EVERYONE BELIEVES IN SOMETHING

EVERYONE BELIEVES IN SOMETHING

S T E P ONE What is faith in God? Imagine for a minute we could get rid of all of our pre-conceived ideas about God and religion and go back to square one. Maybe you didn t grow up in Church. Maybe this is your first experience of anything to do with faith. Perhaps your only view of religion is based on what you ve seen in the media. Possibly, your only reference of Church comes from attending a wedding or a funeral. Maybe you did grow up in Church and attended Sunday school. You ve heard the stories of Adam and Eve and Noah s ark and you ve sat through a lifetime of services. It could be that you ve walked past a street preacher with a bullhorn, passing out leaflets, but you ve never really thought much about God. Whatever your story, we all have life experiences that have shaped our view of religion and our beliefs when it comes to faith and the existence of God. Religion is different to God. Religion is like the traditions you keep repeating without really knowing why you re still doing them. It s behaviourally going through the motions without having a relationship with God. Religion, more often than not, can be the customs, cultures and rules that divide people; it can really quickly become a list of dos and don ts. Honestly, religion sounds pretty dull. At its best, religion is a set of beliefs which shape the way you look at life.

LET S DISCUSS WATCH VIDEO 3 Let s face it - everyone believes something! Even science is based on belief; someone has a theory and based on that theory they go on to test and examine and prove it (or disprove it). But it all starts with a belief. Atheists have a belief; they believe there is no God and that too shapes the way they look at the world. Beliefs are so powerful that they shape the way people live their lives. These kinds of fundamental beliefs are the catalyst to creating the very things we put our trust in. The problem is, I can t show it to you under a microscope in a laboratory. It s not like we wake up one day and our faith gives us all the answers to life s big questions... Why do bad things happen to good people? What about dinosaurs and aliens? How did the pyramids get there? And of course there s the whole What came first the chicken or the egg? thing! In our Sunday series titled Good God, we unpacked some of life s big questions when it comes to understanding the existence of God and His nature. In your own time, why don t you check out the resource links available at: audaciouschurch.com/extraordinarylife and listen to the whole series. GROUP DISCUSSION Why don t you take a few moments to share, with the person next to you, your background and experience when it comes to God, church and religion?

We can t tackle all of life s big questions, but let s spend a little time on this one: IF GOD IS GOOD, WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN? The Christian faith is about trusting in God. It s much more like a relationship than a religion, but what exactly does that mean? What does a healthy, fulfilling relationship with the God of the universe look like, and how do you get there from here? Great questions. I mean, how do you teach someone to fall in love? Can you tell them exactly which romantic song to have playing in the background and precisely how long the first kiss should be after a date in the fancy restaurant? No! Is there a quick fix, three-step, money-back guarantee, shortcut to enlightenment? No! You are a unique individual and your life has had its twists and turns, heartaches, highs and lows, and you ll have some pretty big questions you want answered. We all do. No one can walk this journey of faith for you. It s your life and it s God s desire that you would have your own personal encounter and relationship with Him. Our hope is that Extraordinary Life will point out the best path and give you some wise words and signs to look out for along the way. Most importantly, we need to understand that this journey is not meant to be walked alone. We all need life-giving relationships, with people to encourage us, answer our questions, challenge and support us. You re on the same journey of faith as countless others. Make sure there is someone nearby who can help you, and keep your eyes open for those you can help in turn. So, let s forget about the church we last attended; forget about the Christian that has offended us; forget about the headlines and the weirdos ; forget religion. We need to start by laying a solid foundation for our faith. You may have already heard God being called the Father or Father God. You may have also heard the phrases God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Perhaps at a wedding or christening the vicar prayed in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. What he was referring to is the Holy Trinity (or simply The Trinity ). Most people have a picture of Jesus (who is God the Son) in their head, either from the movies, a weird painting in a gallery or somewhere in all that stained glass! The phrase God the Father might paint a picture in your mind of a really, really old guy on a cloud with a big white beard! But who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity; we will talk about Him in a bit more detail later on. We live in a world with limitation. We cannot travel through time and we do not posess superpowers. God, however, lives without limitations. He is like no one you ve ever met. He doesn t have the same restraints we have. His power is not limited by human ability or wisdom. In the Bible, the book of Isaiah 55:9 says As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts than your thoughts. Job 36:26 says, How great is God, beyond our understanding. The actor Woody Allen once said If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.

