What is faith? How do we grow our faith? Faith is the heart-felt inner confidence and conviction that the unseen God is real and is who He says He is and that He keeps His promises. Faith in Jesus Christ is trusting Him to speak the truth about God and about life; trusting His promise of eternal life to all that trust in Him. Therefore, we have nothing to be afraid of, our confidence is in God; we have hope, assurance, and a profound peace which can rule in our lives even in the midst of pain.
Genesis tells of the faith of Abram who believed in God's promises and had a deep loyalty and profound commitment to Him which was revealed by his obedience. Faith is not the absence of doubt. Abram doubted and took his struggle to God in prayer. Faith brings a broad perspective to life which is the willingness to take our unresolved questions to God in prayer and then learn to live with mystery and uncertainty. Although we do not know the answers to all the questions, we do know that if we look at the evidence that God has given us, that Christ is reliable and trustworthy, we must make a decision of the will to hold on to that perspective. Faith, like love, is not a feeling but an act of our will; it is the will and openness to believe and to decide to trust God. It is to hold on to a rational decision we have made in spite of our mood swings.
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 Before the sermon Les DeVilliers shared about his struggle with cancer.
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We base our faith on the reliability of Jesus Christ and of the New Testament. The 27 books of the New Testament were not compiled by a single council with a political agenda but rather were canonized, based on five crucial tests, only after the consensus of what books should be included was arrived at over a period of 400 years. When we doubt, it helps to go back and read the Gospels; to watch Jesus&Mac226; sincerity, credibility, and integrity. It is most reasonable and wise to put your faith in Him.
Summary submitted by Karen Walsh
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