Bible Connection Podcast: Confident Christianity with Mary Jo Sharp

Bible Connection Podcast: Confident Christianity with Mary Jo Sharp

Mary Jo Sharp has spent years teaching people how to defend their faith and engage with people who disagree with Christianity. In this episode, she shares her personal story of doubt and belief and teaches us how important it is to always go back to Scripture.

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Mary Jo Sharp

Mary Jo Sharp took some time to discuss her long career in ministry, teaching people in the church about apologetics and how to engage with people who disagree with Christianity. She talks about growing up in Portland away from the church and the journey she took into Christianity. In college, she began to question the different things she dedicated her life to. That journey of doubt brought her into the field of apologetics.

As a kid, Mary explains how her parents got her interested in the universe and the meaning behind everything. Although she did not grow up in a Christian environment, she explains how that upbringing launched her on the path to Christianity. She shares how her music teacher in high school gave her a Bible and shared his faith, something that ended up changing her life.

She explains how a pastor in college clearly explained the gospel to her and walked her through what it means to believe in Jesus. These types of conversations are so important to wayward souls. However, when she became a part of the church, she realized the patterns of hypocrisy many believers live in, and that caused her to experience great doubt.

Mary Jo Sharp then explains the importance of apologetics and how the Bible teaches us how important it is to know Scripture and use that as a reason for our hope in Jesus. She explains how apologetics is getting people back to the Bible where the eternal hope is.

Excerpts from This Episode

3:56 – 4:27 “After I got into the church I started to see some things in the church, the members of the church, that really caused me to question my faith and what I had trusted in. So that journey of going through a time of real doubt brought me into this field of apologetics.”

8:30 – 9:24 “I think people are often surprised that it was the Bible that really influenced me and that really brought me to say there’s probably a God that I need to investigate more. And the Bible really made sense of good and evil and morality and justice.”

16:24 – 16:48 “As Christians, part of what we do, is we’re supposed to know how to explain our hope in the resurrected Jesus.”

17:33 – 17:40 “Really, when I think about apologetics, it’s about bringing people to the Scripture from a point where they’re not necessarily involved with the Scripture yet.”

19:26 – 22:04 “It’s not just, I believe in God, I’m saying that. But now what kind of impact does a real God and a really resurrected Jesus Christ have on who you are, your identity, the way you live your life, the choices you make, how you see the world.”

21:52 – 22:26 “I need a reminder of who I am. I need a reminder that when God created humans, He said that we were good. Because sometimes when you’re on social media a lot, you see negativity and you get upset because there’s a lot of bad and you start to wonder what you’re doing in this world. You go back to the Scripture and there it is.

Recommended Bible Resource

The Evangelical Study Bible

The Evangelical Study Bible offers a refreshing way to study God’s Word focused on the unchanging truth of the gospel. Verse-by-verse commentary and interesting sidebars dig into the historical and contextual background of Scripture helping you grow in your understanding and appreciation of the life-changing truths of the Christian faith. Also included are more than fifty articles that help you better understand your faith and effectively share it with others.

The Evangelical Study Bible is published by HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the parent company of Bible Gateway.

Quoted Scripture

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Matthew 5:43-45, NKJV

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear”

1 Peter 3:15, NKJV

“And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have]fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”

1 Corinthians 15:14-19, NKJV