You''re richer than you think! The apostle Paul''s doctrine of adoption declares that every Christian has been adopted into God''s family. This great reality is meant to have a transformational effect in many areas of the believer''s life. Yet, the truth of adoption has been neglected throughout history and overshadowed by other truths. While most Christians have heard of adoption, Dr. Priebe set out to discover what would happen if a group of Christians had an in-depth encounter with Paul''s doctrine of adoption through a sermon series dedicated to the topic. * How would it shape their identity? * What difference would it make in how they relate to God? * Would it increase their assurance of salvation? * How would it impact the way they battle personal sin? * Would it change the way they treat their brothers and sisters in the church? * What effect would it have on their ability to face pain and suffering? Discover what Paul teaches about adoption, what the research project revealed, and how you can experience the transforming power of adoption in your life, preaching ministry, and congregation. Additional Details: This dissertation argues that the apostle Paul''s doctrine of adoption has been neglected in the creeds, confessions, and writings of Church history and has been overshadowed by other soteriological metaphors such as justification and regeneration. Following a historical review of adoption, a presentation of new research on the neglect of adoption within Canadian evangelical statements of faith, and a fresh exposition of Paul''s doctrine of adoption, Dr. Priebe designed an experiment whereby Christians could encounter Paul''s doctrine of adoption in order to measure its effect in their lives. This was done by using a quasi-experimental design that included an observation (a pretest using a questionnaire on adoption), a treatment (listening to eight sermons on Paul''s doctrine of adoption) and another observation (a posttest using the same questionnaire). The questionnaire was developed to measure the knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours of respondents as they relate to the main aspects of Paul''s doctrine of adoption. Two groups were selected from Christians attending Central Baptist Church in Victoria, Canada. One group was asked to complete the questionnaire before the sermons and the other group was asked to complete it after the sermons. The responses from the before and after groups were analyzed using statistical tests to determine differences between the two groups. The results reveal significantly higher statistical differences in a few key areas among the after group including knowledge about Paul''s doctrine of adoption, assurance of salvation, understanding how hope strengthens the believer to deal with suffering, and thanking God in prayer for being part of his family. The results also demonstrate the need for further teaching in some important areas of a Christian''s relationship with God. These include relating to God as Father and overcoming the idea that one has to earn God''s acceptance through good behavior. Based on these results, Dr. Priebe concludes that there is a need for greater depth of teaching on adoption from the pulpit because sermons on adoption resonate with believers and produce positive effects in their lives. Chapter 1 (15 pgs) is an introduction. Chapter 2 (55 pgs) is a literature review that traces the neglect of adoption in Church history and its confusion with justification and regeneration. Chapter 3 (130 pgs) argues that adoption is both a soteriological metaphor and model and offers a fresh exposition of Paul''s passages on adoption. Chapter 4 (50 pgs) provides the research methodology and findings. Chapter 5 (20 pgs) outlines eight implications from the findings. The ten appendices (80 pgs) include the adoption questionnaire, the eight sermon manuscripts, and a sample article on adoption for a statement of faith.