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.”

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!

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?

Please Be Quiet . . . Please! 1

This will be a new feature in my blog. It is an attempt to respond to those within the Christian faith who seem to be extremely vocal about thier opinions as if they represent all of us. So for those of you who like to use LOUD WORDS to get your point across often mixed with fear and anger I just want to try and politely respond to your ideas and ask you in a very kind way to please be quiet . . please!

There is this website I subscribe to in town here just for the sake of enjoyment to see what the hard right is protesting these days to force the culture to be more "Christian" I suppose. The latest wave of fear was the "Day of Silence" that apparently is a day that the GLBT clubs across the country use to bring attention to being bullied, picked on and mistreated on their campuses. Of course, this website sees it as a way of pushing the "homosexual agenda" on our impressionable kids. Here is a snippet from the e-mail I received:

3/5/08 - If your child's school observes the homosexual sponsored "Day of Silence,"...

If your child's school observes the homosexual sponsored "Day of Silence," keep your child at home April 25.Friday, April 25, several thousand schools across the nation will be observing "Day of Silence (DOS)." DOS is a nationwide push to promote the homosexual lifestyle in public schools. AFA is joining other family-oriented groups in urging parents to keep their children at home that day if their local school is participating in the DOS project. By remaining silent, the intent of the pro-homosexual students is to disrupt the classes while promoting the homosexual lifestyle. DOS is sponsored by an activist homosexual group, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). DOS leads the students to believe that every person who identifies as a homosexual, bisexual or cross-dresser is a victim of ongoing, unrelenting harassment and hate. Students are taught that homosexuality is a worthy lifestyle, homosexuality has few or no risks, and individuals are born homosexual and cannot change. Those who oppose such teaching are characterized as ignorant and hateful bigots.
Take Action
What should parents do? Check with your local school principal to see if your child's school will be participating in DOS. If the school is participating, notify other parents about DOS and ask them to join in keeping their children out of school on that day.
Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your family and friends.
Sincerely, Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and ChairmanAmerican Family Association

Now a few things here:

First of all, I checked out the Day of Silence website and I did not see anything about enforcing some agenda on our kids. In fact, it is trying to bring attention to the bullying that frequently is allowed towards many of these teens. The tone of this whole article is very disturbing when you consider how Jesus would have reacted. There is a very strong "us vs. them" attitude filled with fear all throughout the article. I would believe that Jesus would have reacted to these students in the same way he reacted to the woman whom the Pharisees caught in adultery and brought to him. He protected her from those who wanted to hurt and kill her, he showed love, grace and compassion to her, and then told her to go and sin no more. I think that we need to take this very approach with all people. We should protect anyone who is hurt, troubled, being bullied, regardless of who they are. It is our job to stand up for those who are mistreated. No one is being forced to endorse a lifestyle they may not agree with. I think that based on what I have seen that this day is about, I seriously wonder if those who profess a Christian faith should be the very ones out front defending a safe environment for everyone at their school regardless of who they are.

Secondly, I personally have never heard about this "Day of Silence" ever until Christians began freaking out about it. I have not heard about this from any of my students, at all! Once again the hyper-vocal Far-Right of the church induced fear-mongering among their conglomerates. I have not heard anyone else talking about this! Now the Bible tells us that perfect love drives out fear. We should not be operating out of a heart of fear but out of a heart of love.

Third, does not Scripture tell us that judgment begins with the house of God? At this point in history, there is not much difference in the sexual practices of those in the church when compared to those outside of the church! And anyone who has read any Barna book knows this! Divorce, broken homes, abuse, etc. Maybe, just maybe, if we really attempted to live like the "salt and light" that Jesus calls us to in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 then it is possible that we just might have some weight to what we say because our lives would demonstrate a redemptive, compassionate, loving, sacrificial attitude in our relationships that would restore ourselves and those around us to wholeness as a Christ-follower. I am convinced that if our lives demonstrated this kind of love and grace, then those outside of the faith would be attracted to it and embrace it for themselves. But when we use fear, hate and anger in our rhetoric while our lifestyles offer absolutely nothing radically different then, well, no wonder we all come off looking like judgemental, hypocritical, homophobes.

