Who is Jesus?

A Jewish radical? A messianic figure from history? The ‘son’ of God? Who did he claim to be? And was he a liar, a lunatic – or did he speak the truth?

Teacher and Healer

Jesus was born into an ordinary carpenter's family in Israel over 2000 years ago. As an adult he began a powerful ministry of teaching and healing. He had a deep relationship with God as his father and invited all people to come to God afresh. His message was the good news of God's love and the coming of God's kingdom. The invitation was to follow him, to love God wholeheartedly and love one another. His actions and miracles backed up his words and ordinary people flocked to hear him.

The religious leaders of the day didn't like what was happening. Their authority being usurped by this upstart, as Jesus challenged the very nature of their role and the religious system that flowed from it. When Jesus claimed to be able to forgive sins, they began to look for a way to silence him. After all, only God can forgive sins...

Many agree that Jesus was a great teacher. Even contemporary historians mention his miraculous deeds. But this claim to forgive sin suggests there was much more to Jesus than that.

Saviour or Martyr?

Throughout the accounts of Jesus' life he went out of his way to reach those who were broken, abused, marginalised and outcast. These were people who knew their failings and their needs. They found a life-changing hope in Jesus, and his forgiveness offered them a new start that was rooted in God's love for them.

But the more popular Jesus became, the greater his challenge to the religious authorities. It culminated in his betrayal, arrest, show trial and execution.

But at his death, the curtain in the temple (symbolising the separation between God and sinful people) was torn in two from top to bottom. It seemed as if his message that ordinary people could know God for themselves was true after all!

The Lord of Life

If that was all, we would be left with a mere historical figure to admire from afar. But two days later, the tomb where Jesus had been laid was found to be empty, and Jesus was seen alive again!

He appeared to his followers on several occasions, even eating with them to prove he wasn't a ghost. As people wrestled with this extraordinary development, the question "Who is Jesus?" took on a new meaning. It shed new light on some of the things he had said. People began to realise that his claim to forgive sins not only pointed to who he is, but that somehow, through his death, all sin is dealt with once and for all.

Today we can discover the same new life we read about in the Bible. More than that after his resurrection the promise of life with him forever began to make sense.

As Jesus returned to his Father in heaven, and lives on, he calls us to continue his work of building God's Kingdom today.

Fair-minded people will agree that Jesus has made quite an impact on the world through the centuries. But the key question remains: "What has all this about Jesus got to do with my life today?"

The answer is "Everything".

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Teacher and Healer

The religious leaders of the day didn't like what was happening. Their authority being usurped by this upstart, as Jesus challenged the very nature of their role and the religious system that flowed from it. When Jesus claimed to be able to forgive sins, they began to look for a way to silence him. After all, only God can forgive sins...

Many agree that Jesus was a great teacher. Even contemporary historians mention his miraculous deeds. But this claim to forgive sin suggests there was much more to Jesus than that.

Saviour or Martyr?

But the more popular Jesus became, the greater his challenge to the religious authorities. It culminated in his betrayal, arrest, show trial and execution.

But at his death, the curtain in the temple (symbolising the separation between God and sinful people) was torn in two from top to bottom. It seemed as if his message that ordinary people could know God for themselves was true after all!

The Lord of Life

Today we can discover the same new life we read about in the Bible. More than that after his resurrection the promise of life with him forever began to make sense.

As Jesus returned to his Father in heaven, and lives on, he calls us to continue his work of building God's Kingdom today.

Fair-minded people will agree that Jesus has made quite an impact on the world through the centuries. But the key question remains: "What has all this about Jesus got to do with my life today?"

The answer is "Everything".

Previous slide

Next slide

What We Believe

As Christians, we believe in one God who exists in three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit – this is what we call the ‘Trinity’. We believe in God as the creator of all that there is.

Christmas

We believe that Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, is the incarnate Son of God. In the incarnation, God became ‘flesh’ (born as a human being) and lived amongst us – we celebrate this at Christmas.

Easter

We believe that humankind was created to enjoy a relationship with God but, because of sin, that relationship has been damaged and broken. God reached out in love to restore that relationship by sending his Son, Jesus. Both fully god and fully human, Jesus came to live among us. He died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven. He rose from the dead two days later, defeating death and sin – we celebrate this at Easter.

Ascension Day

We believe that Jesus returned to his Father in heaven and will one day come again – we celebrate this on Ascension Day.

Pentecost

We believe that God sent his Holy Spirit to inspire and fill the lives of the first followers of Jesus. He gave them power to live boldly as Jesus’ disciples in the world – we celebrate this at Pentecost.

We believe that the Holy Spirit fills his followers today with that same power.

Who is Jesus?

What We Believe

Christmas

Easter

Ascension Day

Pentecost

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Thank You

Liz McBride