You Changed My Mind

Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:14–19

Key themes

The resurrection is the load-bearing wall of Christianity

God as uncaused cause: why the universe exists at all

Big Bang, expansion, and the logic of a beginning

God beyond human dimensions (miracles as “programmer-level” interaction)

Historical grounding: Jesus’ existence, prophecy, and eyewitness claims

Crucifixion realities: why “Jesus didn’t die” is less plausible than resurrection

Alternative theories and why they don’t explain the data

The gospel isn’t just information—it demands a response

Description

In this week’s FAQ episode we tackle two foundational questions: Can belief in God be rational? And did Jesus really rise from the dead? We start where Paul starts: if the resurrection didn’t happen, Christianity collapses (1 Corinthians 15). That’s a striking claim—because it means Christianity is putting its weight on something public, historical, and testable, not just private spiritual feelings.

From there we explore why it’s reasonable to believe the universe had a beginning and why that raises the question of an uncaused cause—a reality outside space and time that can account for everything else. We also talk about why God isn’t limited to the “rules” we’re stuck inside: using a dimensions illustration (Pac-Man), we show how miracles could be impossible for us but simple for the Creator.

Then we turn to the historical question: What happened to Jesus? We consider Jesus’ existence as a real person, the significance of prophecy, and then we walk through common alternate explanations for the resurrection. We take the swoon theory seriously enough to test it—then follow the medical and historical realities of Roman crucifixion, the confirmation of death, the spear wound, the sealed/guarded tomb, and the logical implausibility of a half-dead Jesus convincing anyone He had conquered death. We also examine the stolen-body and hallucination theories, and why they fail to account for the disciples’ transformation, willingness to suffer, and the fact that opponents could have ended the movement by producing Jesus’ body—yet never did.

We close with the point of all this: the evidence doesn’t just inform—it confronts. If Jesus rose from the dead, it changes everything. The only question left is: what will you do with it?

Scripture

• Mark 11; Isaiah/Jeremiah (Jesus quotes OT while cleansing the temple)

• Acts 5:1–11

• Psalm 103:8–13

• Galatians 3:23–25

• Jeremiah 31:31–34; Luke 22:20

• Romans 7

• Ezekiel 36:26–27

• Mark 7:15

• (Also referenced: 1 Kings 17; Luke 7; John 6; Exodus/manna)

Key themes

• Misconception: OT wrath vs NT love

• Same God, unified story, deep continuity across both Testaments

• Jesus doesn’t discard the OT—He fulfills it

• The law as “guardian” and “road signs” pointing to Christ

• New covenant and Spirit-empowered obedience

• How to think about OT laws: ceremonial vs civil vs moral

• Building confidence in God’s unchanging character

Description
This week in our FAQ series we take on a huge question: Why does the Old Testament God seem angry, while the New Testament God seems loving? The short answer: it’s a misconception—because the Bible reveals one God with one character, from Genesis to Revelation.

We look at passages that disrupt the stereotype: Jesus doesn’t just “teach love”—He confronts corruption with holy anger when He cleanses the temple (Mark 11), and Acts 5 shows a sobering moment of judgment in the early church. At the same time, the Old Testament is overflowing with God’s compassion and mercy (Psalm 103) and even miracles that echo the ministry of Jesus (1 Kings 17 / Luke 7). The more you read both Testaments together, the more the continuity becomes obvious.

Then we address the follow-up question: If it’s the same God, why don’t Christians follow all the Old Testament laws (like pork or Sabbath rules)? We walk through how the New Testament explains it: the law was a guardian pointing us to Christ (Galatians 3). God promised a new covenant (Jeremiah 31), which Jesus inaugurates in His blood (Luke 22), and the Spirit gives us new hearts to love and obey God (Ezekiel 36). Finally, we show a practical way to understand OT commands through categories: ceremonial laws fulfilled in Jesus, civil laws for Israel’s covenant nation, and moral laws that reflect God’s heart and continue to guide our discipleship.

