In my work with college students I am continuously reminded how important it is to have explanations for the intellectual questions asked of me about my faith. 

Many college students are under the impression that there is zero evidence that God exists.  They are wrong!  There are actually very solid philosophical and scientific reasons to believe that God exists. 

Here are four of my favorites:
God is the best explanation for:

1. The beginning of the universe
2. The fine-tuning of the universe 
3. The existence of objective morality 
4. The existence of anything at all

I am currently teaching an Apologetics Life Group.  Each week I also make a short video that sums up the material.  If you'd like to check it out, you can find it below. 

This Sunday we will be finishing our series, One More.  BUT, we will never be done with doing One More because that is who we are called to be as Christians!  

Jesus was always about the One More! He called the twelve disciples and invited them to live their lives for the One More. He died for the One More. He rose from the dead for the One More. He commissioned his disciples to make disciples of all nations… all for the One More.

You are a One More. 
I am a One More. 
There is always a One More in your life and my life.

“Lord, choose us to reach One More!” 
“Lord, choose me to reach One More!”

Question: Do you feel inadequate to reach One More?  If so, GOOD!  We are inadequate - alone.  But the Holy Spirit uses us anyway.  

And… God invites us to lean into Him and grow in our knowledge and ability to make disciples who make disciples.  

One of those ways we grow in our knowledge and ability to make disciples who make disciples is to get trained in Apologetics (which simply means: defending the faith).  

Apologetics does three things for us: 

1. Gives us confidence in our own faith.
2. Gives us confidence in sharing our faith.
3. Gives us tools to answer questions and objections to the faith, and therefore to more effectively share our faith.

Here is the first of five short videos (10 minutes or less) introducing Apologetics.  You are invited to join me in this journey! 

In His Grace and Love, 
Pastor Steve

(for session#2 slides click here) 

Was there really a worldwide flood? Many modern scientists would say 'no'.  The Bible says 'yes'. For some people the Bible is just a bunch of made up stories.  For a Christian, the Bible is accurate history.

Apologetics is the branch of theology that answers the questions:

• What is the evidence that God exists?
• What is the evidence that the Bible is historically accurate?
• What is the evidence that Jesus really did walk the earth... and die on a cross... and rise again from the grave?

In other words... what is the evidence that Christianity is TRUE? 

I love studying apologetics because I love discussing the evidence that shows that my faith in Jesus is well-placed.

If the Bible is TRUE, then the promise of my Heavenly Homeland is also TRUE; and I can live my life for Jesus and with Jesus in confidence and hope. 

This Sunday, in our series Heavenly Homeland, we will be looking at Noah's faith and how we can have faith like Noah - Faith the Floats. Looking forward to seeing you Sunday! 

And if you'd enjoy a short apologetics video about Noah and the flood.... see below. 
-Steve

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. -Genesis 1:1

Scientists tell us that the universe has a beginning, confirming the very first verse of the Bible to be true. And when scientists say that the universe has a beginning, it is important to recognize that by ‘universe’ they mean: time, space and matter.  (You might enjoy the video below from William Lane Craig on the Kalam Cosmological Arguement for the existence of God.)

God is not part of the material universe; He is beyond space, time and matter. Scripture tells us that God is spirit (John 4:24). 

What does this tell us about ultimate reality? I am reminded that ultimate reality is not the material world around me.  Yes, the material world is real!  Yes, the material world is important - but not most important. What is most important is beyond… beyond the here and now… beyond me.

As Christians, we live not for the earthy home which is passing away, but for the heavenly homeland that is yet to come - our real home.

This world ultimately will not and cannot satisfy us because we were made for something more.

He is the creator of everything that exists: time, space and matter.

In our life group studying apologetics, we recently watched this video from William Lane Craig.  It is a great reminder that there is overwhelming scientific evidence that a creator exists.

May we be reminded of these truths and be drawn to worship Him!
​

In the video below, Frank Turek gives a 4-point summary of how we can know that Christianity is true:

• Truth exists and can be known.
• God exists.
• Miracles are possible.
• The New Testament is historically reliable.

If you'd like to dig deeper into the philosophical and scientific evidence, you might want to take a look at the book that Frank Turek wrote with Norm Geisler: I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.
You can find it on Amazon here.

Interested in digging into apologetics with others from Cold Springs Church?  Pastor Steve teaches an online course starting again this fall!  Email Pastor Steve if you are interested. 

We don't have any of the original writings of any of the books of the New Testament (the original writings are called autographs).  What do do have is many, many copies.  Textual criticism is the science of determining the original words by looking at the numerous manuscripts.  Here are few of the important facts:
1. We have about 5,600 Greek manuscripts.
2. There are over 400,000 textual variants in these Greek manuscripts.
3. 99% of these variants are either not meaningful or not viable… and therefore inconsequential.
4. The fewer than 1% of the variants that are meaningful and viable do not affect or call into question a single Biblical doctrine.

If you want to learn more about textual criticism, here are some short videos below.