Coffee Talk Redux is a reflection on things God is teaching me. In some cases the ideas for these topics come from the Coffee Talk group that I meet with weekly at the Vintage Coffee Bistro located in Lambertville, Michigan. At other times the Redux topic may arise from some conversation I may have had with someone, or a thought that crossed my mind, or perhaps something I read somewhere, or maybe a combination of all of these. In any case think of this as a discussion on what God is teaching us to help us grow in our understanding of His will.
At several of our Coffee Talks the topic came up as to what you would say to someone who wanted to know more about Christ. Maybe you were on an elevator and had only 20-30 seconds to get the message out. What would you say? How would you organize your message and make sure that you covered the essential points of the Gospel message? This past week we had Vacation Bible School at our church. One particular group of kids wanted to know even more about Christ. In response, one of our high school youth, Laura Cook, who was their crew leader, wrote this great summary for them called More About Jesus. So in this Redux I would like to share with you what Laura wrote to these young people in her VBS class. Laura gives us a great message that we can use to share with those that simply ask, tell me more.
More About Jesus
by
Laura Cook
“16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Last night we learned the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. But many of you wanted to know more. The Bible verse above, John 3:16-18, comes from Jesus. He is explaining why God sent him into the world. Jesus came into the world to save us, because everyone sins. The punishment for sin was death. And once someone died, they would never be able to reach God again – they would be trapped in Hell. God loves you. He loves you so much that he was willing to sacrifice his only son for you. But Jesus’ death is not the end of the story. After 3 days he rose from the dead. He defeated death! In defeating death, he defeated sin.
The Jewish people in Jesus’ day sacrificed offerings to God so he would forgive their sins. God sent Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. After Jesus died, no more sacrifices of animals were needed, because Jesus had willingly taken the punishment for the entire world’s sins! And he rose from the dead; death doesn’t have power over us any more! How?
Sin builds a wall between us and God. When we ask God to forgive our sins, he agrees because Jesus has already paid for them. When all of your sin is gone, there is nothing separating you from God anymore, and when you die you will go straight to heaven to be with him forever!
Many times, we will need to ask God to forgive us more than just once. But no matter how much you mess up, if you ask God to forgive you, he will.
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” – Matthew 18:21-22
If you have more questions about Jesus or Christianity, talk to a pastor at a church. He or she will be able to answer your questions. Doubt is a good thing! Doubt leads to questions, questions lead to answers, answers lead to truth, and “the truth will set you free!” ( © Laura Cook - 2008 )
© Ronald L. Fournier – 2008
