1. Each person gives thename of a famous personbefore they throw the softtoy to another. No repeatsallowed. If they cant thinkfast enough, theyre out!(10mins)IceBreaker

2. welcome to 3. Click to start Elephant Towers 4. Jesus hasbeen famous formore than2000 years!!!Why??Who is he??? 5. Click the centre to start the clip 6. Who do you thinkJesus is? (10mins)GroupActivity 7. Millions don't believe inJesus millions doeveryone seems to believedifferent things about him...so who's right? 8. What is the evidencefor Christianity? 9. Most peopleagree thesefactsabout Jesus 10. He Existed!A Jewishman born inBethlehemin Judeaabout 2000years ago. 11. No serious historian would denythat Jesus existed. There is simply too muchevidence that Jesus livedon earthe.g. The Roman historians Tacitus andSuetonius speak about him. 12. Now, there was about thistime Jesus, a wise man if itis lawful to call him a man, forhe was a doer of wonderfulworks, a teacher of such menas receive the truth withpleasure. He drew over to himboth many of the Jews andmany of the Gentiles.' Josephus (Jewish historian) 13. He was fully humanThe Hollywood movie director Martin Scorsesemade the film THE LAST TEMPTATION OFCHRIST out of a desire to show that Jesus wasjust that: a real human being 14. He was fully human tired (John 4:6) hungry (Matthew 4:2) Human body anger (Mark 11:1517) love (Mark 10:21) sadness (John 11:3236)Humanemotions temptation (Mark 1:13) learning (Luke 2:4652) work (Mark 6:3)Humanexperiences 15. Famous as a greatteacher andmiracle worker. 16. "I can't believe in Christianity,but I think Jesus was a wonderfulman. He was a great religiousteacher."- Billy Connolly, Scottish comedian 17. Christ has his rank among the worldsgreat thinkers. But Son of God, isntthat far fetched?Bono replied, No its not far fetched tome. Look, the secular response to theChristian story always goes like this: hewas a great prophet, obviously a veryinteresting guy But actually Christdoesnt allow you that. He doesnt let youoff that hook. Christ says I am Godincarnate So what you are left with iseither Christ was who he said he was ora complete nutcase. Im not joking herethe idea that the entire course ofcivilisation for over half the globe couldhave its fate changed and turned upsidedown by a nutcase, for me thats farfetched. 18. Jesus was fully human.He had a body,emotions andexperiences just likeours. 19. He was a good man but 20. Was crucified by theRoman authorities 21. His followers believed hewas the Son of God and thathe rose from the deadThey took the goodnews through theworld 22. In every humanheart there is ahunger. Do youbelieve that to betrue? If so, whatdo people hungerfor? (10mins)GroupActivity 23. What did he sayabout himself?The New Testament of theBible is our best source ofinformation about Jesus.The wise teacher alsomade outrageousclaims about himself. 24. His teachingcentred onHimself. 25. In every human heart there is a hunger.Jung: `Peopleare hungryfor security.'Freud: `Peopleare hungry forlove.'Adler: `Peopleare hungry forsignificance.'Three leading psychologists of the 20th century have all recognised this. 26. People arehungryI am thebread oflife.Jesus 27. Many people arewalking around today indepression,disillusionment,despair....It's like an emotional darkness. 28. This world isdarkI am thelight oftheworld. Jesus 29. People want to stay healthyand alive because they areafraid to dieWe try to avoid talking about it. 30. I am theresurrectionand the life. Jesus 31. Dying is goinghome to God. I'venever beenafraid......on thecontrary; I'mlooking forwardto it! Mother Teresa 32. Jesus said,I am the way, the truthand the life. No onecomes to the Fatherexcept through me. 33. Many are burdened by worries and guilt.Come to me, all you who areweary and heavy laden, and I willgive you rest.- Jesus 34. Follow me. JesusJesus said, Receive me receive God(Matthew 10:40) Welcome me welcome God(Mark 9:37) To have seen me is to haveseen God(John 14:9) 35. HisIndirectClaims 36. He claimed to beable toforgivesins 37. He claimedto beThe Oneto judgetheworld. 38. His DirectClaims 39. He claimed to be MESSIAHand SON OF GODBut Jesus remained silent andgave no answer. Again the highpriest asked him, Are you theMessiah, the Son of the BlessedOne? - Mark 14:61,62 40. "now stopdoubtingandbelieve."Thomas said to Jesus,My Lord and my God!Jesus 41. He claimedto beGod theSon"I and the Fatherare one."