Class Lesson September 19, 2010

Why does a loving God allow so much suffering and evil in the world?

Hey Gang,

Last week's lesson was a great start to our 13 week series on Apologetics. Some of you asked about the video we watched, so I have given you a link here to watch it again if you like:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwGvfdtI2c0

We began this series with 1 Peter 3:15-17 telling each of us that we should "be prepared" to explain and defend our faith to those that question why we believe as we do. We learned that the goal of an apologist is not to win an argument, but to lovingly explain why we believe. 

So here's the situation; you have a friend that admires your personal faith, but they tell you that they have some real doubts about whether or not God even exists. Last week's lesson helped us explain how God revealed Himself in creation, through the Bible and through Jesus, and  then we talked about that inner desire we all have to worship God even if we don't know Him.  So, you have some things to share as to why you believe God exists, right? Thomas Stephens brought up a great point, last week about people born in a Hindu country and not having any access to a Bible, how they could be expected to seek the same God. And then we read in Acts 17:26-27 "From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us." Wow, so this was His plan and purpose, too! It's starting to get a little deep now...but I think there's a bigger picture here.

OK, so your friend is ready to admit that God exists (hallelujah), but this opens up a whole series of other questions now, like if God exists and He's this loving and caring Father in heaven, then why is there all this suffering and evil in the world? To be a little more specific,  a year ago my father passed away, I lost my job and I'm still unemployed, my wife has just gotten a bad report from the doctor, my savings is all but gone...where is this loving and caring Father in heaven now? Why is all of this happening to me?

What would you say to your friend, now that you're a trained apologist? This was the big question that sent Charles Templeton down the road of unbelief. Remember the mother in Africa holding her dead child because of the drought...Who controls the Rain?

Your lesson this week is going to take you back to the story of Job. Pay close attention to what happens to Job and why it happened...Job questions his suffering as well. Remember that no character in the Bible about whom we know anything in detail lived a pain free life. Paul will put our suffering into perspective in Romans 8 and close with God's good purpose. This is a  thought provoking lesson this week...be prepared to give an answer...if you can.

Hope everyone has a blessed week and we look forward to continuing the journey into apologetics this Sunday.

In His Love,

David and Susan 

Class Lesson September 12, 2010

 
Hey Gang,

Last week I wanted to open the class with this video, you can click on the link to watch:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44M6nCDFEg4

My reason in showing the video was to introduce a man by the name of Charles Templeton, I'll bet most of you never heard of him, I hadn't either. Anyway, Templeton was Billy Graham's "Best Friend." He also co-founded "Youth for Christ" and Billy was the first evangelist that they hired. Charles and Billy would travel worldwide and conduct many crusades together and Billy Graham would say that Charles Templeton was, "one of the few men I have ever loved in my life." But their directions in life would soon hit a crossroad and Billy would go one way and Charles would go another. We all know what happened to Billy Graham, but Charles Templeton in 1957, at the age of 42 would leave the ministry and become an Agnostic! 

His last book was "Farewell to God: my reasons for rejecting the Christian faith." Why? Because of Apologetics. Templeton had a lot of doubts about God that he couldn't explain, much less defend. He would tell Lee Strobel in an interview that it all began with a photograph. A picture in Life magazine of a black woman in northern Africa, where they were experiencing a devastating drought, holding her dead baby and looking up into heaven with the tortured look of Why? Templeton would say, "Why would a caring and loving God allow the death of an innocent child and torture this helpless mother when all they needed was Rain." 

Templeton had a lot of questions, some I've already shared, but he would also question why a loving and caring God would allow a devastating illness like Alzheimer's to destroy a person's mind and family. Interestingly Charles Templeton would die in 2001, at the age of 86 from the very disease he questioned. 

Our entire series over the next 12 weeks will be on Apologetics: Being able to explain and defend your faith to the skeptics of the world that don't believe. 1 Peter 3:15-17 says that we are all expected to be apologist and that we should expect and "be prepared" to give an answer for what we believe.

Our lesson this week is on the very existence of God, Charles Templeton's main doubt. There is an interesting close to Lee Strobel's writing on Charles Templeton that I will share this Sunday.  

