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Lesson outline for March 22, 2009
Suffering, It’s all about Jesus
Coming to God as consumers saved by following the instructions on the product label rather than sinners saved by grace is not only the essence of human sin, it does not even deliver on its promise of liberation. – Michael Horton “Christless Christianity”
If the message the church proclaims makes sense without conversion, if it does not offend even lifelong believers from time to time so that they too need to die more to themselves and live more to Christ, then it is not the gospel. - Michael Horton
Without the new birth, our condition is hopeless, and we cannot fix it with moral improvement. Dead men don’t do better. Dead men need one thing before anything else can happen. They must be made alive. They must be born again. – John Piper “Finally Alive”
“If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
(1Corinthians 15:19 ESV)
Some questions for the Church, myself included.
If Jesus had not lived, died and been resurrected, does the sermon, teaching and song still hold together? Would the small group you lead still be meaningful? If the person and work of Jesus is not the main theme what do we have? If Christ is not raised does the whole thing we are doing fall flat? And If it holds together without Christ is that acceptable? We have built on something other than Jesus and it will not stand nor should it. Paul says that if Christianity is not true his whole life is a waste. Can we say that about what we are doing? This is how we know if something is Christ centered, can it exist without Him? If it can, we should think hard about what we are doing.
