Walking With Jesus – “Where Is Your Faith?” (Part IV – Lent)

Sermon Title: Walking With Jesus – “Where Is Your Faith?”

Good News Statement: Jesus restores our faith

Preached: Sunday, March 23^rd, 2025 at Dogwood Prairie UMC & Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSVUE): Luke 8:22-25 Today’s scripture reading comes from the Gospel of Luke. During the Lenten and Easter Season, we are going to be walking with Jesus to the Cross, listening to his parables, deciphering his teachings, and experiencing our own resurrection. Our walk continues to by hearing the question asked by Jesus in a time of storm, “Where is your faith?” Our scripture reading is Luke Chapter Eight, Verses Twenty-Two thru Twenty-Five. May the hearing and understanding of this scripture add a blessing to your life.

 

Jesus Calms a Storm

²² One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they put out, ²³ and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. ²⁴ They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And waking up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. ²⁵ Then he said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were terrified and amazed and said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water and they obey him?”

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

 

The following Sermon Series will be drawn from the words of Biblical Scholar Charles R. Swindoll, who offers commentary and thoughts on the Gospel of Luke in his book ”Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on Luke” published in 2012 by Zondervan Publications in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on Luke, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2012.

 

 

 

Introduction:

In August of 1988, a Scottish duo known as the Proclaimers released a song that five years later reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. The lead single from their second album, Sunshine on Leith¸ has been featured in several movies and television shows, is still played on the radio today, and is said that the band’s earnings from this one song are “five times more than the rest of their music catalogue combined.”[1] Needless to say, this 1988 song has become a “live staple”[2] for millions of people across the world. The name of this song is “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).

The song “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” according to Charlie Reid, the lead singer of the Proclaimers, “is a devotional thing about how far [a person] would walk for [someone they love].” The chorus is probably the most remembered of the song, and it goes like this, “But I would walk five hundred miles and I would walk five hundred more just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door.” How far are you willing to walk for the person and people you love?

I was thinking about this song the other day as I was contemplating the Lent and Easter Season. Jesus walked everywhere, except when he was in a boat. He walked to Nazareth to Jerusalem every year with his parents to celebrate the Passover Meal; He walked from village to village and town to town preaching the good news; He walked all over the Galilean Region healing the sick, casting out demons, restoring sight to the blind, helping the deaf hear again, giving words to the mute, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, releasing captives, blessing the poor, and telling the paralyzed to stand up and walk. He walked by wells and places of gathering to forgive sins and to eat with Pharisees, Tax Collectors, and Unbelievers; He walked throughout the land inviting people to give up everything and to “follow him”; He walked in deserts, up mountains, into deserted places, and within the peacefulness of gardens to find restoration, isolation, and hope; and He walked, while carrying his cross, to his death on Calvary. Then three days later, He walked out of the tomb!

It is extremely evident that Jesus walked. He probably walked more than 500 miles! As a matter of fact, according to Ray Downing—a 3D illustrator and animator—“The Gospels give us a detailed accounting of these walks and destinations [within a region roughly the size of the state of New Jersey] and is [estimated] that during the three years of Jesus’ public ministry he walked approximately 3,125 miles.”[3] Besides walking to share the good news and to change the hearts and lives of many people, why did Jesus walk all those miles?

For the next several weeks, leading up to Easter, we are going to attempt to answer that question by walking with Jesus, from town to town as he takes his last step on Calvary but also takes his first step out of the tomb. And hopefully, as we walk with Jesus, it will become clear to why he walked all those miles and to why he invites us to continue to walk for him on this earth. Are you willing to walk 500 miles? Are you willing to put on those boots that are made for walking? Are you willing to walk for those you love and for the One who loves you?

