Pastor Bob Answers Hard Questions About Faith

We walked through real questions believers face and anchored our answers in Scripture and a pastoral heart. When sharing with those who don’t believe in God, argument rarely opens hearts; love, prayer, and personal testimony tend to disarm defensiveness and invite honest seeking. For the skeptic willing to consider, “If God were real, would you want to know Him?” becomes a doorway to prayer and encounter. I encouraged discernment: don’t cast pearls into hostile debates, but don’t prejudge either—look for hunger and pray for God to reveal Himself.

We considered why “the third day” matters. In the Jewish mind, three signals completeness and permanence. Jesus’ three days in the grave fulfill a pattern that says the atonement is a finished, complete work. On what Jesus did between death and resurrection, Scripture leaves room for debate; what’s clear is that “It is finished” was accomplished on the cross, and He was not paying for sins in hell.

We wrestled with authenticity: activity, gifts, or ministry success aren’t proof of knowing Jesus. Judas reminds us you can stand near Jesus and still resist Him. True faith bears the fruit of repentance over time. We traced how ethnic diversity could arise from language, culture, and geographic separation after Babel; we affirmed that in Christ there is one human family. On Sabbath, we saw how Christ Himself is our rest; honoring Him by faith fulfills the shadow.

We addressed cremation as a matter of freedom and conscience, not sin; God raises dust and ocean alike. We talked candidly about sexual temptation in a digital age: expect a battle, make no provision for the flesh, and learn to walk by the Spirit so desires are not gratified. Then we moved from duty to desire: surrender fuels intimacy, and disciplined habits—time in the Word, prayer, presence—become the trellis where love grows. Finally, we held to the essentials that unite the church—triune God, the person and work of Christ, salvation by grace through faith, His return, and the authority of Scripture—while giving liberty in non-essentials and love in all things.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Stop arguing; pray and testify Arguments harden positions; love and prayer soften hearts. Asking honest, invitational questions reframes the conversation from winning debates to welcoming encounter. Your story is not a thesis to refute; it’s a witness that invites curiosity and hope. Look for hunger, avoid fruitless debate, and trust God to open eyes. [05:07]
• 2. The third day means completeness In Scripture, three signals permanence in God’s economy. Jesus’ three days in the grave echo Jonah and finalize the atonement as a complete, unrepeatable work. Resurrection on the third day proclaims not delay, but fullness—salvation secured and death defeated. [07:43]
• 3. Christ is our Sabbath rest God’s rest is not a calendar constraint but a Person to whom we come. In Jesus, we cease from self-salvation projects and receive the rest He finished for us. The shadow pointed to Him; the substance is found by faith, not by a particular day. [24:26]
• 4. Walk by the Spirit daily Temptation will come; your aim is not to erase desire but to refuse its gratification. Walking by the Spirit reorders loves, fortifies will, and equips immediate responses to lies with truth. Pair spiritual vigilance with practical safeguards and honest accountability. [35:18]
• 5. Discipline that deepens intimacy Training for godliness is training for devotion—habits that make space for presence. Surrender invites the Spirit’s power; discipline plants that power into time, attention, and affection. Over time, duty ripens into desire, and love becomes the engine of obedience. [45:59]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:33] - Reaching those who deny God
• [05:36] - Why the third day matters
• [08:11] - Where was Jesus after death?
• [14:07] - “Lord, Lord” and true discipleship
• [20:08] - How ethnic diversity developed
• [22:58] - Is Sunday breaking the Sabbath?
• [26:39] - Cremation, burial, and hope
• [33:37] - Fighting lust in a digital age
• [41:22] - From belief to surrendered life
• [45:59] - Training for intimacy with God
• [48:21] - Essentials worth uniting around
• [51:45] - Body, soul, and the resurrection
• [58:19] - Renouncing versus repenting
• [64:38] - Prayer and sending

1. Read 1 Corinthians 15:3–4. What are the historical claims Paul hands down as “of first importance”? How did the preacher explain the meaning of “the third day” in Jewish thought and why that matters for the atonement? [07:43]
2. Read Matthew 7:6. What warning does Jesus give about sharing holy things? Which examples from the sermon illustrated when arguing hardens people and when prayer/testimony opens a door? [05:07]
3. Read Galatians 5:16. What does Paul promise will happen when a believer “walks by the Spirit”? What practical measures did the speaker recommend for protecting against strong temptation in a digital age? [35:18]

1. How should the group understand the preacher’s point that “third day” signals completeness rather than a timetable only? If the resurrection on the third day signals finished, unrepeatable atonement, what practical comfort or correction follows for a person troubled by guilt? [07:43]
2. The sermon urged, “don’t argue; pray and testify.” How should Matthew 7:6 guide a believer’s choice to enter or leave a conversation? What concrete signs would indicate to someone that a conversation is now fruitless and it’s time to stop arguing and start praying or testifying instead? [05:07]
3. The preacher quoted Galatians 5:16 and said believers will still have desires but should not gratify them. How should the church understand the difference between having temptations and being enslaved by them? What role do personal will, the Spirit’s power, and practical safeguards play together? [35:18]
4. The sermon named a short list of “essentials” worth uniting around. What practical tests can the church use to decide whether a belief or practice is an essential (one that affects being a Christian) or a non‑essential where liberty is allowed? [48:21]

1. Think of one person in your life who says “there is no God” or is closed to faith. Instead of arguing, what specific question will you try this week to open a different kind of conversation (for example, “If God were real, would you want to know Him?”)? When will you pray for that person this week? [03:16]
2. Name one relationship or situation where you habitually enter debates over secondary issues. What is one concrete action you will take this month to stop arguing there and instead either (a) pray for the person, (b) simply tell your testimony, or (c) ask invitational questions? Set a date and a first step. [05:07]
3. Write down one guilt, fear, or habit you try to “fix” by your own effort. How will you remind yourself this week of the finished work of Christ (a short verse, a written note, a phone lock screen, a 10‑second prayer) so you can rest in “It is finished” rather than keep striving? [09:17]
4. Choose two concrete safeguards you will put in place this week to “make no provision for the flesh” (examples: install a content filter, set device‑free hours, unsubscribe from triggering accounts, arrange weekly accountability check‑ins). Who will be your accountability partner and when will you contact them? [35:18]
5. Pick one daily discipline this week to deepen intimacy with Christ (examples: 10 minutes of Scripture first thing, a 5‑minute breath prayer at midday, journaling reflections each night). Specify what you will do, when, and for how many days this week. [45:59]
6. This week, plan one concrete way to enter Sabbath rest in Christ (not only a change of schedule but a spiritual rest). What will you stop doing, and what will you do instead to receive Jesus’ rest (read a short passage, silence your phone for an afternoon, go for a prayer walk)? [24:26]
7. Think of a fellow believer who holds a different view on a non‑essential (worship form, funeral choice, Christian subculture issues). In your next conversation with them, what two phrases will you use to show “liberty in non‑essentials and love in all things”? (Make them simple and practice them now.) [48:21]