Essentials: Scripture April 11, 2021 A spokesman for Ripley’s Believe It or Not once said: “If you’re told something enough times, you’re sure to start believing it." So, how many of these things do you believe?

Camels store water in their humps. Nope. There is zero gravity in space. Also, not true. Coffee stunts your growth and dehydrates your body. Incorrect. People have only five senses. Actually, scientists say there are at least seven. Maybe more! Tryptophan makes you tired. It’s the overeating that makes you sleepy, not the Thanksgiving turkey. Toilet seats are full of germs. Actually, cell phones are 10 times more germ-y than most toilets. Ewww.

Or, consider these conspiracy theories that real people actually buy into… 77% of Americans believe there are signs that aliens have visited the earth at some time in the past. 10% of Americans don’t believe Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin really walked on the moon.

And in a recent national survey of Millennials and Gen Z-ers about the Holocaust, 7 percent were not sure, and 3 percent denied that it ever happened. One of the most disturbing revelations is that 11 precent of respondents believe Jews were responsible for the Holocaust. Most respondents indicated that their knowledge was based on social media posts or internet “research.”

What you believe matters. Everything we do, everything we think, and everything we say is shaped by what we believe to be true. The saying, “Actions speak louder than words” reflects the truth that how we live our lives says more about what we believe than the words we speak. So what do you believe? And how well does the life you live align with what you say you believe?

This week, we’re beginning a new teaching series called Essentials: Live Like You Believe. Throughout this eight-week series, we will be taking a look at some of the foundational beliefs of our faith; the truths on which we build and live our lives. Perhaps you’re new to this Jesus stuff and don’t really know what Christians believe, or maybe you’ve been attending church for a long time but have never really dug into the specifics of what we believe and how it should impact your daily life. Or, it could be that you know what you believe, but you aren’t really sure how to explain it to someone else. No matter where you are in your faith journey, there is something for you in this series.