Monuments Sample

//Remember//

Christianity is different from other religions and ideologies. We believe in a different kind of God, a God who is loving and generous. We believe in a different sort of sacred text–the Bible shows us the MANY times that God’s people fail. It doesn’t try to paint a pretty picture–it gives us the whole story. We believe in a different kind of salvation, not a metaphor or a mythology, but an event.

Let me explain:

Our faith is not based on an idea...it is anchored to an event. At one point in history, God became a human, lived a perfect life, performed miracles and taught people about His Kingdom, died on a cross, and rose from the dead. Actual historic undeniable events.

There is more evidence of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus than any other event from that period in history. There is more historic evidence of Jesus’ resurrection than there is that Julius Caesar reigned in Rome.

Why does that matter?

It matters because your faith in Jesus is not a bunch of wishful thinking! Your faith in Jesus is different than other beliefs because it’s not just a belief, it’s something that actually happened.

When you are faced with doubt, think of the cross: rough-cut timber, heavy, abrasive to the wounded flesh of Jesus.

When you begin to wonder if God will come through, think of the empty tomb: hard stone, void, and hardly able to be considered a tomb since there is no one in it!

The cross and the empty tomb are the ultimate monuments to us that we do not believe in fairy tales, but rather in a God who loves humanity so much that He would sacrifice Himself to redeem us. Your faith is real, when it is hard to believe, cling to the monuments, and let them remind of Jesus; your very real Savior.

THINK ABOUT IT! Why does it matter that Jesus’ death and resurrection are real events?

APPLY! Knowing that Jesus is real, how does that change the way you pray? The way that you think about Him? The way that you talk about Him?

PRAY! Lord, thank you for the cross and the empty tomb! Because Jesus died, my sins have died. Because Jesus rose in new life, I will rise in new life. Bring that new life to me as I live for you today.