Gateway Church Austin

In a world that’s more populated and connected than ever, many of us still struggle with the ideas of identity and purpose. Our own human nature and the lies that surround us pull us to extremes, telling us that we’re a failure or that we’re better than others. God wants us to have an accurate perception of ourselves and the part we’re meant to play so we can pour out His love into a hurting world by being the body of Christ – the church.

Do you ever wonder what motivates us to do some of the things we do? Or what other people are thinking when they do the things they do? Seemingly inexplicable, we think and do things sometimes without even realizing why. For example, why do we judge others? Why are so quick to criticize others, from politicians, to entertainers, to our friends and neighbors, to our own family members? Rick Shurtz shares the reason why we judge so easily, and how we might begin to develop relationships with other than Jesus called “full of grace and truth.”

We’re drawn to stories and the characters within them, because our lives were placed into an epic narrative. The epic begins with a telling creation story where we learn of God’s great love for all of humanity and his plan to restore all things.

Explore God was a citywide conversation in Austin, a life-changing experience with billboards, discussion groups, and 350+ churches during a sermon series.

The past three weeks were an intellectual dive into the reasons to believe Jesus is who he said he was. We’ve looked at strong evidence to believe God foretold through the prophets exactly what he would do. And we’ve demonstrated through history that Jesus did fulfill these prophecies. Now we move on to the bigger question: "Why does this matter for my life?"

When I was still a skeptic, I would ask, “Well, how do you know God was behind the writing of the Bible?” And they’d say something like, “Because it claims to be from God!” But how do you know it’s telling the truth? “Well…because God can’t lie.” Yeah…but that’s the point, how do you KNOW God inspired its writing?

God does remain hidden, but He also put fingerprints throughout history in the forms of prophecies written down 500 to 1500 years before the birth of Jesus. This week, John Burke discusses how events and prophecies in the Old Testament point directly to Jesus.

When I was young my parents would take us to church, but I’d sit there thinking, “How do you know Jesus is the Son of God? How do you know this isn’t just a myth?" I wanted to believe, but it didn't make any sense at all. When there was no room left to ask tough questions, and no one could explain I left.