Addressing the Difficult Questions

This Sunday is our last sermon in the "Difficult Questions of the Faith" series. Over the past 10 weeks, a few people have asked me why I chose to do this series. After all, I was opening up a few cans of worms. Additionally, the services took a lot more preparation than a typical sermon. So why did I put myself and the church through this?

First of all, I'm never afraid to open up a can of worms. After all, they just sit there and squirm. When I opened my first can of worms, I expected there to be more drama.

Secondly, I'm trying to create an environment where it is safe to ask questions. When I was growing up, I thought "good Christians" had everything figured out. But now that I'm older, I'm seeing that there are still big gaps in my knowledge and understanding. I didn't realize this in my teens and 20s.

Right now, many people in that age group are leaving the church. Some call this "The Great Dechurching." There are many reasons for this, but one of them is that many young people don't know how to handle the tension that comes with being confronted with other worldviews. It's a cliché story, but it happens often that a young person goes to college, takes a few philosophy and science classes (or even Religion 101!), and stops believing.

Why does this happen?  Often, it is because they were never given a worldview that could handle complexities. They only had a rigid box that they force God into, and when that construct was shown to be flawed, they walked away.

One of my goals is to help people develop a Christian worldview. I hope to show people that they can deal with difficult questions and not have to give up their faith. There are many books being written about this, and if you know people in that situation, I encourage you to pick one or more up. I'd recommend the following titles:

• “Confronting Christianity” by Rebecca McLaughlin

  • A version of this targeted toward younger people is, “10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) About Christianity”

• “Surviving Religion 101” by Michael Kruger

• "The Reason for God" by Timothy Keller

• "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis

• “How Not To Read the Bible” by Dan Kimball

• "Can Science Explain Everything" by John Lennox

Remember, none of us has to be "the Bible answer man." Instead, we have the opportunity to be good friends and followers of Jesus who help people see that life is complex, and faith is solid.

With you,

Pastor Tim.