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."
Archived Posts
Let’s Not Overlook Joseph of Nazareth
I asked my research assistant—a certain ChatGPT—what the most interesting facet of Joseph’s life might be. She shared a couple of things that didn’t make it into Sunday’s sermon but you might still find inspirational...
Key Takeaway from Sunday
If I had to identify a specific take away from
Sunday’s sermon it would probably be this:
The Rest of the Story
I mentioned Russell Conwell in Sunday’s message. He was a famous preacher, educator, and lecturer. His sermon/lecture “Acres of Diamonds” was turned into a book and sold rather well. I used Conwell’s illustrations to talk about sharing the good news of Jesus with those closest to us first—family, friends, coworkers, and church family. The wider world is our ultimate aim, but until you invest in the people God has already put in your life, you are unlikely to have much success.
No One Said It Would be Easy
To love Jesus first is to learn to love all the other people in our lives with greater intensity and less selfishness
What’s Saved Is Often Lost
Here’s the benediction we didn’t have time for yesterday (Sunday, November 3). It’s one of my favorite quotations (portions of a newspaper column). I hope you find it as inspiring as I have
Leftovers Continued…
It’s not just the fact that God is un-impressed by our leftovers, it actually goes deeper than that. In a sense, Jesus is passionately and purposely opposed to anything leftover. To be a follower of Jesus Christ is to work diligently to make sure that in the end nothing at all is left over.
Less Stuff and Fewer Wants
Here’s a point I left off Sunday’s sermon due to time and length. In dealing with an Entitled mindset it is very helpful if you can Reduce Materialism and Consumerism.