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THE
BIBLE
Can we trust a book written 2000 years ago?
EYEWITNESS
Did the writers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?
GOD
- MAN
Is Jesus really God?
RESURRECTION
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
RELIGIONS
With so many religions, why Christianity?
SUFFERING
If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?
TRINITY
Understanding the Trinity.
SCIENCE
The complementary nature of Science & Christianity.
FORGIVENESS
What it is and why it matters?
GUIDANCE
How does God guide?
REPENTANCE
What it is and why you can't get to heaven without it.
BORN
AGAIN
What does it mean to be converted and born again?
SAVING
FAITH
The kind of faith that will get you to heaven
ASSURANCE
Can I know for sure that I am going to heaven?
TRUTH
What is truth and does it matter?
MORALITY
Does it matter how we live? A Christian view of morality.
THE
CHURCH
God's vision for his family, the Church. A call to the churches of the
new millennium.
PURPOSE
How
can I find a great purpose for living?
IDENTITY
Who am I; Finding my true identity as a human being and as a child of
God.
SELF-ESTEEM
How
can I feel good about my self? The Christian basis for proper sel-esteem.
LIFE AFTER DEATHChristianity's Hope & Challenge.
THE CROSS
Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible says about the Cross.
Grace
The importance of grace in the New Testament.
Conclusion
The risen Christ, who lives today, offers people the benefits of his death and resurrection if they will trust in him as their Saviour and submit to him as their Lord. He has demonstrated his love in paying for our sins. He now offers to come into our lives by the Holy Spirit and to restore us to full fellowship with the living God.
Joy Webb, a British Salvation Army evangelist, describes the conversion of a young Jew in her book This is Joy. Her musical group, The Joystrings, were performing to a packed hall in Southampton. During the first part of the programme one of the group spoke of what Easter meant to her personally and expressed her belief in the presence of the risen Christ in her life. Towards the end of the programme Joy gave a short message and invited any young people who wished to accept the Christian message for themselves to come Foreward and kneel at the communion rail. Several did. A hush fell on the audience, and then she noticed another young man come slowly Foreward to join them.
Afterwards, when packing up equipment, she felt a touch on her arm. Turning, she saw a local Christian with this young man, whom he introduced as a Jew. She says:
I'd turned to greet him but the words died on my lips. I've heard older folk, particularly veteran ...Christians, talk about seeing such a change in a person, but frankly, until this moment I had never seen it myself. To say he was radiant would be a complete understatement. He stood there smiling. There was no need for any words; we all knew what had happened. "I feel," he said, "as though I have moved from the Old Testament to the New. When that young lady spoke about the risen presence of Jesus Christ being in her life I knew that it was completely and utterly true and that this is what I had been looking for to give meaning to all the teaching of my faith. I feel wonderful!"
Not all conversions are as dramatic as this, but the new life in Christ that the New Testament talks about is available to all who desire it. The Bible describes this experience in a number of ways. It is called being "born again", "born of the Spirit", "receiving the Holy Spirit", being "in Christ", or "receiving eternal life". Sometimes it is spoken of as passing "from death to life" (John 5:24) or being "raised with Christ" (Colossians 3:1). In its simplest terms it is the risen Christ forgiving my sins, reconciling me to his Father, entering my life by his Spirit and guaranteeing his continued presence through the varying journeys of this life and beyond.
If you desire this relationship with the true and living God, who made himself known in Jesus, may I suggest that you talk to God about it. You may like to use words something like this:
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O God, I am amazed at your generosity. I don't deserve it. I can hardly believe it. I am beginning to sense you are here, and I realise that you came to this earth for me in Jesus Christ. I believe he died for my sins and is alive, so that by his Spirit he can come into my heart. I realise that he wants to involve me in his ongoing work in this world, and I am prepared for that. Lord, here and now I accept in faith this gift of life in Jesus. Please help me stick to this decision, and enable me to always appreciate it and live worthy of it. |
If you make this commitment, then get a good modern translation of the New Testament and find out more about your living Lord. Also find some other believers who can encourage you in this new adventure.
Michael Green, in his book You Must Be Joking gives the following useful illustration. In the musical Godspell the joy of the resurrection is shown through dance. Members of the audience are invited to come up on to the stage and dance with the cast. They do not become the cast, but they do share the same experience. Now the cast, so to speak, is the first generation of disciples - Peter, James and John and others who saw the risen Christ. We cannot join that cast as eyewitnesses. But we can join them in the dance of Christian experience by committing our lives to the risen Jesus and accepting him as our Saviour and Lord.
Come, join the dance!
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Did Jesus really rise from the Dead?
No Christianity without the resurrection?
A historical event that can be examined
Some implications of the Resurrection
Conclusion
