Central Assembly
April 24, 2022 | Dr. Jim Bradford | WHEN JESUS STEPS IN...to our Doubts
April 24, 2022 | Dr. Jim Bradford | WHEN JESUS STEPS IN...to our Doubts
Locations & Times
Central Assembly
1301 N Boonville Ave, Springfield, MO 65802, USA
Sunday 9:00 AM
Sunday 10:45 AM
Just like us . . .
* Thomas the hero
* Thomas the hero
Just like us . . .
* Thomas the hero
* Thomas the inquirer
* Thomas the hero
* Thomas the inquirer
Just like us . . .
* Thomas the hero
* Thomas the inquirer
* Thomas the doubter
* Thomas the hero
* Thomas the inquirer
* Thomas the doubter
But there is a way back . . .
Angela Donadio and Hubert Morris, Brave Enough to Believe
“First came the invitation, 'Thomas, come closer.' Then came the imperative: 'Stop doubting and believe.' Jesus doesn’t say, 'Thomas, stop doubting, and then I’ll let you get close to Me.' Before Jesus ever issued a command, He initiated restoration. Jesus didn’t withdraw from Thomas, and He doesn’t withdraw from us."
“We are not the sum total of our worst moments. We are known, wanted, and loved by the God who created us. No matter what we have done, or what has been done to us, when we encounter Jesus, we are invited in. He doesn’t want us to wait until we’ve figured it all out to move toward Him.”
“First came the invitation, 'Thomas, come closer.' Then came the imperative: 'Stop doubting and believe.' Jesus doesn’t say, 'Thomas, stop doubting, and then I’ll let you get close to Me.' Before Jesus ever issued a command, He initiated restoration. Jesus didn’t withdraw from Thomas, and He doesn’t withdraw from us."
“We are not the sum total of our worst moments. We are known, wanted, and loved by the God who created us. No matter what we have done, or what has been done to us, when we encounter Jesus, we are invited in. He doesn’t want us to wait until we’ve figured it all out to move toward Him.”
So stay open to finding faith . . .
1. Doubt your doubts
1. Doubt your doubts
Terry Eagleton, Marzist Scholar
“Reason, to be sure, doesn’t go all the way down for believers, but it doesn't for most sensitive, civilized non-religious types either. Even Richard Dawkins lives more by faith than by reason. We hold many beliefs that have no unimpeachable rational justification.”
“Reason, to be sure, doesn’t go all the way down for believers, but it doesn't for most sensitive, civilized non-religious types either. Even Richard Dawkins lives more by faith than by reason. We hold many beliefs that have no unimpeachable rational justification.”
So stay open to finding faith . . .
1. Doubt your doubts
2. Touch the evidence
1. Doubt your doubts
2. Touch the evidence
Tim Keller, The Reason for God
“Christians do not claim that their faith gives them…absolute knowledge of reality. But they believe that the Christian account of things--creation, fall, redemption, and restoration--makes the most sense of the world. I ask you to put on Christianity like a pair of spectacles and look at the world with it. See what power it has to explain what we know and see.”
“Christians do not claim that their faith gives them…absolute knowledge of reality. But they believe that the Christian account of things--creation, fall, redemption, and restoration--makes the most sense of the world. I ask you to put on Christianity like a pair of spectacles and look at the world with it. See what power it has to explain what we know and see.”
Wolfhart Pannenberg, German theologian
“The evidence for Jesus' resurrection is so strong that nobody would question it except for two things: First, it is a very unusual event. And second, if you believe it happened, you have to change the way you live.”
“The evidence for Jesus' resurrection is so strong that nobody would question it except for two things: First, it is a very unusual event. And second, if you believe it happened, you have to change the way you live.”
So stay open to finding faith . . .
1. Doubt your doubts
2. Touch the evidence
3. Experience a "My Lord and my God" moment
1. Doubt your doubts
2. Touch the evidence
3. Experience a "My Lord and my God" moment