Now What? | Week 1 | Pastor Kevin Kringel |
Now What?
Week 1
Doubting After Easter? How Questions About Jesus Can Lead to Real Faith
“Easter can stir something in you…
Hope. Curiosity. Maybe even belief.
But then Monday comes…
…and the questions come with it.”
“Faith is not the absence of doubt; it’s the journey through it.”
If you are still exploring faith or even dealing with doubts, you are in great company. Too often, we think faith in Jesus just hits us, or that if it’s all real, there will be no questions or doubt. Faith is a journey. You are in good company. Jesus is not concerned that you have questions. Do not let your questions paralyze you or become an excuse. Let your questions feed your curiosity and draw you to answers.
“Jesus invites investigation.”
Let’s begin with doubters:
Jesus’ Disciples-Luke 24:1-12; 33-49
Matthew 28:16-17 “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”
Thomas-John 20:24-29 (Jesus didn’t reject Thomas; He met him where he was in the middle of his doubts)
Paul- Acts 26:9-11 (Paul wasn’t just a doubter; he was a hostile opponent to Jesus. Some people doubt quietly, and others doubt violently.
We may think Christianity is built on mighty people of faith who never questioned or doubted, but if we look deeper, we will see that they all doubted, had questions, and became convinced through a series of personal encounters, discussions, research, and others' testimonies.
The Bible doesn’t hide the doubters; it was written by them.
Never be intimidated by those who doubt; just keep inviting them in to investigate more.
Week 1
Doubting After Easter? How Questions About Jesus Can Lead to Real Faith
“Easter can stir something in you…
Hope. Curiosity. Maybe even belief.
But then Monday comes…
…and the questions come with it.”
- Was that real?
- Did I just feel something emotional?
- Can I actually believe this?
“Faith is not the absence of doubt; it’s the journey through it.”
If you are still exploring faith or even dealing with doubts, you are in great company. Too often, we think faith in Jesus just hits us, or that if it’s all real, there will be no questions or doubt. Faith is a journey. You are in good company. Jesus is not concerned that you have questions. Do not let your questions paralyze you or become an excuse. Let your questions feed your curiosity and draw you to answers.
“Jesus invites investigation.”
Let’s begin with doubters:
Jesus’ Disciples-Luke 24:1-12; 33-49
Matthew 28:16-17 “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”
Thomas-John 20:24-29 (Jesus didn’t reject Thomas; He met him where he was in the middle of his doubts)
Paul- Acts 26:9-11 (Paul wasn’t just a doubter; he was a hostile opponent to Jesus. Some people doubt quietly, and others doubt violently.
We may think Christianity is built on mighty people of faith who never questioned or doubted, but if we look deeper, we will see that they all doubted, had questions, and became convinced through a series of personal encounters, discussions, research, and others' testimonies.
The Bible doesn’t hide the doubters; it was written by them.
Never be intimidated by those who doubt; just keep inviting them in to investigate more.
Modern Story: C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis wasn’t a preacher, and he wasn’t raised into blind faith. He was a brilliant, highly educated scholar at the University of Oxford, trained in philosophy, literature, and logic. By his late 20s, he was already teaching at Oxford and was a committed atheist.
So when he came to faith in his early 30s, it wasn’t because he lacked intelligence or avoided hard questions… it was because, after wrestling honestly, he found that belief in God made more sense than unbelief.
C.S. Lewis was a man who didn’t want to believe in God…but couldn’t escape Him.
He’s now known as one of the greatest Christian thinkers of the last century…but he didn’t start that way.
He started as an atheist.
Not casually convinced.
He looked at the world, saw suffering, saw pain…
and concluded, ‘There is no God.’
And honestly, that’s where some of you are right now.
Not rebellious… just trying to make sense of life.
But Lewis began to notice something he couldn’t explain.
He called it Joy.
Not happiness… not pleasure…
A deep longing.
A sense that there was something more… something just out of reach.
He would experience it in beauty, in music, in moments… but it would never last.
And it bothered him.
Because nothing in this world could satisfy it.
So he asked a dangerous question:
What if this longing isn’t meaningless… what if it’s pointing to something real?
For example, if I am hungry, there is food
If I thirst, there is water
C. S. Lewis wasn’t a preacher, and he wasn’t raised into blind faith. He was a brilliant, highly educated scholar at the University of Oxford, trained in philosophy, literature, and logic. By his late 20s, he was already teaching at Oxford and was a committed atheist.
