Reasons to Believe

Core Singles Group

Appointed To Be an Ambassador• How did the good news about Jesus as Messiah and

Savior of the world reach the world?• Israel is a VERY TINY country; the name does not fit

on a map of the world.• The Good News spread quickly even to pagan areas

with no moral compass and no understanding of monotheism.• How did this happen?• Why is it not happening now as much as it did

then?

Then the Good News was “translated”• For other cultures or audiences• Into other languages• In ways different cultures would understand.• Result: In the lifetime of the disciples the message

of Jesus Christ spread across three continents from Asia to Africa and Europe.• How did it spread that fast?• The Christians were all ambassadors.

“Ambassador” is not the best translation now• Exhibit A: Colleen Bell,

• Producer of The Bold and the Beautiful

Colleen Bell, Amb. To Hungary

So what word would Paul use today? Envoy• A envoy is sent by a king to convince rebel separatists

that it would be better to be part of the kingdom.• The envoy desires to represent the King or President as

well as possible.• He or she knows that the king is wonderful and the rebels

just do not know him well enough to agree.• He tries to find common ground exemplifying the

goodness and affection of the king toward the rebels.• He knows what it would take to connect with the rebel,

the word pictures to use, the vocabulary that would communicate, and the questions he might ask.

The Good News

• God so loves the world, a world full of rebels who want to run their own lives turning their backs on Him.• The rebels would not and could not change.• They had rebelled against the God who loved them

and only wanted the best for them.• The rebels could not pay the penalty for their rebellion

so He sent Jesus to reconcile the world to Himself.• The penalty was the crucifixion of God’s own Son.• God apparently thought the rebels were worth it.

THAT’S AMAZING!

Too Good To Be True (But It Is)• So how do we tell the message of God making

reconciliation available to people we know?• Is the world still hostile to God? To Jesus?• How can God’s desire for reconciliation be accomplished?

Every Christian is an ambassador or envoy.• You have to know the King personally.• You have citizenship in heaven now but are on assignment

as an envoy.• You need to remember Whom you represent.• You have to know your mission.• You have to know how they think and speak their

language in order to communicate.• You want to help reconcile the people to God.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

• Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.

• And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

Paul as the Ambassador

• He is using his knowledge of the people of Corinth, their history, their religion, etc. explaining how the Christians living in “sin city” can reach others who do not know Jesus as Savior and really don’t care.• He tells them that they are ambassadors

for Christ.• What did this term “ambassador” mean in

those days?

“Ambassador” is not the best translation now• They do not

negotiate or resolve problems. • They do not know

necessarily know anything about the country nor do they do have a diplomatic function.• They do not speak

the local languages.

Colleen Bell, Amb. To Hungary

So which examples should you use?• Ones that would interest you and the person to

whom you are speaking.• Right now I would suggest things related to Jesus’

death, burial, and resurrection.• As background read Isaiah 53 very carefully

because it makes detailed predictions that are fulfilled in the details of Jesus death and burial.

So what word would Paul use today? Envoy• A envoy is sent by a king to convince rebel separatists

that it would be better to be part of the kingdom.• The envoy desires to represent the King or President as

well as possible.• He or she knows that the king is wonderful and the rebels

just do not know him well enough.• He tries to find common ground exemplifying the

goodness and affection of the king toward the rebels.• He knows what it would take to connect with the rebel,

the word pictures to use, the vocabulary that would communicate, and the questions he might ask.

The Good News

• God so loves the world, a world full of rebels who want to run their own lives turning their backs on Him.• The rebels would not and could not change.• They had rebelled against the God who loved them

and only wanted the best for them.• The rebels could not pay the penalty for their rebellion

so He sent Jesus to reconcile the world to Himself.• The penalty was the crucifixion of God’s own Son.• God apparently thought the rebels were worth it.

THAT’S AMAZING!

Too Good To Be True (But It Is)• So how do we tell the message of God making

reconciliation available to people we know?• Is the world still hostile to God? To Jesus?• How can God’s desire for reconciliation be accomplished?

Every Christian is an ambassador or envoy.• You have to know the King personally.• You have citizenship in heaven now but are on assignment

as an envoy.• You need to remember Whom you represent.• You have to know your mission.• You have to know how they think and speak their

language in order to communicate.• You want to help reconcile the people to God.

Heaven

See yourself as appointed by the King of Kings to be the Ambassador to people only you can reach and perhaps only you care about them, like _______?_______

Taking God’s message to “low information voters”

1. See yourself as an ambassador.

• It’s an honor!• You are doing the most important work in the

world.• You are not here to be a tourist and enjoy the sights!

Not this ……………. But this!

