help expose early heresies like Gnosticism and Arianism and ensure the continuity of the apostolic faith.
Heresies to consider: Arianism — Jesus is created by God the Father. Claims of multiple sons of God. Some also teach that we can become gods in the way Jesus supposedly became divine.
Someone read Isaiah 6:1-8. Who did Isaiah encounter? YHWH. Someone read John 12:37-41. Jesus is YHWH. Someone read Isaiah 43:10. Refute deification.
Week 3: Why Did Jesus Die?
Three factors for why this question matters: God’s character, the effect of sin, and mankind’s character.
Atonement Theories
Ransom Theory: Humanity was in bondage to sin and death. Jesus’ death is a ransom paid to free us from Satan’s captivity.
Christus Victor: Jesus’ death and resurrection are seen as a victory over the powers of evil, sin, and death. Focus is on Jesus as a conqueror who wins freedom for all.
Moral Influence Theory: Jesus’ life and death show God’s love in such a compelling way that it inspires us to change our hearts and live differently.
Penal Substitution: Humanity deserved punishment for sin, but Jesus took that punishment in our place. This is the view we most subscribe to because it teaches us about the essence of who God is.
When we ask, “Why did Jesus die?” we’re really probing the core of His identity. Why did Elisabeth Elliot return to the tribe that martyred her husband to translate the Bible into their language? That question reveals more about her character than merely asking “Who is Elisabeth Elliot?”
As the video concludes, there’s a practical way to gauge the impact of Christ’s death on your life: Have you forgiven the person who has hurt you the most? “Forgiveness is a choice but not an option for the Christian.”
Week 4: How Can I Have Faith?
Video Recap: Nicky love story. Christian is a new creation. Faith is trust. Experience the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16). Gospel presentation.
The problem behind our doubts is not that we need to believe harder. It is that we do not know the One we trust. Faith is trusting God. But when we don’t know Him well, we might trust our feelings or intellect more than Him.
Someone read John 8:42-44. If we get convicted of our ongoing sin and there’s no hatred for it or desire to confess and repent, how can I believe you have trusted God? If there’s no desire for you to be in the Word and prayer daily, how can I believe your faith is alive and not dead (James 2)?
We need to clarify something: we have faith in Jesus, not faith in our faith. In our attempt to avoid a works-based gospel, we can err in trusting our belief in Jesus more than Jesus Himself.
Someone read 1 Peter 1:3-5. Someone read 1 Peter 1:6-9. Our faith is precious and must be proved genuine by how we endure suffering. Its end result is the salvation of our souls.
Faith was bought at a costly price so that salvation could be a free gift. If we forget the cost of faith, we’ll settle for the bare minimum. We’ll never understand why missionaries do what they do. Won’t understand Hudson Taylor, Elisabeth Elliot, Mary of Bethany who poured costly perfume on Jesus.
Week 5: Why and How Do I Pray?
Video Recap: “Prayer is the most important activity in your life.” Pray to the Father. Peace and perspective as rewards of prayer.
Of all things, the disciples only asked Jesus to teach them one thing — how to pray. This shows the vital role prayer plays in our walk with God.
Faith is foundational to prayer. We need to trust that prayer is powerful, even when it costs us time, energy, or leads to disappointment.
On a practical level, this applies to how we treat others. Do we truly consider others better than ourselves? What unbeliever would want to be part of a Church full of division, hypocrisy, and self-righteousness? The world will know we are Christ’s disciples by the way we love one another.
Someone read 2 Corinthians 7:6. Don’t let anyone look down on us because we’re young! (1 Timothy 4:12)
Prophecy is simply a “report of something God brings suddenly to mind” that is strengthening, encouraging and comforting for fellow believers. Upon giving it: No dates, no mates, no direction, no correction. Avoid saying “God is saying”; DO say “I feel like God is saying.” Upon receiving it: Test prophecy (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). Make sure it aligns with Scripture.
Week 6: Why and How Do I Read the Bible?
Video Recap: The Bible is God-breathed — it claims to be, seems to be, proves to be. Cathedral architecture analogy: one architect, many builders. Purpose of the Bible is not to study it for itself but to bring us into relationship with Jesus Christ.
Road to Emmaus — how much more that we now have the Holy Spirit to encounter God through the Scriptures without needing Jesus’ physical presence.
Jeremiah 6:16 — the ancient path is encountering Jesus through the Scriptures. Not serving at church, going to lifegroup, going on a missions trip. It’s being in the Word.
Week 7: How Does God Guide Us?
Video Recap: Our life has a purpose. 5 Ways God speaks to us: Commanding Scripture, Compelling Spirit, Counsel of the Saints, Common Sense, Circumstantial Signs. Prayer is two-way.
