And what I want you to know, you can have that same confidence. I don’t just want God to speak to me, I want to have a level of confidence that this is the very Word of God. And by the way, here’s why.”Īnd so, what I want to do in our time is I want to answer some of those tough questions that I went on a journey that I had to know, because I don’t want to just believe it. I could proudly say, “This is God’s truth. I had a personal relationship with God and He was speaking to me through the Bible, but I didn’t have the confidence that: this is the Word of God. And I remember walking down the hall feeling like, What? Why do I feel like this? God, You have changed my life.Īnd what I realized was I didn’t have confidence. I mean, I felt like, Wow, he was really big and I was really small. Or, are you anti-intellectual? How in the world could you be doing graduate work at a secular university and actually believe the Bible?Īnd all I can tell you was, I’m ashamed to say this, I was ashamed of the Bible. He said, “Is that a Bible?” I said, “Yeah!” And then sort of with disdain, “You don’t really believe that, do you?”Īnd in a moment of faith, I said, “Yeah, I really do.” And then he walked away, but before he walked away, I got one of those glances that you’ve probably gotten.
And so, I found a job as a resident assistant at West Virginia University where I could teach the freshman-level stuff and then they would pay my way, which worked out really well.Īnd I’ll never forget, I was walking in to teach one of my classes and I had my books and I had my Bible on it because I was leading a campus ministry at the same time, and a very bright PhD student paused and then he looked at me, then he looked at my Bible. I didn’t really want to go back to graduate school, but if you don’t have a Master’s degree then you can’t coach in college. I wanted either Indiana or Ohio State – I wanted to be a major college coach.Īnd so, I had to go to graduate school.
And I had coached middle school and then high school and then my dream was I wanted Bobby Knight’s job. And I honestly thought my whole life I was going to be a basketball coach. You may not know this, but before I was a pastor, I was a basketball coach.
If you or someone you know has genuine questions about issues at the core of human existence, Why I Believe is an excellent resource. There's solid evidence to satisfy the heart and mind of anyone honestly seeking answers. Chip explains we can actually know the truth, and we can communicate the truth in a way that engages people rather than putting them off. evolution, and the God of the Bible, being the one and only, true God.
#IBELIEVE COM SCRIPTURE WRITING CHALLENGE SERIES#
When asked why you believe what you believe, how do you respond? Do you wish you'd paid more attention in Sunday school? Are you able to engage in thoughtful conversation, or do you become defensive? Why I Believe is a series designed to equip you with a simple, winsome approach to explaining why you believe what you believe about issues like: Jesus' resurrection, the authenticity of the Bible, life after death, the reality of heaven and hell, the validity of creation vs. Typically, only after showing they understand are they baptized.About this series Why I Believe Straight Answers to Honest Questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity The new believer may go to a class to learn the specifics about Jesus, Christianity, and baptism. Today, churches usually have a more involved system. In a similar way, this call-and-response is a succinct way of showing witnesses the person understands what baptism means. Rather, it's a convenient tool for someone who wants to follow Jesus but doesn't know the terminology. No version of this prayer acts as a magic formula-it does not, itself, save anyone. If used as a challenge, this practice is similar to the so-called sinner's prayer. But the text of this verse, itself, does not seem to be original. The format of the challenge and answer may have even been a practice in the early church: a public confession used to verify the person understands. In this verse, Philip gives a challenge and the official responds. Philip has explained the gospel to an Ethiopian court official, and the officer has enthusiastically responded, asking to be baptized immediately. The sentence doesn't express anything contrary to the rest of Scripture, but most likely was not part of Luke's original writing. Most modern translations include it in brackets, or with a note indicating as much. This verse is not seen in the oldest and most trustworthy manuscripts of the book of Acts.
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