Knowing God

May 03, 2014 mysticism ethics apologetics

I heard recently about a friend who went through a crisis of faith – finding himself uncertain of the truths that he had taken for granted for so long. His response was to devote the best of his considerable intellectual gifts to reading and research in the area of Christian philosophy and apologetics – so that he would be able to intellectually defend and articulate his faith. It was a hugely helpful exercise for him and today he confidently leads youth and adult discussions and lectures in the area of Christian apologetics. He inspires me to read more and think more! 

As important as the intellectual dimension is, my experience as I have aged (sheesh listen to that!) is that I have become less concerned or dogmatic about detail (precisely what happened when and where) and much more interested in the Person to whom we relate. When my faith feels shaken, my instinct is to look to the centuries of testimony of people who really knew God. Many of them would never be described as intellectuals, but their lived reality confirms again and again the stories of countless followers of Jesus. 

In our new preaching series starting this morning we are exploring that realm – the reality of being in relationship with a God who is alive and who speaks to us today. I hope that what we cover in the next six weeks will be helpful for you as together we look to grow and deepen a conversational relationship with God. 

If the cut and thrust of vigorous debate is more your thing, you may be keen to join us this evening at 6pm in our coffee shop for the start of a new series which will explore some of the controversial ethical issues that the church is faced with today. Kym and I will lead this together and will toss a coin each week to decide who gets to present which side of the argument. Come along and listen, or come and air your views in a friendly, relaxed, interactive setting. It's bound to stretch all of our thinking a little...