That's what faith must be.

An excerpt from the song "That's what faith must be" written by Michael Card, a christian songwriter...

"To hear with my heart, to see with my soul,

to be guided by a hand I cannot hold.

To trust in a way that I cannot see,

that's what faith must be."

Let us pray.... Almighty, loving, and forever present Father, You have promised to be with us now and to the end of time. Thank you so very much for continually reaching out to us in so many ways. Please open our eyes and hearts to Your presence. Guide our walk with you. In Jesus name we pray! Amen!

Good morning everyone, I am Bill Heiser. I am here today to share a faith story primarily (perhaps selfishly) to help me better understand exactly what it is that I have experienced. Giving this talk, I hope, will help both you and I examine our belief systems. So, please listen in while I think out loud on paper.

I confess that this talk today is a second draft. In fact, I was 80 % complete with the first one. It was when I was looking it over I felt compelled to start again. My initial draft was a comparison. I was expressing my faith and life with God as if it were a roller coaster experience. For over 45 years, I have had a tremendous ride filled with ups and downs, high hills followed by steep valleys. I said that my life was filled with fear and excitement as I raced through life's roller coaster ride. As I was droning on and on with the intricate details of my life it seemed as if I was leaving out two crucial points. Therefore, I feel it important to spare you the contents of my story and discuss these two points.

First and foremost, I need to explain my definition of faith. Faith a "bridge like" thing that spans the distance between those things that I know and understand and those things that I don't know and can't comprehend. At the heart of faith is a component of the "unknown" I fill that void with trust and a belief system. For me, faith and trust can be rigid and strong. It can also be flexible and fragile. Life's experiences, whether good or bad, can strengthen or weaken my faith. If I m not careful, the foundation of my faith, in this weakened state, can easily destroyed.

In the first draft I was trying to separate life experiences into two categories: good and bad. I was going to use the good experiences to highlight how my faith was strengthen and how bad experiences weakened my faith. The more I thought and prayed about it, the more I felt compelled to lump them altogether. That is the other critical point, whether it was my college graduation or loss of a job, finding my life partner or divorcing my first wife, purchasing a new car or being in a terrible accident, joining this great congregation or leaving a dying one, feeling like I am at the top of the world or living daily in constant pain, meeting new friends or saying goodbye to my dying mother, each experience is writing a page in my personal history book and playing a part in building or mangling my faith. I have learned that I can't significantly change what life's roller coaster ride brings my way. However, I can try to use that experience to build and not demolish my faith. That is the struggle that I face daily.

In closing, I leave you with the final verse of Michael Card's song. "Now, I understand that there is a key, it's Jesus in me, a reality. That God is in Christ and that Christ is in me, that with faith I see what is unseen."