So when he came to faith in his early 30s, it wasn’t because he lacked intelligence or avoided hard questions… it was because, after wrestling honestly, he found that belief in God made more sense than unbelief.
C.S. Lewis was a man who didn’t want to believe in God…but couldn’t escape Him.
He’s now known as one of the greatest Christian thinkers of the last century…but he didn’t start that way.
He started as an atheist.
Not casually convinced.
He looked at the world, saw suffering, saw pain…
and concluded, ‘There is no God.’
And honestly, that’s where some of you are right now.
Not rebellious… just trying to make sense of life.
But Lewis began to notice something he couldn’t explain.
He called it Joy.
Not happiness… not pleasure…
A deep longing.
A sense that there was something more… something just out of reach.
He would experience it in beauty, in music, in moments… but it would never last.
And it bothered him.
Because nothing in this world could satisfy it.
So he asked a dangerous question:
What if this longing isn’t meaningless… what if it’s pointing to something real?
For example, if I am hungry, there is food
If I thirst, there is water
He later wrote in his book “Surprised by Joy”:
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
At the same time, his thinking started to shift.
He realized:
If everything is “just matter” …if we’re "just chemicals,” and chemical reactions.
Then even our thoughts are just reactions.
Which means you can’t trust your own reasoning.
And suddenly, his atheism started to collapse under its own weight.
So he took a step. Not to Christianity… not yet.
But to believing there must be a God.
Then came conversations with friends, including J. R. R. Tolkien.
And they told him something that changed everything:
“The story of Jesus isn’t just a myth…it’s the myth that became fact.”
In other words
Every story of rescue, every story of sacrifice, every story that moves your heart…
They’re all echoes of the true story. (This is why humans have such a desire to write and read them)
And that true story… is Jesus.
And Lewis said that in that moment…
Everything came together:
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
At the same time, his thinking started to shift.
He realized:
If everything is “just matter” …if we’re "just chemicals,” and chemical reactions.
Then even our thoughts are just reactions.
Which means you can’t trust your own reasoning.
And suddenly, his atheism started to collapse under its own weight.
So he took a step. Not to Christianity… not yet.
But to believing there must be a God.
Then came conversations with friends, including J. R. R. Tolkien.
And they told him something that changed everything:
“The story of Jesus isn’t just a myth…it’s the myth that became fact.”
In other words
Every story of rescue, every story of sacrifice, every story that moves your heart…
They’re all echoes of the true story. (This is why humans have such a desire to write and read them)
And that true story… is Jesus.
And Lewis said that in that moment…
Everything came together:
- His longing
- His thinking
- His questions
- And he reached a point where he couldn’t hold out anymore.
He wrote:
“I gave in… and admitted that God was God.”
He literally called himself: “The most reluctant convert in all England.”
“I went to the zoo one morning…
When we set out, I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo, I did.”
No lightning.
No emotional moment.
Just truth… settling into his heart.
And here’s why I tell you that story.
Because some of you are waiting for a moment but God may be inviting you into a journey.
You don’t have to have every question answered today.
You don’t have to silence your doubts.
You just have to be honest enough to take the next step.
Doubt doesn’t disqualify you from faith…
Lewis didn’t jump from atheist → Christian overnight.
He moved:
“I went to the zoo one morning…
When we set out, I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo, I did.”
No lightning.
No emotional moment.
Just truth… settling into his heart.
And here’s why I tell you that story.
Because some of you are waiting for a moment but God may be inviting you into a journey.
You don’t have to have every question answered today.
You don’t have to silence your doubts.
You just have to be honest enough to take the next step.
Doubt doesn’t disqualify you from faith…
Lewis didn’t jump from atheist → Christian overnight.
He moved:
- Atheist
- Theist
- Follower of Jesus
Again: “You don’t have to have it all figured out…you just have to take the next step.”
Mark 9:24
“I believe; help my unbelief!”
“God doesn’t ask you to turn your brain off…He invites you to follow the evidence honestly.”
Look into it, here are a few starting points to research:
1. The Moral Argument (Right & Wrong)
Why do we all believe some things are truly right or wrong?
Mark 9:24
“I believe; help my unbelief!”
“God doesn’t ask you to turn your brain off…He invites you to follow the evidence honestly.”
