Over the next four Sundays, we will cover four interesting questions.

Sun Oct 12 : Does God Exist and Was The Universe Created?
Sun Oct 19 : Is the Bible Authentic and Accurate?
Sun Oct 26 : Why is Jesus Christ Unique?
Sun Nov 02 : Is Jesus The Only Way To Salvation?

Why This series?

As believers, we not only embrace the love, power and mercy of God, and extend this to others, but we also need to be firm in our understanding on WHAT we believe and WHY we believe it.

Where ever he went, the apostle Paul not only preached the Gospel with signs, wonders and miracles done by the power of the Holy Spirit, but he also "reasoned" with people concerning Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.

Acts 17:17
Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.
(and several other Scriptures in Acts)

Peter, also encouraged believers saying:
1 Peter 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Preparation for P2C Campaign : We are also doing this series as part of our preparation for the P2C mega-city media campaign, so that as we go out, meet and engage people we will be prepared to share Christ.

Our goal is to keep things simple and present most convincing reasons. We do not claim to be expert apologists, but rather want to present reasons that all of us, everyday believers can understand and communicate to others.

Today: Does God Exist and Was The Universe Created?

The Bible presents God as the Eternal One, the self-existent One and as Creator.

Isaiah 40:28
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting (eternal) God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

We see three eternal attributes of God in the verse:
Infinite in TIME
Infinite in POWER (or strength, energy)
Infinite in UNDERSTANDING

As human beings, we are finite. So really in attempting to know God, it is the finite that is trying to wrap its arms (or brain) around what is infinite.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Exodus 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them,..

Genesis 2:1,2
1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.
2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

There are at least two kinds of people who oppose this truth.:

• ATHEIST : An atheist is one who denies the existence of God.
• AGNOSTIC : An agnostic is one who believes it impossible to know anything about God or about the creation of the universe and refrains from commitment to any religious doctrine.

As Alex McFarland states :"God is big enough to handle our questions" and "God is not intimidated by the depth of our scrutiny".

Do You Really Know It All?
Atheism requires "omniscience", because the atheist is making a positive statement that there is no God. To do this is to assume that the atheist knows it all, has explored everything that is there to be explored, examined everything that is there, and has not found God, and hence has concluded that "God does not exist". Ofcourse we know that this is not possible. Hence, the emphatic statement that "God does not exist" itself has no basis.

Truth Exists
An agnostic states that you cannot know for sure whether God exists or not. Essentially, the agnostic states that truth is not knowable. The problem is that they take this statement itself as "truth", which in their own terms, is a questionable statement.

The Case for the Existence of God

#1, Cause and Effect

whatever has come into existence was caused to come into existence by something else. The universe came into existence. So, what caused it to come into existence?

Every effect must have a cause. An effect without a cause is an impossibility.

For example, if a ball comes flying into this audience would you accept it if I said it "just happened", that the ball just appeared out of non-materiality and flew across and dropped here. None of us would believe that. We would most likely go out to see if some kids were playing and accidently threw the ball in. We would go looking for the cause.
A, Whatever has a beginning, has a cause behind it.
B, The universe had a beginning.
C, Therefore, the universe has a cause behind it, for its existence.

#2, Creation Attests to a Creator; Design calls for a Designer

Romans 1:20
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

Psalm 19:1-3
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.

#3, Morality and Rationality
The fact that humans beings are born with a innate sense of morality (right and wrong) and rationality (ability to use logic to reason, establish as truth/fact, etc.) points to
something more than a chance happening.

How can lifeless matter produce consciousness (mind), morality and rationality?

#4, Experiencing Supernatural Phenomena

We see answers to prayer and supernatural healing happen.

Deliverance - we see manifestation of demons. These cannot be explained away as psychological phenomena. We see demons cast out and people being restored to well-
being. This indicates the presence of demons. If demons are real, how much more is Jesus, in whose name these demons are cast out!

The Case for Creation

The following have been summarized from "The Case for a Creator" (Lee Strobel)

We will look at 6 validations that point to an intelligent design and an act of creation:
#1, Evidence from Cosmology
#2, Evidence from Physics
#3, Evidence from Astronomy
#4, Evidence of Biochemistry
#5, Evidence from Biological Information
#6, Evidence from Consciousness

There has never been a time in history when the hard evidence of science was more confirmatory of belief in God than today.

We believe as Stephen Meyer states, "Science done right, points us to God".

#1, Evidence from Cosmology
Cosmology is the study of the universe's origins.

Mathematically speaking, the possibility of actual infinity is conceptual only, existing only in our minds. Infinity cannot happen in the real world. Consequently, the universe cannot have an infinite number of past events, meaning that it must have had a beginning.

Scientifically speaking, Einstein’s theory of relativity does not allow for a static universe. Using Einstein’s theory, we know that the universe is constantly expanding. If so, then to go backward in time would lead to a single point in time before which nothing existed.

Astronomer Fred Hoyle was the first to call this concept the Big Bang. The Big Bang phenomenon points to a methodical, designed event not an accidental, chaotic explosion. Logic provides us with some clues about the cause’s identity. The identity of this cause is timeless, immaterial, spaceless, and magnificently powerful. This is a core concept of God.

The Big Bang theory and the theory of evolution have attempted to suggest an answer to the origin of the universe and life on our planet.

