Investigators love eyewitness accounts. Secondhand knowledge and third-hand information is valuable and can often point the detective in the right direction, but intermediary accounts are never good enough to settle a matter. On matters and mysteries of utmost importance, we want to get the facts firsthand, the story from someone who saw it with his own two eyes, and the tale told from the horse’s own mouth.

Nonbelievers, in one sense or another, are all investigators. Questions about the existence of God, the basis of right and wrong, and the prospect of life after death are all open files that sit stacked on their desks. They work on them here and there, running down the occasional lead and following up on whatever tips they’re given. But these questions remain unsolved mysteries without a significant breakthrough to help crack the case. In their ongoing investigation, few clues will be more compelling than an “eyewitness account” from a believer; a personal testimony of interactions and conversations with God Himself and the subsequent miraculous transformations experienced. It’s wonderful to tell someone of Jacob’s wrestling with the angel, of Moses’ meeting on Mount Sinai, of Peter’s walk upon the water, and of Saul’s blinding on the Road to Damascus; but these stories are all told secondhand. While the Holy Spirit uses Biblical testimonies in powerful ways, He makes a more compelling case when He has you share about your own wrestlings, meetings, blindings, and leaps of faith. Your personal testimony of your own relationship with the living God is a powerful, mighty tool in the hands of the Lord.

Over the next eight weeks, we’ll be working together to understand the nature of a personal gospel testimony; why it’s compelling and how it’s constructed. We’ll be reflecting on our own testimonies and working to give shape to their telling. We’ll be doing some writing, some sharing, some praying, and some public speaking. The ultimate goal of this course of study is to become a more fit instrument in the hands of the Lord and to bear fruit for His kingdom. I expect it to be an eye-opening time, full of fulfillment and thanksgiving. I also expect for it to be a lot of fun. Join us beginning this Sunday, September 9th at 8:30 in the morning in room #208 for this gospel workshop. Hot coffee and fresh baked goods will be served!

“People in general are equally horrified at hearing the Christian religion doubted, and at seeing it practiced.”  Samuel Butler

Ever since its release in October of 1971, John Lennon’s Imagine has been a lightning rod for the insecurities and indignations of the faithful.  For just as long, the song has remained the wistful ballad of the wayward and the soundtrack to all secular longing.  If man were the measure of all things and humanity divine, Imagine would be atheism’s loveliest hymn.  But to anyone whose worldview has God at the center, Lennon’s lyric overreaches and underpays; an artifact from the ruins of Babel.

If we really care about people, then we will really care about ideas.  What was John Lennon’s idea here and what accounts for its broad and persistent appeal?  Lennon wasn’t evil, but simply a nonbeliever doing the best he could with what he had on hand.  The Apostle Paul wasn’t threatened by all the false deities being celebrated on the hills above Athens and he wasn’t combative with the philosophers who argued for their veneration.  He listened, observed, and proceeded to fill in the blanks for anyone who would listen.  He simply shared the good news of Jesus Christ and let the Gospel topple all that was false.  At this week’s Roundtable, we’re going to discuss the lyrics to Imagine and work to understand why a weary world is left to its imagination and how Christianity might be the dream come true.  See you this Sunday, August 26^th at 8:30 in the morning.  God bless you!

Click here to read the lyrics to “Imagine”