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Pastor’s Notes
There is a line that comedians and witty people used to identify the moments they were lost in the conversation or have nothing more to say. I think it originated in the public setting through the use of it in a sitcom. To say “I got nothing” means that you either cannot top what has been said or you are stumped by the direction or outcome of the conversation. Often this phrase is employed to offer some kind of humorous break. I caught myself using this a couple of times as my admission of not knowing. I wish I had heard of this back in the day that I was a formal student. Here is an example of what that would have sounded like. Professor: “Don, please share with the class how views of modern existentialism influence the direction of the United States judicial system?” Don: “Sorry, I got nothing.” I am not sure it would be received as humor if it was information that I was expected to know. So kids in school, please do not try this in class and say it was your pastor’s idea.
At times I am and you are asked difficult questions regarding faith and theology. Temptation says to say “I got nothing.” But the truth is we are all in the middle of wrestling with the questions to arrive at the possibility of answers. But it gets messy sometimes. Not knowing the answer does not mean there are none, instead it means we need to continue the search. Very likely some of the questions will remain questions until we are made to see more clearly. A student in Sunday school, after reading in the last chapter of Matthew that Jesus opened the disciples minds so they could understand the Scriptures, said that sure would be nice now. I agree and often find my prayers to include a request of opening my mind to understanding. Scripture and the world we live in are complicatedly intertwined and we are students required to come up with a better response than “I got nothing.”
I have been truly impressed with this study, The Truth Project. It was designed to ask the difficult questions and then to provide a basic understanding as to where to search for the answers. Our lives are not only directed by the truth that we have accepted but also by the lies that slip into our way of thought. Many times these lies warp how we approach our relationships, our faith, our understanding of the world and our view of how we fit in. The speaker in the videos uses a term pernicious lies in identifying what we are up against. In fact he used that phrase a good deal at the beginning so I had to look up the word pernicious. It means to cause great harm or to weaken and place at a disadvantage. The world generates all kinds of these lies and they do us great harm in very subtle ways if all we meet them with is “I got nothing.”
This Truth Project is not everything but it is a good step away from having nothing to deal with the pernicious lies that the world is sending your way. If you would like to host a study group in your home, and have five to twelve people that you will invite, please talk to me about being a Truth Project Host.
Pastor Don
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