BIG GOD (2)

Pre-Teaching Discussion Questions for High Schoolers

Your friend asks, “Why do believe that God exists?” How would you respond? Give some evidence for WHY you believe God exists. (LEADERS: Take your time here and don’t allow immediate silence lead you to do all the talking. Allow the silence and give students a moment to consider their response. You might ask the question again OR rephrase it.)

Pretend that you DON’T believe God exists and share your reasoning with one or 2 other persons in your group. Then we will meet back together in a few minutes and discuss which reasons caused you the most concern.

Most scientists recognize that our universe is NOT eternal - that is - our universe had a beginning. Before that there was NO...THING - no time, no matter, no space, no stars, planets, plants, animals, or people. Yet those who claim no God exists somehow reason that everything came from nothing. What would YOU say to that?

Next week in the large group teaching we will see examples of how vast the universe is, is why the One who created all that must be outside of time, matter, space - He must be ETERNAL (no beginning and no ending). Join us at next 180!

Share some things that you are thankful to God for.

Share prayer needs that you have. Then take time to pray for one another. (LEADERS: You might pray out loud or call on students who will pray)

LEADERS: Communicate that YOU care for your students and WANT them to ask you questions or share concerns any time - including tonight when others leave.

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I’m a DAD and I tell JOKES….so that means I tell….”DAD JOKES”

My wife told me I had to stope standing like a flamingo…so

Did you hear about the scarecrow that won an award because it was OUTSTANDING in its field? What do you call an elephant. Irrelephant

Resteraunt on the Moon - food is out of this world, but it has very little atmosphere. (Speaking of outer space - watch this video from way back in 1968 when the crew of Apollo 8 made their mission into the moon’s orbit.)

Apollo 8 Genesis Reading

3000 years before space flight, King David, the most powerful man in Israel, wrote words that echo through all of time….

Psalm 8:3–6 (NIV) When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:

When David looks into the night sky, he starts doing the math and he is perplexed...why would the BIG GOD who created all that - even care about people like us? David realizes something you and I need to realize: your worth is determined by your Creator.

But we should be mindful...that WE are NOT the star of the stories. Let me show you what I mean. We read about the first people, Adam and Eve, Cain & Abel, Seth and his family down through Noah. Later comes Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We have talked about Joseph in Egypt. Then Moses leads the people to the promised land. Joshua becomes the next leader. Then we read about the judges like Samson, Deborah. Then there are the kings of Israel like Saul, David, & Solomon - followed closely by the prophets like Isaiah & Jeremiah. But all of these names fade away as the pages turn and the chapters change.

While all these people play prominent roles in the Bible, when we get into the habit of finding a personal promise from God rather than getting to KNOW HIM - we all too easily turn the spotlight off the Creator...and onto the creation. It becomes about what WE are worth, rather than what HE is worth.

It is our ONE (BIG) GOD who is the Star of the Scripture.

As we begin this week I want you to know that I have become convinced that my view of God is WAY TOO SMALL...How about you? If you think you have God all figured out, then your view of God is way too small.

Today, I want to invite you to bow your heart to the King of Creation, to humble yourself in His presence.

PRAY Creator God, we ask that you will soften our hearts and allow us to get a glimpse of Your glory today. Right now, we lay our concerns at the feet of You, our ONE BIG GOD.

Have you had one of those moments when you stood in awe of what you just saw? I had one of those moments the other day...I was flexing while standing in front of the mirror (kidding)…I was thinking about a time with little Joshua in the back seat we saw

the most beautiful rainbow [PIC] of all time. I asked Joshua what colors he saw and he said, “Blue (bwue), Yellow (lellow), Pink, Green (dreene)” - It was all those with lots more shades. It caused me to appreciate my sight and wonder at the spectrum of colors. I began to wonder how many shades of DREENE really exist in all the trees & plants that surrounded me. When was the last time you stood in wonder over over the creation you see? GUYS…I’m not talking about GIRL you’ve been checking out…although I think she IS EVIDENCE of God’s goodness to us!

My family and I go to the beach for vacation every summer. It amazes me what happens around 8pm. People leave their rooms and come to stand on the beach as if summoned at the same time. They come to watch something that happens every day...

the Sunset. [PIC]

These pictures don’t do it justice because you don’t get the panoramic view or the wind blowing your hair. A beautiful beach sunset,

a fresh snow with a majestic mountain backdrop [PIC],

a powerful Lightning Strike [PIC], or a clear night with thousands of stars in view [PIC]. All these environments stir something in us that causes us to want to worship something...something much bigger than us.

