Living with Questions: What’s So Great About Heaven?
I. Introduction: Review from last week’s question: Am I Good Enough?
“Am I good enough? I’m afraid not. But there’s Someone who is. Someone who will clean us up, bandage our souls, smooth out the twisting sin does to us, and put us back on our feet. This Someone doesn’t come from within the Wild, but from outside of it. He invaded history to rescue us, and now he invites us to follow him Home.” – p. 195
A. Our Response: So what are you going to do about it?????
1. FAITH is trusting God
2. We put our TRUST in the work that Jesus has done for us
3. We are FORGIVEN for our brokenness
4. We are restored to a NEW BIRTH to walk in God’s love and to be the way he created us to be
II. Living with Questions: The final question is: What’s so great about heaven?
A. The Reality of Death:
1. Statistic of people who die: 100%
2. Sudden Death: 9/11; car crash; heart attack; plane crash
3. Gradual Death:
a. A slow moving disease, aging
b. Ultimately we are all gradually moving in that direction
B. The Reality of God
1. He did not discover us then force us to worship Him
2. God made us and created us to find meaning through Him
St. Augustine in his Confessions states: You have made us for yourself. And our hearts are restless until they rest in you.
3. God knows our needs
a. He is the Living Water
b. He is the Bread of Life
c. The good life is inseparable from God Himself since He is the source of all good
d. Knowing God is the natural thing; rejecting God is the unnatural response.
C. The Reality of Hell
1. God respects the choice of those who want to separate themselves from Him
2. Being forced to go to heaven would be considered hell for some
3. It is not that God sends people to hell more than he honors our choice to live with His goodness and grace or without it.
D. The Reality of Heaven: Read John 3:16-18
1. Jesus sees heaven and hell as present realities that we live in right now.
2. Eternal life does NOT add quantity to our life so much as quality of life from the very moment we believe.
a. God gives us His peace
b. God gives us purpose
c. God gives us His love
3. Eternal life begins IN THIS LIFETIME
E. The Reality of Death Revisited:
1. Read 1 Cor. 15:55-57
a. No fear of separation, emptiness or cutting off of love
b. No fear of judgment
c. We have HOPE through Christ’s resurrection that we to will experience
resurrection and a new body.
2. Read Revelation 21:1-7
a. We have HOPE in a new home one day! Heaven is temporary. Earth will be
restored to what it was meant to be.
b. What would God have to be like that you would want to worship Him forever?
III. Conclusion
From p. 216: “He’d have to push the boundaries of my imagination! I suggest that this is what God is like. And God will evoke worship from us that will flow from the depths of our souls. We’ll find ourselves in the place where we finally feel like we BELONG – surrounded by LOVE and UNDERSTOOD. . . . We’ll worship God by enjoying his world. . . with our work . . . with our play . . . by loving one another . . . with our activities. Worship will make sense of all of life. We’ll welcome God’s presence into everything because with him, everything will mean something more. Heaven can begin NOW as we look to God instead of tinkering with our diversions.”
Showing posts with label Dale Fincher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dale Fincher. Show all posts
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Living with Questions 7
Living with Questions: Am I Good Enough?
I. Introduction: Review from last weeks question: Am I Valuable Enough?
A. Determining value by going back to how it was made (guitars, violins, rings)
1. We are created in God’s image – Gen. 1:27
2. Value is determined by WHO created us and made us regardless of what we can do.
3. Value comes from the Creator, not by the creation
B. Am I valuable enough to be loved? 1 John 4:16 – And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
II. Living with Questions: The Question for today is: Am I Good Enough?
A. Valuable, but . . .
1. Bring in a local newspaper or news website and look at all of the stories that suggest or imply that there is something wrong in the world. Talk about things you’ve seen lately.
2. If I am a valuable person why don’t I feel that way?
3. If God made me in his image and loves me, why does God feel so far away sometimes?
4. Any belief system need to explain what is wrong with the world. We don’t want balance between good and evil, we want goodness without evil, health without brokenness.
5. Life is difficult, it is hard. We at times feel broken, afraid, hiding and struggling.
B. A Broken Beauty
1. The Beginning: Genesis 2:16-17
a. God creates us with will
b. God creates a world with moral choice
2. The Beginning of the End: Satan distorts the truth - Gen. 3
a. He questions God’s Word – creates doubt
b. He denies God’s Word – creates distrust
c. He substitutes his own lies – creates defiance from truth
C. The Rise of Evil: Twisted Things
1. Evil as a PARASITE: It needs something good to ruin.
a. Goodness creates life. Evil murders life.
b. Goodness creates gifts. Evil is the thievery that robs others of their gifts.
c. Goodness creates marriage. Evil twists it into divorce.
d. Goodness creates love. Evil twists it into lust and/or hate.
e. Goodness is the original life-giving thing. Evil is utterly unoriginal.
2. Evil as MISSING THE MARK
a. Failing to live up to the our title as image bearers of God
b. We are broken and battered – Romans 3:23
3. Evil MURDERS LOVE – Matthew 22:37-40
a. A broken relationship between us and God
b. A broken relationships with others
D. The Establishment of God’s LAW
1. God’s Law given to us for the purpose of:
a. Order for their society
b. To reveal what the character of God is like.
c. Helps us to be what we were made to be.
2. In light of sin, God’s Law actually:
a. Revealed our brokenness
b. Revealed how we are victims of other people
c. Revealed how we are victims of our own poor choices
E. The Search for DELIVERANCE: Who will deliver me, mend me, rescue me, help me, and love me back to being what I am supposed to be?
1. The LAST Adam – 1 Corinthians 15:45
a. The First Adam sent us into the wild
b. The Last Adam came to lead us back and make us fit for home!
2. The SUBSTITUTE – 2 Corinthians 5:21
a. We became RIGHTEOUS: Jesus took on our sin so we could take on his righteousness
b. We can LOVE the right kind of way: Jesus offers forgiveness that restores our relationship with God and others
III. Our Response: So what are you going to do about it?????
A. FAITH is trusting God
B. We put our TRUST in the work that Jesus has done for us
C. We are FORGIVEN for our brokenness
D. We are restored to a NEW BIRTH to walk in God’s love and to be the way he created us to be
“Am I good enough? I’m afraid not. But there’s Someone who is. Someone who will clean us up, bandage our souls, smooth our the twisting sin does to us, and put us back on our feet. This Someone doesn’t come from within the Wild, but from outside of it. He invaded history to rescue us, and now he invites us to follow him Home.” – p. 195
NEXT WEEK: WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT HEAVEN?
I. Introduction: Review from last weeks question: Am I Valuable Enough?
A. Determining value by going back to how it was made (guitars, violins, rings)
1. We are created in God’s image – Gen. 1:27
2. Value is determined by WHO created us and made us regardless of what we can do.
3. Value comes from the Creator, not by the creation
B. Am I valuable enough to be loved? 1 John 4:16 – And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
II. Living with Questions: The Question for today is: Am I Good Enough?
A. Valuable, but . . .
1. Bring in a local newspaper or news website and look at all of the stories that suggest or imply that there is something wrong in the world. Talk about things you’ve seen lately.
2. If I am a valuable person why don’t I feel that way?
3. If God made me in his image and loves me, why does God feel so far away sometimes?
4. Any belief system need to explain what is wrong with the world. We don’t want balance between good and evil, we want goodness without evil, health without brokenness.
