Youth Club at Cornerstone Questions and Answers Jan 26th 2018

Last Friday night at Youth Club at Cornerstone Church we collected these questions.  Thanks if you were one of the people who put something in the box!  We might use some of these as we do our little video clips on Friday nights but for now, here's my answers.  I refer to Bible verses a lot because I believe it's God's words.  Don't just take my word for it, do check out the links to the verses I'm thinking of so you can see where I'm getting my ideas from!

When did you begin believing in God?
I've always believed in God.  My parents were always Christians and taught me about God from when I was little but I also believe God showed me he was real from the start.  I don't remember a time when I thought he wasn't real and then realised he was.  I've just always known it.  I've had doubts from time-to-time and lots of questions but God has proved real time and time again in my life and he has kept all the promises he makes in the Bible.

Is it wrong to support LGBTQ?
I believe the Bible shows us that God's intention for marriage is that it is for one man and one woman to become one flesh for one lifetime (Genesis 1:21-25, Romans 1:26-27). 

Christians should love everyone (God does!) but this doesn't mean they have to agree with the choices they make (God doesn't!).  I have good friends who know I don't agree with some of their lifestyle choices when it comes to their sexual relationships.  They know I care about them and we can also talk about our views without falling out.

Jesus was a friend to people others regarded as sinful (Luke 5:27-32) because he came to save people who are sinful - which is all of us by the way! (Romans 3:23-24).  I believe people's greatest need is to know Jesus' forgiveness and love by trusting and following him.

So that's what I believe but it might not be what you believe.  We can't all be right but we can pursue the truth without falling out.  Christianity should never be IMPOSED but should always be PROPOSED.

Further reading:
The Great Debate - Juston's view, Ron's view  
Q Christian Fellowship
CBMW's Nashville Statement 2017  

Why did God ever think of creating us and the world?
I've answered this recently here.

 Science?  Big Bang?  Evolution?
I've answered this recently here.

Why does God make us go through things like heartbreak if he doesn't want us to get hurt?
This article might help.

Why did God send Jesus if we are going to die one day? (The world will end??!!!?!)
Why did he send Jesus?  Find out more here.
This video about heaven and earth is helpful too.

Exodus 3:16-22 - The God of promise

If you met God in an amazing way and then told other people about it, what would you expect them to say?  What if your story seemed strange or even ridiculous to them?

God continues to speak to Moses from the burning bush.  He tells him how to get the Israelite leaders onside with his plan to get his people out of slavery in Egypt.  What's Moses supposed to say?  "The bush told me..."?!!  That probably wouldn't convince anyone.  But God gives him the specific words to use that will ensure people realise who it is that Moses has really heard from...

Exodus 3:16-22

God has already told Moses to let people know that it's "I AM WHO I AM" who has sent him to them but he also tells Moses to make sure he adds that it's "the God of your fathers - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob."  This would have anchored things for the Israelite leaders so that they might know it's not some made up bush-God hallucination that Moses has encountered but none other than the God who made promises to Abraham (that we read about back in Genesis 12).  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob loomed large in any Israelite's thinking because of the God they had followed.  Any word from that God had to be taken seriously because of the tremendous influence of previous generations.

There's something here for Christian parents.  What will your kids think of the God you follow?  Will the way you love and trust him help them recognise him when he speaks to them?  Will they be inclined to listen and to trust him when they know it's the God of their parents speaking?  God says here that he is to be remembered in this kind of way throughout all generations (v15), so how can we do that today with the children we have opportunity to love and to lead?

God's message to the leaders of Israel through Moses is that he has plans to rescue and bless them.  He has not forgotten the promises he made to Abraham about a land to live in.  He will rescue them from slavery in Egypt and he knows exactly how it's going to work - AND he tells them too!  God tells them what to say to pharoah, what pharoah's reaction will be, what he will do about that, and how they'll eventually be freed and with miraculous provision of wealth as they go.  He tells them all this in advance because he wants them to know he's the God who knows the future, has perfect plans to bless and can be absolutely trusted to deliver on every single one of his promises.
 
