These are my notes from last week's youth group. We are looking at evidences of God to the objection "God doesn't exist. If he does prove it!!!!"
I will admit that what I am going to share is not the strongest piece of evidence of God's existence, but it is evidence nonetheless. Grouped together with the other evidence it adds weight to the argument for God's existence.
How do you know when a person’s life has been truly changed? Evidence!! People don’t change just because they feel like changing. They usually change because of something that has happened in their lives. Those who completely change their lives, and with time prove that the change is permanent, usually have had something significant happen to cause such change. For the religious this is usually the result of some “religious experience.” What caused a nation, such as Israel, to develop it's belief in God? What has caused the lives of countless people to change? The answer is God working in their lives.
One example is John Newton. The movie "Amazing Grace" has brought this man to the attention of the masses, but before this movie came out not too many people knew about him. John was one of the vilest men a person might meet. He pursued lustful pleasures, he was extremely violent and he was a slave trader. Life changed for him when he himself was sold into slavery. He called out to God and was forever changed. He became an ordained minister and is most famous for writing the song “Amazing Grace.”
This is just one example amongst millions of people who have experienced a life change as result of their meeting with Christ. It is important that we experience God in our lives. I am not saying we need to experience him to the extent Pentecostals experience him, but I am saying that if we have a relationship with God then "experiences" should happen. What experiences? Answers to prayer. Divine help in turning our life around. Peace and joy. All these things are a result of being in a relationship with God. They are also things, for the most part, that people of the world don't experience.
Don't cut your "experiences" short. There are people out there who are more willing to accept Christ on the basis of your experience then on your educated arguments. There must be a balance of the two. The evidences we are discussing work with each other. They don't work against each other.
I will admit that what I am going to share is not the strongest piece of evidence of God's existence, but it is evidence nonetheless. Grouped together with the other evidence it adds weight to the argument for God's existence.
How do you know when a person’s life has been truly changed? Evidence!! People don’t change just because they feel like changing. They usually change because of something that has happened in their lives. Those who completely change their lives, and with time prove that the change is permanent, usually have had something significant happen to cause such change. For the religious this is usually the result of some “religious experience.” What caused a nation, such as Israel, to develop it's belief in God? What has caused the lives of countless people to change? The answer is God working in their lives.
One example is John Newton. The movie "Amazing Grace" has brought this man to the attention of the masses, but before this movie came out not too many people knew about him. John was one of the vilest men a person might meet. He pursued lustful pleasures, he was extremely violent and he was a slave trader. Life changed for him when he himself was sold into slavery. He called out to God and was forever changed. He became an ordained minister and is most famous for writing the song “Amazing Grace.”
This is just one example amongst millions of people who have experienced a life change as result of their meeting with Christ. It is important that we experience God in our lives. I am not saying we need to experience him to the extent Pentecostals experience him, but I am saying that if we have a relationship with God then "experiences" should happen. What experiences? Answers to prayer. Divine help in turning our life around. Peace and joy. All these things are a result of being in a relationship with God. They are also things, for the most part, that people of the world don't experience.
Don't cut your "experiences" short. There are people out there who are more willing to accept Christ on the basis of your experience then on your educated arguments. There must be a balance of the two. The evidences we are discussing work with each other. They don't work against each other.
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