 

Body:

On October 12, 1987, English singer and songwriter, George Michael with Columbia Records released a song that was not intended to be released as a single. Needless to say, it held the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks, and, according to Billboard magazine, was the number one single of the year in the United States in 1988. The song also reached number one in Australia and Canada and number two on the UK Singles Chart. In 2001, it placed at number 322 on the Songs of the Century list. The song that George Michael released is titled “Faith.”[4] For those that are trying to remember some of the lyrics to this song, here is the chorus: “Yes I gotta have faith. Ooh, I gotta have faith. Because I gotta have faith, faith, faith. I gotta have faith, faith, faith.”

On the website www.gmforever.com (George Michael Forever), it reports that George Michael understood faith because of his belief in God. George Michael shared, “I believe in God, but I don’t think that it is man’s destiny to understand God. Therefore we come up with our own ideas, mostly based on comfort or fear. But I think that god and life are beyond the human imagination, so I live my life…trying to make the best of it and letting others do the same.”[5] George Michael understood that you “gotta have faith” in what you do. But, how many times do we say we have faith when we don’t? Or we feel as if our faith is strong when it is actually weak? How many times has Jesus ever asked you, “Do you have faith?”

Our walk with Jesus continues today by finding ourselves not on dry land but in a boat with a man sleeping below the deck, possibly on a cushion, as others frantically run around above him panicking during a terrifying storm wondering if they are going to perish. From “deep waters” to considering change to meeting Jesus where he is, we have been continually challenged to think about our faith this Lenten Season and considering what we need to do to prepare our heart, mind, and soul for the death and resurrection of Jesus.

And so during our walk, we now find ourselves caught in a storm in the deepest and most mysterious part of the Sea of Galilee with experienced fishermen and followers of Jesus. We are in a storm. We are losing hope. We are terrified. We seem lost. We can’t see anything but flashes of lightning. We hear the rolling thunder. We feel the rain. Our faith is low. But, there is someone in the boat who can save us. It’s Jesus Christ. And he asks us, “Where is your faith?”

 

Movement One: Understanding the Scripture…On the Boat, in a Storm

I’m sure many of you, if not all of you, have asked aloud or to yourself, “Where is…. (You fill in the blank)?” Where are my car keys? Where is my phone? Where is my wallet? Where are my glasses? Where did I place the tool I was just using five minutes ago? Where did I place the grocery list? Where is the package I ordered from Amazon or Wal-Mart? Where are the cats? Where is the dog? Where is so-and-so these days? Where did I park my car? In the animated movie The Incredibles from 2004, during a time of crisis, Frozone asks, “Where is my super suit?” The conversation continues with Frozone speaking to his wife, “You tell me where my suit is woman!! We are talking about the greater good!” Frozone’s wife responds, “Greater good?! I am your wife! I’m the greatest GOOD you’re ever gonna get!” Emily will tell you that, although I am organized, I still end up asking her where something is at least once a day. Let’s face the facts, we have all asked the question “Where is…?”

In our text today, we find Jesus asking the disciples a similar question. However, Jesus isn’t concerned about what the disciples may have physically lost or misplaced. He is more concerned about what appears to be missing on the inside: the disciples’ faith. The disciples have misplaced the one thing that is going to rescue them from the storm and get them to the other side safely. They have misplaced what is going to help them in life. They have misplaced what will save them. And Jesus knows this, which is why he asks them about the one thing they have misplaced. Before we ponder Jesus’ question to his disciples, let’s consider what is taking place in the encounter of Jesus calming the storm.

Luke 8:22 reads, “One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’” At some point, Jesus became determined to travel from his present location to “the other side of the lake.” Why? Maybe he wanted to continue his ministry of performing healings for others and spreading the good news. Maybe he knew that a demon possessed man living amongst the tombs and chained needed to be saved. Maybe he needed a change of scenery. Maybe he knew what was going to happen and wanted to test his disciples. Whatever the reason may have been, Jesus was determined to get to the other side of the lake. In another moment when the disciples are on the lake, fearing for their lives, Mark tells us that Jesus intended to “pass by them” (Mark 6:48) because he knew that they would be okay, because he already made plans for them to get to the other side of the lake. The lake was none other than the Sea of Galilee—which is Israel’s largest freshwater lake located in a deep depression in Northern Israel—and his destination was a region lying southeast of the sea where gentiles lived. I read that the Sea of Galilee, at its deepest point, is 686 feet deep.[6]

