engaging our doubts

doubt [dout] v. - to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe; to distrust; to be uncertain about something; be undecided in opinion or belief; a feeling of uncertainty about the truth, reality, or nature of something.

Every Christian has them – sometimes about some very basic things relating to our faith. Haunting questions that we don’t have answers for; doubts that somehow keep us an arm’s length from fully embracing God’s truth.

Where does doubt come from? Read Genesis 3:1-4; John 8:44

What does doubt keep us from? Read Matthew 14:22-31; Mark 11:22-25; James 1:5-8

Is it alright to have doubts in regards to our faith? Why or why not?

Dealing with our doubts:

There were a group of people mentioned in the New Testament who lived in a town called Berea. During one of his missionary journeys, the apostle Paul went to Berea and told them about the forgiveness of sins that Jesus had won for them by dying on the cross. Paul taught the Bereans that Jesus was the Messiah (the Redeeming King) that the Jews had been waiting for all along.

Read Acts 17:10-12

How did the Berean’s respond to Paul’s message?

The Bereans give us an excellent example of how to respond to any form of teaching that we encounter:

1) _________________________________________________________

2) _________________________________________________________

3) _________________________________________________________

If we find that the teaching that we’ve received is false or flawed, it is important to go back to the source of the teaching, ask questions for clarification, examine it again, and if still doesn’t line up with what God’s Word says, reject it.

Read John 20:24-31

How would you describe Thomas?

Look at the way Jesus handled Thomas’ doubt. What does this tell you about Jesus?

If we have doubts, what should we do with them?

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God wants us to be able to trust Him and believe that what He has said is true. Having doubts get in the way of us trusting God. It’s really important for us to do whatever we can to clear up any doubts that we have because doubts trip up our relationship with God. For each of us to have a real relationship with God we need to discover truth for ourselves, we also must wrestle with our doubts and turn them into certainty.

Over the next while we are going to be

examining several “Hot Topics” that we need

to engage as Christians. Some of these

will come out of the doubts survey that we

did tonight, others will come out of a Christian response to our culture. As we study and dialogue with some of these issues and doubts we’ll receive clarity and boldness in our faith.

On being called to be sent...

Read Luke 9:1-10; Luke 10:1-20

When Jesus saw that the time was right, He transitioned His disciples from being merely learners and invited them into sharing with Him the ministry that God had sent Jesus to do. The disciples enter the phase of apostleship – they became “sent ones,” messengers of the Kingdom of God.

Why do you think Jesus took so much time before He sent them out?

In what ways do we put the cart before the horse and focus on the “doing things for Jesus” rather than prioritize simply becoming like Him?

What did Jesus do with His disciples when they returned from being sent out by Him?

So, the discipleship process didn’t end just because Jesus sent the disciples out. He had to correct their pride and teach them how to use the power and authourity that He had given the disciples. Discipleship is an ongoing process – every Christian at every level in their walk with Jesus need to be discipled, taught, corrected, and encouraged by Jesus. We can’t do it alone…

Read Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18

What surprises you about the “Great Commission”?

Does Jesus’ promise to “be with us always” bring you comfort? How does it help those who can’t see Him?

Read Acts 1:4-5

On being called a disciple...

Over the past few weeks we’ve been talking about calling. God has called each of us not only into mission, but more importantly into a dependant relationship with Him.

Disciple – mathetes – “a learner, pupil, or apprentice”

Apostle – apostolos – “messenger, one that is sent”

Jesus seemed to be intentional about teaching His disciples how to live and how to obey the Scriptures before He entrusted them with mission. They were disciples first before they became apostles.

Read and describe the calling of the disciples in these passages:

Matthew 4:18-22 –

Luke 5:27 –

Mark 3:13-19 –

What were these disciples willing to give up in order to follow Jesus?

Why do you think the disciples would make such a sacrifice?

Read Matthew 10:24-25, Luke 6:40, and John 13:15.

After reading the above passages, why did Jesus call the disciples to follow Him? What was Jesus’ end goal?

What did the disciples do as they followed Jesus (See Mark 3:14-15; Matthew 11:1; John 8:31; John 13:13-15; Luke 14:26-27)?

Being like the rabbi is the major focus of the life of talmidim (disciple). They listen and question, they respond when questioned, they follow without knowing where the rabbi is taking them knowing that the rabbi has good reason for bringing them to the right place for his teaching to make the most sense. In the story recorded in Matthew 16, Jesus walked nearly thirty miles one way to be in Caesarea Philippi for a lesson that fit the location perfectly.

Do you think Jesus really believed that His disciples could be like Him? Why or why not?

What does John 14:12 say?

Has Jesus called YOU as a disciple to follow Him?

In what ways is our calling as disciples the same as the 12? In what ways is it different?

What does it look like practically to be a disciple of Jesus in this day and age?

What seems to be Jesus’ priority in Matthew 7:21-23?

This means that the present day talmid (disciples) must be no less focused on the rabbi. We must be with Him in His Word, we must follow Him even if we are not sure of the final destination, we must live by His teaching (which means we must know those teachings well), and we must imitate Him whenever we can. In other words everything becomes secondary in life to being like Him.

I'm a slacker...

Hey guys, I'll be updated the blog with our last 2 Bible Studies shortly. Just gotta get into the rhythm of all of this technological stuff.

Being "called"

Hey guys,

Tonight was a little bit disjointed, I apologize for that. Even after almost 8 years doing ministry at Bethel, Charlotte and I are still trying to figure out our teaching styles. I hope that the entire theme of the night wasn't lost though. Basically we need to understand that our lives don't need to amount to nothing. We don't need to hop onto the treadmill that the rest of the world is on - living for ourselves, trying to find fulfillment in objects and people. The truth is - God has chosen us, He has chosen to redeem us, to free us, to call us His own. That's super news. And it goes way beyond simply being chosen, God has called us (there's that word) to join with Him into placing His mark on the world that we live in. And the mark isn't just some generic stamp that every Christian is given - it's an individual fingerprint of how God has designed YOU to impact things. Everyone has been called in the same direction... but doing different things as God has gifted us.

I really love the passage that we read tonight. For those of you who weren't there it's Ephesians 4:1-16. The verse that really stood out to me is the following:

"To each of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it..." We are distinct image bearers of God in a unique way. In the same way that our fingerprints and DNA are unique so is the way that we not only see the world but the way the world can be impacted by using the gifts and talents that God has given us. We are all workers in the Kingdom - we all have a hand in completing the picture of God to the world.

This just oozes mission. This just breathes purpose. This just screams passion. We are all called. We are all unique. We all carry with us a piece of the puzzle. We all belong. We are all desired by God and useful to Him.

But knowing this is just knowledge... walking it out is an entirely different thing. What will we say when Jesus calls to us, "Come follow me..."? Will we have the trust in Him to abandon whatever hinders us from this sort of life? Or will we be lulled back into complacency by the voices in our minds that tell us that we're nobody special... our life won't amount to anything worthwhile?

Should be fun stuff to unpack with you guys! Looking forward to the next while...

Truth Project

We will not be showing the Truth Project on Wednesday nights as initially discussed. We just feel like the venue of Wednesday night youth just isn't a good fit. For those of you who are still interested in the study, let us know and we'll find another venue (probably a home group) in which we'll show and discuss the series. Stay tuned!

A blog...

Hey, I'm not really sure what to say here yet, but this is the spot where we will be uploading our Wednesday night studies and other random spoutings that I might erupt with. Stay tuned!