A Journey Through Doubt - How do We Believe?
Speaker: Pastor Pierre du Plessis
Read: Mark 9:24; Acts 9:3; 1 Corinthians 3:6; Philippians 3:5-8
Group Questions:
1. What resonated with you as you listened to this sermon and reviewed it?
2. Why do you think so many people read self-help books?
3. Three kinds of people were mentioned. Which one best describes you and why?
a. Children – who affectionately know God
b. Young men/women -in whom the word is alive
c. Fathers/mothers -who are acquainted with the wonders of His person.
4. Read Mark 9:1-24. How do you explain the tension between faith and doubt that the father was experiencing?
5. How does having a relationship with God anchor our faith?
6. Why, in this day and age, is it important to have a faith that is anchored?
7. Read Philippians 3:4-8. How does the Apostle Paul contrast his acquired knowledge and credentials with having a personal relationship with Christ?
Sermon Recap
We have learned that there is aways tension between faith and doubt. Doubt is not necessarily a negative emotion, but can be a motivator for us to seek answers to life’s questions. It is only an enemy to faith when it is allowed to turn one away from Jesus. We also live in a culture that emphasizes pragmatism, whereby the practical application of ideas is promoted and tested. Americans are especially wired for formulas and quick fixes and frequently seek to be told what they need to know. This is evidenced by the more than 45,300 new self-help books published each year. We must be careful that we don’t allow things that sound or look good sway our trust or uproot our faith. We need to develop a faith that anchors us. Knowledge is good, but knowledge and information do not equate to faith, nor can we argue or think ourselves into believing. Belief happens in an ecosystem in which it grows organically. Faith is much like a seed that is planted in a garden. It needs to fall on good soil, then be fertilized, cultivated and nurtured. Over a period of time it grows through a supernatural move of God. One can know a lot about God, but still not know Him. Until we have a personal encounter with God, we only have information. Relationship is at the core of finding faith that anchors beliefs, and relationship building takes time, intentionality and is a process. Scripture reading is key to building an intimate relationship with God, for it is God’s correspondence and conversation with us. As we read His word and spend time with Him, the seed of faith grows inside us, transformative belief occurs and we then develop anchoring faith.
