You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

Transcription

1 The God Questions

2 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

3 Is it okay to have questions about God? Everyone has questions about God. That s the nature of faith. Some people worry that voicing their questions will anger or offend God. Nothing could be further from the truth. God created us with intelligence and reasoning ability. When it comes to questions about faith, God doesn t ask us to check our brains at the door. Test everything. Hold on to the good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 He encourages us to use all our mental faculties to seek out and find Him. Two of the most common questions people have are about God Himself ( Is He real? ) and the Bible ( Is it true? ). In this booklet, we ll explore some answers to those critical questions.

4 Is God Real? Everyone asks this question at some point in their life. After all, we can t see, hear, feel, touch, or taste God, so how can we know for sure that He actually exists? Is there any evidence to suggest that He s real? If we determined that the universe had to have been created, would that tell us there is a God? Where did the universe come from? Where did the universe come from? Pursuing the answer to that question has led many scientists and philosophers to conclude that God must exist. Think about it if nothing existed, would you have to explain it? Of course not. But the minute something exists, it raises the question, How did this thing get here? Look around you for a moment. Everything you see came from something else. For example, animals, plants, houses and cars all had predecessors. Animals came from their parents, plants came from seeds, houses came from builders, and cars came from factories. Delve way back into the history of the universe and ask, Where did all the molecules that make up the universe come from originally? The answer most people come to is God. Everything in the universe was created or came into existence from something else and depends on something else. Behind it all must be something (or, Someone) that has always existed and is self-sufficient. That s a description of God. When you factor in the size, beauty, and order within the universe, you come up with a Creator who is powerful, orderly, beautiful, eternal, and self-sufficient a description that is very close our understanding of God.

5 Is the Bible True? Supporting evidence for the Bible comes from very solid, factual sources. Three of them are science, archaeology and prophecy. Evidence from Science The rate of scientific research today leads to new discoveries on a regular basis. Each one topples some previously-held scientific belief. From the shape of the atom to the size of the universe, from relativity to string theory, scientists continue to revise their theories in response to new data. When it comes to science, the one constant is that what science believes today will likely be proven false in the future. Centuries ago, scientists considered the Bible an unreliable book because its description of the laws of the universe conflicted with proven scientific theory. For instance, the Bible claims that the earth is a sphere; that there are more than a billion stars in the universe; that every star is unique; that light is in motion; that air has weight; that winds blow in cyclones; and that blood is a source of life and healing. Scientists from the 1800s and earlier believed these claims were false. Today, we know them all to be true. The more we discover about science, the more it reinforces that the Bible is true. Evidence from Archaeology Modern archaeology has followed a similar trail of discovery. Where once people thought that many of the cities, names, and stories of the Old and New Testaments were fabricated, over the past hundred years, archaeological discoveries throughout the Middle East have confirmed the Bible s accounts. One example is found in the Gospel of John. In John s account, one of Jesus great miracles was the healing of the cripple at the Pool of Bethesda. Outside of the New Testament, no evidence had been found for such a pool, so skeptics pronounced John s writing inaccurate, the obvious work of an impostor. Imagine their surprise when, in 1888, while remodeling a nearby building, traces of the pool were discovered near the church of St. Anne in downtown Jerusalem! The gospel of Luke gets specific with the names of rulers, officials, and events, providing ample fodder for criticism. His description of an enrollment of taxpayers, his reference to Quirinius as governor of Syria, his identification of Lystra and Derbe as cities in the province of Lycaonia, were all called into question by Biblical skeptics. Yet, archaeological discoveries over the past century have verified each of Luke s descriptions.

6 Evidence from Prophecy One of the purposes of the Bible s prophecies is to give people evidence that the message being delivered is true. The Bible contains approximately 2,500 prophecies, over 2,000 of which have already been fulfilled. Of these, 332 are about the coming Messiah, and were fulfilled by Jesus. Using the mathematical science of probability, Professor Peter Stoner calculated the odds of any one person fulfilling just eight prophecies predicted of the Messiah. Stoner concluded, the chance that any man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled eight prophecies is 1 in To illustrate that in practical terms, Stoner used the following illustration: Supposing we take silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he has one chance to pick up a silver dollar and have it be the right one. What are the odds that he will succeed? 1 x Calculating the probability that someone could fulfill 48 prophecies gave Stoner the number 1 x The number of atoms in the universe has been calculated at The vast number of fulfilled prophecies requires faith either faith in thousands of amazing coincidences, or faith in a God who oversaw the writing of the Bible.

7 The Most Encouraging Thing The most encouraging thing about God is that He doesn t want us to know about Him, He wants us to know Him. The Bible says, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 The me in that sentence is personal. God wants you to find Him. He invites you to become His son or daughter: To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan this rebirth comes from God. John 1:12-13 If you would like to become a child of God, simply pray a prayer like this: Dear Jesus, I don t know why you love me so much that you were willing to die a terrible death just for me. But I know that you did it so my sins could be forgiven and I could enter into a relationship with God. I know that I have sinned against you and that my sins separate me from you. I am truly sorry please forgive me. Thank you for loving me and dying for me. I offer my life to you today, Jesus, and turn the reins over to you. Thank you for your sacrifice, and for allowing me to know your perfect love. Amen. Welcome to the family of God! Please visit your local Christian church for support and information as you begin your spiritual journey.

8 tough questions welcomed! Test everything. hold on to the good. 1 thessalonians 5:21

9 tough questions welcomed! PRSRT STD. U.S. Postage PAID Outreach, Inc. Test everything. hold on to the good. 1 thessalonians 5:21 At New Song Church, we are a place where you can explore spiritual issues, have meaningful faith experiences, and move toward your own relationship with God. Join Us Every Sunday! Traditional 7:30 AM Contemporary 11:00 AM Childcare Provided Free Coffee & Donuts After The Services Loving, Safe Children Programs Exciting, Interactive Youth Activities # Mission Ave. Oceanside, CA