Sundays, June 1 - August 10 | 9:45 am | Room 200
Scripture calls us to honor Christ and be ready to explain the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15). In this ten-week series, we’ll explore key questions of the Christian faith—Jesus’ identity and resurrection, the existence of God, the Trinity, scripture’s reliability, and the problem of evil. We’ll also look at how faith is best defended through faithful living, learning from the lives of Polycarp, Father Damien, Maximilian Kolbe, and C.S. Lewis.
Week 1 of "Reason To Believe: Accounting for the Hope that Is within Us" introduces Christian apologetics as the reasoned defense of faith, rooted in 1 Peter 3:15's call to offer an answer for our hope with gentleness and respect. Rev. Chris Knepp explores the "what, why, and how" of apologetics, emphasizing that it's about winsome witness rather than aggressive argument, and importantly, affirms the legitimate place for doubt as a path to deeper understanding. By examining the "ultimate apologetic" of a life lived in love and unity, Chris lays the groundwork for future discussions by focusing on the historicity and divinity of Jesus, drawing on both biblical accounts and external historical evidence from figures like Tacitus and Josephus to establish Jesus' undeniable existence and impact.
Building on week one's foundational understanding of Christian apologetics, this 2nd week of "REASON TO BELIEVE" delves into the crucial claims of Jesus's divinity and the historical truth of his resurrection, as outlined in 1 Peter 3:15. Rev. Chris Knepp examines biblical accounts where Jesus explicitly claims divine status, which his contemporaries clearly understood as blasphemy, and applies C.S. Lewis's "Liar, Lunatic, or Lord" trilemma to underscore the inescapable conclusion that Jesus was either truly God or something far less. Crucially, the session then focuses on the resurrection as the cornerstone of Christian faith, analyzing Paul's eyewitness testimony in 1 Corinthians 15, comparing the harmonious yet distinct Gospel accounts of the empty tomb, and drawing on arguments from apologists like Josh McDowell and Chuck Colson to powerfully demonstrate the historical credibility of Jesus's resurrection. Join us for an enlightening class, with Chris welcoming questions and feedback.
