The writers and/or participants of this sermon were: 
Abbey S., Alex G., Bryan W., Chris J., Cynde L., Heidi P., Jonathan T.S., Meredith W., Nate Y., Sarah Grace S., Sarah N., Shannon R., Yvonne M.  

There were also many other youth who shared ideas and offered support in the process of bringing this message together.  

Scripture: John 20: 19-29

Cynde:
Faith. Defined as an unquestioning belief that doesn't require proof. Doubt. Defined as to be uncertain; questioning; or to be fearful of. Two very contrasting ideas, yet they go hand in hand. Can you say you have faith if you have doubt? Can you doubt and still have some faith? Are we allowed to have a mix of both in the eyes of God? These questions are far from simple, yet everyone has thought them. Whether or not they want to admit it, every Christian has doubted his or her faith at some point. Most often this occurs in times of sadness or loss, but you are always pulled back to God. Why is that? I think it's because deep down inside of all of us there is a driving force and the thought that keeps us going is that God honestly loves us and has a plan for us. God created us and knows we are not perfect, yet God loves us all the time, even when we doubt God.

Sarah:
Thomas Lynch, a renowned poet defined faith another way. "But faith is so far as I know it, the only known cure for fear- the sense that someone is in charge here, is checking the IDs and watching the borders. Faith is what my mother said, letting go and letting God. A leap into the unknown where we are not in control but are always welcome".

Heidi:
I have a friend, whose house has the longest stairs with great wooden banisters. One of the best things to do at his house is to slide down the sleek, smooth banister. It reminds me of life, in a way; such an adventure, and full of enjoyment, yet you have to always keep your balance, or faith, in order to keep from falling. But, no matter what, my friend was always there at the end of the stairs, waiting and watching, and if my balance got obstructed, or thrown off, he was there to catch me, just like God will when my faith falters.

Sarah:
I know what you mean! Lots of times I end up being the last one awake at my house and I have to set the alarm, close all the right doors, and turn off the lights. This used to scare me, my house gets really dark, so I'd walk up the stairs and when I got to the landing, I'd always stick my foot out, testing the waters and making sure my next step was there. But eventually I just had to take that step and trust that I wouldn't fall.

Cynde:
Often times we try to have too much control over the paths our lives take. In doing so, we plan to have life turn out exactly as we want it to. What we need to realize is that in giving up control, we are ensuring an even better experience of life. When we give up control, there is no where else for it to go, but to God, and God would never let us down.

Heidi:
It's like Lynch said, "letting go and letting God". I think that's the scariest thing about our faith, we have to let go. We just have to trust that God's going to take care of our lives and pick up the slack when we come up short.

Sarah:
It's definitely frightening, but in the end it's all we can do. Many people think that they can do more because of the things that happen to us on a daily basis.

Alex:
Recently my mother was in a car accident, thankfully she was left unscathed. But almost every night on the news we hear of fatal accidents where no one survives. Yet when my mother was in the accident she was fine. I'm not trying to wish anything bad upon my mother, I love her dearly, but how do you expect me to believe in a God that you call just, when to my mind, God plays favorites with people's lives?

Chris:
I've asked the same question many times, especially when my aunt had cancer. Why her? Why Aunt Debbi? Why not someone else's relative? What did my aunt do to deserve this? But I began to realize that in those times of trouble, God's love along with the love I received from my family gave me great comfort. Knowing that God was looking over my Aunt helped me get through those times of worry and pain. I realized that her sickness wasn't something that God had done, but her death was God taking her home. My faith in God, trusting in God's decisions, let me know that in the end, things would be okay.

Nate:
That's all well and good, but how can you believe in a "loving God" now, after God let so much death and destruction take place on September 11th?

Shannon:
That's a really tough question and there is certainly no definite answer to it, but here's my belief; God gives us, God's people, the freedom to make choices, good and bad. What happened on September 11th was not the fault of God, but of the individuals who decided to choose evil. A lack of love from God had nothing to do with what happened. God didn't let these tragedies happen, God was there the whole time working against the terrorists. I'm sure that on September 11th God was in the World Trade Center helping to get people out quickly, God was with everyone there, giving them strength and courage. God was on the fourth plane, assisting the passengers who stood up to the terrorists. God was and is everywhere. Still, despite God's awesome power, God doesn't control the acts of individuals. I think that God is with everyone encouraging them to do good, and keeping them on the right track, but when it comes down to it, the choice is ours. We control our own lives and choices, although God strongly influences them. That is what I believe happened on September 11th; God tried to steer the terrorists from choosing evil, but they ignored God and did it anyway.