5. Life is difficult, it is hard. We at times feel broken, afraid, hiding and struggling.
B. A Broken Beauty
1. The Beginning: Genesis 2:16-17
a. God creates us with will
b. God creates a world with moral choice
2. The Beginning of the End: Satan distorts the truth - Gen. 3
a. He questions God’s Word – creates doubt
b. He denies God’s Word – creates distrust
c. He substitutes his own lies – creates defiance from truth
C. The Rise of Evil: Twisted Things
1. Evil as a PARASITE: It needs something good to ruin.
a. Goodness creates life. Evil murders life.
b. Goodness creates gifts. Evil is the thievery that robs others of their gifts.
c. Goodness creates marriage. Evil twists it into divorce.
d. Goodness creates love. Evil twists it into lust and/or hate.
e. Goodness is the original life-giving thing. Evil is utterly unoriginal.
2. Evil as MISSING THE MARK
a. Failing to live up to the our title as image bearers of God
b. We are broken and battered – Romans 3:23
3. Evil MURDERS LOVE – Matthew 22:37-40
a. A broken relationship between us and God
b. A broken relationships with others
D. The Establishment of God’s LAW
1. God’s Law given to us for the purpose of:
a. Order for their society
b. To reveal what the character of God is like.
c. Helps us to be what we were made to be.
2. In light of sin, God’s Law actually:
a. Revealed our brokenness
b. Revealed how we are victims of other people
c. Revealed how we are victims of our own poor choices
E. The Search for DELIVERANCE: Who will deliver me, mend me, rescue me, help me, and love me back to being what I am supposed to be?
1. The LAST Adam – 1 Corinthians 15:45
a. The First Adam sent us into the wild
b. The Last Adam came to lead us back and make us fit for home!
2. The SUBSTITUTE – 2 Corinthians 5:21
a. We became RIGHTEOUS: Jesus took on our sin so we could take on his righteousness
b. We can LOVE the right kind of way: Jesus offers forgiveness that restores our relationship with God and others
III. Our Response: So what are you going to do about it?????
A. FAITH is trusting God
B. We put our TRUST in the work that Jesus has done for us
C. We are FORGIVEN for our brokenness
D. We are restored to a NEW BIRTH to walk in God’s love and to be the way he created us to be
“Am I good enough? I’m afraid not. But there’s Someone who is. Someone who will clean us up, bandage our souls, smooth our the twisting sin does to us, and put us back on our feet. This Someone doesn’t come from within the Wild, but from outside of it. He invaded history to rescue us, and now he invites us to follow him Home.” – p. 195
NEXT WEEK: WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT HEAVEN?
Living with Questions 6
Living with Questions: Am I Valuable Enough?
I. Introduction: Review of previous weeks
A. God has also chosen to speak to us in a variety of ways
1. Through NATURE
2. Through the WRITTEN word (The Bible)
3. Through ACTION (incarnation)
B. Show video “Celebrities with(out) Makeup”
II. Living with Questions: The Question for today is: Am I Valuable Enough?
A. Facts about teen depression, eating disorders, cutting and suicide
1. Teen Depression
Some alarming statistics on teenage and adolescent depression. Depression is the most common mental health disorder in the United States among teens and adults, and can have a serious impact on the lives of the many teens who suffer from depression. Statistics show that teen depression is a common problem: About 20 percent of teens will experience teen depression before they reach adulthood. Between 10 to 15 percent of teenagers have some symptoms of teen depression at any one time. About 5 percent of teens are suffering from major depression at any one time. As many as 8.3 percent of teens suffer from depression for at least a year at a time, compared to about 5.3 percent of the general population. Most teens with depression will suffer from more than one episode. 20 to 40 percent will have more than one episode within two years, and 70 percent will have more than one episode before adulthood. Episodes of teen depression generally last about 8 months. A teen suffering from depression is also at higher risk for other problems:
30 percent of teens with depression also develop a substance abuse problem.
Teenagers with depression are likely to have a smaller social circle and take advantage of fewer opportunities for education or careers.
Depressed teens are more likely to have trouble at school and in jobs, and to struggle with relationships.
Teens with untreated depression are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, leading to higher rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Teens with depression seem to catch physical illnesses more often than other teens.
Untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide, the third leading cause of death among teenagers. 90 percent of suicide victims suffer from a mental illness, and suffering from depression can make a teenager as much as 12 times more likely to attempt suicide.
2. Eating Disorders
The most common eating disorders - anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder - are on the rise in the United States and worldwide. No one knows exactly what causes eating disorders. However, all socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural groups are at risk.
More than ninety percent of those with eating disorders are women. Further, the number of American women affected by these illnesses has doubled to at least five million in the past three decades.
Eating disorders are one of the key health issues facing young women. Studies in the last decade show that eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors are related to other health risk behaviors, including tobacco use, alcohol use, marijuana use, delinquency, unprotected sexual activity, and suicide attempts. Currently, 1-4% of all young women in the United States are affected by eating disorders.1 Anorexia nervosa, for example, ranks as the third most common chronic illness among adolescent females in the United States.
3. Cutting
It is imperative for youth workers to understand that the act of cutting is a symptom of a greater problem—abuse, mental illness, loneliness, family problems, etc. All of these issues generally generate deep pain in the individual, and cutting becomes a coping mechanism. One of the basic premises behind cutting is that it is "used to alleviate emotional distress in an effort to enhance psychological adjustment" (Journal of Clinical Psychology).
Self-mutilation has become a major public health concern as its incidence appears to have risen since the early 1990s. One source estimates that 0.75% of the general American population practices self-mutilation. The incidence of self-mutilation is highest among teenage females, patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and patients diagnosed with one of the dissociative disorders. Over half of self-mutilators were sexually abused as children, and many also suffer from eating disorders.
4. Suicide
Teen suicide is a major cause of death among teens, though many do not recognize suicide as a serious threat to a teenager’s well being.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents and teenagers. According to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), about 8 out of every 100,000 teenagers committed suicide in 2000. For every teen suicide death, experts estimate there are 10 other teen suicide attempts.
In a survey of high school students, the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center found that almost 1 in 5 teens had thought about suicide, about 1 in 6 teens had made plans for suicide, and more than 1 in 12 teens had attempted suicide in the last year. As many as 8 out of 10 teens who commit suicide try to ask for help in some way before committing suicide, such as by seeing a doctor shortly before the suicide attempt.
B. Questions of insecurity
1. How did we come to this point?
2. How come I don’t feel like I am worth anything?
3. Is there something special about me?
4. Why would God love me?
5. Am I valuable if I am not attractive?
C. The Quest for Significance
1. According to our Culture
a. Beauty - which is typically photo-shopped to a point of unrecognition
b. Power - competitive sports, bullying, trash-talking
c. Almost all is based on the external appearance to the neglect of the internal
d. Love – deep down all of us want to be love merely for who we are
“Images get our attention. Then they appeal to our senses – they make us feel good. And before long, we really enjoy those images. Our tastes change. We look forward to seeing them again. We crave them, and then we compare ourselves to them. Before we even realize it, we let those images tell us what’s important, who to be, and what we need to become. Then our beliefs change, and we form new desires. We even start to make choices based on our new beliefs and desires. We become objects of each other, to look at, crave, and enjoy. Them we become objects of ourselves, looking in the mirror, searching for our identity in our appearance. If we cannot imitate the newest images in Sports Illustrated, Seventeen, Abercrombie, People, or Cosmo, we’re discouraged and troubled. We’re reminded that we are lost. Images go from being merely pictures on paper to value judgments in our souls. They tell us whom and what we need to fix in order to fit in.” p. 157-158
2. According to God’s Word
a. Determining value by going back to how it was made (guitars, violins, rings)
1. We are created in God’s image – Gen. 1:27
a. We have a mind, emotions and will
b. We have the ability to create
c. We have the ability to love and enjoy each other
2. Value is determined by WHO created us and made us regardless of what we can do. (Brian praying at Chrysalis)
3. Value comes from the Creator, not by the creation
b. Am I valuable enough to be loved?