- John 10:30 42. Lets think 43. He claimed to beGod the Son.Jesus didnt make itpossible for us to thinkof him as just a goodman. 44. A normal man whosaid things like Jesusdid wouldnt be goodman at all.If he believedwhat he said hewould have to be aMAD MAN. 45. If he didntbelieve it but saidit anyway (just toget influence overpeople) then hewould be a conman, aBAD MAN. 46. So, why do we believethat Jesus was not a madman or a con man butthe one and onlyGod man? 47. A man who was merely a man, andsaid the sort of things Jesus said,wouldn't be a great moral teacher. He'deither be insane; or else he'd be thedevil of hell. You must make yourchoice. Either this man was and is theSon of God, or else insane orsomething worse. But don't let's comeup with any patronising nonsenseabout his being `a great humanteacher'. He hasn't left that open to us.He didn't intend to. - C.S. Lewis 48. Do you think Jesuswas a bad man, amad man, or a Godman? (15mins)GroupActivity 49. Whatevidenceis there? 50. 1. HIS TEACHINGfoundationof Westerncivilization.Jesus teachingacknowledgedas greatestteaching everfallen fromanyones lips 51. 2. HIS WORKSHis actions weresometimesmiraculous butalways filledwith love. 52. 3. HIS CHARACTERSo perfectthat hisworstenemies hadto make upstories tohurt him. 53. Jesus The most persistent symbol of purity,selflessness and love in the history of Westernman. Time MagazineIve got such huge respect for Jesus because hislife was so radical, it was so inconvenient. ..IfJesus had not existed, the church most certainlywould not have invented him. - Matthew Parris,British journalist in The Spectator who describeshimself as `an avowed atheist 54. 4. HISFULFILMENT OFOLD TESTAMENTPROPHECYHe fulfilledpropheciesgiven hundredsof years beforehis birth. 55. 5. HIS CONQUEST OF DEATHThe physicalresurrection of Jesusis the cornerstone ofChristianity.He died, but wasrisen again by God,his Father.If the resurrection is nottrue Christianity becomes nulland void.- Richard Dawkins, atheist &writer 56. The Christian claim is this:the resurrection of Jesusstrongly suggests that the worldhas a Creator, and that thatCreator is to be seen in terms of,through the lens of, Jesus.- Tom Wright, NT Theologian 57. Jesus absence from the tombseparation of the clotand the serum in theblood.. strong medicalevidence that Jesus wasdead. 58. His presence with the disciplesNumber of appearances at least 11 different occasions 500+ people 59. The nature of the appearancesWhile they were still talking about this, Jesushimself stood among them and said to them,"Peace be with you." They were startled andfrightened, thinking that they saw a ghost. He saidto them, "Why are you troubled, and why dodoubts rise in your mind? Look at my hands and myfeet. Touch me and see: a ghost does not haveflesh and bones, as you see I have. When he saidthis, he showed them his hands and feet. And whilethey still did not believe it because of joy andamazement, he asked them, "Do you have anythinghere to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish,and he took it and he ate it in their presence. Luke 24:36 60. Experience is Important 61. Christian experience down the agesEffect down the ages.Billions of peopledown the ages haveexperienced JesusChrist.Immediate EffectIt transformed thedisciples, andresulted in thebirth andexplosive growthof the ChristianChurch rightacross the globe. 62. Thereforein the light of what Jesusclaimed about himself, thereare those threelogical possibilities: eitherJesus was insane, or he wasevil, or he is God. 63. When you have eliminatedthe impossible, whateverremains, however improbable,must be the truth. Sherlock Holmes 64. We're faced, then, with a frighteningalternative. The man we're talkingabout was, and is, just what he said,or else insane or worse. Now, itseems to me obvious that he wasneither insane nor a fiend. Andconsequently, however strange, orterrifying, or unlikely, it may seem, Ihave to accept the view that he was,and is, God.- C.S. Lewis 65. Sofew of those who arefamous will beremembered next year,let alone next century 66. but for Jesus, 2000years after he livednot millions but billionsof people follow him. 67. ConspiracyTheories. Has yourview about Jesuschanged? (15mins)GroupActivity