Today, we view the ocean and other large bodies of water as a necessary part of the planet’s health. But to ancient people, notes Swindoll, “the sea was a mysterious, dangerous place, characterized by chaos and possessing the power to kill without warning. No fate could have been worse than to be swallowed by the sea….”[7] To some biblical writers, the sea acted as a symbol, “a principle of disorder, violence, or unrest that marks the old creation.”[8] Furthermore, the Greek word rendered “deep water” is bathos, which has the simple meaning “depths.” But classical Greek writers frequently used the term figuratively for “greatness” or “inscrutability,” as did Luke’s mentor, Paul (Romans 8:39, 11:33; 1 Corinthians 2:10; Ephesians 3:18). The phrase “deep waters” also comes from an Israelite tradition that describes “deep waters” as “chaos.” Chaos is often defined as disorder and confusion.[9]

Biblically, chaos conveys the message of emptiness, waste, desolation, and void. More often than not, in the Old Testament—the Hebrew Bible—chaos refers to a place known as Sheol or the underworld. Words such as descend, deep, and beneath are commonly used when speaking of Sheol. The Book of Job describes it as the farthest place possible from Heaven, where the dead go regardless of who they were in their earthly life. The disciples find themselves in the deepest waters of the Sea of Galilee. It’s no wonder that fear and chaos swept over them.

Based upon these definitions and descriptions, “deep waters” is a place that lacks order and is a place that people do their best to avoid. However, Jesus is determined to pass through the deep waters of the Sea of Galilee to get to the other side. Even for experienced fishermen, launching out into the deepest part of the Sea of Galilee was to propel oneself into the unknown, into chaos. I wonder if the disciples’ faith began to decrease before they even pushed off from shore realizing that they would have to travel through what they have avoided their whole life? I’m sure at times our faith decreases as well when we are told to do something or go somewhere that is unfamiliar. But should it? Why is it that our faith decreases during moments of being in “deep water??”

Luke 8:23 reads, “So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger.” The winds[10] unexpectedly whipped through the gorge and churned the sea into a choppy nightmare, especially for the crude sailing crafts of the first century. The vessel taken by Jesus and his disciples, which likely included more than just the twelve apostles, must have been substantial for the time, perhaps even a Roman trade ship. Luke reports that Jesus slept, oblivious to the fierce wind and choppy sea, which suggests Jesus had gone below the deck into the hold of the ship. Mark adds the detail in his gospel that Jesus was “in the stern, asleep on a cushion” (Mark 4:38).

During their voyage, the boat began filling with water. Imagine the experience. The vessel already was riding low in the water, loaded with people. The wind caused the boat to lean to one side as waves lapped over the hull. All hands on deck were frantically bailing water, but more sea poured in than they could remove. The disciples became overwhelmed by panic. Have you ever you been there before? Your boat is sinking, waves are crashing against the boat, the boat is leaning, panic and fear settle in. You have encountered something that you have never dealt with before; a fierce storm that seems to have no end. What the disciples forgot is what we realize today; and that is, that Jesus, although asleep, is still in the boat. He is still present in your life during every storm, every panic, every fear, every loss of faith and hope. But yet, we let the boat sink without waking him up.

Luke 8:24 reads, “They went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And waking up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm.” Swindoll notes, “The double use of the title ‘Master’ heightens the sense of urgency…”[11] The disciples yell out, “we are perishing.” Perishing is an extreme word that is translated to mean death. The disciples fear that they are doing to die in the deep waters because of this storm. The word perish appears 155 times in the Bible. Numbers 17:12, “The Israelites said to Moses, ‘We are perishing; we are lost; all of us are lost!’” Luke 13:3, Jesus says, “I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.” And John 3:16 reminds us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” God does not want you to perish but live. But yet, fear and uncertainty lead us to believe in the worst outcomes sometimes. Therefore, feeling as if we are perishing.

