StoneBridge Community Church

Jesus and the Truth of Christmas
Pastor Jeff Cheadle
Locations & Times
StoneBridge Campus
4832 Cochran St, Simi Valley, CA 93063, USA
Saturday 5:30 PM
Sunday 9:00 AM
Sunday 10:30 AM
Online "Connection Card"
Thanks for joining us today! Follow this link to a simple online "Connection Card" where you can let us know you were here and share any prayer concerns.
http://bit.ly/2jWI2QtThe Text in Context
Bob Utley, "John 18" from the series The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John; I, II, and III John.
http://bit.ly/2iDaPeW
Raphael, The School of Athens, 1509 (detail). Fresco, Apostolic Palace, Rome.
Truth, Goodness, and Beauty— The Three Transcendentals
Excerpt from Peter Kreeft’s essay, “Lewis’s Philosophy of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty,” published by IVP Academic; Print on Demand edition, June 15, 2008.
http://bit.ly/2kgh09d
Michaelangelo, The Creation of Adam, 1508-1512. Fresco, Sistine Chapel, The Vatican.
Recovering Goodness, Beauty, and Truth
Andrew Fellows, "Recovering Goodness, Beauty, and Truth" (Excerpts from a Lecture) L'Abri Papers #AF02
http://bit.ly/2zJDvGr
Gerard van Honthorst, Adoration of the Shepherds (1622). Oil on canvas, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne

James Tissot, Jesus Before Pilate: First Interview. Brooklyn Museum.
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate was the fifth prefect of the Roman province of Judaea from AD 26–36. He served under Emperor Tiberius, and is best known today for the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. Wikipedia article.
http://bit.ly/2Akv8EmLiving as a Christian in a Post-Truth World
Karen Swallow, "Living as a Christian in a Post-truth World" Think Christian website, December 13, 2016.
http://bit.ly/2AOU6wuPostmodernism
Postmodernism describes a broad movement that developed in the mid- to late 20th century across philosophy, the arts, architecture and criticism which marked a departure from modernism… Postmodernism is typically defined by an attitude of skepticism, irony or rejection toward grand narratives, ideologies and various tenets of universalism, including objective notions of reason, human nature, social progress, moral universalism, absolute truth, and objective reality. Wikipedia article.
http://bit.ly/28KJYCYThe Sokol Hoax
The Sokal affair was a scholarly publishing hoax perpetrated by Alan Sokal, a physics professor at New York University and University College London. In 1996, Sokal submitted an article to Social Text, an academic journal of postmoderncultural studies. The submission was an experiment to test the journal's intellectual rigor and, specifically, to investigate whether "a leading North American journal of cultural studies… [would] publish an article liberally salted with nonsense if (a) it sounded good and (b) it flattered the editors' ideological preconceptions". Wikipedia article.
http://bit.ly/2iFaSa7
Gravity: It's not a social construct; it's a real thing.
1. Truth is…
1. Truth is objective— not just a private preference or subjective opinion.
What Does the Bible Say About Truth?
"What Does the Bible Say About Truth: 100 Bible Verses About Truth," Open Bible.
http://bit.ly/2to6Q63C.S. Lewis on Truth
Williams, Donald T., "A Tryst with the Transcendentals: C.S. Lewis on Beauty, Truth, and Goodness – Part II: Truth," Inklings Forever, 8 (2012).
http://bit.ly/2BGzHqKStudents Have 'Dismaying' Inability To Identify Fake News
Results from a study by Stanford researchers that evaluated students' ability to assess information sources. —Camila Domonoske, "Students Have 'Dismaying' Inability To Tell Fake News From Real, Study Finds" The Two Way: Breaking News From NPR, November 23, 2016.
http://n.pr/2AJV1ymChristmas and the Cause of Truth
John Piper, "Christmas and the Cause of Truth," Desiring God, December 21, 1980.
http://bit.ly/2zHzpOYFor Reflection/Discussion: What does the 2016 Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Year "post-truth" mean? Is there such a thing as Absolute Truth or is truth relative? Why is the sentence "There is no such thing as Absolute Truth" a self-refuting statement? How do you go about determining whether something is true or not? If you were a victim of "fake news" how would you know it? Why would you be tempted to deny it?
2. The Truth is…
2. The Truth is Personal.
Truth
Edgar V. McKnight, "Truth" Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991.
http://bit.ly/2kiW80JFor Reflection/Discussion: What does it mean to say that the Truth is Personal? Is it a personal opinion? Or has Truth come to us as a Person? The Greek word for truth— alethia— means not concealed, revealed, or disclosed.Why does the Truth about God have to be revealed to us? In what ways does God reveal Who He is to us? What, if anything, can we know about God apart from what He reveals to us?
3. The Truth has…
3. The Truth has consequences
God's Truth exposes…
God's Truth exposes untruth.

God's Truth brings…
God's Truth brings us freedom.
A commitment to the Truth will…
A commitment to the Truth will lead to salvation.
God's Truth should lead…
God's Truth should lead to godly living.
For Reflection/Discussion: In what way(s) is Truth a "formidable force" in the world? What does the Truth do, and how does the Truth impact people who follow Jesus Christ? What is our responsibility as Christians to search out, trust in, announce, share, demonstrate, and live out the Truth found in Jesus Christ?
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