J’s Teach, J’s Love, SermonM, Incarnate, Salvate and Eschato

• Jesus' teachings

  Central to Christian beliefs because it was through Jesus that God chose to reveal himself in physical form. Through Jesus' life and teaching Christians are able to see how they should try to live in obedience to God.
• Jesus' actions


  • Spending time with those whom society rejected
  • Doing miraculous things, such as healing the sick, raising the dead and feeding the hungry
• Jesus' love


  Demonstrated through his actions, not just by his preaching
• Jesus: '"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." "Love your neighbour as yourself"'
• Agape love


  Sacrificial love that voluntarily suffers discomfort and even death for the benefit of other people without expecting anything in return
• Agape love


  • Requires Christians to forgive each other, help people when they are in need, and work to achieve peace
• Christians aim to share the message of Jesus both through preaching and through their actions, exactly as Jesus did</b>
• Evangelism


  Sharing Jesus' message and persuading others to become believers
• Different Christian beliefs about Jesus

  • Some liberal Christians do not take the biblical accounts literally
  • Many liberal Christians believe that miracles are simply stories with meaning, not actual events that broke the laws of nature
  • Conservative Christians are more likely to accept as literal the accounts in the Bible about Jesus' life, including the virgin birth and miracles
• Agape love


  Sacrificial love that places God, other people and even enemies above yourself
• Jesus' actions demonstrating agape love

  • Prepared to die on the cross for human sinfulness
• Beatitudes


  • Blessings that Jesus pronounces on those who live according to God's standards
  • Focus on searching for God, truth and righteousness
  • Concern suffering because of doing what is right in the eyes of God
• Jesus and the law


  1. Jesus' teaching does not get rid of the law of Moses but changes the way that believers should understand it

  2. Obedience to the law should come from a person's heart, not just outward actions

  3. Jesus presents a challenging interpretation to the law of Moses that is based on love, requiring love even for enemies
• True discipleship


  • Requires sincerity in all they do, keeping their fasting and charity private, known only between themselves and God
  • Prayers should be straight and to the point, not ornate and complicated
• True righteousness


  • Requires taking seriously their commitment to the faith, having faith that God will provide for them
  • True riches are spiritual 'treasures' which cannot be destroyed or stolen
• The narrow gateway


  • The broad pathway leads to destruction, representing life that is lived without any attention to the laws of God
  • The narrow pathway is difficult but will lead to rewards in heaven
• Building on solid foundations


  • A life built on faith and trust in God will enable a person to get through the toughest times in life, unlike a life without such faith
• Incarnation


  Jesus was God made into man, also known as God incarnate
• Jesus' incarnation means he was not affected by the original sin which all human beings are born with, as a result of the Fall
• Jesus' life on Earth

  • Provided the perfect example of how God wants every person to live
• Jesus' miracles


  • Demonstrated that he was God
  • Provided a glimpse of heaven, a place where there is no pain, suffering or physical harm
• Purpose of Jesus' incarnation

  To die, to take the punishment for human sin, in order to restore the broken relationship between God and humanity
• Crucifixion


  Jesus suffered the full pain of a human death
• God can understand human suffering because he himself, as Jesus, suffered during his crucifixion
• Jesus' crucifixion


  A sacrifice to God that took the punishment for human sin
• It is because of Jesus' death that Christians believe it is possible for humans to have a restored relationship with God
• Resurrection


  Jesus did not remain dead but three days after his crucifixion he rose from the dead, demonstrating his power over death
• Jesus' resurrection proved that he was truly God and man, and that God had approved of his sacrifice and that it was sufficient to pay the debt of human sin
• Ascension


  Forty days following his resurrection, Jesus returned to heaven
• Jesus' ascension signified the end of his life and work on Earth, but his work in heaven continues
• Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for believers (John 14:2), which Christians understand to be their future home in heaven after their death
• Different Christian beliefs about the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension

  • Some conservative Christians take the view that the events actually took place as described
  • Others may see the ascension as metaphorical
• Different groups of Christians emphasise one of these events more than others
• Atonement


  Something which is done to pay for doing something wrong
• Redemption


  The process of buying something back or paying off a debt
• Repentance


  Saying sorry to God for sin
• Salvation


  Being saved from eternity in hell through repentance and Jesus' death on the cross
• Christians believe that because original sin destroyed the relationship between God and humans, something had to be done to enable the relationship to be repaired
• Before the birth of Jesus, God provided a way for the sin of the Jewish people to be atoned for through an annual animal sacrifice on the Day of Atonement
• Christians believe that Jesus' death on the cross provided a sacrifice to atone for all human sin, and that his sacrifice had an eternal effect