A little over fifty years ago, 97% of Americans professed a belief in God. Compare that to today, and you will find that we live in a vastly different world.
Today:
48% of Americans are considered post-Christian.
One out of every four adults raised in church will walk away from faith.
For every person who makes the decision to follow Jesus, four professing christians will make the decision to leave the faith.
A growing number of Millennials and Generation Z view the Bible as a hostile book used to oppress the innocent and marginalized.
The fastest growing religious group in the country is “The Nones,” or the religiously unaffiliated, claiming no faith at all.
It is estimated that by year 2020, over 50% of American’s will be post-Christian.
We live in a culture that is increasingly apathetic towards God and matters of faith. More and more people are looking at Christianity and walking away, looking at the church and finding a resistible group of people peddling a resistible presentation of God. There is an increasing number of people who believe that their lives will be better without faith.
The world Jesus lived in was disenfranchised with both the religion of the Jews and of the pagans. God(s) had little real influence or bearing on life. How does that compare to our world today? Explain and give examples.
We live in a culture that views God and the church as irrelevant and resistible. A world that contrasts starkly with the America of 1950/60. From your perspective, what happened that caused our culture to shift so dramatically so quickly?
Consider some of the people you came in contact with today (baristas, coworkers, grocers, gas station attendant, etc.). If asked what they thought about God, church, and faith what do you think they might say?
Members of the Millennials and Generation Z are the first to have been raised in post-Christian families and institutions. They view most institutions with distrust and have strong objections to the Bible, the God it presents, and the Church. What do you think fostered those sentiments/attitudes, and how do we (the church) go about engaging those objections in a helpful way?
What generation do you fall in? How does that impact the way you see and process the information Pastor Trevor presented?
Jesus presents a picture of God that is better than both the one that existed in 30 AD and the one the is prevalent in society today. How does the picture of God that Jesus presents compare to the faulty idea of God most people have?
How does Jesus’ approach to life trump the approach of the ancient world? The approach to life most people have today?
Jesus presented a hope that was unknown in His world and is increasingly becoming unknown in our own. What is the hope that Jesus gives?
John 10:10 (NIV)The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jesus presented an irresistible picture of God, faith, and life. What can you do to present the same picture Jesus did to those around you?
