Make it make sense (3)

INTRO

Origin Story - Everyone loves one

Batman begins

Harry Potter

My origin story - Called to ministry

Origin stories answer the unanswered questions

Past couple of week - Questions make us wonder

This week - Wrap up before fall break/practice - What are the building blocks? Whats the origin story?

The thing about origin stories - some parts are vastly more important than others.

INTERACTIVE

Blocks on top

Blocks in the middle

Blocks on bottom - Foundation - Make it fall

We have to make sure that whats on the bottom is strong enough to hold up the rest.

Same with our understanding of our world and faith - Foundation has to be strong.

So whats our foundation built on?

Bible stories

Others’ expectations

Trauma tradgedy

• But here’s the problem: What happens when that layer just doesn’t hold up anymore?

What happens when a church hurts us?

What happens when tradgedy seems to keep striking?

What happens when someone challenges our faith, and we start to wonder ourselves?

Well then we have a problem.

If your foundation is weak and if someone can disprove your foundation, all the faith you’ve built can come crashing down.

Good news? Doesnt have to be that way.

• We can build our faith on a foundation that has stood for 2,000 years AND was actually

intended to be the foundation of every Christian’s faith from the beginning.

So whats our bottom block?

Context

Jesus’ crucifixion

Why he had to die

What that means for us

Context - Matthew and the women

Matthew 28:2–6 “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”

He didnt stay dead. He beat death, and rose to life.

He is now seated at the right hand of God.

Science obviously goes against this fact, and this is just a crossroad where the two dont meet.

However it did happen, there have been many try to disprove it thorugh many theories, but none have been proven accurate.

He rose, he appeared to some 500 odd people, then ascended into heaven, then the church began, and has grown to where we are today.

That is the most important block. (Start rebuilding on top of the brick)

• One of the most famous Christians of all time, Paul, said this in a letter to the church in Corinth . . .

o And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (1 Corinthians 15:14 NIV).

• In other words, without the resurrection, everything we believe is pointless.

He didnt say “Adam and eve talking to a snake”

He didnt say “If noah didnt build an ark”

He didnt say “If jonah didnt get swallowed by a big fish”

He didnt say that because while those are important, they shouldnt be our foundation.

The Cross, The ressurection, thats what matters most

Bottom line today is Build your faith on what matters most.

HOW THE APOSTLES DIED. 1. Matthew Killed by a sword wound. 2. Mark being dragged by Horses through the streets until he was dead. 3. Luke Was hanged in Greece 4. John Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge Basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution In Rome. 5. Peter He was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross. 6. James The leader of the church in Jerusalem was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. 7. James the Son of Zebedee  James was beheaded at Jerusalem. 8. Bartholomew was flayed to death by a whip. 9. Andrew Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. 10. Thomas Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips 11. Jude Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. 12. Matthias The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot was stoned and then beheaded. 13. Paul Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67.

As you prioritize what matters most when it comes to your faith and your future, focus on the main thing. The bottom blocks of your faith should be an event: the resurrection!

1. Don’t walk away from faith unnecessarily.

2. Build your faith on what matters most.

When you build your faith on what matters most, you will build a faith that lasts! 

• The questions, doubts, or uncertainty you feel are safe here.

• God can handle your doubts and the skepticism that science can sometimes raise.

• Give us a chance to have a conversation with you as you process the foundation of your faith!

• As we close this series, I want you to know this:

o God is a part of how everything works. All of it. God is not outside of it or threatened by it.

• As you head to group today, let me ask you once again:

o What does it mean to build your faith on Jesus and the resurrection?