Have you ever heard someone make the claim- that Jesus never said He was God? When we get into discussions with non-Christians about our faith- especially those that have done some research- at least gone to YouTube to find some arguments- they will often bring up this assertion: that Jesus Himself never claimed to be God. The argument goes something like this: Christianity has misunderstood the historical Jesus. He was an important historical character, a great leader, teacher, or even prophet, but since He never claimed to be God, we shouldn’t worship Him as such. These are smart people- many have PhDs- that will use convincing-sounding arguments that can plant seeds of doubt if we haven’t done careful research ourselves.
Everything about us, and our faith, is at stake when it comes to whether or not Jesus is God. Central to everything we are and believe, is the cross. If Jesus was just a human being, and not divine, the cross did not pay for your sins or mine. If Jesus is not God, we are still in our sins, and will be held personally responsible for every one of them, before God when these lives on earth are over. That is a horrifying thought. Bottom line: if Jesus is just a man, Christianity is just a meaningless religious exercise.
This weekend we will take a look at one of the “battleground” texts that demonstrates Jesus’ claim to be God. I have three primary goals- (1) to reinforce your convictions that Jesus Christ is LORD so that you will not fall prey to slick sounding arguments to the contrary- (2) so that you are able to likewise stand up and defend the deity of Christ if you get pulled into an argument about it. (3) Thirdly, for us to take some time to think about what it means that Jesus is God, and to respond appropriately.
I invite you to join with us this weekend as we explore the claims Jesus made in John 10:22-42. Our socially distanced service is Saturday afternoon at 3:30, and our Sunday morning service is at 10:15, where you can join us online if you can’t make it in person. Sunday School is available at 9 for our adults, but our children are taking a break until January 8..
Have a great weekend and I look forward to pursuing Christ, Community, and the Great Commission Together with you soon!
-Pastor Nathan Rice