Week 4 - Is All of This True? 03/29/2026

But if you've ever been to court, you know there's always a cross examination. And in the cross examination, you get a chance to get all of your questions answered. So here's what we find. Blind faith is belief without evidence. Blind faith is belief without evidence but biblical faith. Say that with me. Biblical faith. Biblical faith. Is trust based on sufficient reason. Faith is not the absence of evidence. Somewhere we've missed the boat. Maybe it's because we don't know all we need to know. Maybe we feel like at times somebody's gonna ask us something we can't answer. But, Bruce, I'm glad there's plenty of answers in the word of god. And we don't have to go far to find the answers to the questions. And listen, our faith is not blind faith, but our faith is rooted in confidence in the evidence that we have. [01:15:37] (54 seconds)  #FaithWithEvidence

So we do not have physical access to Jesus like Thomas did, but we have evidence. Historical, biblical, we have eyewitness testimonies, we had the scriptures that have been preserved, and we have the ongoing witness of transformed lives around us. So, faith today is not inferior. It's built on testimony. So, let's take it one step further. Every worldview requires a step of faith. No matter what it is. Atheism assumes no god without being able to prove it. Naturalism assumes only material reality but Christianity. It invites a step of trust based on evidence. The question is not whether or not you have faith. The question is where you place it. [01:21:01] (56 seconds)  #TrustTheTestimony

Wasn't he just being honest with him? Wasn't he just Ricky? Wasn't he Richie? Wasn't he being real with him? It wasn't it wasn't fake or phony, and god doesn't deal well with fake and phony. Amen. He wants us to be real with him. Yeah. And when we're real with him, he will take time with us. He didn't Thomas didn't pretend to believe. He didn't fake certainty. He asked for evidence and Jesus said, look, come, touch, and see. You see, Christianity is uniquely open to examination. Other belief systems often discourage questioning, but the New Testament documents of questions and doubts and struggles, even the resurrection accounts invite scrutiny. [01:14:25] (48 seconds)  #RealWithGod

Faith grows when we respond to the degree of light, knowledge we already have. So today, my challenge is take a step. Not towards certainty but towards trust. So, if you're here today, here's what I want you to understand. So, what if doubt isn't the enemy? So, what? If it's the beginning of the journey. What if your questions are not barriers to your faith but they're invitations to the faith. [01:22:03] (35 seconds)  #StepIntoTrust

Third thing I'm gonna tell you, cynicism closes what faith opens. In Matthew thirteen and fifty eight, Jesus in his own hometown could do very few miracles because of disbelief. He did not do many miracles there because of the lack of faith. In verse 58, here's the key point. There's a difference between doubt ask questions. Cynicism assumes there's no answer. Doubt is open. Cynicism is closed. The people of Nazareth saw Jesus, but they dismissed him not because of a lack of evidence but because of familiarity and a bias that they had. So many objections to Christianity are not purely intellectual. They often are moral or emotional. Things like this would be said. [01:17:16] (55 seconds)  #DoubtOpensCynicismCloses

You're no longer gonna be a doubting Thomas. You're gonna be an honest person with yourself and honest with god. God, I've heard about you all my life. God, I've known about you. I've been to church before but god, today, I wanna receive you personally and I want my sins forgiven and I want to accept the atoning work of the cross of Calvary. It will happen this week as historically. For our past. But today it can happen for you immediately. That you can receive forgiveness of sin and you can eternal life through Christ Jesus. [01:28:50] (42 seconds)  #AcceptChristToday

do we apply? Glad you asked. Bring your questions to god. Number one, investigate, read, study, ask. God is not afraid of your search. In fact, in Isaiah one eighteen, you might wanna pencil that in real quick. The word of the lord says, come. Let us reason together. Another translation says it this way, let come. Let us settle the matter together. Wow. Let us settle the matter together. That's good. So, here's here's where doubt becomes dangerous. If doubt is not the enemy, can it become dangerous? Absolutely. Not when we ask questions, that's not the problem, but when we stop seeking answers. [01:16:33] (43 seconds)  #ReasonTogether

I like to put what's comfortable or what we already want. Truth is more important than what we have discovered on our own. Practical application. How do we apply it? Examine not just your questions, but examine the posture by which you ask your questions. Are you seeking truth or avoiding or rejecting it? And then the last thing I'll tell you today because here's the final movement. What happens when doubt meets Jesus? Jesus meets us in our doubt. [01:18:41] (32 seconds)  #SeekTruthNotComfort