Yvonne:
You say God always walks beside us and that God will protect us from evil but obviously you do not live in the same world that I do. I have seen too much pain and heartbreaking sadness that would teach you the truth. This is a cold, dark mysterious world and it will catch you off guard some day and you will get a slap in the face and understand the true ways. Answer this will you? Explain to me why two weeks ago, my best friend died of bulimia? She was a warm, iridescent spirit and her love always brought me warmth even on the coldest days. She believed in God and had faith in God but obviously, she was wrong, her time and hard work for your organization and your beliefs did nothing but kill her. She was as good as people get. There was not a person you could talk to that thought any wrong of her. And through her trials and tribulations all her passions for God were repaid with death? What does that teach us? You want us to live for nothing?  How can you say God helps us if God doesn't help my pure loving friend? How can you lie to us with such a straight face? If you say "God is our savior." then you are dead wrong because God never saved my friend and if God thinks she has sinned, then I shouldn't even bother to come here because, compared to my friend, I am the devil herself, and I have no hope. All your teachings are lies and you need to open your eyes and live in the real world because you are doing no one any good by teaching us these deceitful ways. Someday you will be in my shoes and understand my position. Do you want to know what my dear friend's last words were? She looked up at me with her bland tearful eyes, and said "why is he doing this to me?" and in my bewilderment I asked "who?" She closed her eyes and softly replied, "God"…how can you explain that?

Bryan:
First of all, I'm really sorry to hear about your friend. Death, especially at such an early age, can be very upsetting. I understand your pain and your questions. I, too, have had similar experiences and have had similar feelings as a result. 

I'd like to share a Bible verse with you that might help answer some of your questions. Jeremiah 29:11 says,  "'I know the plans I have for you,' Declares the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" It is important to remember that God is always in charge of what's going on. Sometimes when things are not going how we would like them to, we blame them on God and begin to question God's presence in our lives. The truth is, in many cases, we fail to see the big picture. God might be doing a lot more for us then we think. 

God does have a plan for everyone. God will not put you in the way of harm. Although you may go through some hard times in your life, God is still in charge and in the end, everything will be ok. 
 
Your friend has passed, yes, but look at what she has left behind. You, and everyone else that knew her, were heavily impacted by her warm spirit. You said yourself, "Her love always brought me warmth, even on the coldest days." Your friend seems to have lived quite a meaningful life. She did her work here on earth and has left a great reminder of her life for you.

Another verse I'd like to share with you is Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." God has promised that our life in heaven will be in-comprehensibly better than our life on earth. Please, don't upset yourself with her death, but instead celebrate, for she has entered into new life. She has gone home to be with her creator!

You seem to have a problem with us saying Christ is our savior, but I promise you, it is the truth! Christ died for us! He did save your friend. You're right, she has sinned, but so have all the rest of us. God will forgive us for our sins, no questions asked. It really doesn't matter how you feel you compared to your friend. God loves us all equally much and you will receive as great a reward. Our teachings are not lies. Through experiences like yours I have learned to open my eyes and NOW I am living in the real world. There's a lot more to life than what is happening in the moment.

God will be with you always. God loves you more than you could ever imagine. There is a reason your friend has passed. Look at the big picture. Be on God's time and trust him. God's in control.

Jonathan:
When we have doubts, the first step is going to God with those doubts.  By accusing God or just questioning, we still show the faith to seek answers from God.  For some doubts, we are spoken to and we can deal with them and move on.  Some doubts are greater and that is why faith is so important.  Like the Jack in the box; (reference to Children's Message) we learn to know God is there even when our eyes are closed.  God's love may seem selective and we may wonder why God "lets" bad things happen to good people.  There aren't always answers to our doubts, but our faith will always help us.  We just need to open up our arms and let God cushion our falls.  "Faith in Doubt" means working through our doubts to reconnect to our faith.  Many people see themselves as bad Christians if they doubt.  The reality is that you can't have faith without doubt.