No one can walk this journey of faith for you. It s your life, and it s God s desire that you would have you re own personal encounter in relationship with Him.

BUT HOW CAN GOD BE THREE DIFFERENT PEOPLE? Have you ever met twins or siblings who are so alike to look at, who s actions and even voices are so similar that even their parents struggle to differentiate between them? They are not the same person however, they are distinct individuals. The Bible clearly speaks about God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit; they are distinct individuals but they are also one. Hard to grasp, I know. Let s take a look at this as a mathematical formula. It isn t 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 It s 1 x 1 x 1 = 1 The Trinity, ( Tri meaning three and Unity meaning oneness), is the beautiful and divine mystery of how our one God is recognised in three distinct persons. The following explanation is one way of trying to explain this heavenly dance: Water, steam and ice are essentially the same thing. H2O (as it is called) can be expressed and experienced differently as a liquid (water), a gas (steam) and a solid (ice). There is no denying that these three things look and feel very different, and have different functions. God, too, is expressed in three distinct persons:- Father God, Jesus Christ the Son and The Holy Spirit. In the Bible, when Jesus was in human form on Earth, we see the Trinity at work. In Matthew 3:16-17 Father, Son and Holy Spirit are seen operating in different ways. As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven opened, and saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said This is my Son, whom I Love, with him I am well pleased.

WATCH VIDEO 4 There are two things you need to know about God:- 1. God is always loving - 1 John 4:16 God is love 2. God is always good - Psalm 119:68 You are good and do only good This might sound a little simplistic but these two truths are like foundation stones, absolutes. They are the solid base on which everything is built. God will always be consistent with those two truths. God always loves you and God is always good. I know we re only at the beginning of the chapter but, let s be honest, we ve all lived long enough for something to not sit right when we hear those two statements. Maybe you lost a loved one, or were hurt in a divorce. Where was God when you lost that job? Or when you got really sick? When we look at our circumstances it can seem like those truths aren t so true. That s the trouble with circumstances! WATCH VIDEO 5 Imagine for a minute we re sat in a plane on the runway in rainy Manchester. It s grey, cold and miserable. In just a few moments the plane will begin take off and (if you re lucky enough to have got the window seat), you ll notice something pretty breathtaking. Within minutes you will have left the ground and the grey will have miraculously disappeared into the clouds. Then, as the plane continues to gain altitude, you ll break

through into beautiful sunlight and clear blue skies. Now did the sun only start doing its job when you got to the right height? No! The sun was always shining, even when you were being rained on. It s the same with God. God always loves you and God is always good, even when your circumstances are not. Faith is choosing to believe that. Often when we have a bad day we cry, Why God, why? It s so unfair. Yet when we have a good day we just skip along merrily and probably don t even think God had anything to do with it! If we don t grasp the fact that God is always loving and that He is always good then we re trying to build our lives on an uneven foundation - Good day; God loves me. Bad day; God hates me! If we can embrace these truths, they will give us security that becomes an anchor for our souls. When tough times come - and they will - you can say God I don t understand what s happening right now but I know you love me and I know you re good. LET S DISCUSS GROUP DISCUSSION Tell us about a time when you have had to trust God despite your circumstances? What does trusting God look like in your life on a daily basis?

It s hard for us to grasp what perfect love and perfect goodness even look like. Sure, we ve all had glimpses; Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and, of course, closer to home we have friends and family who are kind, loving and giving. These examples are helpful, but they re merely a tiny taster of the goodness and love of God. He is your loving father. Maybe you didn t have a great dad but you know what a good father should be like. God is not an abstract force or an angry judge, waiting to punish you for making mistakes. God passionately loves people. He loves you. He designed you; you are built for relationship with Him The creator of the universe wants to be in relationship with you! God designed us; we are built for relationship with him. The creator of the universe wants to be in relationship with you!

Make use of these blank pages at the end of each section if you want to make notes, or have questions to ask someone later on.