I think that’s the primary purpose of this vast universe - to cause us to WONDER about the power, intellect, & creativity of the ONE who created us.

But with our constant attention on our phones, our sports, our jobs, our money, our stuff, & our relationships, it’s so easy for us to become prideful & selfish so that we actually begin to believe that the universe revolves around US.

So as we begin this evening together we need to be reminded of 1 reality. I know this will be hard to comprehend, so I’ll say it slow:

BIG TRUTH: There is a God…and you’re NOT Him.

As a matter of fact, there are probably some people seated near you that NEED to hear that. So tell them, “There is a God…and you’re NOT Him.

There are 2 reasons why we know there is a God and you and I aren’t God.

First, our universe is NOT eternal.

The scientific evidence points back to a moment when time, space, & matter DID NOT EXIST. That obviously includes planets, stars, plants, animals, & people. This is NOT contested by students of astronomy, biology, chemistry, nor anthropology.

So, there was NOTHING.

Aristotle, the great philosopher who lived in the 300’s B.C., said that “nothing” is what rocks think about. ‘NO-THING’

NO-THING existed…and then suddenly…IT DID! Talk about IMPOSSIBLE!

How does EVERYTHING come from NOTHING?

Theologians call this creation Ex nihilo: a Latin phrase meaning ‘creation out of nothing’

That there was a time when the heavens and earth once did not exist, is NOT contested by students of astronomy, biology, chemistry, nor anthropology. They all conclude that our universe is NOT eternal and must have had a beginning. Where some in our culture disagree is whether GOD was the cause of creation. Then what was the 1st Cause? Many say the Big Bang...but that would still require a BIG BANGER! something or SOMEONE outside of time, space, & matter had to bring it to be.

So, Scientists and Scriptures agree that There was a time when...the heavens and earth DID NOT EXIST. The ground you are standing on…didn’t exist. The gravity that keeps you on the ground your are standing on…didn’t exist. The sky you look up to…didn't exist. The water you fish or swim in...DID NOT EXIST.

In short, we must consider what is more reasonable -

did everything come from NO ONE or SOMEONE? If there was a BEGINNING, there must have been a BEGINNER.

I was able to talk with a HS friend about this a couple of years ago.

Alberto phone conversation - We discussed our beliefs. He made it clear that he was an agnostic, NOT and atheist - that is he believes SOMETHING is out there. When I mentioned the resurrection of Jesus he immediately countered, “I don’t believe in miracles. Miracles are impossible.” I responded, “You DO believe in miracles…you believe in the greatest miracle of all - creation of everything…out of nothing.”

There are a lot of great miracles mentioned in the Scripture, but this seems to be the greatest. This is better than pulling a rabbit out of a hat…this is pulling a rabbit out of NOTHING. IMPOSSIBLE? SUPERNATURAL might be a better way to put it.

Hebrews 11:3 (NIV) By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Long before the telescopes we have today, King David wrote about the wonder he saw with his eyes.

Psalm 33:6 (NIV) By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

Oh I wonder what he would say if he had the tools we have today!

Tonight we are going to look through the Telescope and I want you to watch in wonder at the vastness of the Creator’s craftsmanship. This is a longer video, but worth our time as you are about to see.

How Great is Our God by Louie Giglio (almost 16 minutes)

Isaiah 40:25–26 (NIV) “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

Louie Giglio: “Sin has a way of shrinking God down and puffing us up. But just a glance at the size of the universe God has made resizes everything...clarifies WHO is REALLY in control.”

Reminding us that…

BIG TRUTH: There is a God…and you’re NOT Him.

It also causes us to ask the question that King David asks that we began with tonight.

Psalm 8:3–4 (NIV) When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

I hope you’ll let that question rattle around in your brain this week as you go out and look at the STARS - these huge balls of fusion trillions of miles away!

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At the beginning I told you we need to be reminded of 2 HUGE TRUTHS:

First, our vast universe is NOT eternal, there was a time when it DID NOT EXIST!

Post-Teaching Discussion Questions

Were you blown away by last Wednesday’s insight into God’s creation out of NOTHING? What stood out to you the most?