1. 1 John 4:16 – And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
2. Close your eyes and concentrate on this while I read it:
God does not love us because we act lovable all the time. God loves us because God wants to love us. And God’s love made us valuable in our very being, regardless of our merit. Period. There is absolutely nothing bad that you can do to make God love you less. He loves you because you’re an image bearer of him. God loves you because he made you. Add up all your bad things together, multiply them by a million, and know that God still loves you the same with his infinite love. . . . There is absolutely nothing good you can do to make God love you more. God loves you because you’re an image bearer of him. He loves you because he made you. Add up all your good things together, multiply then by a million, and God still loves you the same with his white-hot infinite love. Try to look like the folks in the magazines to find love – it doesn’t matter. God doesn’t love you any more than he already does. Try cutting yourself. God doesn’t love you any less than he already does. To do anything to make God love you more would be like painting your nails in the hope that it will earn you good grades. Or inflating the tires on your car in the hope that it will give you a stylish haircut. God is love, love, love, love, love. God loves you down to the bone, down to the very center of your soul. That is what we’re looking for, after all. While the celebrities and models vie for the next cover of Cosmo, take a step back and remember who you are.
– p 170-171
III. Conclusion – A New Perspective
A. Unplug yourself every once in a while
B. Spend time thinking about who told you or who stung you into thinking you are not loved orvalued
C. Find people who are caring
D. Put on a new perspective about your purpose – we need to be content in just how God created us. He created us to be exactly who we are. He did not say “oops”!
E. Chrysalis experience
NEXT WEEK: AM I GOOD ENOUGH?
I. Introduction: Review of previous weeks
A. God has also chosen to speak to us in a variety of ways
1. Through NATURE
2. Through the WRITTEN word (The Bible)
3. Through ACTION (incarnation)
B. Show video “Celebrities with(out) Makeup”
II. Living with Questions: The Question for today is: Am I Valuable Enough?
A. Facts about teen depression, eating disorders, cutting and suicide
1. Teen Depression
Some alarming statistics on teenage and adolescent depression. Depression is the most common mental health disorder in the United States among teens and adults, and can have a serious impact on the lives of the many teens who suffer from depression. Statistics show that teen depression is a common problem: About 20 percent of teens will experience teen depression before they reach adulthood. Between 10 to 15 percent of teenagers have some symptoms of teen depression at any one time. About 5 percent of teens are suffering from major depression at any one time. As many as 8.3 percent of teens suffer from depression for at least a year at a time, compared to about 5.3 percent of the general population. Most teens with depression will suffer from more than one episode. 20 to 40 percent will have more than one episode within two years, and 70 percent will have more than one episode before adulthood. Episodes of teen depression generally last about 8 months. A teen suffering from depression is also at higher risk for other problems:
30 percent of teens with depression also develop a substance abuse problem.
Teenagers with depression are likely to have a smaller social circle and take advantage of fewer opportunities for education or careers.
Depressed teens are more likely to have trouble at school and in jobs, and to struggle with relationships.
Teens with untreated depression are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, leading to higher rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Teens with depression seem to catch physical illnesses more often than other teens.
Untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide, the third leading cause of death among teenagers. 90 percent of suicide victims suffer from a mental illness, and suffering from depression can make a teenager as much as 12 times more likely to attempt suicide.
2. Eating Disorders
The most common eating disorders - anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder - are on the rise in the United States and worldwide. No one knows exactly what causes eating disorders. However, all socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural groups are at risk.
More than ninety percent of those with eating disorders are women. Further, the number of American women affected by these illnesses has doubled to at least five million in the past three decades.
Eating disorders are one of the key health issues facing young women. Studies in the last decade show that eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors are related to other health risk behaviors, including tobacco use, alcohol use, marijuana use, delinquency, unprotected sexual activity, and suicide attempts. Currently, 1-4% of all young women in the United States are affected by eating disorders.1 Anorexia nervosa, for example, ranks as the third most common chronic illness among adolescent females in the United States.
3. Cutting
It is imperative for youth workers to understand that the act of cutting is a symptom of a greater problem—abuse, mental illness, loneliness, family problems, etc. All of these issues generally generate deep pain in the individual, and cutting becomes a coping mechanism. One of the basic premises behind cutting is that it is "used to alleviate emotional distress in an effort to enhance psychological adjustment" (Journal of Clinical Psychology).
Self-mutilation has become a major public health concern as its incidence appears to have risen since the early 1990s. One source estimates that 0.75% of the general American population practices self-mutilation. The incidence of self-mutilation is highest among teenage females, patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and patients diagnosed with one of the dissociative disorders. Over half of self-mutilators were sexually abused as children, and many also suffer from eating disorders.
4. Suicide
Teen suicide is a major cause of death among teens, though many do not recognize suicide as a serious threat to a teenager’s well being.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents and teenagers. According to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), about 8 out of every 100,000 teenagers committed suicide in 2000. For every teen suicide death, experts estimate there are 10 other teen suicide attempts.
In a survey of high school students, the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center found that almost 1 in 5 teens had thought about suicide, about 1 in 6 teens had made plans for suicide, and more than 1 in 12 teens had attempted suicide in the last year. As many as 8 out of 10 teens who commit suicide try to ask for help in some way before committing suicide, such as by seeing a doctor shortly before the suicide attempt.
B. Questions of insecurity
1. How did we come to this point?
2. How come I don’t feel like I am worth anything?
3. Is there something special about me?
4. Why would God love me?
5. Am I valuable if I am not attractive?
C. The Quest for Significance
1. According to our Culture
a. Beauty - which is typically photo-shopped to a point of unrecognition
b. Power - competitive sports, bullying, trash-talking
c. Almost all is based on the external appearance to the neglect of the internal
d. Love – deep down all of us want to be love merely for who we are
“Images get our attention. Then they appeal to our senses – they make us feel good. And before long, we really enjoy those images. Our tastes change. We look forward to seeing them again. We crave them, and then we compare ourselves to them. Before we even realize it, we let those images tell us what’s important, who to be, and what we need to become. Then our beliefs change, and we form new desires. We even start to make choices based on our new beliefs and desires. We become objects of each other, to look at, crave, and enjoy. Them we become objects of ourselves, looking in the mirror, searching for our identity in our appearance. If we cannot imitate the newest images in Sports Illustrated, Seventeen, Abercrombie, People, or Cosmo, we’re discouraged and troubled. We’re reminded that we are lost. Images go from being merely pictures on paper to value judgments in our souls. They tell us whom and what we need to fix in order to fit in.” p. 157-158
2. According to God’s Word
a. Determining value by going back to how it was made (guitars, violins, rings)
1. We are created in God’s image – Gen. 1:27
a. We have a mind, emotions and will
b. We have the ability to create
c. We have the ability to love and enjoy each other
2. Value is determined by WHO created us and made us regardless of what we can do. (Brian praying at Chrysalis)
3. Value comes from the Creator, not by the creation
b. Am I valuable enough to be loved?
