I Have a Problem With...
I Have a Problem With: the Church
June 25, 2023 • Garry Firth • Matthew 5:13–16, John 14:15–17, Luke 5:19–20, Matthew 28:19–20
Here are some questions to help you process this message and apply it to your life: 1. How long have you attended TMP? How did you hear about TMP? (friend, web search etc.) 2. What has the church (or TMP) meant to you? How has it influenced you? 3. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said: “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. (Matt. 5:13-16) Practically speaking, what do you think being salt and light looks like? 4. Luke 5:19-20 tells the story of some men who pulled out all the stops in order to get their friend to Jesus. How do you think - with God’s help - we could transform Nanaimo? Does being a roof buster excite you or freak you out? 5. What was the most interesting topic in this series to you? The Existence of God, Faith & Science, Hypocrisy, Hell, Pain & Suffering, Exclusivity, the Bible or the Church? Is that the one you have the biggest problem with?
I Have a Problem With: the Bible
June 18, 2023 • Garry Firth • 2 Timothy 3:16, John 14:25–26, 1 John 1:1, 2 Peter 1:16, James 1:22–25
Here are some questions to help you process this message and apply it to your life: 1. Name a few critiques/problems you’ve had or heard about the credibility of the Bible. 2. If you were face-to-face with Jesus and could ask him a question about the Bible, what would it be? 3. Garry said: The Bible isn’t the point of Christianity. The Bible points to the point of Christianity: Jesus. What are your thoughts about that? Do you agree/disagree? 4. Garry mentioned that the Bible is full of principles steeped in truth that are beneficial for our lives and that where they speak, we would do well to listen. For example, the Bible teaches us how to get along with others, how to forgive and how to find personal peace and freedom. If that’s true, why do you think we find it so difficult to do what the Bible says? 5. What other thoughts or questions about the Bible came up for you through this message?
I Have a Problem With: Pain & Suffering
June 11, 2023 • Garry Firth • Romans 8:22, John 3:19, Hebrews 2:18, Revelation 21:3–4, Psalm 34:18–19
Here are some questions to help you process this message and apply it to your life: 1. If you could ask God one question and you knew he would give you the answer, what would you ask? 2. Garry shared this quote by philosopher David Bently Hart: “One might well conclude that the world contains far too much misery for the pious idea of a good, loving and just God to be taken seriously, and that any alleged creator of the universe in which children suffer and die hardly deserves our devotion.” Do you agree or disagree? 3. What are your thoughts about ‘free will’? 4. Hebrews 2:18 says: Since he himself (Jesus) has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. How does that verse change or reinforce your views about God in light of pain and suffering? 5. What other thoughts or questions about pain and suffering came up for you through this message?
I Have a Problem With: Exclusivity
June 4, 2023 • Russ Smith • John 14:1–6, 1 Timothy 2:5, Philippians 2:5–11, Romans 3:21–25, Romans 10:9
Here are some questions to help you process this message and apply it to your life: 1. Ever had a problem with being “exclusive” with someone or “going out” with someone? What happened? (We want to hear your funny stories about dating!) 2. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” What do you think about the idea that Jesus is the exclusive way to God? 3. In the chapter on Exclusivity in his book The Problem Of God, Mark Clark said that Jesus is “the exclusive means of salvation - the only way to heaven, peace, and ultimate joy in life, and that no other religion or worldview can provide these things.” What are your thoughts about this quote? 4. Christianity seems like it’s exclusive because there’s one way to God and it’s through Jesus, yet Christianity is inclusive because everyone’s invited. What do you think about that? 5. Where do you feel like you’re at in your journey with God? -not on that journey -new on the journey -fumbling forward on the journey for a while now
I Have a Problem With: Hell
May 28, 2023 • Garry Firth • John 3:16, Mark 9:43–48, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Psalm 23, 1 John 3:16
Here are some questions to help you process this message and apply it to your life: 1. Philosopher and professor Peter Kreeft said this about the doctrine of hell. “Of all the doctrines in Christianity, Hell is probably the most difficult to defend, the most burdensome to believe and the first to be abandoned.” Why do you think that is? 2. If you could ask God one question about hell, what would it be? 3. Garry talked about the 4 views of Hell as being Traditional, Modified Traditional, Annihilation, Universalism and how even though they are different all have one thing in common - the absence of God. How would you describe Hell? 4. Mark Clark closes his chapter on Hell this way. He writes: Hell is real. And scary. But in that there is a seriousness that can give way to security if we trust in the one who took hell on himself for us. God worked through his Son, driven by love and a desire for none to perish, to save us from hell to something glorious and wonderful. In what ways does that change your views about hell? 5. What other thoughts or questions about the concept of Hell came up for you through this message and discussion?
