The Uniqueness of Jesus :: Who is Jesus Christ? they would respond? Why? If they were to ask you the same question, how would you respond and why?

Transcription

1 The Uniqueness f Jesus :: Wh is Jesus Christ? Hk: If yu were t ask students in yur class wh Jesus is t them, hw d yu think they wuld respnd? Why? If they were t ask yu the same questin, hw wuld yu respnd and why? Bk: There are many views ut there tday abut Jesus. Let s lk at what Jesus and thers said abut Him back in the day.! Based n Jhn 10:30, wh did Jesus claim t be? (See als Mark 14:61-62)! In Mark 14:63-64 what did thse wh heard what Jesus said think He meant? (See als Jhn 10:30-39; Jhn 5:17-18)! What did Jesus fllwers say abut Jesus? In the cases where Jesus respnded, what did He say? Jhn 1:29 Matthew 16:16 Jhn 11:27 Accrding t the passages abve, Jesus claimed t be Gd. He made the kinds f claims that nly a persn wh presumed He was Gd wuld make. Bth His friends and His enemies understd His claims, and He never attempted t crrect them. He even cmmended His fllwers fr believing He was Gd. Trilemma(Diagram S Jesus is a Liar, a Lunatic r the Lrd f all. Thse are the nly three ptins that exist. C.S. Lewis, a frmer skeptic and prfessr at Oxfrd University said the ptin f Jesus simply being a gd mral teacher desn t exist.

2 A man wh was merely a man and said the srt f things that Jesus said wuldn t be a great mral teacher. He wuld either be a lunatic n the level with a man wh says he s a pached egg r else he wuld be the devil f hell; yu must take yur chice. Either this was, and is, the Sn f Gd, r else a madman r smething wrse. Yu can shut Him up fr a demn; r yu can fall at His feet and call Him Lrd and Gd. But dn t cme up with any patrnizing nnsense abut His being a great mral teacher. He hasn t left that ptin pen t us. D yu think Jesus culd have been just a gd mral teacher? Why r why nt? Other thughts t cnsider!what did Jesus predict in the fllwing verses? What actually happened? Mark 9:31 Luke 18:31-33! Based n these verses, what characteristics f Jesus are attributes f an mniptent (all pwerful) Gd? Matthew 8:26-27 Jhn 11:43-44 Jhn 2:24-25 Lk: Wh d yu believe Jesus is and n what d yu base that belief? What facts might help yu t knw that He is Gd? What persnal experiences with Jesus, if any, have helped yu knw that He is wh He says He is? Why is it imprtant that yu persnally recgnize wh Jesus Christ really is? Tk: Have yu placed yur faith in Jesus Christ as yur Lrd? Wuld yu like t? Why r

3 why nt? If yu have already dne this, have yu surrendered yur life t His Lrdship? The Uniqueness f Jesus :: The Death f Jesus Christ Hk: When did yu last talk abut death? What did yu talk abut? Did yu enjy yur cnversatin? Why/why nt? Bk: Peple dn't usually like t talk abut death, d they? But the Bible has sme very imprtant things t say abut it. Accrding t Gd's Wrd, death means "separatin," nt ceasing t exist. Physical death is the separatin f the spirit (the immaterial part f us) frm the bdy. As a result, the bdy decmpses. Spiritual death is the separatin f man frm Gd. Bth physical and spiritual death are the results f sin. The results f this separatin are nt nly sins like murder, immrality, and stealing, but als wrry, irritability, lack f purpse in life, frustratin, the desire t escape reality, and fear f death. These and many ther cnditins are evidence that we are cut ff frm Gd, the nly One wh can give us the pwer t live an abundant life. The mst imprtant questin in life becmes, "Hw can I be recnnected t Gd?" In ur wn pwer, we can never bridge the gulf between us and Gd. But Gd has prvided a way t bring us t Him. The Need fr the Death f Jesus Christ! Read Rmans 3:10-12, and 3:23 Hw many times des the writer, Paul, use terms like, all, nne, r their equivalents? Why d yu think He repeated these terms? What des this tell yu abut mral, respectable peple?! Read Rmans 6:23 What is the result f sin? The Result f the Death f Jesus Christ! Read Hebrews 4:15 Hw gd des it say Christ was?