1. 1 John 4:16 – And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
2. Close your eyes and concentrate on this while I read it:
God does not love us because we act lovable all the time. God loves us because God wants to love us. And God’s love made us valuable in our very being, regardless of our merit. Period. There is absolutely nothing bad that you can do to make God love you less. He loves you because you’re an image bearer of him. God loves you because he made you. Add up all your bad things together, multiply them by a million, and know that God still loves you the same with his infinite love. . . . There is absolutely nothing good you can do to make God love you more. God loves you because you’re an image bearer of him. He loves you because he made you. Add up all your good things together, multiply then by a million, and God still loves you the same with his white-hot infinite love. Try to look like the folks in the magazines to find love – it doesn’t matter. God doesn’t love you any more than he already does. Try cutting yourself. God doesn’t love you any less than he already does. To do anything to make God love you more would be like painting your nails in the hope that it will earn you good grades. Or inflating the tires on your car in the hope that it will give you a stylish haircut. God is love, love, love, love, love. God loves you down to the bone, down to the very center of your soul. That is what we’re looking for, after all. While the celebrities and models vie for the next cover of Cosmo, take a step back and remember who you are.
– p 170-171
III. Conclusion – A New Perspective
A. Unplug yourself every once in a while
B. Spend time thinking about who told you or who stung you into thinking you are not loved orvalued
C. Find people who are caring
D. Put on a new perspective about your purpose – we need to be content in just how God created us. He created us to be exactly who we are. He did not say “oops”!
E. Chrysalis experience
NEXT WEEK: AM I GOOD ENOUGH?
Living with Questions 5
Living with Questions: Has God Spoken?
I. Introduction: Review of previous weeks
Assignment from last week: Ask some people at school if they believe God exists – and then ask why or why not. So they seem willing to talk about it? Have they even thought about it much? See what kind of discussion happens.
A. Is Love Possible? Yes, God is love. Love existed within the trinity before creation
B. If God is LOVE and he is the CREATOR then it would seem that He could hardly be silent!
II. Living with Questions: The Question for today is: Has God Spoken?
A. Name some forms of communication that we use to get our message to others
1. Verbal: talk, tone of voice, silence
2. Written: books, IM’s, text messaging
3. Actions: serving, fighting, love, aggression, hate, etc.
B. God has also chosen to speak to us in a variety of ways
1. Through NATURE:
a. Have you ever seen something that just took your breath away by its’ awesomeness? Has being in nature ever affected you in a holy way?
b. Have any of you watched “Planet Earth” or any type of documentary about the planet, animals, wildlife, that just amazed you?
c. Matthew 6:24-25 – Jesus points to nature for us to learn from, that there is a God behind it all taking care of his creation.
d. Forrest Gump: Lt. Dan fought against God and made peace with God in the context of nature.
e. PEOPLE are apart of God’s creation. Has there been a time in your life where God spoke to you through the impact other people have had on you? We all struggle with sin but the image of God is still within us.
2. Through the WRITTEN word: how can we know the Bible is reliable?
a. Test #1: Preservation – proof that the New Testament we have today is what was originally written.
1. Comparison
Author: Plato
Writing: Republic
Time of Writing: 400BCE
Earliest known copy: 900CE
Time between writing and copies: 1,300 years
# of copies: 8
Author: Thucydides
Writing: The History of the Peloponnesian War
Time of Writing: 430BCE
Earliest known copy: 900CE
Time between writing and copies: 1,300 years
# of copies: 8
Author: Many authors
Writing: The New Testament
Time of Writing: 1st Century CE
Earliest know copy: 117CE
Time between writings and copies: Fragments – 50 years Books – 100 year Complete NT- 325 CE
# of copies: 5,000 +
b. Test #2: Reliability – proof that the New Testament we have today is telling
the truth. Is it trustworthy?
1. Tests of Reliability: testing the story of the resurrection
a. Multiple stories about the same thing
1. Gospel accounts
2. Paul’s testimony that hundreds saw Christ
b. My enemy said something about me that benefited me, but
not my enemy.
1. Matthew 28: 11-15 – Soldiers paid to lie
2. The fact that they do not deny: the tomb is empty!
c. Embarrassing information
1. Peter’s denial
2. The women as the first at the tomb
3. Through ACTION
1. The God who created nature BECAME nature through the incarnation
a. Jesus calls himself by the same titles that were used to refer to God in the Bible: the Shepherd, the Light.
b. Jesus forgives sins, which only God can do.
c. Jesus allows himself to be worshiped as God, which is ungodly to allow, unless you are God.
d. Jesus heals the sick, raises the dead, and even conquers death itself.
e. Jesus is God in disguise. God choose a way that is near enough to affirm our minds and hearts, but at the same time far enough not to overwhelm us.
III. Conclusion
God speaks to us through NATURE, the WRITTEN WORD and ACTION.! Have you given serious consideration to the ways in which God has chosen to reveal himself to YOU!
NEXT WEEK: AM I VALUABLE ENOUGH?
I. Introduction: Review of previous weeks
Assignment from last week: Ask some people at school if they believe God exists – and then ask why or why not. So they seem willing to talk about it? Have they even thought about it much? See what kind of discussion happens.
A. Is Love Possible? Yes, God is love. Love existed within the trinity before creation
B. If God is LOVE and he is the CREATOR then it would seem that He could hardly be silent!
II. Living with Questions: The Question for today is: Has God Spoken?
A. Name some forms of communication that we use to get our message to others
1. Verbal: talk, tone of voice, silence
2. Written: books, IM’s, text messaging
3. Actions: serving, fighting, love, aggression, hate, etc.
B. God has also chosen to speak to us in a variety of ways
1. Through NATURE:
a. Have you ever seen something that just took your breath away by its’ awesomeness? Has being in nature ever affected you in a holy way?
b. Have any of you watched “Planet Earth” or any type of documentary about the planet, animals, wildlife, that just amazed you?
c. Matthew 6:24-25 – Jesus points to nature for us to learn from, that there is a God behind it all taking care of his creation.
d. Forrest Gump: Lt. Dan fought against God and made peace with God in the context of nature.
e. PEOPLE are apart of God’s creation. Has there been a time in your life where God spoke to you through the impact other people have had on you? We all struggle with sin but the image of God is still within us.
2. Through the WRITTEN word: how can we know the Bible is reliable?
a. Test #1: Preservation – proof that the New Testament we have today is what was originally written.
1. Comparison
Author: Plato
Writing: Republic
Time of Writing: 400BCE
Earliest known copy: 900CE
Time between writing and copies: 1,300 years
# of copies: 8
Author: Thucydides
Writing: The History of the Peloponnesian War
Time of Writing: 430BCE
Earliest known copy: 900CE
Time between writing and copies: 1,300 years
# of copies: 8
Author: Many authors
Writing: The New Testament
Time of Writing: 1st Century CE
Earliest know copy: 117CE
Time between writings and copies: Fragments – 50 years Books – 100 year Complete NT- 325 CE
# of copies: 5,000 +
b. Test #2: Reliability – proof that the New Testament we have today is telling
the truth. Is it trustworthy?
1. Tests of Reliability: testing the story of the resurrection
a. Multiple stories about the same thing
1. Gospel accounts
2. Paul’s testimony that hundreds saw Christ
b. My enemy said something about me that benefited me, but
not my enemy.
