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“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him, but they doubted.” -Matthew 28:16-17 Do you wrestle with doubt? We may not admit it or talk about it very often, but I suspect we all have doubts and questions about faith. Even as Christians, we look around at the hurt and brokenness in this world, and we wonder where God is. We read the violence, patriarchy, and exclusion in the Bible, and wonder how all this can be God’s word. We see the radically different opinions and views held by Christians, and wonder at the church’s claim to be Christ’s body.
It’s important to know that having doubts does not imply a lack of faith. Rather, doubt is part of faith, because doubt means you’re wrestling with faith. Doubt is a sign faith matters. United Methodist Pastor Adam Hamilton writes, “Doubt is not only natural, it is healthy, provided it spurs us on to further reflection and a search for what is true.” Faith should be wrestled with, and we should question—and let’s bring our questions to the One we trust to have the answers. One of my favorite sentences in the Bible is in Mark 9:24, where a father seeking healing for his son cries out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
Often, I think when we’re faced with big questions, questions about God’s existence, about Jesus’ resurrection, about the afterlife, we assume everyone else must have the answers. But the reality is we all are wrestling with these big questions of faith. Yet in church—in the exact community where we should feel safe digging in—we can just take them for granted.
This fall, we’re going to spend six weeks beginning September 14 looking at big questions of faith like Is there a God? Is Heaven Real? The Good Book? Wrestling with the Bible, and more, in a sermon series called Wrestling with Doubt, Finding Faith, based on the book of the same title by Adam Hamilton
These might not be the most comfortable questions to wrestle with (honestly, I’m a little nervous about preaching on some of these topics!), but I think they’re honest questions. As Christians and as a church, we don’t need to be afraid to honestly engage with tough topics. Instead of avoiding the big questions of life, instead of assuming everyone else must have it all figured out, let’s wrestle with our doubts and questions together.
For some of these questions, there may not be a definitive answer for us to reach. The best we can do might be to accept that it’s a mystery. But as we wrestle together, we can grow together. Questions and doubt are not the enemy of faith. They’re the path to a deeper faith. I’m excited to go on this journey with you. See you in worship!
Visit this link for more information and links to the service livestreams: https://ctkport.org/findingfaith/
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
420 W Whitefish Rd, Port Washington, WI, United States, Wisconsin 53074
