EXPLORE GOD

“How Can We Have Faith?”
Pastor Ben Johnson – October 15, 2023

How Can We Have Faith?

Examine the EVIDENCE.

Hear trusted TESTIMONY.

A personal EXPERIENCE.

What Do Christians Have Faith In?

The RESURRECTION.

John 20:1-2 (NLT) – Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciples… She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

John 20:11-18 (NLT) – She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Teacher”! … go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!”

John 20:19-22 (NLT) – That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!

John 20:24-29 (NLT) – One of the twelve disciples, Thomas, was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

Is it REASONABLE to believe in the RESURRECTION?

We can BELIEVE in the resurrection with CONFIDENCE.

We know God LOVES us because Jesus DIED for us. But, because Jesus ROSE from the dead, we can be SAVED.

Romans 10:9 (NLT) – If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.