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Skeletons in the Closet

 

My son is four and he has never had swimming lessons. I am starting to feel pretty guilty about this fact, but our reality has been that a lot of our evenings get taken up with work or hospitality. But don’t worry; we will make it happen in the near future! 

 

Imagine I start explaining to my son about water and swimming. My advice includes information like, ‘If you hold your head under water too long you will drown.’ ‘This is how you tread water.’ ‘If you get into trouble, turn over on your back and you will float.’ This is crucial information for him to understand.

 

Now, imagine an older individual who is learning to swim receiving the same advice and turning to their instructor to ask, ‘What is the relevance of this information?’ That would be an odd question. What do you mean, ‘What is the relevance of this?’ This is significant information if you are going to learn to stay afloat.  It would only really make sense for him to ask, ‘How is this information relevant for me?’ if he never intended to go into the water. If he has every intention of swimming that question wouldn’t come to his mind.

 

The relevance is obvious.

 

In a similar manner, if you and I have every intention of sharing the love and truth of Jesus with people in our culture there will be no question about the relevance of this series, Skeletons in the Closet. These times together will equip us to communicate reasons for our belief in a day of widespread skepticism directed towards the Christian faith.

 

But there are also those of us who have been swimming for a long time and we might think, ‘What is the relevance for me? I already know how to swim.’ But look, you and I may have been swimming for so long that we have forgotten what it feels like to not be able to swim. Swimming can become so natural for us that it is very difficult to explain to others the fundamentals of swimming.

 

In a similar way, this series will help equip long-time Christians to help other non-believers or new believers in their journey of faith. It will remind us of the popular questions and objections and give us a fresh take on the answers.  It will hopefully engage our heads and hearts like never before.

 

PART ONE: Skeletons in the Christian’s Closet

  • Be Ready to Reason: An Introduction to the series (Feb 22)
  • Kicking the Hell out of Earth: How can we believe that God is love, if hell exists? Or, on the other hand, are their negative consequences for our belief in God’s goodness, if we deny the reality of hell? (March 1)
  • Only one way to God? In a pluralistic world how can we believe that Jesus is the only way to God? Isn’t that arrogant, narrow and divisive? What if all paths do lead to God, but not in the way we normally think? (March 8)
  • Why is the Bible so Bloody? The Old Testament is filled with violent stories. Does God command Israel to engage in genocide by wiping out the Canaanites? How can we believe that a God like this is good? (March 15)
  • Is God anti-gay? Perhaps more than any message in this series, this topic strikes an emotional chord with us. This is a topic that is heavily debated in the church. So, as a pastor with gay relatives and friends, how do I wrestle with the Bible’s teaching on same-sex attraction?                     (March 29)

 

PART TWO: Skeletons in the Skeptics Closet

  • The Resurrection of Jesus: Going beyond myth, legend and folklore. (April 5th)
  • Clues for the Creator: It is common to hear from skeptics that we shouldn’t believe in anything without evidence. So, what is the evidence for God’s existence? Is there any? Is it OK to believe without evidence? (April 12th)
  • Friends or Foes: An investigation of faith and its interaction with science. Is Science hostile to Biblical Christianity or vice versa? How should theology and science interact with one another? (April 19th)
  • Does Religion Poison Everything: Hasn’t Christianity caused so many social ills and problems? This message looks at the many good things that Christianity has brought about in our world. (April 25th)
  • Why the New Testament is Reliable You can trust the Bible. It is not filled with myths or legends. But how do we know this is true? This message will explain why we can trust the New Testament. (May 3rd)
  • What now? How to be an effective messenger of Jesus (May 10th)