"Why Do People Need Jesus?"

Pastor Laura Guy

April 15, 2007

Here's an instant replay of what happened in worship:

We thought about the questions people are asking about the Christian faith - what makes it unique, or more simply, why does anyone need whatever it is that Jesus offers?
We saw that in our current postmodern culture, people don't want claims of absolute truth. They are wary of any religion that claims to be superior to any other. We don't want to ever repeat the Crusades or Nazi Germany or the Taliban. So instead we prefer to say that all religions are equal, and each person's beliefs are as valid as the next person's.
We read John 8:1-11 and saw that Jesus shows us the heart of God as one who is compassionate and quick to forgive. One of the reasons people need Jesus is because he is uniquely qualified to reveal the nature and character of God to us. He is the incarnation of God, and if we want to know who God is, we don't have to look any further than Jesus.
We also noticed that Jesus had the power and authority to forgive the woman in the story. This is the other reason people need Jesus - to reach the heart of God. John 14:6 is often quoted as proof that only Christians will get to heaven. ("I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.") This makes Jesus some kind of cosmic bouncer, keeping people out of God's presence. Instead, Jesus is saying he is the way to God - he is not the barrier to God; he is the path to God's heart.
We were surprised to discover that the longer someone has been a Christian, the more he struggles to answer this question. A new Christian will simply begin telling the story of her own life, why she needs Jesus. This answer is usually the best one we can give.
We prayed for God to help us answer whatever questions people ask with honesty and humility so that we might share the Good News.
We shared communion at the table of forgiveness.