God is essential to our survival Colossians 1:9-23

God is essential to our survival He is Self-actuating and eternal He is the All-powerful Creator of All that is I Believe that God Is: The most logical explanation for all that cannot be explained or proven by science essential to the continued existence of all that exists – Colossians 1:16,17

God is essential to our survival It is true that God cannot be proven by the scientific method The Scientific Method in Five Steps: 1) Identify a problem to solve 2) Formulate a hypothesis 3) Test the hypothesis 4) Collect and analyze the data 5) Make conclusions

God is essential to our survival Belief in the God of Heaven requires a certain amount of Faith – Hebrews 11:6 Faith is not blind acceptance with no facts or foundation – Romans 10:10,11 God is Spirit so He cannot be seen, but can be observed – Luke 24:39 We can SEE the AFFECTS caused by the INVISIBLE – wind creates waves, magnets….

God is essential to our survival The Creation proves there is a Creator – Romans 1:18-21 First Law of Thermodynamics – Something cannot come from nothing Second Law of Thermodynamics – Life cannot come from non-life Chaos Theory explained via Quantum Physics affirms systems proceed from Order to Disorder The orderly universe must have a source of order

God is essential to our survival Skeptics Continue to Fail in Disproving the Existence of God Method by which scientists agree makes it impossible to disprove God Unscientific denials of God requires more faith that it takes to accept Him Laws they accept to be true disprove all their theories

God is essential to our survival People of Faith as ridiculed by skeptics Paint us as mindless followers of superstition Demonstrate their own biased nature by twisting data Psalms 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.”

God is essential to our survival Suppose ALL they claimed was TRUE! Suppose there was NO GOD! What would life be? IF there was no God, there would be no ultimate GOOD or EVIL Foundational values of all legal systems come from God

God is essential to our survival Have you ever wondered why some things are found in all legal systems? In the beginning one source of right and wrong - GOD All families of man spring forth from Adam …Noah As man spread across the globe, they took with them that one system of values

God is essential to our survival God Places within all men the basic sense of right and wrong – Romans 1:19; Jude 10 Men everywhere know it is wrong to kill another man, to rape, to steal, etc. Man is the only living creature with a conscience Without absolute moral code no grounds to prosecute tyrants

God is essential to our survival There can be absolute authority ONLY if there is a supreme being above man If there was no God, there would be no hope for the downtrodden masses Imagine the hopelessness of life with no anticipation of anything better? If there was no God, there would be no restraint to the wicked Without an absolute moral authority over man, ANY society can become SODOM!

God is essential to our survival IF no judgement beyond civil law, man will do whatever he can get away with! When masses overwhelm law enforcement they get away with crime: Sports gambling What if public attitude was the same about ALL law as about sports gambling? People voluntarily submit to laws base of moral values, i.e., upon God Non-believers have little motivation to submit Rules cannot be imposed on an unwilling population

God is essential to our survival If there was no God, life would have no meaning For centuries people have sought meaning of life Gurus gone to mountains of Tibet and return no wiser Many of sought meaning in financial gain – Ecclesiastes :18-23 Things mean nothing without God to give them meaning

God is essential to our survival Some seek meaning in other people Like Solomon, we seek meaning in pleasures- Ecclesiastes 2:1-3, 9-11 ONLY God gives meaning to our lives Created in His image – Genesis 1:27 Created FOR Him – Colossians 1:16,17 Purpose is to bring glory to Him – Colossians 1:18

God is essential to our survival Only when we live in compliance to God’s purpose do our lives have meaning He has a use for us… To exalt His name in the spiritual realm, i.e., to bring glory to Him We make every decision in life, considering His purpose Each morning plan your day to God’s glory

God is essential to our survival Nothing wrong with most we do In life – but only find meaning in life while living in God’s purpose World NEED GOD in order to even exist Everything in world is FINITE God holds it together by the Word of His might God provides order in a world bent on chaos

God is essential to our survival Without God the downtrodden have no hope It is only fear of eternal accounting that restrains the wicked He alone give us true meaning for our lives

What course are you pursuing? To this point, what has been the purpose of your life? Summarize your life in 10 words or less. WHAT is it all about? Each man’s journey requires periodic adjustment to stay on course. In 100 years what will be the significance of your having been on earth? What will your life be like then?