QUESTION:

Did Adam have a belly button?

JESUS DIDN'T WANT TO DIE FOR YOUR SINS

Have you ever thought about the prayer Jesus prayed while in the garden just before he was betrayed. He asked God to work out another way to save us. He wanted out. The truth is, he was human and new what was in store for him in the coming hours and he didn't want to have to endure it.

You might think that I'm bordering on heresy by saying that Jesus didn't want to die for our sins. But look at the scripture. He didn't want to die for our sins. But he wanted to save us more than he wanted out of dying for us. That is what I find amazing.

If Jesus didn't really concern himself with the logistics of dying for us, then really, it would mean less. But since he truly didn't want to have to face that much pain and shame, it more strongly proves his desire to save us.

Thank you Jesus, for doing that which you didn't want to do, in order to save me.

GOD CAN'T FORGIVE YOUR SINS

Bad news, eh? Well, sort of. There are two main characteristics of God that make this statement true.

1. God is holy. His identity is wrapped up in his holiness. He is so holy (or perfect) that he cannot be in the presence of anything imperfect. The definition of holy is summed up in the phrase, "set apart." God is set apart. Because he is perfect he is separate.

2. God is just. This is closely tied to is holiness. God will always do the right thing. He will never error. Nor can he let someone else's mistake (or sin) go without punishment. If he did, he wouldn't be just and he would be God.

So therefore, God can't forgive your sins. I mean he can't just let them go unpunished and forget about them. There is a payment or sacrifice that must be made in order for us to be holy and therefore in God's presence. Answer: Jesus. It's almost incorrect to say that God forgives sins, based on our interpretation of forgiveness. We tend to think of forgiveness as accepting an apology and attempting to move on as if the infraction never happened. We would be more accurate to say that God punishes for every sin that we commit. But thankfully, Jesus took that punishment.

But did Jesus really want to die for our sins? (find out next week)

I don't care if non-Christians come to my church.

Yeah, I know, that sounds harsh. But hear me out. When the first church was meeting back in the first century, they met together for the purpose of fellowship, edification through teaching, eating (most people agree - in remembrance of Christ's sacrifice), and to meet one another's needs. Evangelism is not one of the reasons they met as a church.

But today, churches have taken on the responsibility of evangelism, in essence, taking it away from God's people. Churches often refer to Matt. 28 (the great commission) as part of their purpose for existing. "God tells to 'Go and make disciples' so we are here to make disciples." But the verse doesn't say "Go and start churches that can make disciples," or "Go and invite your friends to Church so that a pastor can make them disciples."

It gives the imperative to command to the disciples, that is, the people! People are supposed to go and make disciples. We should indeed then try to get those disciples connected in community of believers for edification, fellowship, remembering Christ's sacrifice, and meeting one another's needs. But the responsibility of evangelism lies on you and me, not on our respective churches; not on our preachers, but on us.

We should also note that the verse says "Go." We cannot passively evangelize the world by preparing a great program, having insightful messages, and inviting the lost into our environment. We need to go to them. The church as an organization is so limited in what it can do to infiltrate the community. People who are lost and need Jesus live next door, work in the cubicle next to us, and wait on us at our local restaurants. Individuals need to be reaching these people, because we can. Otherwise, we are just waiting and hoping that these people will as some point choose to enter an unfamiliar environment and come to us at church.

Let's Go!!!