Friday, February 8, 2008
Speaking of Jesus: Good News!
We have been brought up to think that there are two topics you don't talk about in public: religion and politics. These topics are divisive and make people uncomfortable. Conversations can escalate pretty quickly when what we believe is put on trial by those we are close to. It is never fun to have these uncomfortable conversations.
And yet we find ourselves in these conversations from time to time. The sudden fascination with spirituality in America has forced the conversations upon us! So how do we respond? Are we going to be prepared to have these conversations when they come up? Are we going to be willing to even maybe start one of these conversations? After all, Christ has called us to tell people the good news about the salvation he has won for us on the cross, but sometimes we just don't feel ready. What if they ask questions I don't know the answer too? What if they corner me or attack my beliefs? How will I respond?
These are all questions we plan on helping you deal with in our new section here in the newsletter called "Speaking of Jesus." It is my hope and prayer that through this series of articles you will begin to feel more equipped to talk about the saving work of Jesus Christ to your friends and family. The goal here is not to teach you how to win arguments, but rather, to help equip you to share good news. After all, that is what Christ has called us to do, deliver news.
Think of evangelism like this: you woke up this morning and made yourself some coffee, walked outside in your robe and slippers and you picked up the paper. The headline read: "Man Rises from the Dead after Three Days" The article reads something like this, "Jesus Christ, a man from Jerusalem who claimed to be God and was crucified 2,000 years ago for his comments, has come back to life! When asked what the meaning of all of this was, he said, 'I came from God to suffer for the sins of the world. If people put their faith in me, they will be forgiven and saved.'" You quickly run inside, "Honey, did you hear? Jesus is risen from the dead! Our sins are forgiven!"
That is all evangelism is. Delivering good news! It is telling people that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again on the third day for our salvation. That's it. Period. Now, this will raise questions on the side of the person you inform. They will wonder how reliable the story is, why they need forgiveness in the first place, and why your view on Christ is better than the Mormon's down the street. We will deal with these issues in this section of our newsletter. It is my prayer that God will work through these columns to help you feel more confident in sharing your faith.
Book Recommendation:
Lee Strobel, A Case for Christ. Zondervan Publishing House, 1998.
And yet we find ourselves in these conversations from time to time. The sudden fascination with spirituality in America has forced the conversations upon us! So how do we respond? Are we going to be prepared to have these conversations when they come up? Are we going to be willing to even maybe start one of these conversations? After all, Christ has called us to tell people the good news about the salvation he has won for us on the cross, but sometimes we just don't feel ready. What if they ask questions I don't know the answer too? What if they corner me or attack my beliefs? How will I respond?
These are all questions we plan on helping you deal with in our new section here in the newsletter called "Speaking of Jesus." It is my hope and prayer that through this series of articles you will begin to feel more equipped to talk about the saving work of Jesus Christ to your friends and family. The goal here is not to teach you how to win arguments, but rather, to help equip you to share good news. After all, that is what Christ has called us to do, deliver news.
Think of evangelism like this: you woke up this morning and made yourself some coffee, walked outside in your robe and slippers and you picked up the paper. The headline read: "Man Rises from the Dead after Three Days" The article reads something like this, "Jesus Christ, a man from Jerusalem who claimed to be God and was crucified 2,000 years ago for his comments, has come back to life! When asked what the meaning of all of this was, he said, 'I came from God to suffer for the sins of the world. If people put their faith in me, they will be forgiven and saved.'" You quickly run inside, "Honey, did you hear? Jesus is risen from the dead! Our sins are forgiven!"
That is all evangelism is. Delivering good news! It is telling people that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again on the third day for our salvation. That's it. Period. Now, this will raise questions on the side of the person you inform. They will wonder how reliable the story is, why they need forgiveness in the first place, and why your view on Christ is better than the Mormon's down the street. We will deal with these issues in this section of our newsletter. It is my prayer that God will work through these columns to help you feel more confident in sharing your faith.
Book Recommendation:
Lee Strobel, A Case for Christ. Zondervan Publishing House, 1998.
Labels: speaking-of-jesus
posted by Faith Moorpark
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8:59 AM
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