Craig Groeschel

And so here's the thing. The problem is, we all read the Bible with a bias. As much as we want to read it purely, we come to it with our own hurts, our own family backgrounds, from what country we're from, what type of church we're raised in. I could preach the same text. Another preacher could preach the very same text, and we preach it with a different tone.

I'm preaching on the love of God in the text. He's preaching on the judgment of God. And God is loving, and he's judged. He's both. And so there's different emphasis. So sometimes I tell people that everything you believe about God may not be true.

I'm preaching on the love of God in the text. He's preaching on the judgment of God. And God is loving, and he's judged. He's both. And so there's different emphasis. So sometimes I tell people that everything you believe about God may not be true.

And you have to start there, that you might have grown up in a church that was too legalistic, or a church that was too full of grace, or a church that only talked about the judgment of God, or a church that only talked about the grace of God. And so what we have to do is, I would say, in a community, Look at what we believe.

And you have to start there, that you might have grown up in a church that was too legalistic, or a church that was too full of grace, or a church that only talked about the judgment of God, or a church that only talked about the grace of God. And so what we have to do is, I would say, in a community, Look at what we believe.

If there's something that's untrue, something that's hurtful, we unbelieve it. We say, that's actually not consistent with God's word. And we deconstruct that. Then we reconstruct it with what is true. How do we do that? I always tell people, start with the Gospels. Start with Jesus. Read everything through Jesus. I have four daughters. I have six kids total, four daughters.

If there's something that's untrue, something that's hurtful, we unbelieve it. We say, that's actually not consistent with God's word. And we deconstruct that. Then we reconstruct it with what is true. How do we do that? I always tell people, start with the Gospels. Start with Jesus. Read everything through Jesus. I have four daughters. I have six kids total, four daughters.

And the four of them were raised in two rooms that had really bad mold. And I was so dumb, like, what's that black stuff? Like, dumb. And so it was not good for them. So when we found out we didn't tear down our whole house, we tore down, we took the mold out.

And the four of them were raised in two rooms that had really bad mold. And I was so dumb, like, what's that black stuff? Like, dumb. And so it was not good for them. So when we found out we didn't tear down our whole house, we tore down, we took the mold out.

And that's what deconstruction is, is that we're identifying what's not consistent with God's word, what is not true, what doesn't reflect Jesus. And we say, okay, that's not true. We deconstruct it, but we don't burn the whole house down. We take that away. And then we rebuild it with what is true.

And that's what deconstruction is, is that we're identifying what's not consistent with God's word, what is not true, what doesn't reflect Jesus. And we say, okay, that's not true. We deconstruct it, but we don't burn the whole house down. We take that away. And then we rebuild it with what is true.

And again, if you want to start with truth, there's no better place to start with Jesus and interpret everything through the lens of what did Jesus say about this?

And again, if you want to start with truth, there's no better place to start with Jesus and interpret everything through the lens of what did Jesus say about this?

He did.

He did.

So Peter kind of thought Jesus was going to be like a reigning king, a conquering with the sword. Peter wanted... He brought the sword fight to the garden. He wanted to fight. And Jesus said, I'm going to lead with love. And so whenever... Peter argued against the way Jesus was going to save the world. Jesus called him Satan. He said, get behind me, Satan. Like, that's not true.

So Peter kind of thought Jesus was going to be like a reigning king, a conquering with the sword. Peter wanted... He brought the sword fight to the garden. He wanted to fight. And Jesus said, I'm going to lead with love. And so whenever... Peter argued against the way Jesus was going to save the world. Jesus called him Satan. He said, get behind me, Satan. Like, that's not true.

And deconstructed those beliefs and then reconstructed them. The same thing when Peter denied Jesus three times. What did Jesus do in John 21? He kind of reconstructed. He said, hey, do you still love me? Then feed my sheep. So here's what I want you to do. He's rebuilding his faith. And then, I mean, when you think about it, Did Peter deny Jesus three times?

And deconstructed those beliefs and then reconstructed them. The same thing when Peter denied Jesus three times. What did Jesus do in John 21? He kind of reconstructed. He said, hey, do you still love me? Then feed my sheep. So here's what I want you to do. He's rebuilding his faith. And then, I mean, when you think about it, Did Peter deny Jesus three times?

Like literally you could say he deconstructed and walked away from Jesus, kind of. I mean, we could make that argument. Who did God choose to be the guest speaker on the day of Pentecost? Peter, the guy who didn't believe, the guy that doubted and fell in the water, the guy that denied him because doubt isn't always the enemy of faith. Sometimes it's an invitation to a deeper faith.