1. Matthew 28: 11-15 – Soldiers paid to lie
2. The fact that they do not deny: the tomb is empty!
c. Embarrassing information
1. Peter’s denial
2. The women as the first at the tomb
3. Through ACTION
1. The God who created nature BECAME nature through the incarnation
a. Jesus calls himself by the same titles that were used to refer to God in the Bible: the Shepherd, the Light.
b. Jesus forgives sins, which only God can do.
c. Jesus allows himself to be worshiped as God, which is ungodly to allow, unless you are God.
d. Jesus heals the sick, raises the dead, and even conquers death itself.
e. Jesus is God in disguise. God choose a way that is near enough to affirm our minds and hearts, but at the same time far enough not to overwhelm us.
III. Conclusion
God speaks to us through NATURE, the WRITTEN WORD and ACTION.! Have you given serious consideration to the ways in which God has chosen to reveal himself to YOU!
NEXT WEEK: AM I VALUABLE ENOUGH?
Living with Questions 4
Living with Questions: Is God There? Part 2
I. Introduction: Review of previous weeks
A. But How Do We KNOW? – The Study of Epistemology - TRUTH is when an idea about something links with the real world and KNOWLEDGE comes when we have REASONS for believing an idea links with the real world.
B. Five Tools for Knowledge
1. Perception – It is FREAKING cold outside! How do I know that?
2. Reason – Can you put a square peg into a round hole? How do you know that?
3. Introspection – How much do you enjoy Skyline chili? How do you know that?
4. Testimony – Why is Epiphany Sunday so important to our church? How do we know?
5. Memory – Where did you go for vacation this past Summer? How do you know that?
C. So Where Does Faith Come In? Faith is believing in the facts to the point of entering into relationship of trust with the facts
D. Last week we looked at the question: Is God There? Does God exist, NOT as a religious idea, but as fact? By using our REASON and INTROSPECTION we began by looking at the issue of where the concept of JUSTICE comes from. We determined:
1. It does not come from science. It is not something we can study under a microscope.
2. It does not come from society. MLK, Gandhi and Jesus all went against society.
3. It does not come from our instincts. Often there are two competing instincts within us!
4. It does not come from our families. THEREFORE:
The law of right and wrong is deeper and larger than science, society, instincts or my family. The best explanation is that the spiritual, smart, strong being is also the Justice-Giver. We call this being God – and God has built a moral law within us.
This is the one thing that all of the major religions of the world can agree on based on reason, introspection, testimony and memory: God is the Justice-Giver.
II. Living with Questions: The Question for today is: Is God GOOD? Does He LOVE me?
A. More Classical Arguments for the Existence of God
1. Teleological Argument
a. What is the end of a thing? The purpose of a thing?
b. Science can answers the “what” questions but not the “why”. Who made us ask this question? It is a clue that God wants us to live into an answer.
c. Asking “why” will eventually lead us to God.
2. Cosmological Argument
a. All things that have a beginning have a cause.
b. The universe had a beginning.
c. Therefore, the universe had a cause.
d. Think through the process of an 8 ball traveling to a corner pocket
B. If God exists, then how do I know which religion is right?
1. Premise #1: What Is God like? Good, smart, strong, a person who cares and created the world with intention. THEREFORE:
a. Pantheism can not be right
1. It is the belief that all things are god
2. God can not be both good and evil
b. Astrology can not be right
1. Logic shows that stars are not trustworthy guides
2. Common sense (reason) proves much of this as superstition
c. Buddhism can not be right
1. An impersonal force does not explain things
2. The Force in Star Wars (show clip of Ben Kenobi explaining force)
d. Mormonism can not be right
1. God is not god, he is just a bigger version of us.
2. God is just a finite being like us (like God, not God)
There are 3 general religions that believe God is a person: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
2. Premise #2: Is Love Possible?
a. Questions concerning LOVE
1. Can love exist by itself? No.
2. What is required for love to be shown? Another person.
b. Questions concerning NEED
1. Does God NEED anything to exist? NO
2. Then how did LOVE exist prior to the creation of humans? Love existed between the three persons of the trinity.
c. The doctrine of the TRINITY
1. God is self-sufficient
2. God is love
3. Both are true because love exists between the 3 persons of the trinity
3. Conclusion: Only one religion states that God is both LOVING and SELF-SUFFICIENT and that is Christianity. Judaism and Islam point to God but it is the doctrine of the trinity that is distinctly a Christian belief.
III. Conclusion
“Christianity says (as stated in Deuteronomy 6:4), “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” This means God is self-sufficient. No other god(s) exist. Christianity also tells us in Philippians 2:6: “(Jesus), being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.” The Holy Spirit is also part of the Godhead. Jesus speaks of the “Spirit of Truth” in John 14:15-18. Here we see three persons, but we know from Deuteronomy 6:4 that they are one. When Jesus was baptized, all three persons were present (Matthew 3:16). To formulate these ideas in a simpler way, Christianity teaches that God is three persons in one essence. God is both self-sufficient and loving at the same time, from all eternity.”
Assignment: Ask some people at school if they believe God exists – and then ask why or why not. So they seem willing to talk about it? Have they even thought about it much? See what kind of discussion happens.
NEXT WEEK: Has God Spoken?
I. Introduction: Review of previous weeks
A. But How Do We KNOW? – The Study of Epistemology - TRUTH is when an idea about something links with the real world and KNOWLEDGE comes when we have REASONS for believing an idea links with the real world.
B. Five Tools for Knowledge
1. Perception – It is FREAKING cold outside! How do I know that?
2. Reason – Can you put a square peg into a round hole? How do you know that?
3. Introspection – How much do you enjoy Skyline chili? How do you know that?
4. Testimony – Why is Epiphany Sunday so important to our church? How do we know?
5. Memory – Where did you go for vacation this past Summer? How do you know that?
C. So Where Does Faith Come In? Faith is believing in the facts to the point of entering into relationship of trust with the facts
D. Last week we looked at the question: Is God There? Does God exist, NOT as a religious idea, but as fact? By using our REASON and INTROSPECTION we began by looking at the issue of where the concept of JUSTICE comes from. We determined:
1. It does not come from science. It is not something we can study under a microscope.
2. It does not come from society. MLK, Gandhi and Jesus all went against society.
3. It does not come from our instincts. Often there are two competing instincts within us!
4. It does not come from our families. THEREFORE:
The law of right and wrong is deeper and larger than science, society, instincts or my family. The best explanation is that the spiritual, smart, strong being is also the Justice-Giver. We call this being God – and God has built a moral law within us.
This is the one thing that all of the major religions of the world can agree on based on reason, introspection, testimony and memory: God is the Justice-Giver.
II. Living with Questions: The Question for today is: Is God GOOD? Does He LOVE me?
A. More Classical Arguments for the Existence of God
1. Teleological Argument
a. What is the end of a thing? The purpose of a thing?
b. Science can answers the “what” questions but not the “why”. Who made us ask this question? It is a clue that God wants us to live into an answer.
c. Asking “why” will eventually lead us to God.
