Teaching summary: April 16-17, 2011

Afterlife:  Christianity

Pastor Dan spoke to the students about some of the basics of Christianity, to help them explain their faith to others.  The main question to be answered was, "Who is Jesus?".  A central answer is:  Jesus is the director of all things. An example was given through the Palm Sunday account in Matthew 21:1-11 where Jesus told the disciples to find the donkey and colt on which he would ride into Jerusalem, fulfilling one of the sixty prophesies about Himself.  All sixty were fulfilled in His life on earth, which is statistically impossible by chance, illustrating that Jesus is indeed directing all things according to His plan.

The students were challenged to think about one of the main differences between Christianity and the other religions:  we have Jesus.  None of the others have the Son of God, who came to earth to die in their place, for their sins.  The other religions teach that their deeds will earn them a place in heaven. 

The account of the Passover is a good way to explain salvation.  When the Angel of Death was going to come through Egypt to kill the firstborn sons, Moses instructed the Israelites to take a spotless lamb, kill it, and wipe the blood on their doorposts.  When the Angel of Death saw the blood that had been shed for that family, he passed by that house and spared the firstborn.  Jesus is our spotless passover lamb - He lived a sinless life and died for us. Because of His blood covering us, we are permitted to pass from life on earth to life in heaven when we die as believers in Christ.  Death has no victory over us!  1 Corinthians 5:7 says, "For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."

Scriptures were shared about what heaven will be like:
Philippians 3:21 teaches that our bodies will be transformed to be like Christ's glorious body;
John 14:1-3 teaches that Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven, and that we will be with Him there.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 "Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."