Jesus stood up, perhaps came onto the deck if he indeed was below, and rebuked the storm. In effect, Jesus woke from his sleep, got off of his cushion, and spoke strong words to the whipping wind and crashing waves: “Be silent! Be Still!” (Mark 4:39). These words mirror what David wrote when quoting God in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Immediately, the wind and waves stopped and “a calm came to be.” Matthew and Mark both note that “there was a dead calm” (Matthew 8:26; Mark 4:39). The silence must have been deafening. No howling wind. No treacherous waves. Only still waters and a clear sight to the other side. It’s amazing what Jesus can do when we let him take control of our life, of our storms. Even in the chaos—in the eye of a hurricane—there is quietness and peacefulness. But sometimes, the only way to experience that is to give your storms to God.

After, rebuking the winds and the waves and the storm in general and saving the disciples from perishing, Jesus asks an important question. Luke 8:25 reads, “Then he said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were terrified and amazed and said to one another, ‘Who then is this that he commands even the winds and the water and they obey him?’” The disciples didn’t yet see the full extent of Jesus’ mission nor his power which is why they essentially ask “Who is this that can do all these things?” Jesus absorbs this question, but in turn asks his own question: “Where is your faith?” Swindoll claims that this question from Jesus is rhetorical. Jesus knows where their faith is. However, I believe that we should read this question as a question that is not rhetorical but as something that Jesus needs us to answer. I am asking you today, “Where is your faith?”

The story of Jesus calming the storm is certainly powerful in terms of our own life. Meaning, we encounter numerous “storms” in our life that leave us experiencing fear, panic, and being overwhelmed: our boat is sinking, nothing is going right, sin is conquering good, darkness is putting out the light, temptation is winning, the deep waters are closer than they have ever been, the other side seems to be getting further and further away. Our hope is gone. Our faith is little. But then, we realize that Jesus is in our boat! All we have to do is wake him up and he can calm our storms. This text is powerful, because we can all relate to it in some way. However, we often overlook the question that Jesus asks his disciples because we are more concerned with the storm rather than what we have that could save us from the storm. “Where is your faith?”

 

Movement Two: Living Out Your Faith – What Does it mean to live a Faithful Life?

What is “faith”? George Michael sang, “You gotta have faith.” The Bible teaches us about faith. Jesus tells us to have faith. But what is “faith”? A simple Google search will suggest that “faith” is “allegiance to duty or a person;” “faith” is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something;” and “faith” is strong belief in God or in doctrines of a religion.”

Doing a little more research, C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, stated that faith is a “basic belief—accepting or regarding as true the doctrines of Christianity.” Joel Edmund Anderson, when explaining Lewis’s understanding of faith, notes that there are two characteristics of faith. First, faith in a higher sense, and second, faith and works.

For starters, faith in a higher sense refers to the reality that we are not as good as we think we are. A true attempt to follow Christ will give you a fairly quick lesson in humility. Lewis states, “We tend to have this idea about faith that it is like trying to pass an exam or making a bargain with God—as long as we do our part, God will be obligated to keep his end of the bargain! Well [when] we don’t do our part; we fail….and yet God is still there to pick us up, dust us off, and strengthen us to keep going.”[12] Faith is the belief that we can’t do things on our own: we need God—a higher sense—to get us to the other side. Our faith should not be treated as something that “merely helps us pass an exam” but as something that helps us live like Christ.

