Intro – Questions are good… right?
Hey, this is Rich (the pastor). I’m trying something new here, so tell me if you like it. The idea is that I’ll post the notes/outline/whatever from the talk I give at the Sunday morning services, and we can talk about it here. In this series, we’re trying to be a bit more interactive & discussion-oriented, so I thought — why not give it a whirl?
So here are the notes. The main idea of this message was that questions are a good thing that can lead us toward God instead of keeping us away from him. If you want to leave a comment, go ahead. Your first comment will have to be approved by me, just to make sure you’re not a spambot or something. Oh, and try to keep it clean. There are kids around. 🙂
Possible discussion topics:
- When has someone discouraged you from asking questions?
- What do you think it means to “love God… with all your mind”?
- Have you ever really wrestled with a question or dilemma? What was the result?
QUESTIONS ARE GOOD… RIGHT?
September 17, 2006
He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:2-4 (NIV)
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. – Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV)
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. – Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)
Some of the questions we’ve explored in the past 6 years…
(These are titles from past messages.)
- If I believe, why do I doubt?
- Is the Bible reliable? Is it true?
- Why does God allow suffering?
- Is there a Christian view of war?
- Does prayer really work?
- Is Jesus the only way to God?
- Does God have a plan for me?
- Can God be trusted?
- Is God unfair?
- Does God ask too much of us?
- Why on Earth am I here?
- Why should I trust the Bible?
- Why does God seem so evil in the Old Testament?
- Why do Christians say Jesus is the only way?
- What does God think about homosexuality?
- What does God think about divorce?
- Who would Jesus vote for?
- Is there hope for world peace?
- Halloween: good, bad, or what?
- Can “gay” and “marriage” go together?
- How do I know when it’s God talking?
- Why do bad things happen?
- History & fiction: which is which?
- Lost (and found) gospels: can we trust them?
- Jesus: human, divine, or both?
- Women & Christianity: the sacred feminine?
Two ways to miss the growth that comes through questions:
1. Thinking you have all the answers.
Could keep you from connecting with people.
2. Thinking there aren’t any answers.
Could keep you from connecting with God.
Third option: Wrestle with the questions!
(Great examples in David’s Psalms or the book of Job)
This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until dawn. When the man saw that he couldn’t win the match, he struck Jacob’s hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is dawn.”
But Jacob panted, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
“What is your name?” the man asked.
He replied, “Jacob.”
“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “It is now Israel, because you have struggled with both God and men and have won.”
“What is your name?” Jacob asked him.
“Why do you ask?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.
Jacob named the place Peniel—“face of God”—for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” The sun rose as he left Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. – Genesis 32:24-31 (NLT)
Some suggestions:
1. Ask honestly. Do you really want an answer?
2. Ask persistently. Don’t give up!
3. Ask humbly. Get the help you need.
If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking. – James 1:5 (CEV)
[God said,] You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. – Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)
Good way to get people’s questions out into the open and discussing them. My one main question would be:
In the midst of tragedy, right at the very moment a person’s life is taken away, what is God doing?
I don’t know if there will ever be an answer to that question, but it’s something that’s on my mind. Also, the issue of is God fair is at the forefront as well.