How many people have died to save you?
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How many people have died to save you?
How many people have died to save you?
Throughout history there have been many people who have sacrificed their lives in order to save others.
We consider these people to be hero’s, and rightfully so.
There have been many who have saved lives at the cost of their own.
But only who who has saved your soul!
That is what we celebrate today. Not just the death of a man , but the resurrection of our lord and savior Jesus Christ
There are a lot of religions out there
According to one source the world contains over 3400 religions.
in this day or moral relativity How is one to decide which religion is right.
I mean after you’ve gone through a tramatic event like the Covid 19 virus many people may start searching for answers for meaning outside themselves.
So How should you choose what to beleive
Should you choose by the majority
According to CIA World Factbook 2010
over 33% of the world claims to be Christian
21% Muslim
13% Hindu
14% non religious (don’t believe in anything)
Maybe your not into following the crowd.
Maybe you prefer the originals
Judaism which birth Christianity is one of the oldest still around today
Hinduism 2300 B.C. 1500 BC
Christianity 0 A.D.
Muslim 600 A.D.
Maybe you like to base you decision on What your allowed to do
Wicca is aa neopagan religions thats described as do whatever you want.
but if you do whatever you want do you really even need a religion?
just saying!
Many religions are defined by what they believe you can or cannot do.
In fact alot of religions have common beliefs
Similarities
Similarities
Most religions believe in a higher being--a deity--that looks over its human followers.
many have a a similar moral code
Differences
Differences
There would be too many difference to list
But there is one that stands out.
It is true that every founder of every religion died.
but there is only one that rose again!
That is Jesus
There is only one who died for His people instead of asking his people to die for them
That is Jesus
There is only one who claims everything that was created was created through Him
That is Jesus
I want to drop a little bombshell.
You will not find what you are looking for in any religion
Religion is not the answer.
I know what your saying. Your a Pastor your a religious person
Actually I’m not.
And I can prove it by saying most religious people can’t stand me.
they don’t like me!
I’m Ok with that.
You see Christianity is not a religion
don’t get me wrong many people have turned it into a religion
Christianity is about a relationship
A religion is all about the things you should and shouldn’t do to appease an all powerful diety
Christianity is about a God becoming a man to save mankind after man rejected God
You see
All religions are working on the same problem.
We’re all aware of personal failings and the need to be better.
This is what leads to the creation of religions.
We also want to feel at peace, fulfilled and having inner strength.
And so many move to practices like meditation, religious rituals, self-help books, fasting, prayer, personal sacrifice, pilgrimages, etc.
However, when it comes to connecting with God who is there and created us, our problem is not lack of personal effort.
Our problem is our sin.
No amount of good works is going to cover up or disguise those times we’ve acted contrary to God’s holy ways.
It’s interesting that Buddha never claimed sinlessness.
Muhammad also admitted that he was in need of forgiveness.
God tells us that our sin stands as a barrier between us and him.
We sense that separation, that distance. That’s what leads to religious practices.
God acknowledges this separation between us and him and provided a solution to it.
He said the payment for sin is death…eternal spiritual separation from him.
Yet out of love for us, Jesus Christ, God himself, came in human form to pay for our sin for us.
Jesus took all of our sin on himself, suffered on a cross, and willingly died in our place.
The Bible says,
We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
“For the wages [payment] for sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”3
God is offering us complete forgiveness because of Jesus' death for us. This means forgiveness for all our sins...past, present and future. Jesus paid for them all. God, who created the universe, loves us and wants to be in a relationship with us. "This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him."4
God is offering us complete forgiveness because of Jesus' death for us.
This means forgiveness for all our sins...past, present and future.
Jesus paid for them all. God, who created the universe, loves us and wants to be in a relationship with us.
"This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him."4
By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
"For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."5
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Christ offers us real freedom from our sin and guilt. He does not leave a person's failures on their shoulders, with a dim hope of becoming a better person tomorrow.
Christ offers us real freedom from our sin and guilt.
He does not leave a person's failures on their shoulders, with a dim hope of becoming a better person tomorrow.
In Jesus Christ, God reached toward humanity, providing a way for us to connect with him.
God wants us to know him.
God wants us to know him.
Jesus said,
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
Jesus called people not only to follow his teachings, but to follow him.
He said,
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
In claiming to be the truth, Christ goes beyond mere prophets and teachers who simply said they were speaking the truth
Jesus identified himself as equal to God, and even gave proof.
Jesus said that he would be crucified on a cross and that three days after his death, he would come back to life.
He didn't say he would reincarnate someday into a future life.
He said three days after being buried he would show himself alive to those who saw his crucifixion.
On that third day, Jesus' tomb was found empty and many people testified that they saw him alive again.
He now offers eternal life to us.
Unlike many world religions...
Unlike many world religions...
This is not a commitment to a method of self-improvement like the
Eight Fold Path or the Five Pillars, or meditation, or good works or even the Ten Commandments.
These seem clear, well-defined, easy-to-follow paths for spirituality.
But they become a burdensome striving for perfection, and connection with God is still distant.
With Jesus Christ it’s a two-way interaction between you and God.
He welcomes us to go to him.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
You can communicate with God, who will answer your prayer, give you greater peace and joy, provide direction, show you his love, and transform your life.
Jesus said,
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
John 1:10 It will not mean that life will become perfect and free of problems. But it means that in the midst of life, you can relate to God who is willing to be involved in your life and faithful in his love.
It will not mean that life will become perfect and free of problems.
But it means that in the midst of life, you can relate to God who is willing to be involved in your life and faithful in his love.
Our hope is not in following laws or standards, but in knowing a Savior who fully accepts us because of our faith in him and his sacrifice for us.
We don't earn our place in heaven by religious efforts or good deeds.
Heaven is a free gift to us, when we begin a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Would you like to be totally forgiven and personally come to know God's love for you?
Beginning a relationship with God.
Beginning a relationship with God.
In the world’s religions a person has a relationship with teachings, ideas, paths, rituals.
Through Jesus, a person can have a relationship with the loving and powerful God.
You can talk with him and he will guide you in this life now. He doesn’t just point you to a path, a philosophy, or a religion.
He welcomes you to know him, to experience joy, and to have confidence in his love in the midst of life's challenges.
See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God.”11
Lord & Saviour
Lord & Saviour
We can understand what it means to be savior, He saved us from our sins
But I believe the modern Church has lots touch with what it means to be Lord!
............
Salvation Call
You can begin a relationship with God right now.
It is as simple as sincerely asking him for his forgiveness of your sin and inviting him to enter your life.
Jesus said
‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
Would like to begin a relationship with the God who created you, who deeply loves you?
You can do so right now, if it is your heart's desire:
"God, I ask you to forgive me and invite you to enter my heart right now. Thank you Jesus for dying for my sins. Thank you for coming into my life as you said you would."
If you sincerely asked God to come into your life, you have begun a personal relationship with him.
It is like you have just met God and he wants you to know him better.
We can understand what it means to be savior, He saved us from our sins
But I believe the modern Church has lots touch with what it means to be Lord!