God lays it all out for Moses so that it should be easy for him to say YES to everything he's being asked to do.  But as we'll pick up next time, we'll see that Moses is not convinced.

Do you know this God who makes and keeps his promises throughout all generations?  Will you trust him today?

Why follow Jesus?

There are generally 3 different kinds of reasons people say they're convinced about following Jesus: 

THE EXPLANATION
Sometimes people will say that it's the explanation of Christianity that just makes most sense of everything people experience in this world.  The redemptive story line of the Bible: A loving God who made us to know him and be like him.  A rebellious and broken world cut off from God.  God who came in the person of Jesus to die in our place and defeat death.  And the offer of forgiveness, friendship with God, life to the full and life forever in a world free from sickness, suffering and death.

THE EVIDENCE
Sometimes it's the evidence for Christianity that convinces a person to trust and follow Jesus.  Particularly the evidence for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, but also the existence of the universe and other kinds of evidence too, including philosophical arguments.  This is how Nicky Gumbel (creator of the Alpha course) first became a Christian.  CS Lewis too, who said he was "the most reluctant convert in the whole of England".

THE EXPERIENCE
And sometimes people will say it's the experience of God through Jesus that makes them want to trust and follow him.  Maybe it's a miraculous healing, answered prayer or transformed life.  Or just an undeniable sense of God's presence and love.  Or the effectiveness of God's counter-cultural wisdom for relationships and other priorities.  Often it's all of these!
  • My story - A little bit of it anyway.
  • Mez's story - A friend of mine.  Used to rob banks.  Now starts churches.
  • Brian's story - Korn guitarist experiences God's love and transformation through Jesus.
  • Sean's story - Back from the dead with medical evidence to prove it.
  • Shane's story - Prison for violent crimes.  Life transformed by Jesus.

Mega Club 26th Jan 2018

Last Friday night at Mega Club at Cornerstone Church we collected these questions.  Thanks if you were one of the people who put something in the box!  We might use some of these as we do our little video clips on Friday nights but for now, here's my answers.  I refer to Bible verses a lot because I believe it's God's words.  Don't just take my word for it, do check out the links to the verses I'm thinking of so you can see where I'm getting my ideas from!

How old was Jesus when he died?
We don't know exactly but most think he was 33.  We get this from Luke 3:23 where it says Jesus was about 30 when he began his ministry (his preaching, teaching and miracles) and we know from the storyline of John's gospel that Jesus made 3 annual trips to Jerusalem during his ministry before he died on the cross.  30+3=33.

Why did God create the world?
The Bible says that everything was made FOR God (Colossians 1:16).  He is gloriously good and did it so that the people he made could know him and be with him forever (Genesis 1:26-27).  The world was perfectly good when God made it (Genesis 1:31).  He knew people would rebel against him (Isaiah 46:10) and he had a perfect plan to save them to be with him forever (Acts 2:23, Revelation 21:1-4).

How did God create the world?
The Bible says God spoke things into existence (Genesis 1, Revelation 4:11).  Christians have different views about the scientific processes God used as he created.  Some believe Genesis 1 is a literal account of what happened but many Christians don't.  ALL Christians agree on the things Genesis 1 IS clear about though: God is good, made things good, made us in his image and likeness.  Some people think being a Christian means you can't believe in the Big Bang or Evolution but that's not true.  God and Science are friends, not enemies.
 
Why did Jesus die?
This is a really important question!  Knowing who Jesus is and why he died (and then choosing to trust and follow him) is the difference between life and death both now and forever!  Find out more here.  Or watch this Alpha video.

Can God make my brother better?
Yes!  The Bible says God heals (Luke 4:18-19 and LOTS of examples of Jesus healing in the gospels).   And we are encouraged to pray and ask God for what we want (Luke 18:1-8) and to trust him when he doesn't give us what we ask for straight away because he knows best (Isaiah 55:9).  Jesus himself knows what it's like to want something in prayer, not get it and still trust God for the right outcome (Matthew 26:36-46).  Ultimately, it's God's forgiveness and love people need and Jesus can do this too (Luke 2:1-12)!

