We're launching our series around The Case for Christ and the opportunity we've been given to investigate the credibility of faith. Many folks have questions, doubts, struggles and things they wrestle with as it comes to searching out and understanding Christianity and faith. Maybe as we lean into this series, some of your struggles will begin to sift out to a place of viability and possibility. If you've never read the book: The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel - why not give it a look. Lee was an investigative reporter at the Chicago Tribune who set out to disprove the claims of Christianity as an atheist and skeptic. After researching for months, interviewing specialist and weighing the facts, his journey took a turn toward God. Read the book. Go see the movie about his life that's in theaters now - it's a true, authentic look at his journey of skeptic into the case for Christ.

We all wrestle with things in life... you may even wrestle with faith. In fact, you may be here wrestling with faith, and what priority it should play or if it should play a role in your life at all. Maybe you’ve wondered if there is more to life than chasing the things under the sun and the normal rhythms of your days. Maybe you’d simply label yourself as a ‘searcher’, trying to search things out, to understand what’s true…maybe you label yourself a skeptic or atheist. But perhaps you're interested in wrestling with the truth for yourself. God loves to meet those that search...

Sticking Point #1: "I can't believe." -- many take a position that they simply can't believe in faith. This struggle is often expressed by people with intellectual issues / hurdles blocking their spiritual path. They have a question, doubt or an objection that is stopping them in their journey toward God.

When we seek God, God promises to meet us. When we turn in God’s direction, we’ll discover God has always been turned in ours. He’s not distant or aloof = he’s actually attentive and seeking to connect with you…

Spiritual Sticking Point #2: I Don’t Want to Believe - for people who struggle with this issue of not wanting to believe, their true spiritual sticking point is not a knowledge problem; it’s often a lifestyle problem. We don't want God to 'mess with our lives' and living. We may even struggle with a fear of intimacy or have a hidden authority obstacle. = remember: God’s goal isn’t to boss us around, but to guide us into our greatest purpose and potential and to protect us from our own self-destructive behavior. Isn’t that the kind of loving authority we all need in our lives? Maybe the trajectory God desires for your life will actually lead you to a better conclusion than what you have been trying to carve out for yourself... (see John 3:19)

Spiritual Sticking Point #3: I Don’t Know What to Believe - many folks desire to seek out things spiritually, they may even try reading the Bible and get confused, bogged down and give up. The key to accurately understanding the Bible is the same as the key to understanding any communication—you must study to determine what the writer actually meant. Not what we want it to say; not to interpret it for our benefit; not to read our biases into it—but to figure out what the writer intended to communicate.
Now, listen, there are difficult sections of the Bible, and well-intentioned people can legitimately debate the finer points.
But when it comes to the critical central message of what you and I need to know the most, there’s no ambiguity. Who is Jesus and what does the Bible say about what we're supposed to do about him?

You don’t have to know everything in the Bible - to know something about the God of the Bible. = He loves you and wants a relationship with you. (read John 1:11-12, John 3:16-17 and Romans 10:9-13)

You owe it to yourself to investigate the Case for Christ …go on your own journey. Where are you on the journey of investigating the Case for Christ?
What obstacles or sticking points stand in your way? Would you be willing to turn in God’s direction – seek Him and ask Him to meet you where you’re at...

Need Prayer? We have some of our prayer team and pastors available following the service down front.