Look into it, here are a few starting points to research:
1. The Moral Argument (Right & Wrong)
Why do we all believe some things are truly right or wrong?
- Not just opinions
- Not just cultural
- But real justice and injustice
- We argue about fairness because we believe a real standard exists
- But where does that standard come from?
If there is a moral law, there must be a moral lawgiver
“Your sense that something is wrong with the world…points to the fact that something is right beyond it.”
2. The Reason Argument (Can You Trust Your Thinking?)
If everything is just matter and chemistry…
“Your sense that something is wrong with the world…points to the fact that something is right beyond it.”
2. The Reason Argument (Can You Trust Your Thinking?)
If everything is just matter and chemistry…
- Thoughts = brain reactions
- Beliefs = survival instincts
So why trust them as true?
Lewis’ insight:
Lewis’ insight:
- A purely naturalistic world undermines reason itself
If you trust reason…you’re already stepping beyond materialism
“If your brain is just chemicals reacting…why believe it when it tells you atheism is true?”
3. The Desire Argument (Longing for More)
Why do we have deep desires nothing in this world satisfies?
3. The Desire Argument (Longing for More)
Why do we have deep desires nothing in this world satisfies?
- Success doesn’t satisfy
- Relationships don’t fully satisfy
- Experiences fade
As Lewis thought earlier (from Surprised by Joy):
If a desire exists and nothing in this world fulfills it…Maybe we were made for another world.
Hunger → food exists
Thirst → water exists
Longing → something real exists
“That ache in your soul isn’t random…it’s directional.”
If a desire exists and nothing in this world fulfills it…Maybe we were made for another world.
Hunger → food exists
Thirst → water exists
Longing → something real exists
“That ache in your soul isn’t random…it’s directional.”
4. The Design Argument (Order & Complexity)
The universe looks ordered, precise, and finely tuned:
The universe looks ordered, precise, and finely tuned:
- Laws of physics exist
- Math is real because of order and precision
- DNA complexity
- Conditions for life
Order points to intelligence, not accident
This doesn’t prove everything about God… but it strongly suggests a mind behind reality
“Creation doesn’t look like chaos that got lucky… it looks like intention.”
This doesn’t prove everything about God… but it strongly suggests a mind behind reality
“Creation doesn’t look like chaos that got lucky… it looks like intention.”
5. The Beginning Argument (Why Is There Something?)
Everything that begins has a cause
Everything that begins has a cause
- The universe had a beginning
- Therefore… it has a cause beyond itself
That cause must be:
- Outside time
- Powerful
- Non-material (beyond matter)
“Nothing doesn’t create something… so where did everything come from?”
6. The Historical Argument (Jesus & the Resurrection)
Christianity isn’t just philosophy; it’s history.
Christianity isn’t just philosophy; it’s history.
- Jesus lived
- Jesus was crucified
- The tomb was reported empty
- Disciples claimed to see Him alive
- They died for that belief
The question is: What best explains those facts?
“This isn’t just a belief system…it’s a claim about something that happened.”
7. The Transformation Argument (Changed Lives)
Across history and today:
7. The Transformation Argument (Changed Lives)
Across history and today:
- Addicts set free
- Broken people restored
- Lives radically changed
Including people like C. S. Lewis
Not proof on its own, but powerful evidence.
Not proof on its own, but powerful evidence.
“Something real is happening in people…and it deserves an explanation.”
“None of these forces you to believe…
But together, they build a case that faith is not blind…
It’s reasonable.”
“None of these forces you to believe…
But together, they build a case that faith is not blind…
It’s reasonable.”
Simple Invitation
“You don’t have to answer every question today… But what if your doubts aren’t roadblocks… What if they’re signposts?”
“You don’t have to answer every question today… But what if your doubts aren’t roadblocks… What if they’re signposts?”
Altar:
Response Options
For the skeptic:
“Keep exploring, but don’t walk away or stall out.” (“I’m Searching” can become a smokescreen for laziness and indecision)
Response Options
For the skeptic:
“Keep exploring, but don’t walk away or stall out.” (“I’m Searching” can become a smokescreen for laziness and indecision)
For the curious:
“Start talking to God, even if you’re not sure He’s there.”
For the ready:
“Today can be your moment of surrender.”
Let’s stand and pray.
“Start talking to God, even if you’re not sure He’s there.”
For the ready:
“Today can be your moment of surrender.”
Let’s stand and pray.