Message by Dr. Christin Taylor – November 3, 2024
GENESIS 2:8-9 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
GENESIS 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
GENESIS 3:1-8 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
3 Guiding Questions
BEGINNING
When did doubt first enter the human story?
ORIGINAL PURPOSE
What was doubt’s purpose in the hands of the serpent?
RENEWED PURPOSE
What has doubt become in the presence of Jesus?
What was meant for alienation, Jesus has transformed into a portal for intimacy
John the Baptist’s Doubt
JOHN 1:29 “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”
LUKE 7:18-20 “Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” When the men came to Jesus, they said, ‘John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”’ ”
The Serpent’s Question: “Are you really the Messiah? Are you really the one we’ve been waiting for? Or should we expect someone else.?”
The Purpose of the Serpent’s Question: To rewrite John’s story of Jesus in his mind and heart.
How Jesus Responds to John’s Doubt: “At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy a are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” ~Luke 7:21-23
Jesus simply reports observable evidence of what he has been doing.
ISAIAH 29:18-19 In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Once more the humble will rejoice in the Lord; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
ISAIAH 35:5-6 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.
ISAIAH 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.
How is doubt transformed?
If doubt was meant to rewrite the story of who Jesus is in our lives; Jesus transforms it into a song of his faithfulness.
JUDE 1:22 “Indeed, have mercy with those who doubt.”
When I am brave enough and vulnerable enough to bring my doubtful questions to Jesus, He is faithful to meet me at the heart of my doubts and hold me with gentleness and truth.
You can listen to the sermon on YouTube here.
You can download discussion questions for this message here: Doubt #5
Christin Taylor grew up a missionary kid living overseas. When she was 14, her parents retired from the mission field and moved to Central Indiana, where she went to Indiana Wesleyan University and met her Canadian husband, Dwayne. They immigrated to Ontario in 2015 with their two kids, Noelle and Nathan, and have lived here happily ever after. She has her Ph.D. in English Language and Literature and runs the Writing Centre at Laurier University. She and Dwayne have been at Westheights for the past year and are grateful for this community.
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