I Have a Problem With: Hypocrisy
May 21, 2023 • Russ Smith • Ephesians 2:8–10, Luke 5:27–31, Matthew 5:44, Romans 7:18–19, Romans 7:24–25
Here are some questions to help you process this message and apply it to your life: 1. Ever felt like a hypocrite? Share a time when you have been a hypocrite (like getting irritated with someone tailgating you but then tailgating someone yourself.) 2. In the message, Russ said “It’s not surprising that the church is full of hypocrites, because the church is NOT full of good people - it’s full of bad people!” What do you think about that? 3. Just because someone attends church doesn't mean they are a mature follower of Jesus. With that in mind, what should we expect our church to look like? 4. The Christian church has made mistakes, like The Crusades. What do you think about author Mark Clark’s words “These people (the crusaders) didn't know the first thing about Christianity because either they weren't actually Christians or they were naive about true Christianity all together.”? 5. Making mistakes is one thing, but if Jesus-followers aren’t even trying to live their lives differently - that’s something else. What do you think about that? 6. If you’re a Christian, what’s something you’re struggling with in following Jesus? How can we help you? Please let us know.
I Have a Problem With: Science & Faith
May 14, 2023 • Garry Firth • Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1–4, Genesis 1:1–5, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Genesis 1:1
Here are some questions to help you process this message and apply it to your life: 1. What was your favourite subject in school? Of all the different science subjects (biology, chemistry, physics etc) which one did you like (or not like) the most? Why? 2. What stood out to you the most from today’s message? 3. How do you view science and faith? Do you see them as being compatible or mutually exclusive? Why/why not? 4. Psalm 19 says “The heavens are telling the glory of God. They are a marvelous display of his craftsmanship. Day and night they keep on telling about God. Without a sound or word, silent in the skies, their message reaches out to all the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4) Describe a time when you saw something in nature (a hummingbird, starry skies, etc.) that left you in awe and gave evidence of a creator God. 5. What other thoughts or questions about the compatibility of science and faith came up for you through this message and discussion?
I Have a Problem With: The Existence of God
May 7, 2023 • Garry Firth • John 1:1–3, Genesis 1:1, Romans 1:20
Here are some questions to help you process this message and apply it to your life: 1 - Have you ever doubted or wondered about God’s existence or questioned the creation of the universe? Why or why not? Have you ever had to explain those beliefs to someone? How did it go? 2 - The Moral Argument seeks to answer the question: If there’s no moral force behind the universe, why are we moral, personal, relational creatures? How would you answer that question? And if there is no moral force behind the universe, where do you think we got our sense of right and wrong from? 3 - The Cosmological argument claims that if something begins to exist, its existence is dependent on something outside of it that pre-existed it, causing it to come into being. (Remember that part about Edwin Hubble’s 1929 discovery that the universe had a beginning, which led to the big bang theory supporting Christianity’s claim that the universe couldn’t have created us or anything because the universe itself was created?) Have you ever considered the big bang theory as the same event as creation and evidence for the existence of God? Why or why not? 4 - Romans 1:20 says: “The basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.” What thoughts come to mind when you hear/read that verse? 5 - What other questions or thoughts about the existence of God came up for you through this message and discussion?