Then, Anderson shares that faith is also about doing something. Anderson notes, “We put our faith in God by obeying him, and doing what he says—if we didn’t do what he said, then we really wouldn’t be putting our faith in him or trusting him. We do those things, not in a worried way, thinking if we don’t do them perfectly, he’ll be angry and send us to hell. But rather, as Lewis says, we do them ‘in a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save [us] already.’”[13] We do “Christian works” because we are being saved, and we are being saved because we are doing “Christian works.” Faith is about trusting in what God is doing in our lives and what we are doing in our lives for God. Faith is about working for God and not against God. For C.S. Lewis, faith is an act of belief and trust in God, who is constantly saving us.

Now, for Paul Tillich, a scholar and theologian, faith takes on a characteristic of being concerned. Tillich wrote in his book Dynamics of Faith, “Faith is the state of being ultimately concerned.”[14] For Tillich, faith meant a wholehearted acceptance of salvation through the atonement of Christ; to place faith in Christ was to be concerned with committing oneself into his care with a trust that results in repentance, baptism, and striving to live by the spirit. Faith is not only belief and trust in Christ, but is a concern regarding how we are living our life. We should be concerned about our faith because our faith leads to salvation.

Now viewing faith that leads to salvation, it is important to note a few biblical passages that back this up. For starters, Paul, when writing to the people of Ephesus, notes, “By grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). Through our faith (and grace), we have been saved. Through our belief in Christ, we can be saved. Through our trust in Christ, we can be saved. Through our grace, we can be saved. Because of our faith, we can be saved. Paul, from prison, wrote to the people of Rome, “Therefore, we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28); and a few chapters later tells the people, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).Through our faith we learn what is right to do in the sight of the Lord, we experience justifications, and we have the potential to have peace with God. Faith—our belief and trust and concern in Christ—leads to peace and to being saved.

There are several moments in scripture where people are saved by their faith. When Jesus returned to the city of Capernaum, a centurion soldier had a slave whom he valued highly and who was ill and close to death. The centurion said to Jesus, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed” (Luke 7:6-7).  When Jesus heard this, “he was amazed…and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith’” (Luke 7:9). The faith of the unworthy centurion soldier amazed Jesus so much that Jesus healed the slave. If Jesus looked at your faith, would he say, “I am amazed”?

When Jesus was surrounded and pressed upon by the crowds, a woman, who had been bleeding for twelve years, touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately the woman’s bleeding stopped. “Jesus asked, ‘Who touched me?’ When they all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me, for I noticed that power had gone out from me’” (Luke 8:45-46). When the woman confessed that she touched Jesus, Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace” (Luke 8:48). A similar phrase is said by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark when Jesus gave sight to a blind man (Mark 10:52). Because of the woman’s faith (and the blind man’s faith), she was healed and made well and able to go in peace. Because of her faith, she was saved. Is your faith strong enough to fight the crowds to reach out and touch Jesus? Could Jesus heal you based upon your faith?

Staying in the Gospel of Luke, we encounter another story where the faith of a few saved the faith of one. In Luke 5:18-25, we read the story of the paralyzed man: “Just then some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to bring him and lay him before Jesus, but, finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you’” (Luke 5:18-20). Before Jesus tells the paralyzed man to stand up and take his stretcher and go home (Luke 5:24), Jesus openly proclaims that because of the faith of the men, the paralyzed man’s sins were forgiven. Before the paralyzed man even walks for the first time in his life or for the first time in a while, Jesus highlights the faith of the men—who are nameless and who may never appear in another Bible story. The faith of a few saved and healed one. Could your faith save others?

We have been given the gift of faith; and the faith that we have been given is not something we should only hold inside of us. Rather, we should be willing to share our faith with others so that others can be healed and saved by Jesus as well. Are you willing to share your faith, are willing to use your faith to help others, to help grow the kingdom of God, to help strengthen the ideas, dreams, and mission of our church? How are you going to use the faith that God has given you? How can you show that you have faith?

 

Movement Three: Where is Your Faith?

The faith that you have been given can heal you, it can get you through any storm, it can get you safely to the other side, it can overcome the temptations in your life, it can conquer your sins, it can save you, and it can build your belief and trust in God. In addition to all these things, faith can help us return to God (Malachi 3:4). Your faith can do wondrous things.