 Who is God?
The Bible answers this in lots of different ways because it tells us lots of things that are true about God.  God has many names in the Bible and each one tells us something about who he is.  You can see them here.  Jesus said "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father" (John 14:9), so if we want to know what God is like, we must look at Jesus and get to know him.  Reading a gospel (like Mark) would be a good way to start doing that.

How is God doing?
God is perfect, so he's doing great.  Everything he does is good because he is good (Deuteronomy 32:4).  However, the Bible also says he knows what it's like to suffer (Hebrews 4:15) and that he made himself one of us to save us from it if we would trust in him (Philippians 2:1-11).

 What does God eat?
God doesn't need food to live but when he became one of us (Jesus), he got hungry and ate food like anyone else (Matthew 21:18), in fact Jesus enjoyed eating meals with people (Luke 7:34). 

How is God still alive?
God is.  He just is.  He always is.  He is "I AM" (Exodus 3:14).  He is without beginning or end.  No-one made God.  He always existed and always will (Psalm 90:1-2).  It's because of him that anything else can exist.  Without him there would be nothing (John 1:3).

 Why do we have to learn about God?  Just because we are in a church, doesn't mean we have to learn about him.
At Mega Club we want to run a fun youth club but ultimately we want everyone to know the love of God through Jesus.  We can't do anything without hoping and praying and longing for others to know God's forgiveness and love.  That's why any of us are really here.  So, you're welcome at club whether you're interested in God or not but you should expect to hear a bit about him because we're not just youth leaders - we're Christians.  Keep telling us what you think and asking good questions!!

  

    

About me

Hi.  My name is Dave.  I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a leader, a drummer, a punk and other things too.  Above all, I trust and follow Jesus and I want to help more people trust and follow Jesus.  Why?  Because I believe that knowing God personally is why we're all here and trusting and following Jesus is the only way to do that.   

This is my website.  It's got a variety of stuff on from over the years.  Click on the links below to find what you're looking for...

Why follow Jesus?
This is where I explain a bit more about knowing God personally and the evidence for Jesus.

for that supports his claims and resurrshow myself a bit more about Jesus and what it means to trust and follow him.  There's also articles I written here about the evidence for
Books of the Bible

Questions and Answers

Tutor Group Resources

Everything else

Baptism

This little article isn't EVERYTHING about baptism but just a few things you need to know if you're considering it.

There are 2 kinds of baptism that Christian churches tend to do.  One is "infant baptism" (where babies get sprinkled with some water and people pray for them and their parents) and the other is "believer's baptism" (where the person has already made their own decision to trust and follow Jesus and gets dunked right under some water to show it).  This article is about the second kind.

What is baptism?  This short video explains quite a bit about what the Bible says.  You might want to go through it carefully and explore the Bible passages mentioned to learn more.



If you're interested in getting baptised in this way, there's a few questions that might be helpful before going further...
  1. Do you believe God loves you and created you to know him and be part of his kingdom family?
  2. Do you believe your sin once separated you from God so that you couldn't know him or experience his love?
  3. Do you believe Jesus is God's only solution for your sin problem and that he died in your place, for your sin and rose again from the dead?
  4. Have you responded to this good news by giving your sin to Jesus and trusting him to forgive you and bring you into the relationship with God for which you were made?
If your answer is YES to these questions, you're already forgiven and saved by Jesus into a relationship with God!  You're a Christian!  This is important to understand because sometimes people think getting baptised will help them be a Christian or be a better one.  Not true!  Water doesn't save people.  Only Jesus saves people.  And only God the Holy Spirit has the power to truly change people to be more like Jesus.  But for all the reasons the video describes, water baptism is an important and significant part of what it means to follow him.

If you answered "no" or "not sure" to any of the questions above, baptism shouldn't be your next step.  Instead, keep exploring what it means to follow Jesus by reading the Bible, being part of a local church, or attending an Alpha course (or something like it).  Discover as much of the truth as you possibly can!

Some key passages from the video to explore further:

If you're a Christian and you haven't been baptised in this way, do chat to your church leaders about it and chat to me if you like.  Most importantly, talk to Jesus about it and then do what he says! :)
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