I Peter 3:15

We should be asking religious questions and be ready to answer them!

Isn’t faith just believing without evidence?

• Dr. Jeff Miller – Faith is not belief without evidence!

• Dr. Richard Dawkins – “Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of lack of evidence.”

• Blind faith is not biblical faith!

• Mark 2:5-12 – Jesus heals the paralytic man.

• John 20:24-31 – Thomas confesses faith in Jesus upon seeing the evidence.

• Acts 2:32

• Biblical faith is built on evidence.

Hasn’t science disproven the Bible?

• Psalms 19:1-6 – The universe points to God.

• Many scientists are heavily biased against God. Many scientists refuse to allow for the existence of the supernatural. Only natural processes and explanations are allowed.

• Richard Lewontin: “… we have a prior commitment … to materialism. … We cannot allow a Divine foot in the door.”

• Romans 1:20

• ApologeticsPress.org

Why can’t I just believe what I want?

• Truth is not subjective!

• Acts 26:9

• Acts 17:11

• Romans 10:1-4, 14-17

• We don’t invent truth – we discover it!

• II Timothy 2:15

• When we encounter a question, let’s investigate it!

John 18:37-40 – “What is truth?”

There is one, objective truth.

• I Corinthians 1:18-20

• I Corinthians 14:20 – God wants us to be good thinkers!

• Dr. Frank Turek – I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist

• Common rebuttals:

  • “There is no truth.” > Is that true?

  • “We can’t know anything.” > Then how do you know that?

  • “All truth is relative.” > Is that truth relative?

  • “There are no absolutes.” > Is that an absolute?

  • “It’s true for you but not for me.”

• I Corinthians 2:5

God’s Word is that truth.

• II Timothy 3:16-17

• Each of us needs to examine the evidence for the inspiration of the Bible.

  • Scientific foreknowledge

  • Historical reliability

  • Fulfilled prophecy

  • ApologeticsPress.org is a good resource for information.

• Titus 1:2

• Acts 5:30

• What’s the truth about the death of Jesus?

  • Bible: Acts 5:30

  • Quran: Surah 4:157 – “They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him …”

• All religious teachings in the world can’t be true!

• Romans 3:4

Satan tries to suppress God’s truth

• Genesis 3:1-5

• Isaiah 5:20-21

• John 8:44-47

This results in religious and moral confusion.

• “You shouldn’t judge me.”

  • Matthew 7:1-5 – Jesus was teaching against hypocritical judging.

  • I John 4:1

  • Galatians 1:8

  • Aren’t you judging me for judging you?

  • People aren’t really against judging – just judging they don’t like!

• “Homosexuality is not sinful.”

  • Romans 1:25-27

  • “Being against homosexuality is like being racist!”

    • Race is sacred. Genesis 1:27. Racism opposes what God has designed.

    • Sexuality is sacred. Hebrews 13:4. Homosexuality opposes what God has designed.

• “Pretty much everyone is going to Heaven.”

  • Stephen Hawking

  • Mark 9:42-48 – Jesus warned about the reality of hell!

• “Pornography doesn’t harm anyone.”

  • Matthew 5:27-30

  • Matthew 18:6

• “I can choose my own gender.”

  • The commonalities between body integrity disorder and eating disorders.

  • God created people as males and females. A very small percentage are born with indistinct genitalia.

    • Matthew 19:12 – Some are born eunuchs.

    • Matthew 19:4-6

We need to confront Satan’s lies with the truth of God’s Word!

• John 1:1-5, 9-11; 3:19-21

• John 8:31-32 – If we obey Jesus, we can be free from sin!

• John 9:34; 11:53 – Rejection and suppression of truth.

• John 14:6

Introduction

• Matthew 22:37-39 – The two greatest commands. Love God and love your neighbor.

• How do we harness the incredibly powerful tool that social media is for good?

• Social media is like a car. By itself, it is not moral or immoral.

Ways to use social media for good:

• Be holy (different)

  • I Peter 1:13-16 – We should stand out and be different from the world.

  • I Peter 2:12 – We should be pure and holy online just as we should be in the physical world.

  • Ephesians 5:3-12 – With social media, we have the ability to show what we like and support.

• Extend your influence

  • Matthew 5:16

  • Acts 28:30-31

  • Matthew 25:31-36

  • Social media is a force multiplier. We should use it to influence others for good!

