Heaven Meets Earth Week 9

This powerful message invites us into an honest conversation about something we rarely discuss in church: doubt. Using the surprising example of John the Baptist—a man Jesus himself called the greatest born of women—we discover that even those with the strongest faith can experience seasons of questioning. John, who leaped in the womb at Jesus's presence, who baptized the Messiah, who proclaimed Him as the Lamb of God, found himself in prison asking, 'Are you really the one?' This exploration introduces us to the concept of cognitive dissonance, that uncomfortable psychological space where two conflicting thoughts collide. We learn that doubt isn't the opposite of faith but often the very place where faith deepens and grows. The message identifies three catalysts for doubt: personal suffering, encounters with hypocritical believers, and practical problems where Scripture seems to collide with real-world experience. Rather than running from these moments, we're given a three-fold response: look up to God's Word and prayer, look around to trusted community who can walk with us through confusion, and look back to remember God's faithfulness in our past. Like a goldfish whose growth is determined by the size of its tank, our faith is often limited by how we handle our doubts—will we shrink back or allow them to expand our understanding of God's character and faithfulness?