Some of us love watching movies, there are different genres of movies: drama, comedy, action, horror, science fiction, etc. The Bible has different genres as well and within these genres you find, drama, comedy, action, horror, romance, etc. I love those movies that have a hero who comes and saves the day. People like Braveheart, Jack Bauer; Jason Bourne. Detective John Mclean among others.
Some of you who watch sports know that there are many advantages to being the home team. It plays in his home count, it gets the cheers of the crowd; the atmosphere favors it. When the OKC Thunder could not win game 6 at home, everyone thought they would lose because they would then face the Golden State Warriors in their home court where they were truly dominant.
You see when you are the away team, the atmosphere in the building is hostile towards you; you truly have to set your mind to play well because no one will be cheering for you.
Very often we wonder why some people grow faster than others; or why there are some who hardly grow in their faith. Scripture tells us why some people mature and others don’t. We have read that story many times; but I think we don’t see ourselves in it when we read it. It’s been around for two thousand years now. Wouldn’t you like to know what keeps people from growing? Why some grow at a faster rate than others? Jesus tells us the reason using a very common illustration. Farming or gardening. You know that a seed will not grow the same way on any soil in which you plant it. The condition of the soil is very important; it will determine the productivity of the seed. So also the condition of your heart will determine your growth.
Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day, but it was officially proclaimed Memorial Day on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan. Memorial Day is a day on which those who died in active military service are remembered, traditionally observed on May 30 but now officially observed on the last Monday in May.
It’s a day to remember fallen heroes; why do we remember them? We want to remember them because they fought for our freedom. Monuments are built to help us remember something important in the past. Photographs become memories, a photo can take us back in time to remind us of a joyful or painful memory.
Sometimes we wonder why God allows certain things to happen; things like pain and suffering. Job’s suffering was a test to his integrity; but he chose to worship God even in the midst of pain and suffering. He never cursed God for the things God allowed in his life. We struggle with the question, why does God allow pain and suffering in this world? Why do you and I go through rough times in this world?
We all at one time or another experience pain and suffering or know someone very close who is going through. My wife and I followed the updates of a family friend of ours, whose youngest son died not long ago. He had battled cancer for about four years. He suffered a lot during that time, the family when through suffering and pain and still dealing with the grieving aspect of losing a loved one. Pain and suffering is real. We are not exempt from it, sooner or later you will have to deal with it, if you are not already. You read about it, you watch it on the news, you experience. Pain and suffering is part of our world, it is all around us.
You may be familiar with the commercial or saying, “There are some things money can’t buy” You can buy a comfortable bed, but you cannot buy sleep. There was a man who had everything going for him. This was a man of position, power and popularity. He was very successful, respected by all. This is how he is introduced to us in Scripture. But he had a big problem, a problem he could not buy a solution for with all his riches. You see all accolades could not buy him what he truly wanted in life. He had great accomplishments and success, but he wasn’t content in life because he had a terminal illness and imagine, even though he had enough money, fame, and people in charge, nothing could cure him. I guess the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence.
Everything you do is determined by a belief or beliefs, certain principles. How you make sense of the world if governed by your beliefs. These beliefs become the foundation of your worldview (the platform from which you stand to make sense of the world). Every society is governed by principles which are the foundations upon which nations are built.
The most important part of a building is the foundation, if the foundation is not strong, it doesn’t matter how beautiful the building is.
Lots of people in our nation suffer from identity crisis. Some don’t even know who they are anymore. They may not be happy with who they are and spend lots of money in search of becoming someone they would like to be. For a lot of people their identity is tied to their jobs, careers, looks, fame, money, spouse, sexual preference, etc. If your identity is tied to your job, then when you lose your job, you lose your identity; the same if you built your identity on your spouse, when he or she is gone, you will have an identity crisis.
Maybe you have seen the TV show by Morgan Freeman, “The story of God” For centuries people have wrestled with the question is there a God out there? How do you even know that God exists? Is there evidence out there to the existence of God? If the skeptics would consider the evidence they would know that God exists and that He wanted people to know him. So if you doubt his existence, he welcomes you to examine the evidence that point to himself. You can get to know this God, not just know about him.
Scripture tells us that what is known about God is plain or visible, it’s evident.
We all go through trials and difficult times in this life; things happen to us that tend to squeeze our joy and test our faith in God. As Christians you may feel at times empty, stagnant, and hopeless in the world. You may feel like God has left you; that he is not answering your prayers; you may feel you are running on empty, you need to be revived again, but you may not even know it’s possible; you don’t even know where to begin.
Last week we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. We talked about how the resurrection is truly the reason Christianity even exists. It is what gives us hope of eternal life. The apostles didn’t expect the resurrection, this is why they were amazed when they saw Jesus. Jesus began to appear to his disciples, to give them evidence that he was truly alive. This changed their sadness into joy. Imagine how joyous it would be to see the man who was killed talking with them again. John tells us that the evening of the same day when Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples were gathered, but Thomas was not there. Thomas is known my many as doubting Thomas, but I think we all could relate to him at some point in our lives.
Doubt is defined: as to be uncertain about something; to believe that something may not be true or is unlikely. To have no confidence in someone or something. Doubt is very common in us, it comes from the time the first humans doubted God.
