NOTES:
Jesus is alive & changing lives!
5 Reasons You Should be a Christian! (Yes, I’m trying to convert you)
- Not in order of priority, but sequence
- If you hear one you really like, feel free to make some noise!
#1. You can get a word from God!
BIBLE – #1 read, best-selling, most translated
· BOOK GOD WROTE THRU PEOPLE – 66 books
39 OT – ¾ “Old” = before Jesus 27 NT – ¼ “New” = after Jesus
· Written over 1500 years, roughly 40 authors, in 3 languages
= God speaking – “thus says the Lord” 100’s X
2 Tim. 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God…”
= It’s all about Jesus! (Prophecy: Rules & Reveals)
700 B.C. Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel [God with us].”
700 B.C. Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem…though you are small…out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times [eternity].”
400 B.C. Malachi 3:1 “the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.” [70 AD]
1000 B.C. Psalm 22:16 “a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.”
1000 B.C. Psalm 16:10 “…you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.”
Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I [Jesus] have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
BIBLE & HISTORY – It’s All About Jesus!
- If you want a word from God, open the Word of God
- When you read the Bible, it reads you.
- When you read the Bible, the author meets w/you to explain it!
#2. You can know who God is!
John 10:30–33 “I and the Father are one.” Again the[y]…picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any of these…but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
- No other religious leader (True/False)
- 1st Commandment (blasphemy)
=NY Judge Gaynor “It is plain from each of the gospel narratives, that the alleged crime for which Jesus was tried and convicted was blasphemy.” [Religious & Political]
#3. You can be forgiven, and forgive others!
Colossians 3:12-14 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
CROSS: “Father, forgive them” = died answer prayer
- Jesus loves you. 2. Jesus forgives you. = guilt/shame/brokenness
- Jesus helps you forgive them. = emotional health ?WHO? WHAT?
#4. You don’t have to fear death!
Mark 10:33–34 the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
1 Corinthians 15:20-22 in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…by a man has come…the resurrection of the dead. = PAUL WITNESS
Scourged – Crucified – Spear – Buried (known tomb Joseph Arimathea, Roman gov’t)
1. Jesus’ disciples transformed from cowards=courageous (Doubter. Denier)
2. Jesus’ appeared to crowds 500+ people over 40 days
3. Jesus’ followers remained loyal to Him
4. Jesus’ tomb was not enshrined (50 in area @ time)
5. Jesus’ family worshipped Him as God
6. Jesus’ followers changed the Sabbath from Sat to Sun
7. Jesus’ followers practiced communion and baptism
8. Jesus’ resurrection is unique in history (Greek philosophy – angels)
9. Jesus resurrection is verified by history
Josephus Jewish historian (A.D. 37-100) “…there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats…He was the Christ. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men…had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared to themrestored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvelous things about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.”
= Burden Proof: Thomas Arnold (former prof Modern History Oxford) “No one fact in the history of mankind . . . is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort”
=“FIRSTFRUITS”
IN HEAVEN NOW. RETURNING EARTH!
2000 yrs New Millenium Newsweek cover “By any secular standard, Jesus is…the dominant figure of Western culture. Like the millennium itself, much of what we now think of as Western ideas, inventions & values finds its source or inspiration in the religion that worships God in his name. Art & science, the self & society, politics & economics, marriage & the family, right & wrong, body & soul—all have been touched & often radically transformed by the Christian influence.”
Jesus – started poor, rural, unknown
· History – measure time by Him (BC & AD)
· Holidays – “holy days” – (Xmas, Good Friday, Easter)
· Church – largest/diverse/longest mov’t history world (billions)
#5. You can be part of the world’s biggest movement!
Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
TODAY IS YOUR TURN!
1. Repent 2. Be baptized = forgiveness sins & HS
- Prodigals 2. Non XN
Online raise hand
In room stand
PRAY OVER. RELEASE LIVESTREAM
Band & Choir up
- Left to get baptized
- Stand testify rowdy!