2. Cosmological Argument
a. All things that have a beginning have a cause.
b. The universe had a beginning.
c. Therefore, the universe had a cause.
d. Think through the process of an 8 ball traveling to a corner pocket
B. If God exists, then how do I know which religion is right?
1. Premise #1: What Is God like? Good, smart, strong, a person who cares and created the world with intention. THEREFORE:
a. Pantheism can not be right
1. It is the belief that all things are god
2. God can not be both good and evil
b. Astrology can not be right
1. Logic shows that stars are not trustworthy guides
2. Common sense (reason) proves much of this as superstition
c. Buddhism can not be right
1. An impersonal force does not explain things
2. The Force in Star Wars (show clip of Ben Kenobi explaining force)
d. Mormonism can not be right
1. God is not god, he is just a bigger version of us.
2. God is just a finite being like us (like God, not God)
There are 3 general religions that believe God is a person: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
2. Premise #2: Is Love Possible?
a. Questions concerning LOVE
1. Can love exist by itself? No.
2. What is required for love to be shown? Another person.
b. Questions concerning NEED
1. Does God NEED anything to exist? NO
2. Then how did LOVE exist prior to the creation of humans? Love existed between the three persons of the trinity.
c. The doctrine of the TRINITY
1. God is self-sufficient
2. God is love
3. Both are true because love exists between the 3 persons of the trinity
3. Conclusion: Only one religion states that God is both LOVING and SELF-SUFFICIENT and that is Christianity. Judaism and Islam point to God but it is the doctrine of the trinity that is distinctly a Christian belief.
III. Conclusion
“Christianity says (as stated in Deuteronomy 6:4), “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” This means God is self-sufficient. No other god(s) exist. Christianity also tells us in Philippians 2:6: “(Jesus), being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.” The Holy Spirit is also part of the Godhead. Jesus speaks of the “Spirit of Truth” in John 14:15-18. Here we see three persons, but we know from Deuteronomy 6:4 that they are one. When Jesus was baptized, all three persons were present (Matthew 3:16). To formulate these ideas in a simpler way, Christianity teaches that God is three persons in one essence. God is both self-sufficient and loving at the same time, from all eternity.”
Assignment: Ask some people at school if they believe God exists – and then ask why or why not. So they seem willing to talk about it? Have they even thought about it much? See what kind of discussion happens.
NEXT WEEK: Has God Spoken?
Living with Questions 3
Living with Questions: Is God There?
I. Introduction: Review of last week
A. But How Do We KNOW?
1. TRUTH is when an idea about something links with the real world
2. KNOWLEDGE comes when we have REASONS for believing an idea links with the real world.
3. Therefore, KNOWLEDGE is dependant upon REASON
B. Five Tools for Knowledge
1. Perception – It is FREAKING cold outside! How do I know that?
2. Reason – Can you put a square peg into a round hole? How do you know that?
3. Introspection – How much do you enjoy Skyline chili? How do you know that?
4. Testimony – Why is Epiphany Sunday so important to our church? How do we know?
5. Memory – Where did you go for vacation this past Summer? How do you know that?
C. So Where Does Faith Come In?
1. The Chair Illustration: state the facts, then how do I put my trust in those facts?
2. Faith is believing in the facts to the point of entering into relationship of trust with the facts
3. Jesus said that he was “the truth”, not “the faith”. Faith is when we enter into relationship with Jesus trusting that what he said is true.
4. Faith is NOT the opposite of evidence or reason or truth.
5. Faith IS what happens when I choose to follow the evidence to its proper conclusion.
6. Faith is the OPPOSITE of pride, distrust and fear.
II. Living with Questions: Is God There? Does God exist, NOT as a religious idea, but as fact?
What is our goal today? To try and prove the existence of God WITHOUT the Bible! The Bible is what we call God’s SPECIAL REVELATION in how he revealed himself to us. But there is also GENERAL REVELATION of God all around us. It is through this type of revelation we want to explore!
A. Show clip from Bruce Almighty where Bruce answers everyone’s prayers with a yes.
B. Using the tools of Knowledge to Prove the existence of God
1. Perception: using the tools of science cannot prove one way or the other of God’s existence. This is the tool of knowledge that many use who do not believe in God.
2. Are there other tools of knowledge to detect spiritual things? Introspection, Reason, Testimony and Memory
C. Using our REASON and INTROSPECTION answer the question: What do we expect God to be like? If we pray to him what is he like that he could hear all of the prayers, consider them all and respond?
1. He is not bound by PLACE
2. He is not bound by TIME
3. He is SPIRITUAL
4. He is STRONG and SMART
D. Is JUSTICE real?
1. What are the things that drive you crazy that make you wish for justice?
a. People talking, laughing or texting obnoxiously during a movie
b. Bullying
c. Sexual Harassment, predatory or selfish sexual advances
d. Racism
e. Sexism
f. Adults who stereotype teens
2. Read the illustration on page 82-83. How would you want to deal with that situation?
3. Where does the concept or origin of JUSTICE come from?
4. Read the Martin Luther King, Jr. quote on page 84.
a. Where did this sense of justice come from?
b. Does society make up justice? NO. That is exactly what MLK was fighting against!
c. Where did his moral sense of justice come from then?
1. Does science give it to us? No. It is not something we can study under a microscope.
2. Does society teach us? Not necessarily. MLK, Gandhi and Jesus all went against society
3. Do our instincts give it to us? Sometimes. Often there are two competing instincts within us!
4. Do our families give it to us? Sometimes.
III. Conclusion:
The law of right and wrong is deeper and larger than science, society, instincts or my family. The best explanation is that the spiritual, smart, strong being is also the Justice-Giver. We call this being God – and God has built a moral law within us.
This is the one thing that all of the major religions of the world can agree on based on reason, introspection, testimony and memory: God is the Justice-Giver.
The Question for next week: Is God GOOD? Does He LOVE me?
Living with Questions 2
Living with Questions: What Is Truth?
I. Introduction: Think throughout history and answer this question – When have ideas every changed the course of history?
A. On a piece of paper everyone take a stab at defining the word “truth” and “religion”.
B. Show “Matrix” clip
1. Is there some parallels to Orpheus’ view of reality and the Christian belief? What kind of commitment is Orpheus asking of Neo?
2. Is committing your life to Christ just as serious of a commitment or is it just an
accessory?
3. Religion says a certain set of claims are true, and that if you live according to those claims, you’ll find your purpose. And every religion has a different set of claims.
4. Cough syrup analogy
a. If a belief system is true for me, it assumes that it is true for everyone
b. If a belief system is not true, then it is not true for everyone
c. Truth is not invented – it is discovered
C. Where has truth gone?
1. Russia Illustration
2. Without truth, we cannot know things. Without the ability to know things, we cannot use things properly. If we cannot use things properly, we cannot take care of things properly. (example: a car)
3. Relativism says we can not know truth so we are free to invent what we believe
4. Absolute truth only means that there is such a thing as truth and justice.
5. In a national survey students were asked, “Do you believe in absolute truth?” What percentage do you think said they believe in such a thing as absolute truth? Answer: 9% (Only a small percentage denied it too; majority was on the fence which leads to our question for today . . .)
II. Living with Questions: What Is Truth?
A. Defining truth:
1. an idea or a belief about something that shows up in the real world
2. when an idea reflects the way the world really is
3. truth is an idea or a belief that is a fact
4. is a proposition that corresponds to reality
B. Truth examples
1. Not putting my cell phone where it belongs
2. Getting my car repaired
3. Truth in romance
C. But How Do We KNOW?
1. TRUTH is when an idea about something links with the real world
2. KNOWLEDGE comes when we have REASONS for believing an idea links with the real world.
3. Therefore, KNOWLEDGE is dependant upon REASON
D. Five Tools for Knowledge
1. Perception – It is FREAKING cold outside! How do I know that?
2. Reason – Can you put a square peg into a round hole? How do you know that?
3. Introspection – How much do you enjoy Skyline chili? How do you know that?
4. Testimony – Why is Epiphany Sunday so important to our church? How do we know?
5. Memory – Where did you go for vacation this past Summer? How do you know that?
E. So Where Does Faith Come In?
1. The Chair Illustration: state the facts, then how do I put my trust in those facts?
2. Faith is believing in the facts to the point of entering into relationship of trust with the facts
3. Jesus said that he was “the truth”, not “the faith”. Faith is when we enter into relationship with Jesus trusting that what he said is true.
