Faith Stories
Last Sunday, Palm Sunday, we concluded another session of our “learning to live the Jesus life” course which we call Core. Core is a month-long experience in the intensive practice of several spiritual disciplines. As is our practice, during that last session, we took some time to hear from the participants not just about what they had learned, but about what God has changed in them during the month.
A number of them told us about how they had been able to tell their own story of faith in Jesus with family, friends, or acquaintances and that it was not as terrifying as they had imagined. In fact, most reported to us that the responses to their story were positive. Someone has said that evangelism is the carbonation in the Christian life. That was certainly evident in what we heard from them.
And that brings us to Easter. All over the world, Christians have stories of faith in Jesus, stories of what He has changed in them, and stories about how He has changed others. These stories are an evidence that He is alive. If Jesus had stayed dead, there would be no such stories. If His disciples had tried to build a religion on the values and teachings of a great but dead teacher, it would not have survived. Socrates was a great philosopher and teacher with many disciples but there is not now nor has there ever been a church of Socrates. He’s dead.
There is however, a world-wide, growing, and thriving Church of Jesus Christ. It exists only because its founder is alive, is actively leading His church, and is available to everyone who comes to Him.
The living Jesus is evident even in our little corner of His world-wide Church. He is evident in the harmony and unity we are experiencing as a congregation, He is evident in the attractiveness of our fellowship to those who visit us, and He is evident in the personal stories of transformation that we are more and more hearing.
There are just so many reasons for joyful celebration that “He is risen!” Please bring your joy on Easter and celebrate together with us.