From the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he angered and frustrated the religious leaders. His disregard of their laws and traditions, his teachings and miracles, who he spent his time with, and who he claimed to be threatened everything they had worked so hard to build. He was going to change everything, they knew it, hated him for it, and they would kill him for it.

The priests of God and the people of God would rather kill God than sacrifice what they loved most: their kingdom, their power, their lives. They tried to save their way of life and lost it.

Most people pray. Even people who would never claim faith find themselves saying a quick prayer before a big test or in the midst of a life crisis. But while most people pray, not many people understand prayer. Many of us pray for things that are going to happen anyway, rather than bringing impossible “asks” to an all-powerful God.

But what if God’s people prayed for more than “traveling mercies?” What if you leveraged your connection with God to move the mountain in front of you and transform the people around you?

Throughout this series, we have been taking a look at questions Christians don't want to answer. We've talked about faith and science, the Old Testament, and asked how a good God can exist when the world is filled with pain and suffering. In the seventh and final installment of the series Pastor Trevor answered some of the questions you've been asking that Christians don't want to answer.

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It’s one of those BIG questions. It may be one of the most important questions that people are asking. It may be the most pressing question that followers of Jesus need to be able to dialogue about. It is a question that you can’t avoid when you read through the Old Testament. It’s the proverbial elephant in the room. It serves as many people’s primary aversion and objection to faith. It is a question that has caused some to walk away from faith and others to stay away from faith.

The question is: How do you explain the difference between the God of the Old Testament and the Jesus of the New Testament?

Why does God seem angry, violent, nationalistic, and war hungry in the Old Testament, yet Jesus seems to be all about loving your enemies, blessing those that curse you, and turning the other cheek? Why are they so different?

It’s loved by some, hated by others. It’s frustrating because of its occasional lack of clarity, and yet at the same time infuriating because of the things it gives clarity to. It has been used to justify the greatest good from some, and the cruelest of evil from others. It is a reason for faith, and a reason for disbelief. The Bible has impacted so many in vastly different ways, and in today’s world, few things stir up more controversy, strong feelings, and violent reactions.

In this culture there is a growing number of people who consider the Bible a dangerous, irrelevant, immoral book. The question of our day is this: Why should anyone take the Bible seriously?

There is an idea inside the Church and outside the Church that you cannot fully embrace both faith science. In fact, there are many who believe faith and science are actually in conflict with each other. But what our culture has taught us regarding faith and science couldn’t be further from the truth.

We've all found ourselves in situations that felt hopeless. Like the odds were stacked against us. At one time or another, we've found ourselves feeling inadequate and ill-equipped. You may even feel that way right now regarding certain areas of your life. Like what you have to offer is not good enough to get you through. But what if what you have to offer is more valuable than you think? What if what you have is exactly what you need and you don't even know it?

There’s one question about God that elicits the most emotion, but has no emotionally satisfying answer. If God is good, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world? If God were all-powerful, He could eliminate suffering. If God were loving, He would eliminate pain. So is He unable or unwilling?

There are a lot of different reasons why people believe the things that they do. Some of us adopt our beliefs because they are the beliefs of our culture, our family, and our time. Others may choose to base their beliefs upon what makes them feel good, or what best suits their preferences, or upon a “holy book” or religious teacher. Whatever the founding reasons may be, something is only worth believing if it is rational, supported by evidence, and if it best explains all the data.

With that in mind this week, we take a look at one of the greatest questions that humanity faces. Does God exist? And if you say He does, why do you choose to believe that?

We’ve all been told “no” at some point in our life. But what’s worse than being told “no,” is being told “no” with no explanation. It’s happened to all of us. In fact, we’ve been told all kinds of things our entire lives without being offered explanations for them from our parents, teachers, bosses, and even the church. People we know and love taught us what to believe, often without giving a good reason as to why we should believe it. This has resulted in a borrowed faith and coached convictions. When we grew up it resulted in doubts and questions.

The religious system wasn’t very welcoming for most of our questions. If you had the bravery to ask you may have heard, “because the Bible says so,” or “it’s just what we believe, and we don’t question it.” We were met with passionate stories, childish answers, and dire warnings against the dangers of doubt. The system told us to “have faith” and press on, even when the answers don’t make sense, aren’t there, and the facts seem against you. But faith isn’t the presence of blind certainty or the absence of doubt. Our doubts, when we are brave enough to ask the questions and driven enough to chase the truth, are not to be doubted.