Fourth, I find it very interesting that this organization has the Jesus fish symbol with the word "American" plastered across it. Are these two things not oxymoronic? On one hand, the Jesus fish symbol was used as a way to secretly mark the meeting place of Christians during times of intense persecution from their government. But this organization feels free to blend the two into one. It is time to realize that America is NOT a Christian nation and it has never been, ever. That is exactly what our founding fathers put in place so that the government could not establish a religion over the people. The only way that a godly Christian nation will ever be established will be when Jesus himself returns and establishes his kingdom. Any attempt all throughout history to try and establish a "Christian nation" ended in a complete disaster. The world will always act like the world! We need to allow the Holy Spirit to transform US from the inside out and stop trying to change others from the outside-in with fear, anger and hate.

So Donald, I am asking you to please be quiet . . . please! You don't have to do a day of silence if that freaks you out.

Youth Pastor Paranoia

As my 40th birthday nears I got a sneaking suspicion something is going down and I am the target. All the signs are pointing to the fact that I am getting hit hard. I'll let you know tomorrow. I don't mean this in a bad way like a job loss or something. I think I am being woken up with a video camera. The question is should I willingly go to sleep like normal? Or should I put on one of my wife's night gowns! That would be classic. Or maybe I will load up a super-soaker and leave it beside my side of the bed. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! I am on to you guys! But since this is in a blog and not on Facebook I know none of you will read this! HA!

The Trip Down Memory Lane

I just spent the past four days at my parents house visiting with my family. Oddly enough, my wife did not join me for the trip because she needed the time to herself to fill out teacher applications. So I left with all four of my children on Thursday afternoon until Sunday night at the home I grew up in.

Now, this is what I want to know, is it just me or is there anybody else out there who has a hard time going back into the town you came of age? As I would drive around and pass by my high school, and the community college I spent my first two years of college at, and the bar I frequented (as a college student! Mind you, the Ohio drinking age was 18 at the time!), I could almost sense the brooding, angst-ridden, rebellious, sarcastic person I was in my late teens calling out to me.

But it wasn't just walking down memory lane recalling a lot of old feelings and pain from my past. It was also seeing what the town I grew up in was turning into. There were pockets of Elyria that seemed to be doing well (the Lorain County Community College seems to have quadrupled in size since I was there in '86, and a new Olive Garden is about to open) but overall I was shocked by the way much of the town has degenerated. Roads everywhere were awful. What used to be a fine dining establisment called Mountain Jack's has now turned into a strip club which is right next to the Holiday Inn and in the parking lot of the local mall. Talk of budget cuts and staff cuts where heavy in the air at the church my parents still attend. The local paper was pushing the issue of opening casinos in the state to be a quick fix for the economy. Afterall, it was estimated in the article that Ohioans spend about 1 billion dollars at casinos just over the boarder in all the surrounding states. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that many of the good jobs that were in the North have either headed overseas or down South and West. So is it fair to prey on the down-and-out economy that many Ohioans find themselves in order to justify gambling? (I know, that is another topic for another day.)

It just seems whenever I go back to my hometown, my old-self is waiting there at the boarder of town ready to meet back up with me and help me recall my feelings, thoughts, anger and frustration of an earlier stage of growing up. Maybe it is because I work with teens all the time so when I go back into the environment of which I grew up as a teen my mind instantly compares and contrasts what I see today with teenagers as with what I went through.

Why did Jesus say that a prophet is without honor in his hometown? I am sure that those who watched Jesus grow up had a hard time seeing him as a prophet and that there is a lot of truth to this angle of what Jesus was saying. But is it also just as equally hard for the "prophet" to fully be who he is as an adult when he steps back into the town he grew up in? It is interesting how Jesus seemed to fully be who he was in every context except his own hometown. Now, was it all the fault of Jesus' audience? Or maybe, just maybe, Jesus had a real hard time going back into that context of which he grew up in, seeing the changes, having his mom talk to him like he is a teenager again, hearing about who has died, seeing those who had so much life and vitality when he was a child now plagued with old age, seeing locations that had significance to him through the stages of growing up - the highs, the lows, the pain, the elation. Just a thought.