March 28, 2005

Evidence of Christ's Resurrection

PK shared this the other day when I was absent from church and he was kind enough to pass it along. Its taken from “The Historical Jesus, Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ”, G.R. Habermas, College Press, Joplin, 1996.

  1. Jesus was buried.
  2. Jesus’ death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope believing that his life had ended.
  3. Although not widely accepted, many scholars believe that the tomb that Jesus was buried in was found empty just a few days later.
  4. The disciples had experiences that they believed were literal appearances of the risen Jesus.
  5. The disciples were transformed from doubters, who were afraid to identify themselves with Jesus, to bold proclaimers of his death and resurrection.
  6. This message was the center of preaching in the early church.
  7. This message was proclaimed in Jerusalem where Jesus died and was buried shortly before.
  8. The Church was born and grew.
  9. Sunday became the primary day of worship in the early Jewish led Church.
  10. James, who was a skeptic, was converted to the faith when he believed he saw the resurrected Jesus.
  11. Paul, an enemy of the church, was converted by an experience where he believed that he saw the resurrected Jesus.

March 05, 2005

Its all about Dirt

I had the pleasure of sharing lunch with Katrina Engle during her visit to Syracuse. Katrina and her husband run an orphanage or sorts in Puerto Limpira (PL), Honduras. She is a ball of energy who has a deep and profound love for Christ and for the kids in PL. You can read more about the Engles at their blog.

During lunch (Vietnamese restaurant of my brother-in-law's choice) she was describing the different races/ethnicities of children in her care. Like the song goes, "...red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight..." she explained that we are all different colors because we come from the dirt. Dirt has different colors. The pale sand of near the oceans or desert, crimson clay, or richest dark soil are all the canvas that the Creator has used to form us in His Image.

I thought that her analysis was so cool. Thanks Katrina!