07/23/2024
Quotes that Resonate with Pastor Jessica’s Sermon on Faithful Doubting
As Pastor Jessica made clear in her sermon Sunday, doubt can actually be beneficial to faith, as it often leads to deeper understanding, stronger convictions, and a more mature spiritual journey. My research assistant, ChatGPT, helped me find the following quotes. See if any of them help you take Jessica’s sermon a little further into your week!
Frederick Buechner wrote, "Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving."
C.S. Lewis, chimes right in: "If ours is an examined faith, we should be unafraid to doubt. If doubt is eventually justified, we were believing what clearly was not worth believing. But if doubt is answered, our faith has grown stronger. It knows God more certainly and it can enjoy God more deeply."
Pastor Tim Keller has said, "A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic."
Novelist and Christian essayist, Anne Lamott, has written, "The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns."
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Sunday, we considered Jesus’ disruptive actions in the Temple in light of his frustration with keeping gentiles from worshipping in their designated courtyard. We then reflected on how we still tend to throw up roadblocks to those who don’t normally attend church. I found the following, but didn’t have space for it in the sermon. It’s provocative and worth chewing on for a while.
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I came across this list which feels a little like a "Greatest Hits of Jesus' Ministry". I share it with you today for your inspiration and edification. Enjoy!