Sharing the Good News
When given the opportunity, we should be ready to explain why Jesus is good news. The diagram below is intended to be a starting point for you. It presents the central message of Christianity in a few memorable statements and pictures. Our hope is not that you would just memorize and repeat it. This resource is intended to be simple enough so that you can remember it as a framework that enables you to put the Good News of Jesus into your own words.
As much as you can, weave your story into His story through personal examples of running into brokenness, returning to Jesus, and receiving life from God again. Someone will be more inclined to trust Jesus when they see living proof in you that He makes all the difference.
We hope this simple diagram becomes a tool in your hands to accomplish great things in the name of Jesus. We believe in you. We are praying for you. We are eager to hear a story of how God used you to help +ONE find life in Jesus.
God Loves us and wants to give us Life
Some people believe that God is just waiting for us to mess up so He can punish and condemn us. Nothing is further from the truth. God loves us because He created us. We were made for a relationship with God. Every one of the deepest desires of our soul—the desire for love, joy, peace, hope, purpose, and more—come from God. And all along, He intended to be the one who would provide exactly what we are looking for in life. If you’ve ever felt a desire this world can’t satisfy, you’ve already discovered a clue that reveals you were made to experience life with God.
we run from him. This leads to Brokenness.
True love cannot exist without the freedom to choose. So, God gave us the choice to find life in Him or run from Him to find life on our own terms. If we are honest, we have all ran from God which always results in brokenness. When life doesn’t work as it should, we feel brokenness all around us—sadness, anger, stress, fear, loneliness and more. The big question is what do we do about it? Do we accept it as the only option? Or do we explore ways to get back to what life was always suppose to be?
JESUS CAME TO MAKE IT BETTER
Because of God’s love for us, His heart breaks over our brokenness. He loves us too much to leave us to deal with it on our own. At just the right time, God came to earth in the person of Jesus to make the brokenness all better again. The miracles of Jesus provide a glimpse of the power Jesus has to make better everything that is broken in the world. His death was to pay the penalty for all the times we have turned our back on God. Someone had to pay, but God provided a way for us to be forgiven when Jesus took the penalty we deserved. And the resurrection of Jesus proves that Jesus can promise victory over the worst this world has to offer—even death itself
We receive life WHEN WE TRuST IN hiM.
Again, God gives a choice. We have the freedom to deal with the brokenness of this world on our own, apart from Jesus. But that guarantees more of the same results that have left us unsatisfied up to this point. The other option is to understand that we can’t fix the problem ourselves and admit that we need help from God. When we believe in Jesus and accept that He came to heal our brokenness, we receive from God the life He created us to enjoy—with peace, joy, hope, love, a new identity and so much more. This new life in Jesus includes healing for our past, help in the present through the Holy Spirit, and hope for the future in the promise of heaven.
What’s next?
If you or someone you know is ready to trust in Jesus for the first time, it’s important to discover your next step with Jesus.
- Believe
This means you know who Jesus is and you trust what Jesus says. - Repent
This means that you recognize your need for Jesus, ask for forgiveness, and change your direction to start following Him. - Baptism
This is a physical act of commitment that is intended to accompany a personal decision to trust and follow Jesus. It is a powerful demonstration to God and others that you are “all in” for Jesus.
If you’d like to talk with someone about trusting and following Jesus, email one of our staff.