This week we’ve begun a teaching series that will take us through Lent and beyond Easter, called “There’s No One Like Jesus”. It’s a series about how to defend the faith, a spiritual discipline we Christians call “apologetics”.
As we begin this series, we’re going to ask each of you to not just be listeners or spectators, but to be full-on participants. Here’s how it will work:
Each week on Sunday, we will release the “Question of the Week”. So this past Sunday we released the question: If God is all-powerful and all-good, why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? (To quote Jed Clampett: “Woo Doggie!” It’s guaranteed you will get that question over and over again, and I’m pretty certain that it’s a questions we’ve all asked ourselves.)
So what do we do with the question? There are three things we’re asking of you.
1. Early in the week, Sunday or Monday at the latest, we want you to write out a 100-200 word answer to the question.
It should be your first-impression, off-the-top-of-your-head answer. Just pretend that somebody at work or school has pushed you against a wall and asked you the question, and right then and there you need to answer it. What would you say based on your current knowledge of the faith?
2. Then: Carry the question with you throughout the week.
Be thinking it through, mulling it over, maybe even – heaven forbid! – do a little research on the question. Then edit your answer as you go along during the week (but keep your answer to 100 to 200 words.
To help you with your research, you’ll find on the BridgeWay Right Now Media channel (here) a portal to our “There’s No One Like Jesus” project. We’ll be placing a variety of helpful resources and links there. Not only that, but if you find a resource that you really like, send it our way and we’ll add it to the channel.
Here’s an important tip: Don’t simply copy and paste the question straight into your AI Google or ChatGPT search engine!! No doubt, the answers it will spoon-feed out for you will be accurate and precise. But this type of study will not help you become a deeper thinker or a stronger disciple. At the most, use it to cross-check your research. If you use AI to create your content or write for you, you will place yourself on the road to becoming an Eloi (and I’ll give you permission to do an AI search on that! Or click here.)
3. Here’s the fun part of our project: Be Social.
Let’s connect with each other during the week, and share what we’re learning with each other. We can do this in several ways.
- Join the Church Center Text Chat. We’ve set up a Church Center text thread that you can join today if you haven’t yet. At the beginning of the week, we’ll send out the question, and say: “Go!”. Observing the rules of text etiquette, start talking and sharing.
- Work on the project in your Life Groups. Though each Life Group does its own thing in the winter-spring, consider at least working this project into your sessions. Maybe set aside 10-15 minutes to talk about the answers you’re coming up with on the questions.
- Share in our Social Media platforms (which right now are pretty much Facebook and Instagram.) I guarantee you, the apostle Paul would use social media for Gospel purposes if he had access to it. We’re to be “all things to all people by all possible means that we might win some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). So let’s dive in to these digital waters.
- Share your answer in church the following Sunday. This will be for the brave, but I hope many of you will be brave! The Sunday after we release the question, we’ll set aside 5-10 minutes where you’ll be given a chance to come on up and share your final answer with everyone.
So next Sunday, we’ll release the question for Week 2, and then during the service, we’ll set aside a block of time for any of you to share your answers to Question 1: If God is all-powerful and all-good, why is there so much evil and suffering in the world?
Then during the sermon itself, I’ll attempt to bring together our answers by offering my own take on the subject.
Those are our marching orders during this project. Let’s teach one another, encourage one another, and grow together.