In a recent article published by the Pew Research Center[15] titled, “Decline of Christianity in the U.S. has slowed, May have Leveled Off”, we, as Christians, are given hope that the faith found in people—given to them by God—is making Christianity important again. The opening paragraph states, “After many years of steady decline—[from 2007-2022]—the share of Americans who identify as Christians shows signs of leveling off—at least temporarily—at slightly above six-in-ten people.”[16] To give you an idea of what the opening paragraph is talking about, the study highlights that in 2007 those who thought Christianity was important was 78%, it dropped to 71% in 2014, then dropped again in 2019 to 63%, and then dropped again below 60% in 2022. In the span of 15 years, the importance of Christianity—faith, belief, trust in God, attending religious events, etc.—decreased almost 20%: that’s over one percent each year. And there are several factors feeding into that decline.

However, today, the importance of Christianity is up to 62 to 63%. Those numbers aren’t great, but they aren’t bad either. The importance of Christianity is not on a decline. It is on the rise! Why? Because people are realizing the importance of having Christ in their life and the significance of believing in God and what it means to know that thing they believe can really change their life. Christianity is not just some “thing” that we choose to call ourselves. Christianity is something that we are called to be and live out.

When we lean into our faith, the idea of being identified as a Christian becomes important. When people lose faith or try to convince themselves that they don’t need faith to have Jesus in their life, they are missing out the on promises of God: promises that change their life, promises that put them amongst people that love them, promises that allow them to be the church Christ needs them to be, and promises that accept them for who they are. Your faith makes Christianity important. There are people—possibly people that are close to you—that have lost sight of the importance of Christianity and faith in their life. It’s time to remind them of the faith they have been given. It’s time to make Christianity important again. It’s time to be concerned about your faith.

So, I ask you the question that Jesus asked his disciples: “Where is your faith?” Where is your faith today? And why is it there? Is your faith in a valley, struggling because of life circumstances and situations that you can’t control? Is your faith on top of a mountain, the strongest it’s ever been? Is your faith somewhere in between, deciding what it needs to do to improve or fighting to stay out of the valley? Is your faith—belief and trust in God—important to you? It takes faith to move mountains; it takes faith to return to God; it takes faith to make it through each day; and it takes faith to make being a Christian and a church important in your life.

Church, friends, if we don’t have faith, how are we supposed to do what God needs us to do? How are we to be the person that God needs us to be, that those who look up to us need us to be? How can we care for the next generation of the Church, if we don’t have faith? Where is your faith? Allow Jesus to help you make your faith important again. How do we do that? Well, start and end your day with God, focus on what God did for you that day, practice gratitude, serve others, read scripture, create opportunities of fellowship, seek forgiveness, extend grace, do good, love your neighbor as your love yourself, take time to pray, get involved in the church, seek ways to grow the church, and live intentionally like Christ.[17] Find ways to make your faith important again. It’s time to raise the faith!

 

Conclusion:

To bring this message to a close, as George Michael sang, “You gotta have faith.” Your faith is your belief and trust in God, without it what do you believe. It should be what concerns you each day. You should always be asking, “Where is my faith?” The only person that can take your faith away is you. God will never take your faith away but will make it stronger if you let Him. You gotta have faith. Church, we gotta have faith. When people see our faith in action and hear us talk about our faith, miracles will take place, God will do God’s work, and Jesus will extend his grace and salvation to all. Your faith not only moves mountains, but it saves your life and saves the church.

In 2009, the Christian group Kutless wrote a song that shares, “I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains; Hope that doesn’t ever end; Even when the sky is falling; I’ve seen miracles just happen; Silent prayers get answered; Broken hearts become brand new; That’s what faith can do.”[18] Faith leads to hope; faith is present when the sky is falling; faith can lead to miracles; faith is realizing that your silent prayers are answered; and faith can make a broken heart brand new.