  • Social media can have a negative effect if everyone is glued to their phones and we don’t talk to each other.

  • Romans 12:13; James 1:27 – We have a charge to be aware of other’s needs and help them!

  • Use social media as a tool, not as a replacement or distraction.

  • Sherry Turkle – Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age

    • We are losing the skill of empathizing with each other.

    • Matthew 7:12; Titus 3:2; Galatians 5:13 – Show consideration for each other and serve each other.

    • Just the presence of a phone on the table changes the conversation and level of interaction.

• Speak with grace

  • Colossians 4:3-6

  • James 3:5-6

  • I Peter 3:9 – Don’t return evil for evil.

  • Proverbs 12:18

  • Words of kindness can stop one from spiraling into depression.

  • Proverbs 16:24

• Seek out spiritual food

  • I Peter 2:2

  • Proverbs 13:20 – Walk with the wise.

  • Proverbs 15:14 – The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge.

Introduction

• Ecclesiastes 11:9

• II Timothy 4:3-4

• James 1:21-25

Implant God’s word on your heart

• Marriage is permanent!

  • Matthew 19:1-9

  • Malachi 2:16 – “I hate divorce.”

  • I Corinthians 6:9-10 – Adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

• It all starts in your heart!

  • Matthew 5:27-29

  • Matthew 15:19

  • Ephesians 5:25-33

  • Dave Carder – Anatomy of an Affair

Develop companionship with your spouse.

• Genesis 1:27, 31 – Eve made the difference between “not good” and “very good” for Adam.

• Genesis 2:18-24 – The purpose of marriage is companionship.

• Malachi 2:14

• Ephesians 5:25-33 – “Husbands, love your wives.” Be careful that outside friendships don’t interfere with the companionship in marriage.

• I Corinthians 7:3-5

• Song of Solomon

• Proverbs 5:18 – “rejoice in the wife of your youth”

Don’t be naïve – avoid close calls!

• Genesis 39:6-12

• I Corinthians 6:18 – “flee sexual immorality”

• II Samuel 11:2-4

• Proverbs 5:3, 8

• Proverbs 6:24-25

• Proverbs 7:4-8, 19-27 – Don’t mentally or physically go that way!

• Romans 13:13-14 – “make no provision for the flesh”

If we do these things, we’re telling our spouse:

• “I’m here for you forever!”

• “I’m going to share my life with you!”

• “I’m going to destroy any threats to US!”

Matthew 22:36-39 – The two greatest commandments: love the Lord your God and love your neighbor.

Luke 6:46

James 1:26 – If we love God, we must bridle our tongues.

I John 1:6-7; 2:3-6; 4:7-8, 20-21; 5:1-3 – Loving God means keeping His commandments. It’s more than just saying we love God.

Read the Bible!

• II Timothy 3:16-17 – The Bible is from God!

• Read daily. Start today!

Oneida Community (1848-1879)

• They believed that Jesus returned in 70 AD and that heavenly laws should be followed on earth.

• No traditional marriage. All women married to all men. Children were raised by the community.

• This is an example of wrong idea about the family.

Squash selfishness!

• Matthew 20:20-28

• II Corinthians 5:14-15

• I Corinthians 13:5 – Love does not seek its own.

• Luke 9:23

• Luke 14:11

• Luke 17:10

• Survey: The New Moral Code

• Studies show that students today have higher intellectual confidence than in 1962, but are actually less capable.

• Philippians 2:3-8 – Regard others above yourself.

Take action as a parent!

• Deuteronomy 6:1-13

• Talk about God with your children!

• Proverbs 1:8-9

• Ephesians 6:1-4 – Children, obey your parents! Fathers, bring up your children in the Lord!

• Colossians 3:20-21

• Titus 2:4 – Women, love your husbands and children.

• Hebrews 12:7-11

• Baumrind’s Parenting Styles

  • Warm love vs. disciplinary love

  • Neglectful (little warm love, little discipline) – Proverbs 13:24

  • Permissive (much warm love, little discipline) – Proverbs 29:13

  • Authoritarian (little warm love, much discipline) – Colossians 3:21

  • Authoritative (much warm love, much discipline) – Ephesians 6:4

  • Children from authoritative parents did the best across the board. Authoritative parents demand a lot, but also give a lot of warm love.

  • These are the same parenting styles God talks about in the Bible!

• If we trust what God has told us, our families will thrive.

Acts 17:30-31