4 ! Read II Crinthians 5:21 What happened t Christ when He died n the crss t pay the penalty fr ur sins? What did Christ get and what did yu get?! Read 1 Peter 3:18 Why did He die fr us?! Read Clssians 1:21-22 Hw did Christ's death affect yur relatinship with Gd? The Significance f the Death f Christ! Read Acts 16:31 What is the nly thing we can d t make sure that the death f Christ applies t us s we can be saved?! Read Ephesians 2:8,9 Can we wrk fr ur salvatin? Explain! Read Jhn 3:18 What tw kinds f peple are described here? What is the nly reasn any persn will be cndemned? What des it mean t believe Biblically? Accrding t what the Bible says here, are yu cndemned?! Read I Jhn 5:11-12 Accrding t this passage, d yu have eternal life? Accrding t that same passage, hw can yu knw? Lk: Have yu made the decisin t accept Christ's death n the crss fr yu, and have yu received Him int yur life as Savir and Lrd? If s, briefly tell the grup abut it. If

5 nt, wuld yu like t? Why r why nt? Tk: If yu wuld like t receive Him as yur Savir right nw, yu can talk t Gd hnestly like frm yur heart and tell Him. Here is a sample f what yu might say: Lrd Jesus, I want t knw yu persnally. Thank yu fr dying n the crss fr my sins. I pen the dr f my life and receive Yu as my Savir and Lrd. Thank yu fr frgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind f persn Yu want me t be. Amen. The Uniqueness f Jesus :: The Resurrectin f Jesus Christ Hk: Tny Yahle, the 37-year-ld diesel mechanic, was dead. His heart stpped beating fr 45 minutes and nurses were beginning t prepare his bdy t be seen by the family. His sn, 18-year-ld Lawrence, was standing there abut t walk away when his dad started shwing signs f a heartbeat. His dad fully awakened at the hspital five days later. In the last 20 years, I ve never seen anybdy wh we have prnunced dead and then fr him t cme back. I ve never seen it, said cardilgist Dr. Raja Nazir. I ve never heard f it. Have yu ever had anyne clse t yu die? What were the mments, days, weeks afterward like? Hw wuld yu have respnded if yu were 18-year-ld Lawrence Yahle wh was with his dead father when his heart started beating again and he awke five days later? Nte: This is a true stry taken frm AP News, August 23, Bk: Jesus' crucifixin demralized His fllwers. The terrr stricken little band scattered; Jesus' enemies were celebrating their victry. But three days after the crucifixin a miracle ccurred: Jesus rse frm the dead. Within a few weeks His nce cwardly fllwers were fearlessly prclaiming His resurrectin, a fact that changed the curse f histry. Fllwers f Jesus Christ were nt peple wh prmted an ethical cde f a dead funder, rather, thse wh had vital cntact with a living Lrd. Jesus Christ still lives tday, and He is anxiusly waiting t wrk in the lives f thse wh will trust Him. Five Prfs that Jesus actually rse frm the dead. 1. The resurrectin was fretld by Jesus Christ, the Sn f Gd. What did Jesus tell His disciples in Luke 18:31-33? If Jesus had clearly predicted that He wuld rise frm the dead, then failed t d s, what wuld this say abut Him? 2. The resurrectin f Christ is the nly reasnable explanatin fr the empty tmb.

6 What did Jesus' friends d t make certain His bdy wuld nt be taken? (Mark 15:46) What did Jesus' enemies d t make sure His bdy wuld nt be taken? (Matthew 27:62-66) But n Sunday mrning the tmb was empty! Nte: Jesus had nt been killed, but nly weakened and wunded by crucifixin, the stne and the sldiers wuld have prevented His escape frm the tmb. If Jesus' friends had tried t steal His bdy, the stne and the sldiers wuld likewise have prevented them. Jesus' enemies wuld never have taken the bdy since its absence frm the tmb wuld nly serve t encurage belief in His resurrectin. Only His resurrectin can accunt fr the empty tmb! 3. The resurrectin is the nly reasnable explanatin fr the appearance f Jesus Christ t His disciples. List all the individuals r grups wh actually saw the risen Christ, accrding t I Crinthians 15:4-8. If Christ has nt risen frm the dead, what culd we then cnclude abut all these witnesses? (I Crinthians 15:15) What else wuld be true if Christ had nt risen frm the dead? (I Crinthians 15:17) When Christ appeared t His fllwers, what things did He d t prve He was nt a hallucinatin? (Luke 24:36-43) 4. There were dramatic changes in the lives f His fllwers. Lk up these verses and describe the differences in these peple: Peter (Luke 22:54-62; Acts 4:1-22) Thmas (Jhn 20:24-28, Acts 1:12-14) Paul (Acts 7:54-8:3, Acts 16:16-40) 5. The resurrectin is the nly reasnable explanatin fr the beginning f the Christian church. Within a few weeks after Jesus' resurrectin, Peter preached at Pentecst, and the Christian church began. What was the subject f his sermn? (Acts 2:14-36)