“Low information voters”• Some may say they are not interested in God, but they

do not know enough to make an informed decision. • People need content, reasons to believe.• “Love God with all your mind.”• It is not that they hate God; they have not heard what

God is like from a person who cares about THEM and God.

• Stop speaking “Christianese”!• You need to learn how to translate and illustrate in

terms that speak to them.

Examples of “Christianese”

• Jesus saves. (Saves what? Coupons?)• Sin • Invite or ask Jesus into your heart (is open heart

surgery required?)• Altar call (I am going to be sacrificed?)• Explain how to have a relationship with God in

simple terms.• LISTEN for their answers and their questions.

Use word pictures

• Faith is not a leap in the dark• Faith is “amen” in Hebrew• It is a support, anything that

holds you or a tent up• Something you put your full

weight on

“Sin”• An archery term• To miss the mark in archery • How far off the arrow lands is

irrelevant. • You did not hit the bull’s eye.• You missed!

Repent: turn around and go the other direction!

Reconciliation• God has provided a way to be reconciled to Himself.• We are in charge of representing Him and

explaining it to others.• It is not about you; it is about Him.• God is the one who works in a person’s conscience;

we need to explain to them how to be at peace with God in a way they can “get it”.

An Example to Start a ConversationThe Shroud of Turin

Insights into Crucifixion

The View of an Educated Skeptic

• I had heard of the Shroud of Turin and did not believe it could possibly be the burial cloth of Jesus.

• How did it get from Jerusalem to Italy?• The Carbon 14 tests in 1988 said it was from 1200-1300 A.D.• Case dismissed. • But I studied the evidence which I will present to you.

So what is a shroud?

• A shroud is a burial cloth.• It is put over the body of the deceased or around it

before burial.• Since the material is bio-degradable, a shroud usually

deteriorates or decomposes unless the climate within a tomb does not vary.• The most famous shroud is the Shroud of Turin (or

Torino in modern Italian).• It is said to be the burial cloth of Jesus.• Skeptical?

Shroud of Turin—New Results

The Material of the Shroud

• It is made of very fine linen with some fibers of cotton. • Importantly, it is not of wool or a mixture of wool

and linen.• Dimensions: 14.3 feet long and 3.7 feet wide.• The weave is a 3:1 herringbone weave.• It was very expensive!!!

The Shroud of Turin

The Fabric of The Shroud

The Shroud

Injuries Seen on the Shroud

• 120 scourge marks across the body, mostly the upper torso.• Puncture wounds on the scalp and forehead• Areas of the beard plucked out with bleeding on the face.• The wrists have deep puncture woulnds from a square pointed

object (nailed more than once—the first time it did not work)• The feet have clar puncture wounds from a square pointed

object.• The thumbs are not seen (tucked under the hand because the

nail was through Destot’s space)

The Front

the Front

The Back

And more injuries

• Marks on the back from an “official” Roman scourging with three cords with lead balls at the ends of the cords.

• He had a mustache (Greeks and Romans were clean shaven)• The body was nude to humiliate the victim, particularly a Jew.• There is swelling and bleedin on the knees (from when Jesus

sumbled)• Deep gash near the heart from a wide blade• Swollen bruises on the cheek bones, more on one side than

the other.• Indication of a dislocated shoulder and injury to the back of

the neck (weight of the cross when he fell)

The Nail

More Information

• The blood type is AB+• Blood and serum (from the spear wound to his chest) present

on the Shroud.• Coins found on the eyes date to Tiberius Caesar (so a Jew not a

Greek or Roman)

Flowers around the Head of Jesus

A Chrysanthemum Corona on the Shroud

But first a word about burials

Anenome

Flowers around the Head of Jesus

Spina Christi

The Shroud of Turin

Zygophylum

Analysis of the Flowers

• This particular combination of flowers only grow between Jerusalem and Hebron (south of Jerusalem).• This assemblage only blooms in March

and April.

Statue of the Man of the Shroud

Nail Print in the Hands

Results of Roman Scourging

Nail Print in Feet

Herod’s Family Tomb

Tomb of Queen Helene

But it does not end at the tomb!• Eyewitness accounts of the resurrected

Christ (more than 1500)• Accurate history in the Gospel accounts.•Manuscripts of the Gospels have been

dated within one generation of the disciples.

Conviction, passion, and information• Ideally go to Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, and Rome.• First hand experience gives you a whole new

dimension to your understanding of the Bible. • Read about new archaeological finds in various on-line

sites.• Go to museums like:

• Rosecrucian Museum with reproductions of Biblical artifacts • Woodland Biblical Archaeology Museum • The Shroud of Turin exhibit in Sacramento• Palace of Legion of Honor Art Museum• The Getty Villa in Malibu (make it a group field trip)