4. Faith is NOT the opposite of evidence or reason or truth.
5. Faith IS what happens when I choose to follow the evidence to its proper conclusion.
6. Faith is the OPPOSITE of pride, distrust and fear.
III. Conclusion:
How would you define truth now? Would you change anything in how you defined it at the beginning of class? Where do you see yourself in relationship to God? Have you entered into a relationship with God by having faith in the evidence of truth revealed to you through your perception, reason, introspection, testimony and memory?
John 8: 31-32 – To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
I. Introduction: Think throughout history and answer this question – When have ideas every changed the course of history?
A. On a piece of paper everyone take a stab at defining the word “truth” and “religion”.
B. Show “Matrix” clip
1. Is there some parallels to Orpheus’ view of reality and the Christian belief? What kind of commitment is Orpheus asking of Neo?
2. Is committing your life to Christ just as serious of a commitment or is it just an
accessory?
3. Religion says a certain set of claims are true, and that if you live according to those claims, you’ll find your purpose. And every religion has a different set of claims.
4. Cough syrup analogy
a. If a belief system is true for me, it assumes that it is true for everyone
b. If a belief system is not true, then it is not true for everyone
c. Truth is not invented – it is discovered
C. Where has truth gone?
1. Russia Illustration
2. Without truth, we cannot know things. Without the ability to know things, we cannot use things properly. If we cannot use things properly, we cannot take care of things properly. (example: a car)
3. Relativism says we can not know truth so we are free to invent what we believe
4. Absolute truth only means that there is such a thing as truth and justice.
5. In a national survey students were asked, “Do you believe in absolute truth?” What percentage do you think said they believe in such a thing as absolute truth? Answer: 9% (Only a small percentage denied it too; majority was on the fence which leads to our question for today . . .)
II. Living with Questions: What Is Truth?
A. Defining truth:
1. an idea or a belief about something that shows up in the real world
2. when an idea reflects the way the world really is
3. truth is an idea or a belief that is a fact
4. is a proposition that corresponds to reality
B. Truth examples
1. Not putting my cell phone where it belongs
2. Getting my car repaired
3. Truth in romance
C. But How Do We KNOW?
1. TRUTH is when an idea about something links with the real world
2. KNOWLEDGE comes when we have REASONS for believing an idea links with the real world.
3. Therefore, KNOWLEDGE is dependant upon REASON
D. Five Tools for Knowledge
1. Perception – It is FREAKING cold outside! How do I know that?
2. Reason – Can you put a square peg into a round hole? How do you know that?
3. Introspection – How much do you enjoy Skyline chili? How do you know that?
4. Testimony – Why is Epiphany Sunday so important to our church? How do we know?
5. Memory – Where did you go for vacation this past Summer? How do you know that?
E. So Where Does Faith Come In?
1. The Chair Illustration: state the facts, then how do I put my trust in those facts?
2. Faith is believing in the facts to the point of entering into relationship of trust with the facts
3. Jesus said that he was “the truth”, not “the faith”. Faith is when we enter into relationship with Jesus trusting that what he said is true.
4. Faith is NOT the opposite of evidence or reason or truth.
5. Faith IS what happens when I choose to follow the evidence to its proper conclusion.
6. Faith is the OPPOSITE of pride, distrust and fear.
III. Conclusion:
How would you define truth now? Would you change anything in how you defined it at the beginning of class? Where do you see yourself in relationship to God? Have you entered into a relationship with God by having faith in the evidence of truth revealed to you through your perception, reason, introspection, testimony and memory?
John 8: 31-32 – To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Living With Questions 1
Living with Questions: Does What I Think Really Matter?
I. Introduction: Think throughout history and answer this question – When have ideas every changed the course of history?
A. Thomas Edison: invention of the light bulb
B. Henry Ford: the invention of the car
C. Bill Gates / Steve Jobs: electronics and technology
D. Martin Luther King, Jr.: equality for all
E. Martin Luther: we are justified by God through faith alone
F. Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf – whites as a superior race over Jews and Africans
G. Vladimir Lenin: rise of social communism, clash between the “have’s” and “have not’s”
H. Thomas Jefferson / John Adams / Benjamin Franklin: Declaration of Independence, rise of democracy
I. Jesus Christ: I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
J. Orville and Wilbur Wright: invented air travel
K. Hugh Hefner: mainstreaming of hedonism
L. Radical Islamic Ideas: led to the destruction of the WTC
M. Billy Graham: everyone to hear and respond to the message of Christ
N. Rick Warren: discover the purpose that God designed you for in life
O. John Dewey: education through experiences
P. Charles Darwin: evolutionary theory
Q. William Wilberforce / Abraham Lincoln: the end of slavery
R. Mother Teresa: loving the unlovable
II. Living with Questions: Does What I Think Really Matter?
A. The DIVERSIONS
1. Are we living with purpose or are we living through diversions?
2. What are things within our culture that become diversions for us?
a. Money
b. Trends
c. Watering down God to insignificance
d. Music / Media
e. Busy Schedules
3. Why do we seem to WANT diversions?
a. Ignore the pain in our lives
b. Avoid the nagging feeling that there must be something more
c. Don’t want to feel alone, lonely
B. The DESIRES of our hearts -If we are honest with ourselves don’t we desire:
1. A sense of adventure and purpose in life
2. Goodness to reign and evil to be destroyed
3. To belong
4. Long to count or matter to someone
5. Don’t want to be lost
C. The DESTRACTIONS of the moment - Then why do we:
1. Throw more money at fashion so we will look like everyone else?
2. Throw ourselves into casual sexual encounters in an effort to find intimacy?
3. Throw ourselves into an endless cycle of online gaming?
4. Throw more hours into work we may not even believe in just so we can have more?
D. There are many DECISIONS we will make with our thoughts and ideas:
1. Who will I marry?
2. Where will I go to college?
3. Who are my friends?
4. What relationships do I value?
5. How much time do I invest in: television, books, health, video games, fashion,
music, entertainment, etc.
6. What affects my emotions: what makes me angry, happy, content, frustrated, raging, laughing, etc.
7. What are my heart’s desires, for good or bad
8. What do I believe?
Ideas can either brainwash us into being slaves or shape us into leaders! Ideas will ultimately determine the kind of people we will become. Ideas are no small thing!
E. DISREGUARDING ideas can lead to disaster just like:
1. Driving down the interstate with your eyes closed
2. A sea captain who’s shipwrecked because the idea of a compass didn’t matter
3. A mother of a dead child because the idea that seatbelts save lives didn’t matter
4. A homeowner after a burglary because the idea that locks protect us didn’t matter
5. A dead friend after an explosion because the idea of making illegal bombs didn’t matter
F. God’s DESIRE for us as we craft our thoughts and ideas
1. Romans 12:2
a. Don’t not just buy into our mindless culture but instead open our minds,
reach out and grab great ideas, harness them, take them into our souls and live them out!
b. Tap into the mind of God! Discover his plan and purpose for your life! Ideas matter to God! He framed the world with them from theology, science, philosophy, etc.