7 If the bdy f Jesus were still in the tmb, hw d yu think Peter's audience wuld have respnded t this sermn? But hw did they respnd? (Acts 2:37-42) Lk: The Results f the Resurrectin! Read Ephesians 1:19-20 What des the resurrectin tell us abut the pwer Gd can exercise in ur lives? Hw wuld yur life be affected if Christ had nt risen frm the dead? (I Crinthians 15:17) If we can believe the resurrectin, why is it then lgical t believe all the miracles Jesus perfrmed? Tk: Hebrews 13:8 says Jesus is the same tday, and He can transfrm yur life.! Hw wuld yur life be different frm what it is if Jesus had nt risen frm the dead?! Give an example f a time when His "resurrectin life" has been seen in yur life. Give an example f a time when His resurrectin life has nt been evident.! Hw d yu think yur life can be different if yu allw Jesus t transfrm it?! Take sme time right nw t talk t Jesus and invite Him t let His resurrectin life flw thrugh yu. (Yu can d this n an nging basis thrughut each day as well.)

8 The Uniqueness f Jesus :: The Church f Jesus Christ Hk: Briefly describe yur family. Despite the cnflicts and pain that arise in yur family, what wuld it be like t nt have a family f any kind, t be n yur wn as an rphan by yurself? What is the purpse f a family? Gd created us t live in families. He created believers in Christ t live as part f a greater family called the Bdy f Christ r the Church. Why d yu think that is? Bk/Lk: The Bible describes the church in tw senses: The universal church, which refers t all true Christians The lcal church, which is an individual grup f Christians wh gather fr wrship, instructin, and mutual encuragement The Universal Church! Read 1 Crinthians 12:12-27 Paul frequently cmpares the Church t a bdy, with Christ as the head. Wh are the members f the bdy? Hw shuld the different members relate t ne anther? As members f His bdy, hw shuld we feel tward each ther? Name sme specific ways we can express these feelings.! Read Acts 1:6-11 Accrding t verse 8, what is the Church's missin? Hw did Jesus and His disciples after Him live this ut? Wh in yur life is He asking yu t talk t abut Him?

9 The Lcal Church! Read Hebrews 10:25 What are Paul s instructins t us as a believer? Why d yu think he emphasized this? We are saved by faith. But the church has tw simple, yet meaningful rdinances that we are t bserve: baptism and cmmunin.! Read Matthew 28:18-19 Why shuld we be baptized?! Read 1 Crinthians 1:23-26 What is the purpse f the cmmunin service?! Write yur wn ne-sentence descriptin f each f the fllwing lcal churches: Thessalnica (I Thessalnians 1:6-10) Ladicea (Revelatin 3:14-17) Tk: Just as sme New Testament churches are dynamic and thers are pwerless, s it is tday. Nt all churches are vital, and a great variety exists within a single denminatin. T stimulate yur Christian grwth, yu shuld attend a church that exalts Christ, teaches the Bible, explains clearly what a Christian is and hw t becme ne, and prvides lving fellwship.! What culd happen t yur spiritual grwth if yu d nt attend church regularly?! What culd happen if yu attend a church that is pwerless?! Give at least tw reasns why it is imprtant fr us t be part f a lcal church.! If yu are nt active in a lcal church, plan right nw t get invlved. Ask yur Christian friends t recmmend dynamic churches and attend with them. Write the church names here:! Pray ver the list. Ask Gd t help yu select the best ne fr yu. Visit each until yu prayerfully decide n ne.! Then pray abut and take steps t get mre invlved with this bdy f believers.

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