Russell Murnighan

Sabbath Sermon 03/20/10

Believing God

I. Logic Class

A. Advertising

a. Ads try to make promises or identify products with positive images

b. They invite us to reason fallaciously

c. They employ repetitive slogans and meaningless jargon

d. They play on our weaknesses, prejudices and fears

e. They draw on trendy issues

f. They use sneaky rhetoric, like fine-print disclaimers and weasel words

g. They play on patriotism, loyalty and identification

B. Media

a. They are a business with a bottom line

b. They pander to partners, affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, advertisers, audiences and government

c. They focus on pop culture, while ignoring real news

d. They focus on local rather than global news

e. “If it bleeds, it leads” coverage

f. They are concentrated in the hands of a few conglomerates

C. Textbooks

a. Often written in a dull , one-fact-after-another manner

b. They have been dumbed down

c. Important information buried in minutiae

d. They pander to interest groups

e. They sacrifice the whole story for the sake f building good, loyal citizens

f. There is often a large gap between theory and practice

g. Governments large and small get involved in their formation

Is it any wonder we have problems trusting?

II. What Do We Disbelieve?

A. God’s promises

B. God’s character

C. Manifest and latent disbelief

D. Acts 8:37

III. Why Do We Disbelieve?

A. Jer. 17:11

B. Matt. 11:21-24 – Harder for the church

C. Rev 3:20

D. Grace Groups – misplaced trust in another

IV. Why Should We Believe?

A. Heb. 11:6

B. 2 Pet. 1:4

C. Jer. 33:3

D. David Gates Sermon/Testimonies

V. How Can We Believe?

A. Hitler once said, “If you tell a lie often enough, loud enough and long enough, the people will believe it.”

B. Rom. 10:17

1. Mp3 Bible for free at firefighters.org

2. AudioVerse sermons

3. E-Sword

C. Daniel 2 - Prophecy

D. Luke 8:11-18 – Be careful how you hear

E. Mark 9:17-24 – We can ask for belief

VI. Appeal

A. Matt. 8:5-10 – He made belief personal

B. Would like to join me in prayer to ask God to help us believe?