God's Man

Skeptics have always been around. God is not afraid of our questions, He welcomes them. If we look back in the Old Testament we can see God taking the time to talk questioning children. In the Book of Habakkuk we find a prophet in a rather heated exchange with God. He cries out, "How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds." Questions facilitate conversation and without honest communication any relationship would die. As a skeptic I am always asking questions about something. While this can often lead to better understanding it can also lead to analysis paralysis. That's when we think something to death. God is not angered by our questions but he does not want us to get stagnate because of over-thinking. Many times this is caused by fear.

I'm going to flesh out my sermon for this weekend. I am so excited to be standing in for Professor Bridges. God Loves Skeptics part 1 Scripture: John 20:24-29 We are all children of God and he loves us in ways that we can never truly understand. He accepts us when we stray. He listens when we call for Him. He delights in each of us. He is a devoted Father. And like a father He has to be confident enough to handle questions from His children. That's why I know that God loves the skeptic. Take a look at Thomas here, he gets a special mention in the bible as well as a unique visit from Jesus. 24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." 26 A week later his disciples were in the house ag...

My former professor asked me to preach at his church this Sunday. This is a huge honor for me because Professor Bridges' class was one of my favorite. He taught my world religions class at Villa Julie College. During that time, my walk with God, was very sporadic. I was searching for truth in so many different places. Eastern Religions was my particular flavor then and that was where I focused my attention. There was one thing that still holds my attention though. In the first class Professor Bridges asked the class, "Who wants an A in this class?" Of course this grabbed everyone's attention. He took out a small rectangular box that appeared to be wrapped in scotch tape. He showed it to the class and passed it around so everyone could examine it. He then said that anyone who could guess what was in the box would receive an A. This caught everyone by surprise and then people wanted to really look at the box. He passed it around the room again and as it got...

What does a life lived for God look like?  Is it a filled with adventure?  Is it stocked with exploits of mountain moving faith?  Is it filled with little tasks that often goes unnoticed?  The bible shows us that a life should be lived two ways. The first way is in service to others.  God clearly showed time after time that a service-oriented life is preferred.  Jesus himself showed the perfect example when he washed the feet of His disciples.  Jesus' ministry was all about service.  One of His earliest miracles, where he turned water into wine, was a total act of service.  His sacrifice on the cross, feeding the five thousand, healing the sick, raising the dead, everything he did was in service to the people he had chosen to dwell among.  Now before you pull out the  "He's God" card, there are plenty of other examples of service-oriented men and women in the bible.  Noah, David, Paul, John, Daniel, Ester, and Ruth among others served their God and the people.  The ot...