The first question to ask before “How Does God Guide Us” is “Will you let God guide you?” It’s not that Jesus is guiding me on MY preferred path. It’s God guiding me on YOUR ordained path for my life.
Read Jonah 1-2. Where do we see the 5 ways God speaks to us in this story?
Two major themes: Compassion and Theodicy. God’s guidance in our lives echoes his compassion towards us. Jonah 2:8 — idols obstruct our willingness to make the right decision for the Lord.
Some of you know how God is guiding you but you’re running away from it because you know it’ll cost you your idols, or you’re refusing to humble yourself. A part of our resistance to yielding ourselves wholeheartedly to God is because of our unbelief in His character.
Lamentations 3:31-33
Which character in this story obeyed God’s command immediately? (Ans: Whale) If creation still obeys You so will I.
Week 8+9: Who Is the Holy Spirit?
“Loneliness is born out the fleshly heart’s pattern of incorrectly searching to be understood by men and not by God. We place the burden on people to be able to understand the hidden secrets and shape of our hearts. The reality is that only God the CREATOR of your own heart possesses the deftness to be able to navigate around all the layers we have built up inside.” — Jonathan Kim
Recap: What did the Holy Spirit do in the Old Testament? (Creation; empower OT characters like Bezalel, Gideon, Samson, Isaiah) What did He do in the New Testament? (Mary, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist) What names are ascribed to the Holy Spirit? (Advocate, Counselor)
Read Ezekiel 36:22-32
- v.22-23: What God is going to promise is not to meet an indebted merit for Him. It is to display his holiness.
- v.24-27: We need a heart of flesh (tenderhearted) and the empowering of the Spirit to live out God’s commands. Our stubbornness and resistance to God’s loving beckoning is what hinders our godliness.
- v.28-32: He cleanses us out of His desire to make us holy like Him. His desire is for His people to flourish.
Read Ephesians 4:25-31 — How do we grieve the Holy Spirit?
- when we don’t speak truthfully to our brothers and sisters in Christ
- when we let anger control our actions
- when we steal from each other
- when we speak foul and abusive words to one another
- when we fail to be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another
“[The Holy Spirit is grieved] not because of wounded authority, but because of wounded love and baffled desire to help, when we, in spite of It, will take our own way.” — Albert Barnes
His love is not wounded because of any inherent weakness He possesses. It is because wounded love comes from real love.
Week 10+11: What Does the Holy Spirit Do + How Can I Be Filled with the Holy Spirit?
Stories of faith are powerful. They encourage us, keep us grounded, reveal areas of growth, and inspire us to participate in something greater. That’s why we share testimonies each week. So today I want to share stories from after the book of Acts.
Psalm 78:4 — “We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord.”
Student Volunteer Missions Movement (1886–1920s): 100,000 students mobilized for the cause of missions with 21,000 being sent out as foreign missionaries. Hudson Taylor inspired The Cambridge Seven — seven college students who toured England urging students to consider overseas missionary efforts. All 7 eventually joined China Inland Mission.
Welsh Revival (1904): Young coal miner Evan Roberts oversaw a massive spiritual awakening in Wales. Profanity silenced, theaters deserted, courts abandoned due to a lack of crime, bars shutting down. Sales of beer and alcohol declined steeply while pocket testaments were snapped up like hot cross-buns.
Azusa Street Revival (1906-1915): During the Jim Crow era, God used a black man, William Seymour, to spark the Pentecostal movement. Frank Bartleman noted, “The ‘color line’ was washed away in the blood of Christ.”
The Jesus Movement (1960s-1970s): Hippie era where people were ditching drugs for Jesus. Keith Green who gave up drugs and eastern religions. Mass baptism at Pirate’s Cove. Birth of Vineyard Movement. Greg Laurie who became an evangelist through Harvest Crusade.
As young people, it’s easy to feel pressure when we hear extraordinary stories of faith. The incredible actions of godly men and women didn’t come from being the most gifted or well-resourced. It was the Spirit of God that stirred them.
How is it that we — descendants of Korean immigrants — are gathered to worship Jesus, a Jewish man from the Middle East? The gospel was shared from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth!
The Book of Acts is not so much the deeds of the Apostles as the deeds of the Holy Spirit through the apostles. That same Spirit that inspired Hudson Taylor, sparked revival in Wales, and saved countless lives during the countercultural movements of the ’70s is alive today.
These stories are not only to be remembered and told. They are to be re-lived! Please join me in praying for revival. If you are in Christ, you are in God’s storyline!
Jonah 2:8 — Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. If you are conscious of ongoing sin in your life, I lovingly urge you to repent! But be filled with the Holy Spirit!