Can chance produce intelligence?
Could accident result in purpose?
Can non-life create life?
Can something come from nothing?
Can chaos produce order?

The belief that something can come from nothing, belief that chaos birthed order, that lifeless matter produced consciousness, is not only counterintuitive but also irrational.

#2, Evidence from Physics

The Anthropic Principle : The Anthropic Principle essentially says that all the arbitrary constants in physics represent the precise values needed in order for the universe to
produce and sustain life. Is it purely coincidence that the laws of nature work together to make life possible?

Gravity : The universe possesses the exact balance of initial conditions and the laws and parameters of physics to sustain life. It is fine-tuned beyond human comprehension. Take gravity for example. Imagine a linear radio dial that spans the universe. It is broken down into one-inch increments resulting in billions upon billions of inches, each representing a possible setting for the force of gravity. If you were to move the setting only one inch, the force of gravity would increase by a billionfold. All living creatures would be crushed in an instant.

The Cosmological Constant : Another parameter giving credence to the fine-tuning of the universe is called the cosmological constant, the energy density of empty space. Had this constant been large and negative, the resulting force would reverse the universe’s expansion and cause it to collapse. Had it been large and positive, the resulting force would have prevented matter from clumping together. Amazingly the constant is quite small, baffling even the most avowed skeptics and atheists. The cosmological constant is so fine-tuned that it is beyond imagination. It would be like being far out in space, throwing a dart toward earth and hitting a bull’s eye that measures one trillionth of a trillionth of an inch in diameter. That’s staggering.

Gravity and the cosmological constant represent only two of more than 30 parameters that must be precisely calibrated in order for life to exist in the universe.

The fine-tuning of the universe points powerfully toward an Intelligent Designer

#3, Evidence from Astronomy
We have discovered that the Earth is an especially unique place, that it possesses qualities which make it an inhabitable place like no other.

The earth is positioned is a precise safe zone in our galaxy that makes it conducive for life. Any minor change in position, and we cannot live.

For example, if our distance from the sun were to be altered in either direction by as little as five percent, life would not be possible.

It would take a star with the highly unusual properties of our sun - the right mass, the right light, the right composition, the right distance, the right orbit, the right galaxy, the right location - to nurture living organisms on a circling planet. That makes our sun, and our planet, rare indeed.

#4, Evidence of Biochemistry
Consider a single cell. The cell requires all the complex parts to be in precise relationship with the other parts. The parts could not have evolved because that would have rendered the cell useless since it requires each part to be fully operative.

Even the individual parts of the cell are so complex in their design and function.

The cilia, the whiplike hairs on the cell’s surface. Each cell has about 200 cilia. They work in synchrony to help the human body expel foreign particles. They also help row the cell through fluid. How can they do this? Each cilium consists of about 200 protein parts which can be broken down into a complex system of rods, linkers and motors. Each of these parts must be precisely connected to the others if the cilia are to function properly. No evolutionist has been able to demonstrate how these parts could have developed gradually.

Similar complexity can be observed in other parts of a single cell.

Irreducibly complex systems are strong evidence of a purposeful, intentional design by an intelligent agent.

#5, Evidence from Biological Information
In 1953, Francis Crick and James D. Watson discovered DNA, the six feet of genetic information that is coiled inside of our body’s one hundred trillion cells. Scientists marvel at how it provides the information needed to create all of the proteins from which our bodies are constructed. Embedded in our 23 pairs of chromosomes are 30,000 genes that yield as many as 20,500 kinds of proteins.

“DNA serves as the information storehouse for a finely choreographed manufacturing process in which the right amino acids are linked together with the right bonds in the right sequence to produce the right kind of proteins that fold in the right way to build biological systems.” This process is mind boggling and could not have happened outside of intelligent design.

For a protein molecule to be formed by chance you need the right bonds between the amino acids and only the left-handed ones. And then they must link up in a specified sequence. Calculate the probability and you will come up with a 10 with 25 zeroes on it. That’s just for one molecule. And even the simpler cells need 300-500 protein molecules.

The probability of a protein molecule forming by chance is about the same as throwing scrabble letters down and generating a book. How improbable it is for even one protein molecule to evolve!

#6, Evidence from Consciousness
Science can explain the functions of the brain, but only I know what is happening in my mind - my thoughts, beliefs, passions, emotions, etc.

Each of us have the same organ - the brain, but each of us have our own mind - our own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about things, our own temperament, etc.

How can mere matter give birth to consciousness?

How can mere matter give birth to living creatures with abilities to think, feel, and believe?

If you begin with intelligence, then it’s much easier to see how finite minds came into existence.

Response Time

Psalm 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."
Romans 1:18-22
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,

1 Corinthians 1:20,21
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God.

Man, in an attempt to be intelligent, often misses God or sometimes even willfully suppresses the truth and refuses to acknowledge the Creator God.

A Personal God
If we embrace that God exists and this God created everything, then we must take this one step further and understand that God must atleast be "personal" and "relational" because He created humans to be personal and relational. If God is not personal, then He is less developed than we are!

God wants to be personal with us. He wants to relate to us, creatures He made in His own image.

<Share the Gospel here>

References:
Content for this sermon has been taken from the following resources:
1, Alex McFarland, The 10 Most Common Objections to Christianity
2, The Case For A Creator, Lee Strobel
3, www.carm.org