NOTES:

What is the belief of the skeptic?

How did Pastor Paul respond?

How would you respond?

Prayer Requests
Y Pray for Paul Edgetts back pain as it
continues to get worse. Pray the care he
receives helps and allows him to get
stronger.
Y Gloria (Erika Dochniaks mother)
recovering from surgery to remove kidney
stones.
Y Donna (friend of Heather Butterfield) pray
for success and to be healed following her
surgery.
Y Rosie Johnson (Heather Butterfield friend)
has stage 3 cancer (guardian for a 1st
grader). Pray for miracle and healing.
Y Jim (friend/co-worker of Ginnelle Edgett)
diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Y Isaac (Ericka Dochniaks brother) Pray for
his marriage, for God to bring the miracle
of love and understanding.
Y For Chris Audets courage, to reach out to
friends to talk about believes and God,
and to reach out and build a bridge with
his (estranged) brother.
Y Pray for Alice Nybergs recovery from
knee surgery.
Y Donald (son of John & Gloria Ivers) who is
dealing with severe depression and
anxiety.
Y Kate H. (friend of Sally Leitch, whose kids
are playmates of Owen & Miles Leitch) as
she enters hospice due to brain cancer.
Y Ran (Randy) Ritmiller (Jason Blairs band
leader/friend) had surgery to repair a disc
in his neck; also suffering from
complications from previous cancer
surgery.
Y Dan Johnsons (Jason Blairs bass
player/friend) wife Robyn was diagnosed
with Stage 4 cancer in her Liver.
Y Julie Fjeld (Jennifer & Mike Huehns
neighbor) as she starts a trial cancer
treatment.
Y Karen Halloway (friend of Gloria Ivers) has
pancreatic cancer.
Y Scott Berg (relative of Rochelle Carrick)
has cancer.

Y Bill Ward (friend of Pastor Paul) who was

diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Y Sandee Landsburg (Pastor Pauls friend)
who suffers with cancer.

Chain of Lakes Church

10130 Davenport Street NE
Blaine, MN 55449
763-208-8049
www.colpres.org

Weekly Devotion
This past Sunday Pastor Paul talked
about science and religion.
Particularly he talked about how to
respond to people who need proof
that God exists. He shared video
clips of an interview with Rod
Fisher, a man who identifies
himself as an atheist/humanist.
The devotion this week can help us
come up with responses to people
who need proof.
This devotion was patterned after a
similar devotion shared the week of
January 7, 2007 by Church of the
Resurrection in Kansas City.
Enjoy! Comments about the
devotion can be E-mailed to
pastor@colpres.org

Monday, September 28
Read Genesis 1:1-2:3
Some people see this story as
science, but most folks see this
story as a description that God
created us. This story teaches that
God brings order out of chaos; that
the world is good, and that humans
are created in Gods image.

2
These three truths dont prove that
God exists, but they can help us
understand the importance of the
Scriptures, and that helps us
believe in God. When we look at
the world and see these three
truths we can see that the story
corresponds to reality. And this
leads us to believe in God.
If you were reading this story and
wanted to talk about how the story
helps you understand God, what
would you say? What would you
say to someone who doesnt
believe in God?

Tuesday, September 29
Read Exodus 3:13-27
God told Moses the name and then
told Moses what was going to
happen. This was a promise.
When we talk to folks who are
skeptical about God our task is to
share how we have benefitted from
God in our own lives. Recently we
had the opportunity to do this in
worship. We all answered the
question, How has knowing Jesus
changed my life for the better.
When we share this with someone
else we are making the case for
God. We arent directly proving
that God exists and arent making
the many arguments for Gods
existence. But we are sharing our
own story. Whether our own story
can change the mind of a skeptic
remains to be seen. But a skeptic

3
will most likely pay attention to our
story.
Wednesday, September 30
Read John 1:1-5, 10-18
Many people have a hard time
believing in God because they
dont have proof that God exists.
This past Sunday we watched a
video of Rod Fisher, a selfdescribed atheist/humanist who
said, show me.
The existence of Jesus is the
response to this question. Jesus
existed. He was human and divine;
he was the Word made flesh.
John wrote that in the Word we find
life. Millions of people have found
life in Jesus throughout history.
Their stories are an excellent
respond to the plea of show me
If you had a family member or
friend share with you that he or she
needed proof that God existed,
what would you say? How could
you respond with the example of
Jesus?
As you pray today, talk to God
about the plea of show me. Ask
God for help in your own response.
Thursday, October 1
Read Acts 17:16-34
In this story the Apostle Paul was
speaking to the philosophers in
Athens. Can you imagine how
challenging this had to be?
Something that Paul said was
captivating to the people. Look at
what they said in verse 19 in
responding to Paul:

4
So they took him and brought him
to the Areopagus and asked him,
May we know what this new
teaching is that you are
presenting? It sounds rather
strange to us, so we would like to
know what it means.
Something in Pauls presentation
connected with the people. Even if
they didnt believe they were
curious enough to check it out
some more.
At the end of the story, Paul hadnt
convinced the people, but he had
gotten their attention. Look at
verse 32:
When they heard of the
resurrection of the dead, some
scoffed; but others said, We will
hear you again about this.
We dont have to convince people
that God exists. But we can get
the persons attention. Remember
God is the ultimate evangelist. We
represent God when we have these
conversations with other people.
We dont have to convince people
we rely on God to do that.

Friday, October 2
Read Psalm 19
In this Psalm the glory of God is
revealed in creation and the law.
The Psalmist could see and
understand God because of the
beauty of creation.

2
Pastor Paul has shared the story of
having an experience of God when
he was a very young child. As he
was lying on the grass looking at
the sky, he had a sense that God
exists. God has to be out there.
This creation couldnt have
happened without God.
This is spiritual knowledge. It
might not convince someone who
needs factual proof. But this type
of knowledge helps us come to
terms with what we ultimately
believe.
Saturday, October 3
Read Hebrews 11:1-3
These words are worth memorizing.
Faith is the assurance of things
hoped for, the conviction of things
not seen. By faith we understand
that the worlds were prepared by
the word of God, so that what is
seen was made from things that
are not visible. Hebrews 11: 1,3
It is very difficult to prove the
existence of God if someone needs
evidence. God has decided not to
prove divine existence this way.
Instead God relies on our faith.
And God relies on our own lives.
You might have heard the story of a
Christian being brought to a jury
and accused of following Jesus
Christ. What is the verdict? What
would the verdict be in our own
life? Would other people know we
belong to Christ because of our
lives?
Hopefully the verdict for each of us
is guilty. Have a conversation

3
with God as you pray about this
today.