From the Pulpit...

According to multiple passages in the Bible, a key point of gospel preaching is that Jesus is the Christ. The following texts use this pattern: John 20:31, Acts 9:22, 17:3, 18:5, 18:28, 1 John 2:22, 1 John 5:1. The approach that Paul used was to show what the Old Testament said about Messiah (Christ). Then he explained the identity of and events surrounding the life of Jesus. Then, he put an equals sign between the two, saying Jesus = Christ. This exact identity is critical to correctly understand the plan of God. Denying it is the same as denying the gospel, for to deny Christ’s person and/or work is to deny the gospel. Jesus concludes the section with a command that the disciples tell no one about his identity. This was unfortunate in one sense: people need to know who He is. But it was right in another sense: revealing this information too early and too widely did not fit the timeline that Jesus had to follow that He would be killed at just the right time, in Jerusalem, around Passover, etc. If you have a brain-freeze when witnessing for Jesus, just do this: show that Jesus is the Christ. Remember that: Jesus is the Christ. Go to the Old Testament for a few verses, and then to the New Testament for a few, and tie the two together. That will prime the pump and get the conversation going. Examples: Connect Isaiah 53 with the events of suffering of Christ in the gospels. Show Psalm 110:1 with its New Testament quotations such as Heb. 1:13, Matt. 22:44, Acts 2:34-35, Mark 12:36, Heb. 10:12, Eph. 1:20, Heb. 1:3, 8:1, 10:13.