Faith is not just some “thing” we talk about having. Faith is who we are for God: it is something that we live and practice every day, and it should be important. So, where is your faith? Where is your faith today?

Let it be so…

 

Closing Prayer:

Let us pray: Dear Jesus, restore our faith today. Even when we are caught in a storm, remind us that our faith can get us to the other side. Lord, make our faith important to us again. Help us, throughout our daily life, to find ways to strengthen our faith for you. In your precious name we pray, Amen.

 

Benediction:

“You gotta have faith.” You will misplace and lose a lot of things in your life: some you will find again and others you won’t. Of the things you lose, don’t let your faith be one of them. Live out your faith today so that your faith can save you tomorrow.  May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; and May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26). In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit go forth walking with Jesus to a new resurrection. And all God’s people said, Amen. Amen. Amen.

 

 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Gonna_Be_(500_Miles)

[2] “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” has become a live staple at the Proclaimers’ concerts. The duo played it at Edinburgh 50,000 – The Final Push at Murrayfield Stadium on 6 July 2005, the final concert of Live 8, to symbolize the conclusion of “The Long Walk to Justice”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Gonna_Be_(500_Miles)

[3] Ray Downing, “How Far Did Jesus Walk”, an online blog post published on February 21, 2023: https://www.raydowning.com/blog/2023/2/20/how-far-did-jesus-walk#:~:text=His%20journey%20was%20not%20a,he%20walked%20approximately%203%2C125%20miles.

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_(George_Michael_song), During an interview with Countdown in 1988, George Michael stated, “Faith was never actually intended as a single when I first recorded it. And then I listened to it more and more and… ’cause in fact, originally it was two minutes long. Originally there was no guitar solo. There was no real guitar sound on it or anything. And everyone said it’s great, it’s great but it’s too short, you know. And everyone kept saying that “I love ‘Faith’, I love ‘Faith'”. So I thought, well maybe I should put it out as a single when it came to that. I said, I think a two-minute long single is a bit, you know… so I went in and extended it. But it was originally never intended as a single. It was just gonna be a small track on the album, a really short track.”^[4] It appeared that George Michael didn’t have faith in his song “Faith.”

[5] https://gmforever.com/portfolio/george-michael-on-how-he-lived-his-life/#:~:text=I%20believe%20in%20God%2C%20but,letting%20others%20do%20the%20same.

[6] The Sea of Galilee is situated 686 feet below sea level in a deep rift between the Arabian Desert and the Mediterranean Sea. To help you visualize this, The Morgan Stanley Building and the Four Seasons Hotel in New York would barely be seen if placed in that rift in Israel. If you have never seen those buildings, then just image a little more than two football fields attached to each other.

[7] Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on Luke, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2012, pg. 204.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Scientifically, chaos relates to “behavior so unpredictable as to appear random” and “the formless matter supposed to have existed before the creation of the universe.”

[10] Revelation 7: In biblical tradition, specifically within the book of Revelation, four angels are depicted as standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds to prevent them from causing destruction until God’s servants are sealed

[11] Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on Luke, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2012, pg. 205.

[12] https://www.joeledmundanderson.com/c-s-lewis-mere-christianity-faith/

[13] https://www.joeledmundanderson.com/c-s-lewis-mere-christianity-faith/

[14] Paul Tillich, The Dynamics of Faith (1957), pg. 1.

[15] The Pew Research Center is a non-partisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It has been providing information on social issues, public opinions, religious understanding, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world since 2004.

[16] Pew Research Center, “Decline of Christianity in the U.S. has slowed, May have Leveled Off,” published February 26, 2025. Accessed March 20, 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off/

[17] Lance Myers, “Living Your Faith: 7 Ways to Integrate Christian Values you’re your Daily Life,” Cornerstone Christian Counseling. 2024. https://christiancounselingco.com/living-your-faith/

[18] Kutless, “What Faith Can Do”, 2009.