2. 2 Corinthians 10:4,5
a. Our protection is to arm ourselves with the best ideas we can find and then walk in them.
b. There are many competing philosophies out there as well as those that want to steer us far away from God! This is a battle for our minds. What you and I think really does MATTER!
I. Introduction: Think throughout history and answer this question – When have ideas every changed the course of history?
A. Thomas Edison: invention of the light bulb
B. Henry Ford: the invention of the car
C. Bill Gates / Steve Jobs: electronics and technology
D. Martin Luther King, Jr.: equality for all
E. Martin Luther: we are justified by God through faith alone
F. Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf – whites as a superior race over Jews and Africans
G. Vladimir Lenin: rise of social communism, clash between the “have’s” and “have not’s”
H. Thomas Jefferson / John Adams / Benjamin Franklin: Declaration of Independence, rise of democracy
I. Jesus Christ: I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
J. Orville and Wilbur Wright: invented air travel
K. Hugh Hefner: mainstreaming of hedonism
L. Radical Islamic Ideas: led to the destruction of the WTC
M. Billy Graham: everyone to hear and respond to the message of Christ
N. Rick Warren: discover the purpose that God designed you for in life
O. John Dewey: education through experiences
P. Charles Darwin: evolutionary theory
Q. William Wilberforce / Abraham Lincoln: the end of slavery
R. Mother Teresa: loving the unlovable
II. Living with Questions: Does What I Think Really Matter?
A. The DIVERSIONS
1. Are we living with purpose or are we living through diversions?
2. What are things within our culture that become diversions for us?
a. Money
b. Trends
c. Watering down God to insignificance
d. Music / Media
e. Busy Schedules
3. Why do we seem to WANT diversions?
a. Ignore the pain in our lives
b. Avoid the nagging feeling that there must be something more
c. Don’t want to feel alone, lonely
B. The DESIRES of our hearts -If we are honest with ourselves don’t we desire:
1. A sense of adventure and purpose in life
2. Goodness to reign and evil to be destroyed
3. To belong
4. Long to count or matter to someone
5. Don’t want to be lost
C. The DESTRACTIONS of the moment - Then why do we:
1. Throw more money at fashion so we will look like everyone else?
2. Throw ourselves into casual sexual encounters in an effort to find intimacy?
3. Throw ourselves into an endless cycle of online gaming?
4. Throw more hours into work we may not even believe in just so we can have more?
D. There are many DECISIONS we will make with our thoughts and ideas:
1. Who will I marry?
2. Where will I go to college?
3. Who are my friends?
4. What relationships do I value?
5. How much time do I invest in: television, books, health, video games, fashion,
music, entertainment, etc.
6. What affects my emotions: what makes me angry, happy, content, frustrated, raging, laughing, etc.
7. What are my heart’s desires, for good or bad
8. What do I believe?
Ideas can either brainwash us into being slaves or shape us into leaders! Ideas will ultimately determine the kind of people we will become. Ideas are no small thing!
E. DISREGUARDING ideas can lead to disaster just like:
1. Driving down the interstate with your eyes closed
2. A sea captain who’s shipwrecked because the idea of a compass didn’t matter
3. A mother of a dead child because the idea that seatbelts save lives didn’t matter
4. A homeowner after a burglary because the idea that locks protect us didn’t matter
5. A dead friend after an explosion because the idea of making illegal bombs didn’t matter
F. God’s DESIRE for us as we craft our thoughts and ideas
1. Romans 12:2
a. Don’t not just buy into our mindless culture but instead open our minds,
reach out and grab great ideas, harness them, take them into our souls and live them out!
b. Tap into the mind of God! Discover his plan and purpose for your life! Ideas matter to God! He framed the world with them from theology, science, philosophy, etc.
2. 2 Corinthians 10:4,5
a. Our protection is to arm ourselves with the best ideas we can find and then walk in them.
b. There are many competing philosophies out there as well as those that want to steer us far away from God! This is a battle for our minds. What you and I think really does MATTER!
Living with Questions Introduction
This group study is based on the book Living With Questions by Dale Fincher. It was used in the context of Sunday morning youth group. Feel free to use it how ever you want but I would recommend getting the book and reading it along with the lesson materials. It is a great book.
Living with Questions: Introduction
I. Introduction: Share about the moment in my life when I started to ask questions and began taking life seriously.
II. Living with Questions
A. Quote: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates
B. Think about these things:
1. What is your story?
2. Where are you?
3. What matters most to you?
4. What is the ideal life look like for you?
5. What’s good about your life?
6. What do you want more than anything else in life?
7. What does it mean to be happy?
8. If you could change one habit in your life, what would it be?
9. What’s the one thing you cannot live without?
10. What has hurt you most in life?
11. When you are sad or lonely, what do you turn to?
C. Hunger
1. Physical hunger causes us to seek out food to satisfy the craving
2. Intellectual hunger causes us to seek out the deeper meanings of life
D. Doubt
1. Mark 9:24 – the tension between belief and unbelief
2. “Doubting is not immoral, nor is it wrong. It’s struggling to find out what is true. Living with questions is partly about doubt. It’s partly about taking steps on the quest toward finding that treasure of truth. . . . Doubt is what gives us the motivation to face our fears and see if we have the courage to venture into dark places.. Doubt is often a friend who says ‘everything is not okay, so let’s find a place that is.’ ” p. 20
III. Conclusion:
A. What are your two most pressing questions in life? The kind that, if they were answered, would make life a little easier? (Write them down and turn them in. Can be anonymous if you want.)
B. What questions in our study coming up looks most interesting to you?
1. Does what I think really matter?
2. What is truth?
3. Is God there?
4. Has God spoken?
5. Am I valuable enough?
6. Am I good enough?
7. What’s so great about heaven?
Living with Questions: Introduction
I. Introduction: Share about the moment in my life when I started to ask questions and began taking life seriously.
II. Living with Questions
A. Quote: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates
B. Think about these things:
1. What is your story?
2. Where are you?
3. What matters most to you?
4. What is the ideal life look like for you?
5. What’s good about your life?
6. What do you want more than anything else in life?
7. What does it mean to be happy?
8. If you could change one habit in your life, what would it be?
9. What’s the one thing you cannot live without?
10. What has hurt you most in life?
11. When you are sad or lonely, what do you turn to?
C. Hunger
1. Physical hunger causes us to seek out food to satisfy the craving
2. Intellectual hunger causes us to seek out the deeper meanings of life
D. Doubt
1. Mark 9:24 – the tension between belief and unbelief
2. “Doubting is not immoral, nor is it wrong. It’s struggling to find out what is true. Living with questions is partly about doubt. It’s partly about taking steps on the quest toward finding that treasure of truth. . . . Doubt is what gives us the motivation to face our fears and see if we have the courage to venture into dark places.. Doubt is often a friend who says ‘everything is not okay, so let’s find a place that is.’ ” p. 20
III. Conclusion:
A. What are your two most pressing questions in life? The kind that, if they were answered, would make life a little easier? (Write them down and turn them in. Can be anonymous if you want.)
B. What questions in our study coming up looks most interesting to you?
1. Does what I think really matter?
2. What is truth?
3. Is God there?
4. Has God spoken?
5. Am I valuable enough?
6. Am I good enough?
7. What’s so great about heaven?
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