While I don't answer every potential question that could come up, this should give you robust confidence in trusting God, because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Scripture: Job 1–2; Job 38–42; John 9:1–3; 2 Timothy 3:12; 2 Kings 6:15–17; 2 Corinthians 12:7–10; Isaiah 53:4–5 (

Key themes:

• Defining suffering (unfulfilled expectations/desires) and why it's subjective.
• A better way to frame the problem: suffering exists → is God able to stop it? → is God willing to stop it?
• Job as the biblical correction to “God punishes all suffering".
• Reasons God may allow suffering (with humility about what we can’t know).
• The cross as the clearest proof of God’s love

We’re launching a new series called Frequently Asked Questions—the questions students ask that deserve more than a quick response. This week’s question is one of the biggest: Why does God allow suffering?

Rather than settling for oversimplified answers (free will, punishment, “God is absent,” “blame Satan”), we build a clearer framework: suffering is real, God is able to stop it, so the heart of the issue is whether God is willing—and what we mean by God’s “love.”

Then we open the book of Job, where a blameless man suffers deeply, not because of secret sin, but as part of a test that reveals unseen spiritual realities and the limits of Satan’s authority. We also look at Jesus’ words in John 9, the reality of persecution in 2 Timothy, and God’s grace in weakness through Paul’s “thorn” in 2 Corinthians 12.

We close with the ultimate perspective: Jesus—the innocent sufferer—who bore our pain and shows us God’s love most clearly at the cross (Isaiah 53).

Scripture: Numbers 13–14; Numbers 9; Exodus 13–14; 2 Chronicles 5–6; Ezekiel 10–11; Ezekiel 43

Key themes: fear vs faith • grumbling and distrust • wilderness formation • strong and courageous identity • the cloud/presence of God as a Bible through-line • Spirit-led obedience

Fear can make us forget. In Numbers 13–14, Israel is finally at the doorstep of the Promised Land. The spies confirm the land is “flowing with milk and honey,” but most of them fixate on the obstacles—fortified cities, powerful enemies—and spread a bad report. Overnight the community weeps, complains, and even talks about going back to Egypt. At the center is a deeper issue than memory: doubt that God is truly good.

Joshua and Caleb respond with a different kind of courage: not self-confidence, but God-confidence—“The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid.” Yet the people reject God’s word, and the result is the 40-year wilderness wandering—a consequence tied directly to the spies’ 40 days, but also a long season of formation. God can rescue us quickly, but shaping us into His people often takes time.

From there, we trace the “cloud of glory” across Scripture: the pillar that guided and protected Israel, the cloud that filled the tabernacle and later Solomon’s temple, the heartbreaking moment in Ezekiel when the glory departs because of covenant unfaithfulness, and the promise of its return. Then comes the mind-blowing fulfillment: Jesus enters from the Mount of Olives through the east, God’s presence in the flesh, and after His ascension the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost—God dwelling not just among His people, but in His people.

Scripture: Exodus 19–20; Mark 12:28–34; Exodus 32; Galatians 3:21–26

Key themes: God’s holiness • grace before commands • loving God/loving people • idolatry today • law and gospel • heart transformation in Christ

The Exodus story isn’t just about freedom from Egypt—it’s about meeting the God who rescues. At Mount Sinai, God reveals His holiness with thunder, fire, smoke, and a terrifying trumpet blast (Exodus 19). In a culture that prefers a harmless, undefined spiritual “universe,” this passage confronts us with the truth: God is personal, sovereign, and holy—set apart.

From there, we walk through the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) as a response to grace, not a way to earn it. Jesus shows how the whole law hangs on two commands: love God and love your neighbor (Mark 12). But then Israel breaks the first commandments almost immediately by creating the golden calf (Exodus 32)—revealing how quickly our hearts drift and why fear or rules can only restrain sin for so long.

Finally, we turn to Paul’s teaching in Galatians 3: the law can’t give life—it exposes sin and points us to Jesus, the One who perfectly fulfills God’s standards and transforms us from the inside out.

From Exodus 13-15. God parts the Red Sea. We often operate out of fear rather than faith. He will fight for you, you need only be still. We're also forgetful, and forgetfulness leads to complaint. Our application is fight fear and complaint with gratitude.

Jesus is our Passover lamb by whose blood we’re no longer subject to God’s wrath but freed from our slavery to sin.

Exodus 3

Matthew 7

Matthew 7