3. Matthew 22:37 –38: Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. 1 Peter 3:15: But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

4. APOLOGETICS “DEFENSE”

5. PROBLEM OF EVIL Existence of God Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; Or he can, but does not want to; Or he cannot, and does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, but does not want to, he is wicked. If he neither can, nor wants to, He is both powerless and wicked. But if (as they say) God can abolish evil, And God really wants to do it, Why is there evil in the world? Epicurus

8. Our emotions betray our real beliefs in such an instance.

9. So if God is good and can stop evil, why doesn’t He do that So if God is good and can stop evil, why doesn’t He do that? God allows some evil to accomplish a greater good Like a bear caught in a trap – hunter wants to release it. But first has to shoot the bear to put it to sleep – then he has to forcefully remove the trap. The bear would not understand this if it was awake.

10. When we think about it – we remember that God used the greatest scandal in all of history to accomplish the greatest good. The Cross

11. How do we know the Bible is true? We don’t - like all of life, it’s an issue of faith. Believing in no God, believing that all of us are gods, or believing in God – all require great faith. It seems to me that it takes more faith to believe in no God than to believe in the God of the Bible.

12. We lack the time to dive into this issue (is the Bible God’s Word or just a good book) in great depth. But – a simple point. Who is Jesus? If He is who He said He was, then the Bible is true.

13. JESUS Two Alternatives His Claims Were True His Claims Were NOT True

14. IF His Claims Were NOT True Two Alternatives Knew His Claims Were False Did NOT know His Claims Were False He deliberately lied He was sincerely deluded He was a hypocrite He was a lunatic He was a fool for He died for it!

15. JESUS Two Alternatives His Claims Were True His Claims Were NOT True

16. If Jesus was GOD, then we have to take a serious look at what He said about God’s Word. Matthew 22:29 Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. Again we lack time. Jesus quoted the Old Testament MANY times.

17. Matthew 22:31-32 But about the resurrection of the dead-- have you not read what God said to you, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

18. Again – it’s an issue of faith. If a person studies all the evidence out there, one will find that there is great evidence for God and the Bible. I think it takes more faith to be an atheist than to believe in God.

19. Romans 11:33-36 33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? 35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

20. I hope these slides help you in some way (feel free to delete this slide). Feel free to contact me for any reason. I have some handouts and extra info for some of the slides that I did not include. There are also a few notes at the bottom of some slides, but not as much as I should have. If you have some great ideas or help or criticisms, or just want to talk, give me a call or shoot me an email. youthpastortimo@hotmail.com (515) 448-5414