Class Lesson September 12, 2010

Hey Gang,

We are beginning a new 13 week series on Apologetics, now if you missed last Sunday's lesson, here is a brief review. 

1 Peter 3:15-17 says that we are all expected to be apologist. This simply means that we must be prepared to explain and defend what we believe about our faith. Why you might ask? Because I'm sure there have been times in your life that you have been challenged on what you believe and I'm sure that there have been moments when you too have questioned things in life. Questions like: Why does God allow so much suffering in the world? Can reason and faith really co-exist? Why is there so much contradiction to creation? Is Jesus really the only way, even if millions of people have never heard of Him? Would a caring and loving God really consign so many people to an eternity of torture in hell just because they didn't believe in the right things about Him? If I am plagued by doubts, then is it still possible to be a Christian? 

We discussed 4 essential ways, last week, that we can make our case for what we believe:

1. We must first make Christ, Lord in our hearts.
2. Apologetics is not for winning an argument, we should be gentle and respectful in our response.
3. Look for common ground with the person you are talking to, you need to connect.
4. Just tell your story, a changed life is a powerful apologetic. 

This week we will explore the very case for God's existence through the following questions: I don't know scientific statistics enough to reason apologetically, how can I answer these questions? I hear scientific arguments all the time against believing in a Creator, can they all be wrong? I see news stories questioning who Jesus really was, how can I be sure? I see people worship themselves more than other gods, what can I say to them?

We missed several of you this past week, hope that you had a good and restful Labor Day weekend! Dave Auler shared with us on Sunday about the mission trip to Honduras and it was quite a trip - they will be sharing more during the Wednesday evening service this week. I will send the prayer requests out separately by email. Hope you have a blessed week!


See you on Sunday.


In His Love,


David and Susan

Class Lesson September 5, 2010

Hey Gang,

We had some new visitors last Sunday, Scott and Kim Phillips and Brad and Tonya Cary! Now, the Phillips are long time members of our church and were in our couples class years ago, so we are very excited to see and have them visiting our "older couples" class again.The Cary's are new and old, new to our church, but old friends and it appears they already know almost everyone in our class even those visiting. The Cary's join a long list in our class of "kids in baseball" and we are thrilled to have them visiting!

Last Sunday we closed out a 13 week series on 1st and 2nd Samuel. I hope you enjoyed the series as much as I did, because it's pretty special when the Bible speaks to the heart and I hope the Holy Spirit came through. We ended our series with a message of hope and "hope is a good thing," especially when we face a crisis situation in life and we all have by this time in our lives. Please remember the lesson's closing message: Next time you feel the need to hit the panic button in the midst of a crisis...don't. Trust God, Lean on Godly Friends, and Get Busy Living, again!

This Sunday we will begin a whole new 13 week series entitled: The Case for Hope, The Case for Jesus, and The Case for the Christian Life. This entire series will be on apologetics, which by the way, doesn't mean to apologize for our faith, but to be able to give reason for what we believe. Now some of you are thinking, apologetics is something for intellectuals and preachers, (well it's not) or maybe you feel that you just can't answer all the questions that skeptics may ask you about your faith. Maybe you even sometimes get a little defensive and irritated when you are questioned on your beliefs or maybe you've got grown children coming to you now with questions that you aren't completely sure how to answer. Our lesson this week is called Making Your Case and it sets up the entire 13 weeks series by explaining the importance of defending our faith and beliefs in Christ. Those of you that were out last week, we want you to know we missed you!


I sent out a couple of pictures this week of Dave Auler. Dave and Sandy are members in our class for those of you that are new and Dave has been in Honduras on a mission trip with our church. Sandy has kept us updated on Dave's Honduran cooking specialties and now it appears that Dave has taken up Dentistry! We'll have to get Dave to explain the second picture a little more when he returns, but if any of you have a toothache. 


We hope you have a blessed rest of the week and prayerfully prepare to glorify God in everything you say and do.


Hope to see everyone this Sunday!


In His Love,

David and Susan

Dave Auler the Dentist!

Dave Auler the Honduran Chef