Ecclesiastes 4:7-12
70% to 80% of Christian youth leave the church when they leave for college. Adults have the same problem. A firebrand of wood loses its flame fairly quickly when removed from the rest of the wood in the fire. There is power in small groups who support you, particularly when you don’t think you need their support. That’s why I have an accountability person. God’s fire is way too valuable to risk extinguishing.
Luke 1:46-55
“The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world” is a poem published in 1865. Of first importance in child rearing is to teach our children how to hear from God, and Scripture is the primary source for that. This morning we will receive an introduction to “SOAP,” a simple and powerful way for the Bible to come alive in your life and in the life of your children.
Today the students in the Confirmation class become confirmed. Hopefully, Christianity has become more plausible to them, having completed the course. It is time for them and all of us to reflect on where to go from here. It’s the first day in the rest of our lives.
John 1:1-18
It is time to draw together the various criticisms we have been examining in “Belief in an Age of Skepticism” and view the story of Christianity as a whole. The Bible has often been summed up as a drama in four acts: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. They all make up the dance of God.
John 20:1-23
If Jesus rose from the dead, it changes everything, even for non believers. It is not enough to simply believe Jesus did not rise from the dead. A non-believer must then come up with a historically feasible alternative explanation for the birth of the church, among other things. This is a glorious day indeed.